Chapter 676: The First Meeting With a Deity (Two-in-One)

Thor threw out a hook.

Yan Jing knew it was a hook.

And it was a hook prepared specifically for him.

But it was hard for him not to bite.

Because he really wanted to know how Thor had seen through it.

There were many powerful entities in this world, and quite a few invincible ones. Why was Thor the only one to notice?

Even if Thor ultimately said he had just guessed, Yan Jing would accept it.

"What do you want?"

Yan Jing spoke slowly.

"When the new world is established, I want the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom to safely endure for ten thousand years," Thor said softly.

His mechanized face showed no expression, but Yan Jing still felt as though he were looking at a dying old man entrusting him with his final wishes.

He knew he couldn't survive.

Yan Jing wouldn't let him live.

"There might not be a new world," Yan Jing said, looking at him.

"There will definitely be a new world." Thor's eyes were resolute.

"Alright."

Yan Jing nodded.

A soft, mechanical hum emanated from Thor's body, as if he were draining the last dregs of divinity and weird energy from within himself before he slowly spoke:

"You are radiating a different kind of divine radiance right now."

"At the intersections of that divine radiance, there are shadows of a group of entities."

"Perhaps you haven't noticed them yourself, but I saw them."

As Thor finished speaking, Yan Jing looked down at himself.

Divine radiance flickered in his eyes as he pushed his perception to its absolute limits, and he truly did notice some clues at those intersections.

Those illusory shadows contained the silhouettes of his other identities.

Why was this happening?

He looked at Thor, whose metal-bordered lips curled into a slight smile.

"Legend has it that when a Demigod is about to fall, they can see things within their dissipating divinity that only Deities can see—namely... the new world."

"It's only a legend, and no one believes it. After all, if a Demigod is dying, even if they see something, they can't prove it."

"But... my situation is different."

"The injuries you inflicted on me were not severe, but they refuse to heal. I am very old. Under such wounds, I could only watch my life approach its end. I used countless methods to barely maintain my life like a candle in the wind."

"Those juniors thought I was simply afraid to die for the sake of the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom, but beyond that, I was also waiting for you."

Thor smiled as he gazed at Yan Jing.

"I was waiting for Xue Mo, but when I saw Mao Si, I realized that Xue Mo and Mao Si were actually the same person."

"I really did see the new world, right inside you."

"Now, aside from the Deities, there are two people in this world who know about the new world."

"You must be very lonely. After I die, you'll be the only one in the world who knows this secret again."

As his words faded, the faint humming around his body stuttered to a halt, plunging him into total silence.

His eyes, too, gradually dimmed.

"I hope you can keep your word."

Thor spoke his final words. All the electronic circuits across his body lost their luster, and his massive frame collapsed to the ground, never to move again.

Starting from his legs, his body slowly dissolved into divine radiance.

Yan Jing watched this scene with a calm expression.

It wasn't until Thor's body completely vanished that he finally resumed his previous actions, absorbing the entire Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom into his Screen.

Bobo and the others were still a bit bewildered. Just as they were killing with gusto, they realized all the mechanical entities in front of them had fallen dead silent.

Looking up, they saw a great curtain appear in the sky, sucking everything inside.

Yan Jing was already sweeping the battlefield.

It was only after everything was done and they found him that Yan Jing spoke softly:

"Let's move out. On to the next Domain. I only have one requirement: be fast."

Following Yan Jing's order, the Cat Ship acted like a longsword, cleaving through the clouds and space ahead as it began a true "sweep."

A "sweep" in the truest sense of the word.

None of the Domains in the Inner World that had yet to cross over to the Surface World could withstand a clash with the Cat Ship.

The blood of Yan Jing flowed through the bodies of those who had reached the Summit, granting them the most powerful strength available at the Summit Tier. Strictly speaking, they were even Yan Jing's offspring, masterpieces forged by his own hands now that he was a Demigod.

Such blood would be passed down to their own descendants, generation after generation, just like those enduring bloodline factions.

During the sweep, Yan Jing only took action when an enemy commander put up a stubborn resistance. The rest of the time, he sat at the bow of the Ship, pondering Thor's words.

'Thor said that aside from him, Deities can also see them.'

'When was the last time I saw a Deity? The Tower. Back then, I hadn't obtained a Divine Throne yet.'

'And after that? I don't think I have.'

'Thor could only see my other identities. But if it were a Deity, could they see even more?'

'If I encountered a Deity now, could I win?'

Yan Jing reached out his hand, and weird energy burst from his palm.

Current Demigods weren't much different from ordinary entities to him now.

He was looking further ahead.

His sights were already set on the Deities.

Perhaps even... above the Deities.

