Hagson's request

The banquet continued.

Wine cups clinked as the guests exchanged toasts.

In front of everyone, Hagson took out a divine artifact longsword and a suit of armor.

He walked over to Roger and held them out to him.

"Brother Roger, please accept these two Lowgod Artifacts to celebrate your ascension to godhood."

"These are too valuable..."

Roger hesitated.

As a newly ascended Lowgod, Roger could spend time nurturing artifacts with his divine power, but it would take a very long time.

Divine artifact armor was another matter. He would need some knowledge of artifact forging and suitable materials to create the initial armor, then nurture it with divine power for an extremely long time before it became a proper divine artifact.

"Take them." Hagson pushed them straight into Roger's hands. "Every newly ascended deity in our Fire Rhino Tribe receives these benefits. You have to accept them!"

"Then thank you, Brother Hagson."

Roger stopped refusing and immediately bound the longsword and armor with drops of his blood.

"Haha, that's more like it!" Hagson laughed.

The rest of the banquet consisted of exchanging toasts, with those who knew one another gathering to boast or discuss their cultivation insights.

"Brother Roger, congratulations on becoming a deity-and through the death edict, no less."

Colette walked over with a wine cup in hand. "Come to think of it, your father and I were quite close back then. We often sparred."

Colette was a Lowgod who cultivated the laws of light. He was fairly strong among Lowgods, particularly when it came to speed.

"Thank you, thank you."

Roger raised his cup in return.

"We should spar sometime too," Colette said with a smile. "Cultivation only grows harder after becoming a deity. By exchanging insights, we can help each other improve."

"Of course. I'll come find you when I have time," Roger agreed.

It was true.

Sparring with others might not produce immediate improvements, but it would help him understand the methods of those who cultivated other laws or edicts, allowing him to prepare for them in battle.

"Exactly! None of us cultivated the death edict before. Brother Roger, you'll have to spar with us often from now on."

The other Lowgods chimed in as well.

From their earlier conversations, Roger had indeed discovered that most of the deities present cultivated the seven elemental laws.

Only two cultivated edicts.

The other one cultivated the destruction edict.

Naturally, Roger's ascension through the death edict drew considerable interest.

"No problem. I'll be sure to visit you all often."

Roger understood the importance of combat experience too, so he accepted all their friendly requests to spar.

Everyone was pleased that Roger had not refused.

In the Netherworld.

Living longer required not only strength, but also knowledge and experience.

The banquet did not end until late into the night.

But just as Roger was about to leave, Hagson stopped him.

"Brother Roger, please come with me."

Only Roger and Hagson remained in the room now.

Seeing Hagson's earnest gaze, Roger agreed.

They went to a quiet room on the third floor.

"Brother Roger, could you tell me which aspect of the death edict you mastered to become a deity?"

Once they sat down, Hagson spoke frankly. "This is very important to our entire tribe."

"Brother Hagson, I became a deity by fully comprehending the Soul Attack aspect."

Roger did not hide it.

He knew Hagson might really be asking whether he had become a deity through soul refining.

"I see..."

Sure enough, Hagson looked troubled at his answer.

After a long silence, Hagson continued.

"Brother Roger, to tell you the truth, during our last clash with the Black Bat Tribe, I suffered a Soul Attack from Black Bat. My soul still hasn't recovered from the damage."

That surprised Roger.

As far as he could sense, Hagson was in excellent condition, with no sign whatsoever of damage to his soul.

Of course.

That might also have been because Roger was only a Lowgod, while Hagson was a Midgod.

"Damage to your soul?" Roger frowned.

What he had comprehended so far was indeed the Soul Attack aspect of the edict. He knew little about healing souls yet.

Seeing Roger's difficulty, Hagson continued.

"Black Bat's Soul Attacks are strange and unpredictable. Even using every means at my disposal, I couldn't fully defend against them. My soul suffered considerable damage, and I need a large amount of soul essence to heal it."

"I know some who cultivate the death edict can extract soul essence, so... I was wondering whether you've studied that aspect, Brother Roger."

"Since you're being so frank, Brother Hagson, I'll tell you the truth too."

Hearing that the tribe's strongest member still had an injured soul made Roger anxious as well. If the Black Bat Tribe attacked again now, they would be in danger.

"Over the years I spent studying the death edict, although my deepest insights were into Soul Attacks, I also gained a vague understanding of soul refining."

Roger spoke slowly. "But at the time, I wanted to become a deity as soon as possible, so I focused all my efforts on comprehending Soul Attacks. Now that I've become a deity, I have plenty of time to study Soul Refining."

"I understand, I understand."

At Roger's words, Hagson's troubled expression instantly brightened. "Take your time studying it, Brother Roger. Although my injuries affect my strength somewhat, keeping them suppressed in the short term isn't difficult."

"Whenever you manage to extract soul essence, just come find me."

As he spoke, Hagson took out an interspatial ring. "Brother Roger, I happened to acquire this ring left behind by a deceased Death Edict Highgod. It contains some books on making Soul Crystal Balls, soul threads, and Soul Gold Beads."

"This knowledge is useless to someone like me who cultivates the laws of wind, so I'll give it all to you. I hope it helps."

Looking at the pitch-black ring in Hagson's hand, Roger could not deny that he was tempted.

Obtaining the legacy of a Death Edict Highgod would undoubtedly shorten the time Roger needed for his own research enormously.

"Brother Hagson, then I'll gladly accept. These really will be a great help to me."

Roger took the ring and bound it with a drop of blood.

Immediately.

The contents of the interspatial ring appeared in Roger's consciousness.

Inside were many books, along with a crystal ball the size of a fist.

He skimmed through the books.

Roger discovered that this deceased Death Edict Highgod had actually specialized in refining soul essence.

Most of these books recorded his experiences with soul refining, from when he first began his research at the Saint level all the way through his time as a Highgod.

The other books contained extensive records of his cultivation insights.

One book even detailed the specific branches encompassed by the death edict.

Seeing that book, Roger grew even more excited.

Hagson was delighted to see the change in Roger's expression.

It meant Roger could understand the books and would very likely be able to work out the process.

That meant there was finally hope of healing his soul.

With the support of a large supply of Soul Gold Beads, he could even greatly improve his soul's strength and his cultivation speed.

That would vastly increase his chances of becoming a Highgod!