Chapter 107: Becoming Your God (X)

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Chapter 107: Becoming Your God (X)

Shang Ke had noticed that Lord War God had been acting a little strange lately. Whether he had anything to do or not, he liked appearing in front of Shang Ke every day. He rarely spoke; he simply moved about with his robes billowing dramatically, making his presence impossible to ignore.

If Shang Ke didn’t know that Saya was currently a god lacking emotions and desires, he would almost have thought Saya was using his heroic physique and domineering aura to attract his attention.

After all, Shang Ke had done the same thing himself. He had once subtly shown off his impressive physique, wild bearing, and sexy animal-hide skirt… Yet Saya had remained completely unmoved. Shang Ke guessed that Saya probably wasn’t into burly men. In the past, Shang Ke had always gone for the refined-handsome-man route; switching styles so abruptly was probably something Saya couldn’t get used to overnight.

Later, Shang Ke gave up too. To him, the slow, steady companionship of an old married couple was more reassuring. He wanted Saya’s love, but he didn’t want Saya to suffer the pain of losing him every time after giving his heart. Feelings that burned too fiercely might eventually consume him completely.

So this was fine. Let nature take its course, and quietly stay by each other’s side.

Shang Ke watched the War God surge into view before him like a dark cloud having a fit, and an involuntary sunny smile spread across his face: (≧ˇ≦).

The gloom Saya had accumulated over the past several days vanished in an instant beneath the assault of that smile.

Saya decided to give him a little more time to realize just how much he had been neglecting and slighting this War God.

Shang Ke was about to ask Lord War God directly what exactly he was up to, dropping by every other day like this. By now, all the gods knew that he and the War God “had something going on,” and not a single god dared come looking for trouble anymore.

Saya saw that Shang Ke seemed about to say something, so he flicked his sleeve and waited at his leisure. Instead, Shang Ke’s expression suddenly changed from (^ ^) to ( °△°), and then, without warning, he vanished before Saya’s eyes like a bursting bubble.

Saya’s expression darkened. Spreading out his divine consciousness, he discovered that Shang Ke’s spirit form had already left the royal capital and returned to Mount Ateya, where his true-body idol stood.

What happened? Saya frowned, then disappeared in a flash and sped toward Mount Ateya as well.

Shang Ke had left so abruptly because he had received a distress signal from the Shu Clan. When he reached Mount Ateya, he was met by a raging inferno. Scorching currents of air roiled upward, dyeing the black sky bloodred. Countless animals fled, struggled, and wailed amid the sea of fire, as though the mountain had become hell on earth.

The Shu Clan’s homes had all been swallowed by the flames. Their farmland, estates, flower fields… everything had gone up in smoke. The clansmen were now gathered around the Evil God’s temple. The young and able-bodied hacked desperately at the nearby trees with knives and axes, while the elderly, women, and children crowded inside the temple, kneeling before the idol in tears and prayer.

Looking at them, anger surged in Shang Ke’s chest. Are you idiots? Why aren’t you fleeing down the mountain? If I hadn’t come back, were you planning to wait here to die? The temple can be rebuilt if it’s destroyed. I don’t need you risking yourselves for nothing!

The flames raced uphill like a maddened beast, lunging ferociously toward the temple.

There was no time to stay angry. Shang Ke grabbed at empty air, and a stone hammer instantly appeared in his hand. He rushed toward a nearby peak, gathered all his power, and smashed the hammer hard against the cliff face.

A deafening boom rang out. Rocks sprayed in every direction, and heaven and earth trembled.

At the sound, the Shu clansmen all looked toward the source. High in the air, a muscular figure was swinging a massive hammer, striking the cliff face again and again.

“God Uno!” The Shu clansmen burst into cheers. The grief and despair on their faces were instantly replaced by joy and hope.

Their god had come to save them!

Shang Ke ignored the cheers below and continued hammering the cliff. His power drained away without pause, and his figure gradually began to flicker in and out.

Hiss—! A jet of water suddenly burst from the cracked stone. A moment later came several sharp cracks as the rock split farther apart, and a huge water dragon surged out, passing through Shang Ke’s translucent body and pouring down into the sea of fire below.

Shang Ke looked back. The torrent was still some distance from the temple. Without an outside force to guide it, there was no way it could extinguish the fierce blaze rapidly advancing toward the temple.

Shang Ke put away the hammer and used his divine power to split the water, drawing off several streams that flew toward the temple like ribbons. He was not a god associated with water; he was accomplishing all of this purely through brute divine power. No other god would waste their power this way. Not only would it do nothing to increase their strength, it would drain away the divine power they had accumulated in the past.

As an unforgivably wicked Evil God, he nevertheless had a heart bent on saving all living beings. In this world, there was probably no god more “derelict in duty” than Shang Ke.

Streams of water poured over the flames, sending thick black smoke billowing into the air.

The Shu clansmen cheered loudly amid the falling droplets, their joy written plainly across their faces. None of them knew that their god had nearly exhausted all his divine power to save them.

