As the dust settled, Linley knelt on one knee, leaning on his sword, panting heavily. Just as he was about to catch his breath, his gaze suddenly fell upon the rubble of the collapsed lord statue—three crystals, gleaming with a dark light, lay there quietly, emanating a profound and vast power.
Three Divine Spark.
Linley's heart skipped a beat. He recognized that these three Divine Spark were the lifeblood of Deity Level powerhouses, each one enough to make countless powerhouses spend their entire lives fighting for them. Now that the lord was dead, these three Divine Spark had become ownerless.
He didn't rush to collect them. Instead, he squatted down and picked up the three Divine Spark one by one, examining them carefully. One of the three Divine Spark exuded a heavy, Earth Element aura, another was as agile as the wind, and the third shone with a warm, bright luster—they were three completely different laws.
"Three..." Linley murmured, his gaze slowly sweeping over them, undecided for a moment.
That day, he did not linger any longer and, together with the others, returned to the tenth floor with the three Divine Spark.
The ten-year period for the Necropolis of the Gods was drawing to a close, and the stone gate leading to the outside world was already gleaming with a warm light. But just before everyone was about to leave, a figure in a gray robe slowly emerged from the depths of that dark world, standing with his hands behind his back—it was Beirut.
"Ten years have passed," Beirut said, looking at the crowd, his gaze falling on the three carefully preserved Divine Spark, a deep meaning rising in his eyes. "Come with me."
He turned and walked ahead, with the others following in single file. As they passed through the stone gate leading to the outside world and stepped back into the Dark Forest, the long-lost sunlight overhead and the familiar ground beneath their feet made it seem as if their ten-year struggle in the Necropolis of the Gods had been nothing but a dream.
But Linley knew that these ten years had truly been a period of hardship.
He stopped at the entrance to the Dark Forest, gazing at the gloomy woods, then glanced back at the stone gate that had closed and returned to nothingness. A clarity, unlike anything he had ever known, surfaced deep within his eyes—he had relied on the bloodline of the Dragonblood Warrior and the laws of wind and earth to reach this point. Now, his Laws of Wind were nearing completion, and he believed he would soon break through to godhood on his own.
" Linley," Desri's voice suddenly brought him back to reality. He turned his head and saw Desri gazing at the three carefully stored divine Divine Spark, a rare hint of complexity in his eyes. "Your three Divine Spark... are they still in your possession?"
"Yes," Linley said.
"I have cultivated the Laws of Light for many years," Desri pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "If you could give me a Divine Spark of the Light Element, my chances of reaching the Deity Level would be greatly increased. Linley, if you don't mind, I am willing to exchange my wealth accumulated over hundreds of years for one of these sparks."
Linley was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected that someone of Desri's noble birth would speak up for a Divine Spark spark. But then he thought about it and understood—what so many people sought after when they made their way through the Necropolis of the Gods was precisely this path to Deity Level.
Before he could answer, Beirut's voice suddenly came faintly from behind him. " Desri, do you really want that Divine Spark?"
Desri turned to Beirut: "Lord Beirut, is there something amiss?"
"The problem is, if you refine that Divine Spark, you will never be able to comprehend other laws again, nor will you be able to possess Divine Clone." Beirut walked slowly over, his gaze falling on the three Divine Spark. "Do you know what the consequences are of refining someone else's Divine Spark to become a god?"
Desri was stunned and remained silent.
" Refine Divine Spark only leads to following someone else's path," Beirut said, enunciating each word clearly. "While obtaining that divine Divine Spark of light will allow you to ascend to Deity Level, you will be trapped within the original laws of that Divine Spark, unable to comprehend your own new laws. Your cultivation level will be forever sealed at that level, making further progress nearly impossible."
He paused, looking at Desri, his voice calm yet profound. "Both have reached the Deity Level, but those who break through on their own and those Refine Divine Spark are on completely different paths. The former has boundless potential and an limitless future; the latter is merely inheriting someone else's mantle and confining themselves to a corner."
Desri's expression gradually changed. He had cultivated the Laws of Light for so many years, all to forge his own path. If he were to imprison himself within the cage of someone else's existing laws for the sake of a Divine Spark, what would be the point of his centuries of perseverance?
"Lord Beirut is right." Desri remained silent for a long time, then slowly shook his head and took a half step back. "I misunderstood. I will no longer pursue this Divine Spark."
Upon hearing this, the others also fell silent. A few people had been tempted just now, but after hearing Beirut's words, they truly understood that while the three Divine Spark were tempting, it would ultimately be a losing proposition to sacrifice years of dedicated research for a realm from which further progress would be difficult.
Linley watched this scene, his eyes becoming even clearer. He never considered taking those three Divine Spark sparks—not for any other reason than he knew better than anyone that he had relied on his own understanding of the Dao of Wind and Earth, achieved through his own fists, swords, and the Dao of Swords. He didn't want a path that had been picked up; he wanted to forge his own Deity Level path.
"Mr. Beirut," Linley said, his voice calm yet firm, "I will not refine these three Divine Spark; I will become a god independently!"
Beirut looked at him, the deep meaning in his eyes seeming to melt into approval at that moment. He didn't say anything more, only calmly saying, "I knew you still had this spirit. The Divine Spark is temporarily entrusted to you. Once you've figured out your own path, it's time to go far away."
Olivier stood to the side, lost in thought.
Linley nodded, without the slightest reluctance. He gazed at the Dark Forest that was about to sink into twilight in the distance, then looked up at the sky, which was much more vast than he had imagined, and a light he had never seen before gradually shone in his eyes. He knew that the road ahead was one he would walk alone, forging a path that belonged only to him, a path to Deity Level.