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"This gathering gave me more than I expected."

Jiang Hao thought back on the gathering. Not only had his questions been answered, he had also learned something new.

"'The key to occupying an authority is to play the part; the key to mastering it is recognition.' So recognition means recognition by the world."

"But how do I earn the world's recognition and master an authority?"

He considered the question.

"Ieta Cavendish said, 'I've already earned the world's recognition. Once it takes shape, I'll automatically master it.' Judging by his case, creating an authority must earn the world's recognition outright."

"But that can't be the only way."

"There are so many gods in the void beyond this world, and many of their authorities are older than they are. They can't all have created them."

"Ieta Cavendish said the Lord of Dawn fell because he caused the Disaster of Dawn."

"Was his aim to earn the world's recognition and thereby master the authority of the sun?"

Jiang Hao analyzed the possibility carefully.

The Disaster of Dawn was a terrible catastrophe that had occurred during the Fourth Epoch.

In the History of the Fourth Epoch, the scholar Grant described it this way: The vibrant, passionate, and righteous Lord of Dawn could no longer tolerate the evil on the continent. He descended into the world himself, became the sun, and unleashed endless radiance to cleanse the land of every evil being.

Then disaster struck. Temperatures rose, glaciers melted, and oceans swallowed the land. Forests caught fire, evil beings fled underground, and creatures on the surface lost the night.

The Disaster of Dawn lasted a month and a half and inflicted enormous damage on the Main Plane.

"If the Lord of Dawn only wanted to strike down evil, he should have stopped once the disaster began. Clearly, he didn't."

"Born from the Ancient Sun God, the Lord of Dawn had an obsession with the authority of the sun beyond anything I can imagine. If he caused the Disaster of Dawn to master that authority, his actions make sense."

"He became the sun to earn the world's recognition and master its authority. That was probably his plan, which means he believed it could work."

"But he obviously failed. The Lord of Dawn fell shortly after the Disaster of Dawn. Does that mean the method can't work?..."

"No. If it were utterly impossible, he wouldn't have tried it. The Lord of Dawn wasn't a mad god who would attempt something with no chance of success. Whether he felt confident or was taking a gamble, there must have been some chance. He simply failed."

As Jiang Hao thought it over, a suspicion began to form.

"If I'm right, history must have left traces of it."

He turned and tore open space, entered the Tingen Archmage's library, and began searching through the books with a purpose.

"Fourth Epoch, year 433: A plague broke out on the continent. Wrath of the Plague God, a virulent disease spread by rat fleas, swept across nearly half the continent and claimed countless lives. Three years later, the Plague God ascended to godhood."

"Fourth Epoch, year 2436: The Son of Slaughter appeared and unleashed carnage across the continent. One year later, the God of Slaughter ascended to godhood."

"Fourth Epoch, year 4638: An orc invasion sparked a war that drew in humans, Elves, Dwarves, Sea Folk, and Underground Races. The fighting lasted twelve years. Afterward, the God of War ascended to godhood."

Jiang Hao stopped flipping through the pages. He felt he had found the path to godhood. "I was right. The usual way gods earn the world's recognition is to make their actions align more closely with their authority. So I should..."

At that thought, Jiang Hao froze.

Create a world? Rule the gods? Devour the world? Or become the sun like the Lord of Dawn and shine upon the land? He stared blankly ahead. Every option seemed impossibly difficult.

Creation isn't feasible. Creating a world isn't like creating a pocket dimension or a Demiplane. A complete world must have flourishing life and a thriving civilization. It might even give birth to gods. If I could do that, why would I need to become a god?

The King of the Gods is no better. Never mind actually ruling the gods—if I so much as voiced that ambition, I'd make enemies of them all. With my current strength, it isn't feasible, even if I can flee back to Blue Star whenever I want.

Devouring is like the King of the Gods. I can't do it as a Demigod.

The authority of the sun is the most feasible, but the last god who tried it fell. If I, a Demigod, hung myself up there, someone would probably shoot me down like Hou Yi shooting down the suns on the very first day... Jiang Hao's thoughts raced, and an idea took shape.

Ascending to godhood through Creation, the King of the Gods, Devouring, or the sun was too difficult. Becoming a True God through one of those four authorities would undoubtedly grant him a very high rank, but there was no point dwelling on something utterly infeasible.

After all, he had to take things one step at a time.

"My greatest advantage is that I can occupy an authority through Blue Star. I can start with one that's relatively easy to ascend with, then bring my actions into alignment with it to earn the world's recognition and become a True God."

"Of course, its rank can't be too low... Once I become a True God, the Main Plane will cast me out. Given how much the Lord of Dawn hates me, he'll come after me the moment I leave, and we'll end up fighting face-to-face... If my authority's rank is too low, I won't even be able to protect myself after ascending."

"Radiance, a lesser offshoot of the sun? Kingship, an offshoot of the King of the Gods? Making things, an offshoot of Creation? Gluttony, an offshoot of Devouring? Or another lesser authority? Rivers? Mountains? Herbs? Agriculture?... Agriculture could work."

Jiang Hao considered it, his mind racing.

No god in this world seemed to hold the authority of agriculture. The Goddess of the Forest held the authority of farmers, an occupational authority derived from agriculture and therefore a lesser offshoot of it.

"Ascending through agriculture would be relatively easy. Promoting fertilizer, introducing new crops, and increasing the continent's food production should earn the world's recognition. And while agriculture's rank is below Dawn's, it should still be enough for me to protect myself."

"Of course, ascending to True God through agriculture would inevitably offend the Goddess of the Forest, but it would also win me the friendship of many gods. A god's upper limit of strength depends on their authority, but the number of believers they have affects how much divine power they can draw on. No god would turn down more believers."

His mind made up, Jiang Hao reached out to the black vortex. His vision went dark, and he returned to Blue Star.