Just a little longer. The fire would be extinguished soon.

Shang Ke’s body was nearly transparent. Divine power poured endlessly out of him, and all his attention was fixed on the fire. He never noticed the danger closing in.

“Unos, I never thought you would rise from the ashes again.” A violent voice suddenly sounded behind him. “You don’t actually think you’ll get another chance to recover your former strength, do you?”

Shang Ke’s heart jolted. He turned and saw a fire serpent rushing straight at him.

Just as it was about to swallow him, the fire serpent exploded with a boom less than three meters away, as though something had blocked it.

The next moment, Saya’s tall figure appeared in front of Shang Ke.

“War God Saya?” The firelight filling the sky slowly converged, gradually taking the shape of a burly man.

Shang Ke looked past Saya’s shoulder at the man. He wore robes shaped like flames, with a head of thick, unruly curls and a vicious-looking face. He resembled a ferocious lion in human form.

Shang Ke remembered that the System’s information had mentioned several other gods who had fought against the Evil God alongside the War God. The Fire God Helu had been among them, but there had been no detailed explanation because, in the Evil God’s eyes back then, Helu had been little more than an ant.

So the fire had not been an accident at all; the Fire God had deliberately caused it. Presumably, his followers had discovered the Shu Clan living near the Evil God’s temple and drawn Helu’s attention. One god could not destroy another, but if they killed all of the other god’s worshipers, or if their power level far exceeded the other’s, they could seal them away. Although such a seal would only last for a limited time, it could continuously weaken the sealed god.

More than a thousand years had passed since the War God sealed the Evil God beneath Mount Ateya. The seal had long since vanished, and now that the Evil God had worshipers again, he was finally able to reappear in the world.

“Helu, what are you trying to do?” Saya asked coldly.

“What am I trying to do?” The Fire God found the question bizarre. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to seal the Evil God again.”

Saya glanced at the mountain forest below, most of it already burned to ruin. “Setting fire to a mountain and bringing ruin upon living creatures—is this how you seal him?”

“I wasn’t the one who started the fire,” the Fire God argued. “My followers took a fancy to the Shu Clan’s ironware and wanted to trade with them. They were refused, and that was what started the conflict.”

“This mountain forest is heavy with moisture. Without your blessing, how could the fire possibly have spread this fiercely?” Saya remained unmoved.

The Fire God snapped angrily, “Saya, isn’t the most important thing right now sealing the Evil God?”

“Unos is under my supervision now. Whether he is sealed is for me to decide.” Saya stood in front of Shang Ke, enveloping him within his domain.

The Fire God stared at him in disbelief. “You’re supervising him? You mean you’re letting him develop his own power right under your nose?”

“That’s right.”

“Have you gone mad, Saya?” the Fire God roared. “He is the Evil God Unos. Once he grows strong again, the continent will inevitably be plunged back into bloody slaughter.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

“How can you guarantee that? Will you stake your godhood on it?”

Saya’s gaze turned icy. “Are you questioning me?”

Under Saya’s intimidating pressure, the Fire God immediately shut his mouth, though he continued glaring viciously at Shang Ke.

Saya shifted half a step without making it obvious, blocking the Fire God’s line of sight.

The Fire God did not think much of the gesture. He simply could not understand why the War God was protecting this future disaster. Was he planning to wait until Unos grew stronger, then seal him again for a greater sense of accomplishment?

Furious and knowing he would not be able to seal the Evil God today, the Fire God spat out several bursts of flame in frustration before leaving in a huff.

Only after Helu left did Saya turn back to Shang Ke. His divine power was so weak that he could barely hold his spirit form together.

Saya instantly shifted to Shang Ke’s side and supported his body with divine power. Just as he was about to help stabilize his form, Shang Ke broke apart into countless specks of starlight and abruptly vanished before his eyes.

Saya remained with one hand held out, a sharp pain suddenly piercing his chest. An unfamiliar emotion welled up in his heart and spread through his entire body, making even his spirit form feel strangely heavy.

What was happening? Saya pressed a hand to his chest, his expression grave.

The fire on Mount Ateya was extinguished, and the Shu clansmen rejoiced. They had no idea what had happened between the three gods because Saya had erected a barrier. To them, all they had seen was their god displaying his divine might, smashing open the mountainside with a hammer and drawing out water to quench the flames, saving all their lives.

With his power exhausted, Shang Ke once again reverted to a state of divine consciousness without a spirit form. Unlike before, however, he now had many worshipers. It would not take long for him to recover his power.

Five days later, Shang Ke gathered his spirit form once more. This time, however, something was different. During the process, his body underwent an unexpected transformation, becoming denser, sturdier, and more substantial until, in the end, it actually turned into a physical body.

He now had short jet-black hair, a well-proportioned build, taut powerful muscles, bronze skin, and long legs. The sexy animal-hide skirt around his waist was gone, but the ferocious mask still remained on his face.

Shang Ke couldn’t help wondering: Could this mask actually be his face?!

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