Banquet

After closing the Chat Group, Richard stroked his chin. Interesting. His cheat had arrived at just the right time.

Before this, his greatest ambition had been no more than becoming a Paragon High-God, after which he could throw his weight around and enjoy life.

Even becoming a Paragon High-God was extremely difficult. He could accept becoming an Asura-level powerhouse instead. At worst, a Seven-Star Fiend-level High-level God would still live quite comfortably in the Divine Plane.

His demands were not high at all. Becoming a Chief God depended entirely on luck, and he did not think he had that kind of luck. So becoming a powerhouse who could roam freely through the Divine Plane was already good enough. He would also have a long life. Happiness came from comparison—wasn't this life far better than being an office drone in his previous life?

Now that he had the Chat Group, could he set his sights a little higher? Perhaps even a Paragon High-God would no longer be his limit.

Once the Seven Laws and Four Rules reached the level of a Paragon High-God, there was no path forward. But the Heavens and Myriad Worlds had more than just these eleven laws. If nothing else, there had to be Laws of Time and Space, right?

Even the Coiling Dragon World was not without Laws of Time and Space. They were merely hidden, beyond the reach of ordinary gods. Otherwise, how could one explain the teleportation arrays spread across the Divine Planes and Material Planes?

Hongmeng had originally created one Main World and four Subsidiary Worlds. To maintain the stability of the Subsidiary Worlds, he had concealed everything related to the Laws of Time and Space. Only the Main World could freely comprehend the Laws of Time and Space; in the four Subsidiary Worlds, those laws could not be seen.

And the Coiling Dragon World was one of those four Subsidiary Worlds.

Of course, being invisible did not mean they could not be comprehended at all, much less that they were some forbidden thing that could not be studied.

Some Divine Beasts were born with divine abilities carrying the attributes of time and space. Even the Laws of Wind Richard had comprehended contained Profound Mysteries somewhat related to space, didn't they?

So, he needed to make proper plans for this Chat Group.

The worlds of the current group members contained things related to time and space. For example, the Hokage world, the Dragon World, and the world of Under One Person.

But there was no need to rush. He did not yet know Hongmeng's attitude, so he should be cautious first.

He had not even hurried to exchange cultivation techniques for points. Otherwise, he would have long since exchanged the Battle Qi Secret Manuals, Various Elemental Magic, and even the moves he had created over the past several centuries.

For the next period of time, Richard only occasionally chatted in the Chat Group. Most of his time was still spent cultivating on his own.

After several months, he discovered that the world he was in likely had the fastest flow of time in the entire Chat Group.

This puzzled him. The world he was in should have had the highest power level among all the worlds currently in the Chat Group, shouldn't it? Could it be that the higher a world's power level was, the faster time flowed instead?

But the Hokage world's time flow did not seem much different from the other worlds.

He could not make sense of it.

But it was not a big problem. If he could not figure it out, then so be it. There was no need to torment himself over it. Since he could not understand it now, he would set it aside and deal with it later.

In any case, this was a good thing for him. He had been worried that after cultivating in seclusion for decades or centuries, he would check the Chat Group upon emerging and find that half the group members had died of old age. That would have been awkward.

But generally speaking, as his strength grew greater, the time required to comprehend Law Profound Mysteries would only grow longer. If the group members did not embark on the path to immortality, they would part ways sooner or later.

On this day, the banquet hall of the Silver Blue Grand Duchy was packed with people.

Today was the day Richard's family held its banquet. Every influential figure in the Osiris Empire had come. Even the empire's current Emperor had attended Richard's Godhood Banquet.

Furthermore, the Hegel Family's network, accumulated over several centuries since Richard became a Saint Domain expert, revealed itself at this moment. Besides the empire, there were also various small and medium-sized factions on Osiris Continent, and those friendly with the Hegel Family had come as well.

If time had not been so tight and people from other continents had been able to arrive, the crowd in this banquet hall would have been twice as large.

Richard had become a god, after all. He might not remember everyone who came today, but what if he remembered those who did not? Thus, even factions that usually had some conflicts with the Hegel Family obediently attended this banquet.

Ordinary people, including Saint Domain experts, were naturally received by the family's subordinates.

Richard only needed to entertain the God Level experts who had come.

It was rather sad when he thought about it. Richard had spent several centuries in this world, wholeheartedly keeping a low profile and cultivating. He had barely gone out to make friends, so he did not have a single true friend. They were all merely casual acquaintances who exchanged greetings.

If not for expanding the family's influence, there would have been no need to hold this banquet at all.

Still, holding the banquet had its benefits. The gifts personally given by these God Level experts were quite appealing. Most of them gave Low-level Divine Artifacts. To Saint Domain experts without any backing, Divine Artifacts were extremely precious, something they could not obtain no matter how difficult it was.

