A Hidden Past

For Li Lin, extracting information from the Godspawn was a remarkably easy task. These chaotic beings were inherently undisciplined, lacking any sense of teamwork or obligation to maintain secrecy. They were incapable of loyalty to any individual other than themselves; in fact, the Godspawn didn't even possess the concepts of "friends" or "loyalty." Moreover, after discovering they had been deceived by the God of Justice, the Godspawn had completely severed ties with him. Their subsequent battle with Li Lin resembled a desperate struggle against a natural enemy.

Of course, even so, one couldn't expect the Godspawn to fully recount everything to Li Lin. After all, these inherently chaotic beings would struggle to grasp the key points even when trying to narrate. Their words flowed smoothly but were sometimes contradictory, and while they might seem perfectly reasonable on the surface, they were incomprehensible upon closer examination. Even seemingly related actions could have their true purpose distorted by seemingly meaningless or unpredictable motives. This is why even the archangel was ultimately dumbfounded. However, for Arcane Mage with a profound understanding of the Godspawn, this was clearly not a problem for Li Lin.

After interrupting the Godspawn's speech, Li Lin finally obtained the information he wanted.

This Godspawn encountered the God of Justice during a war invading Upper Planes. Although the ultimate goal of every Godspawn's invasion is to destroy that plane, due to their chaotic nature, each Godspawn's reasons and methods for destroying a plane are different. Take this Godspawn before us, for example; in order to destroy the Upper Planes, it actually attempted to become a god, and its true purpose in becoming a god was precisely to destroy that plane. This seemingly illogical and unimaginable method actually exists, demonstrating just how chaotic the nature of Godspawn truly is.

Of course, although they all belong to chaos, each Godspawn manifests its essence in different ways. There are insane monsters that kill indiscriminately, and there are also products like this Godspawn that seem to have a fairly clear purpose and means, but whose motives are chaotic. However, the God of Justice obviously does not have a special understanding of this, and in fact, when the Godspawn invaded the Upper Planes, the first place they arrived at was his divine realm.

However, when faced with the Godspawn that came knocking on his door, the God of Justice not only refrained from violence, but instead inquired about the Godspawn's purpose. After learning of its intentions, the God of Justice surprisingly agreed to assist it, but at the same time, he set a condition: the Godspawn must use its power to eliminate the other gods in the Upper Planes for him. For reasons unknown (perhaps just a whim), the Godspawn actually agreed to the God of Justice's proposal, and thus, the two formed an alliance.

While the power of the Godspawn is formidable, the gods are not to be underestimated. Because it wields negative energy, the God of Justice tasked it with eliminating gods belonging to the evil camp and seizing their power. Of course, in wars against higher-ranking gods, the God of Justice personally intervenes. Once he unleashes his so-called "talent," even the most powerful gods become extremely weak. Although the Godspawn has its doubts, it hasn't paid much attention to it.

As for the question that Li Lin was most concerned about, the Godspawn couldn't give a clear answer either. After all, it had always been active in the Upper Planes, and it only learned of the destruction of the Magic Empire from the God of Justice after the destruction itself. Therefore, the Godspawn was vague about what methods the God of Justice had used to eliminate the Arcane Mage. However, according to the information it had obtained, the God of Justice had indeed intervened in the war against the Magic Empire, but no one knew exactly how.

Although he didn't gain anything on the most important matter, Li Lin still managed to uncover some points of doubt. For example, ten years before the destruction of the Magic Empire, the God of Justice suddenly disappeared. If it weren't for the fact that his divine realm still existed, the Godspawn might have even thought he had been killed by other gods. Then, fifty years later, according to the Prime Material Plane, the God of Justice returned to his divine realm, boasting to the Godspawn about his feat of destroying the Magic Empire. Of course, the Godspawn didn't believe him at the time. Arcane Mage had been killing Godspawn like mobs on the Prime Material Plane; even though he was a god, it was impossible for him to have done so. Destroying an empire single-handedly. However, this wasn't what the Godspawn cared about. What he truly desired was to become a god and destroy the entire plane (a truly illogical notion). The God of Justice promised him he would make him a god (of course, the God of Justice was unaware of his motives), and the Godspawn chose to join forces with him precisely because he valued the God of Justice's talent, which was completely different from that of other gods. Therefore, he didn't care about the Prime Material Plane. In fact, from a certain perspective, the Godspawn even believed the God of Justice was lying. After all, deep down, the Godspawn considered the Magic Empire and Arcane Mage virtually invincible.

