Jason and Linley arrived at the Skyrite Mountains.
Even with the "protection" of the Sovereign Freya, Jason dared not be so careless as to bring all his friends and family back to Moonwheel City. What if she was only protecting Jason and ignoring those around Jason?
The two were warmly welcomed back by the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
The members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan almost regarded Jason as a hero, even though Jason didn't kill the Nether Serpent for their sake.
At the grand banquet, the Azure Dragon Clan Chief Gaiseresen excitedly declared, "It has been over ten thousand years since we retreated to the Infernal Realm, and this is the first time we have slain an enemy of the level of Sovereign's Emissary! Ladies and gentlemen, let us raise a toast to our hero, Jason!"
Everyone raised their glasses, and Jason had no choice but to follow suit and drink his wine in one gulp.
Jason originally didn't want to come. Jason was only a mortal enemy of the Nether Snake Family. But if he organized a banquet like this, he would really offend all Eight Great Clans.
But then I thought, soon Beirut and the Blood Peak Continent's Sovereign will intervene to mediate. It would be good if I could bind myself to the Four Divine Beasts Clan and block the Nether Snake Family. The other seven families would soon leave Infernal Realm.
The higher-ups of the Four Divine Beasts Clan were overjoyed. Back when they had just suffered their calamity, they had indeed killed the Sovereign's Emissary and Asura level powerhouses, though at a great cost. It should be noted that the Four Divine Beasts Clan once had more than ten Asura- level or higher powerhouses, while now, only eight remain.
(In the original work, the Four Divine Beasts Clan possess Sovereign Artifact: the four clan leaders and the Azure Dragon Clan's Grand Elder. There are also some Asura- level beings who do not possess Sovereign Artifact, such as Blu. The exact number is unclear, but let's tentatively set it at eight.)
However, since retreating to the Infernal Realm, the Four Divine Beasts Clan has suffered repeated defeats and has never killed any Asura- level powerhouses.
The great battle Moonwheel City was witnessed by many passersby because it was not far from the city, and even recorded on Floating Shadow. Members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan around him looked at Jason with admiration.
After all, Jason's wife was from the Azure Dragon Clan, so the Four Divine Beasts Clan treated Jason as one of their own. Jason didn't object to this, since he did indeed have the bloodline of the Four Divine Beasts, and in a sense, he owed the Four Divine Beasts Clan a favor.
In the subsequent events, Linley received two drops of Sovereign’s Might from the Water Element and Earth Element; the Four Divine Beasts Clan politely gave Jason Water Sovereign Power.
Jason didn't mince words; he did indeed Water Sovereign Power.
"Beirut should let me meet 'that Sovereign ' soon, and I'll need some Sovereign’s Might that matches my attributes." Jason is getting bolder and bolder now, and he's no longer as timid as he was when he first met Beirut.
After several rounds of drinks, the group, who hadn't used their Divine Power to clear their breath of alcohol, were already somewhat drunk, and Gaiseresen mumbled incoherently.
"That Nether Serpent, he was really at odds with my father back then. He wasn't Sovereign yet, and our two families even had a war that lasted tens of thousands of years. He had nine sons," Gaiseresen gestured with his hands, as if boasting, "And we killed eight of them! Eight! Three of them were killed by Ricardo and me in a single battle, hahaha!"
Ricardo is the current chieftain of the White Tiger Clan.
"So the seeds of this feud were sown here," Jason said, suddenly realizing. "But it doesn't seem to be entirely the Four Divine Beasts Clan' fault. Back then, the struggle for the Sovereign Spark was a life-or-death struggle; if someone died, they had no one to blame but themselves. It's just that the Four Divine Beasts ultimately obtained the Sovereign Spark. As for the other seven families, I wonder what caused their enmity."
Jason was a little drunk, chatting with the people around him as he drank, when suddenly a figure appeared beside him.
"Lord Jason, shall we have a drink?" a seductive voice rang out.
Jason woke up with a start; it was Freya.
"Fria--" Jason was about to address her as "Sovereign" when he saw her cold gaze. "Miss Freya, what brings you here?"
"I missed you~" Freya said as she clinked glasses with Jason.
Jason shakily downed his drink, thinking to himself, "Thank goodness it wasn't a nuptial cup—it seems this custom doesn't exist in this world."
"It's been billions of years since I last visited the Four Divine Beasts Clan. I'm going to take a look around." Freya said with a nostalgic expression.
Jason watched Freya leave, then turned to face Linley. He slowly shook his head, and Linley nodded to indicate that he understood.
The banquet continued.
"Grandpa," Talina leaned closer to Jason, "Uncle Bebe and Aunt Clear Spring are living together now. I bumped into them the other day—don't tell them I told you."
Jason patted the other person on the back to indicate that he understood, then his thoughts drifted. "Bebe and Clear Spring are getting together soon, should we terminate my contract with Clear Spring in a while?"
Clear Spring and Jason have been contractual partners for thousands of years and get along well. But now that Clear Spring has a partner, Jason feels embarrassed to maintain the contract with her.
Veronica was right next to her; she had heard what Talina had just said.
What are your plans next?
Jason replied, "This battle with the Nether Serpent was at the behest of the Sovereign. The war between the Four Divine Beasts Clan is nearing its end. Once the situation stabilizes, I will likely be sent to the Wind Divine Plane."
"What about Moonwheel City and the Rhine Clan?"
"Once Olivier's two avatars reach the Highgod, I will abdicate in her place; Rhine Clan, I entrust Linley and Lord Beirut to look after them, for they need to weather some storms."
The lord of the Infernal Realm can choose to abdicate, but whether the successor can withstand challenges depends on the individual's strength. As for the Rhine Clan, the main danger comes from the retaliation of the Nether Snake Family. This can only be addressed by the family strengthening itself; relying on a single powerful individual to suppress the attacks from the shadows is insufficient.
Actually, Jason had one more thing he didn't say, "I need to get my hands on those Nine Spirit Orbs first, so I can gain some merit when I obtain the Sovereign Spark in the future."
Gaiseresen, his drunkenness nearly gone, asked Jason, "Brother Jason, if I may be so bold as to ask, which Sovereign do you serve?"
Jason hesitated for a moment, then answered truthfully, "It's the one who inherited the main godhood of the White Tiger God."
Gaiseresen stared at Jason for a few seconds before looking away. "Is that so? I expected it, I expected it... Oh well, at least it's a result, that's good."
It is clear that the other party has fully accepted the fact that their father is dead.
Can I tell someone else about this?
"Do not spread it widely."
"Good."
Bebe and Clear Spring's wedding banquet was held shortly afterward, and Jason also terminated his contract with Clear Spring.
Beirut personally visited this time, making his relationship with Bebe clear, and even had a rare drink with everyone.
Because of Jason's influence, the plot in the original story where the Azure Dragon Patriarch leaked Linley's whereabouts and were exposed by Beirut did not occur. This may be because Jason and Linley displayed too much power, or perhaps because their relationship with Beirut made the other party hesitant to act against them.
A few years later, Talina and Wade became Lowgod after undergoing a bloodline baptism.
After the Four Divine Beasts Clan decided to seal off their clans, several elders who refused to submit launched a fierce retaliation against the Eight Great Clans.
Jason had no interest in that; he planned to take a Heavenly Waterfall Pearl.