But to these God Level experts who had become gods long ago, Divine Artifacts were not that precious. In merely a thousand years, they could nurture a batch of Low-level Divine Artifacts. With several thousand years of accumulation, they would never lack Low-level Divine Artifacts. For these God Level experts who had remained in Material Planes for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, the Low-level Divine Artifacts in their Space Rings were practically piled into heaps.

They could not casually release them and cause Divine Artifacts to become widespread, so naturally they simply accumulated in piles.

But to Richard, these Divine Artifacts were a great help. At the very least, they could make up for the awkward period before he nurtured Divine Artifacts of his own.

His Majesty First Generation Osiris had not come, but the royal family had sent a Low-level God. It was not the current Emperor Osiris. The current Emperor was merely an ordinary Saint Domain expert who had not even touched the threshold of laws. He had only been elevated to the throne because of his outstanding administrative ability.

This Low-level God represented the royal family and gave Richard a Mid-level Divine Artifact: a suit of armor, a Material Defense Divine Artifact. One such artifact was worth several ordinary Mid-level Material Attack Divine Artifacts.

According to royal custom, winning over a Low-level God should only have warranted a Mid-level Material Attack Divine Artifact.

Could it be that they saw his talent as rather good and wanted to win him over?

In this small Material Plane, becoming a god within a thousand years was already considered extraordinary talent. There had not been many such people in the entire history of the Tara Plane. And aside from those who had fallen midway, the previous few had all at least become Mid-level Gods. Of course, they had all gone to the Divine Planes, and not one remained in the Tara Plane now.

So Richard had become the most talented person in the Tara Plane? If that was the case, then giving him a Material Defense Divine Artifact was reasonable enough.

Richard did not care much. If they dared to give it, he dared to accept it. He was confident that in a few hundred years at most, his Wind Element would reach the Mid-level God stage. By then, he could attack when advancing and defend when retreating. Whatever he wanted to do would be up to him.

For now, though, he first had to deal with the Plane Overseer before him.

This Plane Overseer was a Mid-level God. Nominally, he was a guard under a Chief God, responsible for watching over the teleportation arrays of Material Planes.

But in truth, each of these overseers had their own faction behind them. Chief Gods were too lofty and distant for them to rely on. They could only find ways to recruit talents and cannon fodder for their families in pursuit of profit.

This man had come to coax Richard into going to the Heavenly Realm when Richard was still at the Saint Domain Limit.

Now that Richard had advanced to become a Low-level God, Mr. Steven's attitude had grown even more enthusiastic.

"Mr. Steven, I have no plans to go to a higher Divine Plane for the time being. I cannot let go of my family. When the day comes that I want to go to a Divine Plane, I will definitely give the Heavenly Realm priority," Richard said perfunctorily.

"Richard, listen to me. Staying in a Material Plane will greatly slow your cultivation speed. It is too much of a waste of your talent. You should go to a Divine Plane as soon as possible," Mr. Steven patiently advised.

Do you think I don't know what the Divine Planes are like? Are you really trying to fool me as some ignorant country bumpkin? Richard muttered inwardly. He suspected that more than half of those who had gone to the Divine Planes in the past had probably been coaxed there by this man.

A mere Low-level God—was he going to a Divine Plane to court death? Otherwise, he would be going to serve as a dog for a major family. Given his decent talent, someone would probably want him.

No matter what Mr. Steven said, Richard refused to budge.

At this moment, Richard could not help thanking the native Mid-level Gods of the Tara Plane, and thanking his powerful backer, His Majesty Osiris. Otherwise, he could not guarantee that Mr. Steven would not resort to force.

In some weak planes, Plane Overseers acted like tyrants. Whatever they told you to do, you had to do, or there would be no good end for you. The more straightforward ones would simply kill you, while others would exile you to a Plane Prison.

Only because the Tara Plane was strong enough could Plane Overseers not stir up trouble here.

At this moment, after yet another unsuccessful attempt at persuasion, Mr. Steven could only give up helplessly. He could not defeat His Majesty First Generation Osiris. The family behind him was even less likely to come to this Material Plane for no reason. The cost of sending a High-level God to a Material Plane was enough to bankrupt a poorer Seven-Star Fiend.

The major factions allowing him to coax their members away was already out of respect for his status as a Plane Overseer. He could not be so oblivious as to overstep.

The banquet ended, and the splendor faded. The Silver Blue Grand Duchy returned to its usual peace.

But everyone knew that everything had changed. The deterrence of a god and that of a Saint Domain expert were entirely different. Anyone with discernment could see that the Hegel Family would soon expand rapidly.