As for where the God of Justice went during those fifty years, the Godspawn didn't have a clear answer. However, Li Lin quickly grasped one point: when the Godspawn recalled the God of Justice returning to his divine realm, he was shocked by how much time had passed. Fortunately, during that time, he had already eliminated most of the gods; otherwise, his divine realm would definitely have been seized by other gods.

Wherever he went, it must have been a place where time flowed completely differently from that of the Upper Planes.

Li Lin kept this in mind.

However, this is not the only point of contention.

According to Godspawn, the God of Justice attacked the gods in a rather bizarre way. When he encountered the God of Justice, although he didn't know how many gods the God of Justice had already destroyed, he was still only Intermediate God. However, shortly after meeting Godspawn, he directly challenged the Three Supreme Gods and destroyed them. Although the God of Justice's purpose is unknown, according to Godspawn's recollection, after destroying the Three Supreme Gods, the God of Justice became Greater God. But he clearly wasn't satisfied with this, so he launched challenges and attacks on other gods. As for the gods residing in the Upper Planes, they obviously didn't expect that an Intermediate God could destroy the Three Supreme Gods, catching them off guard and causing them great misfortune. The attack on the Magic Empire happened after this.

Although the God of Justice's purpose is unclear, this analysis suggests that God of Justice Three Supreme Gods to achieve a certain goal. When that goal was not achieved, he turned his attention to other gods, and ultimately, he set his sights on the Magic Empire.

But why did the God of Justice want to destroy the Magic Empire?

Because of the Great Book of Law?

Li Lin shook his head. He had already probed the Godspawn with words. In fact, the God of Justice was unaware of the value of the Great Book of Law. He had only heard the God of Storms mention the book during their battle, and only then did he take it seriously, retrieving it from the Temple of the Three Supreme Gods and placing it under strict guard. The Godspawn himself was also unclear about the relationship between the Great Book of Law and Arcane Mage, and based on the information previously provided by the God of Light and others, the God of Justice seemed equally unaware.

The reason why he wanted to destroy the Magic Empire remained a mystery to Li Lin.

However, a remark from the Godspawn made Li Lin frown deeply.

It believes that the God of Justice may have gone to the Astral Plane.

As Outer Planes, whose life goal is to "destroy all life and planes," these Godspawn are masters of dimensional travel. After the mysterious disappearance and return of the God of Justice, although he focused his energy on eliminating other gods, he would disappear again when most of them were gone, each time for decades. As beings with extensive experience in dimensional travel, these Godspawn naturally noticed something strange about this.

For Li Lin, this was more than just "something" strange.

The Astral Plane is a wondrous place, and also the final resting place of the gods. Those gods who tragically perish in the struggles of the Upper Planes may be stripped of their divine status and office, but their personalities remain. The difference is that without the support of their divine office, their personalities naturally lose all power. Afterward, the remains of these gods drift to the Astral Plane, where they endure an eternal and hopeless slumber. Even if Goddess of Fortune upon them again, they cannot rise from there alive. For the gods, the Astral Plane is naturally one of the places they least want to go. Even in Li Lin's Astral Plane Meeting Room, the gods never show themselves except for formal meetings. After all, the feeling of being in a graveyard filled with the corpses of their friends and enemies is not pleasant.

What is the God of Justice doing in the Astral Plane?

Li Lin hadn't figured out this problem either, but he didn't plan to think about it for the time being.

Because these are the only clues that the Godspawn can provide, and they are the product of my own efforts to piece together the messy information he gave me. Who knows if there will be any errors?

Thank you for your help.

After confirming that he hadn't missed anything, Li Lin finally showed a slight smile.

This made Godspawn even more nervous.

"Although I know very well that if I release you here, you'll return to Upper Planes and fight the God of Justice to the death. While theoretically, dog-eat-dog combat is a scene I'd love to see, however..."

As he spoke, Li Lin extended his right hand. A magical glow suddenly appeared in the magical runes on the back of his hand.

"As I said, I don't trust a bunch of inherently chaotic scum like you. Who knows if you'll team up with him again after you go back? I don't like controlling the unpredictable, nor do I like allowing such things to exist, so I can only regretfully inform you... you should prepare to meet your compatriots."

As he spoke, Li Lin raised his right hand—then he quickly looked up, alertly gazing at the sky. He sensed an unstable flow of energy, something that wouldn't normally attract Li Lin's attention, but this was a battlefield, and any oversight could lead to defeat.

It was his caution that saved Li Lin's life, because the moment Li Lin looked up, a dazzling point of light appeared in the sky, then tore through the thick clouds and burst down, displaying unprecedented power.

A massive and terrifying beam of light descended from the sky, shooting straight towards the ground. The Temporary Mythal that had enveloped the Council Square was easily shattered before it could even offer any resistance. However, the beam didn't stop there; it swiftly continued downwards, aiming directly at Li Lin's body. Faced with this sudden attack, Li Lin decisively abandoned any thought of resistance. Five layers of protection flashed onto his body in an instant, followed by a spatial teleportation effect that made Li Lin's figure appear ethereal. Just as the massive beam of light shattered his fourth layer of protection, Li Lin had already used spatial teleportation to escape in time.

As the Temporary Mythal was destroyed, the Godspawn, whose power had been suppressed, broke free from Li Lin's magical restraints for the first time. It roared and raised its hand, and negative energy, almost tangible, began to condense and gather in its palm. However, before the Godspawn could display its god-like power, the enormous beam of light pierced through its body. Then, as it was swallowed by a torrent of pure white light, the Godspawn's figure vanished into nothingness.

Only then did the deafening roar erupt from the sky, like a belated follower, rushing straight to the ground with a violent whirlwind. The roaring, deafening thunder finally burst forth, and the air currents, powerful enough to sweep away everything, spread in all directions. Even Li Lin felt as if he were in the eye of a storm, unable to maintain his balance at all.

Could it be the God of Justice?!

Li Lin, who managed to teleport away in time with the help of magic, was secretly alarmed. If he hadn't just happened to sense the faint energy gathering above his head, that blast might have been enough to kill him. Although he managed to dodge the attack by forcibly teleporting through space, the protective magic on Li Lin's body was almost completely destroyed. Since returning to this world, this was the first time that so many of Li Lin's defensive lines had been torn apart by an enemy in a single attack.

Despite his relief, Li Lin remained vigilant. He quickly replenished his defenses and then cautiously watched the sky. He sensed the energy fluctuations, and to Li Lin surprise, the attack only occurred once, followed by silence. Furthermore, he couldn't discern the source of the attack from his senses. Even Yi Aier's bombardment was purely Magic Power, but this beam of light didn't belong to Magic Power or divine power; it seemed to be simply pure force, yet he couldn't pinpoint its exact nature.

Who exactly launched this attack?

If it is the God of Justice, when did he acquire such a powerful weapon? If not, then who would want to attack him?

Li Lin warily surveyed his surroundings. If this was a new enemy, how could it have gotten so close without him noticing, and even be able to kill Godspawn with a single blow? Judging from this power alone, it was definitely not to be underestimated. Although Li Lin could also kill Godspawn with a single blow, that would require establishing Temporary Mythal to significantly suppress the opponent's power. Otherwise, to eliminate Godspawn whose core was negative energy, he would have to rely on Yi Aier's magical bombardment.

Who exactly is it?

Li Lin waited for a long time, but no second attack occurred. Perhaps this was a pre-emptive attack with a time limit? Or had the opponent left because they realized they were on guard after their first attack missed? Could it be that the God of Justice discovered the Godspawn's betrayal and was using this opportunity to silence him? Or had he planned to use the Godspawn to distract him so he could stab him in the back?

One possibility after another appeared in Li Lin's mind, but after thinking for a long time, Li Lin still couldn't come up with an answer. Nevertheless, he turned around and walked slowly and cautiously toward Council Square.

Council Square is no longer the same as it was just now.

Although the battle between Li Lin and the Godspawn had already devastated this place, it paled in comparison to the terrifying bombardment. Under the immense energy impact, only a bottomless, pitch-black crater remained on the earth, and the surrounding rubble had long been washed away by the subsequent turbulent currents. In an instant, this place became the cleanest and tidiest place imaginable; apart from the shocking hole, not even a single stone remained. The entire central area of City of the Federation had been completely leveled, as clean as if it had been swept, with not a speck of dust visible. The dust had long since been transformed into something harder and shinier by the intense heat.

The air was thick with intense heat, almost suffocating. In fact, under such a powerful bombardment, it was difficult for anything to survive and endure the "suffocation" experience.

Although Li Lin had put on several layers of protection, he still felt like he was standing on the edge of a volcano. As for that Godspawn, unfortunately, it seemed that it had truly vanished without a trace, not even leaving half a fragment.

As Li Lin strolled around, he slowly surveyed his surroundings. Then, his gaze settled on a dark spot next to the large hole, and he widened his eyes in surprise.

Just then, a voice rang out.

"That damn human, can't he just be normal for once?!"