If even the Source of Mutation was created by some other entity, then even if he became a Deity, he wouldn't necessarily be completely safe.

If such an entity truly existed, it definitely wouldn't want to see him rising at this speed.

Or perhaps, his rapid rise... was precisely because of that entity.

Yan Jing thought of his role-playing system.

When he first arrived in this world and touched the River of Time, he didn't have this system.

It wasn't until later, when he emerged from the River of Time for the last time and the river never appeared again, that he acquired the role-playing system.

'Where did this system... come from?'

The doubts in Yan Jing's heart grew heavier.

He thought for a moment, then slowly stood up.

He couldn't figure it out just by thinking about it.

He was going to ask someone.

No, to be precise, he was going to ask a Deity.

Right now, even he didn't know exactly what level he had reached.

After surpassing the Demigod Realm, he had long since lost the concept of Tiers. And if the standard for becoming a Deity was requiring another Deity to give up their position... well, he had created his two Divine Thrones himself. On these two paths, he was the only one.

So, did that mean he was already considered a Deity?

Could it be measured like that?

After thinking it over, he realized he had found his target.

It was impossible for every Deity to originate from the legacy of a predecessor.

Lower Deities, especially those on a Pathway where an upper Deity existed, definitely had the experience of breaking through from a Demigod to a Deity.

'I'll ask them.'

...

...

Surface World.

Yueyin.

Yan Jing's main body took a step forward and appeared right in front of Zheng Youlan in the Central Region just as she finished absorbing a Divine Throne, giving her a massive fright.

Zheng Youlan looked in terror at Yan Jing, who had popped out of nowhere, and took a deep breath.

"Why... why are you here?"

She didn't know what level Yan Jing had reached, or whether he had stepped into the Demigod Realm. But the Deity Ascension Roll clearly stated that while at the Tenth Tier, Yan Jing had defied the odds to slay the inheritor of the Hand of Victory, a Demigod who was ranked thirty-seventh at the time.

And... he had done it in a single strike, sustaining extremely light injuries.

If it were her, she wouldn't even dare to imagine such a thing.

Forget a single strike; even to beat the opponent, she had to rely on Yan Jing's blood.

So even though she had already advanced to a Demigod, she still maintained utmost respect when facing Yan Jing.

Furthermore... for some reason, she felt that compared to before, the current Yan Jing was even more unfathomable.

She was the one who had advanced, yet somehow it felt as though she had regressed.

"I came to see you about something."

Yan Jing's expression was calm.

"What information do you have on Deities who haven't yet given away their Divine Thrones?"

"...Ah... Huh? ...Oh, right away, please wait a moment, I'll look for it now."

Zheng Youlan snapped out of her daze at Yan Jing's words and nodded frantically. A booklet materialized in her hands, and she began to flip through it.

She understood. Yan Jing must have failed to advance to a Demigod, which was why he was coming to her for information on Divine Thrones at this point in time.

It seemed that advancing on a miscellaneous path was difficult after all. Even if the opposing Deity had offered a Divine Throne, successfully absorbing it wasn't guaranteed.

Zheng Youlan sighed inwardly, feeling a pang of pity for Yan Jing.

If a powerful Divine Envoy like Yan Jing advanced to a Demigod, one could only imagine the spectacular results.

Soon, she handed Yan Jing the clues regarding the Deities who had yet to give away their Divine Thrones.

"After all, the Domain Revelation has already begun. Most of the Divine Thrones have been claimed by various heavenly prodigies. There are only so many left..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yan Jing nodded.

"Filter out the batch with the highest success rate and the weakest strength for me."

'Highest success rate... weakest strength...'

Hearing Yan Jing's request, Zheng Youlan became even more convinced of her guess and sighed inwardly again.

For a terrifying genius like Yan Jing to ultimately seek out the weakest Demigods to succeed... his inner reluctance and frustration were palpable.

It wasn't even impossible that he might completely fail to advance in the end.

In any other era, he would at least be the number one person beneath the Deities, a living legend.

But unfortunately, this was the era of Advent Day.

It could only be said that his luck was poor.

Pushing down the myriad thoughts in her mind, she finally nodded. "Alright, please wait a moment."

Soon, three pieces of information were handed to Yan Jing.

Absurdity Pathway: [Absurd Imp]

Imperial Dao Pathway: [World-Suppressing King]

Virtue Pathway: [World-Illuminating Mirror]

Yan Jing looked over the information of the three and nodded.

"Let's go. To this one."

Before Zheng Youlan could react, she and Yan Jing appeared in an ancestral hall deep within an old mountain forest in the northern part of the Central Region.

"..."

Zheng Youlan's eyes went wide as she looked around in a panic.

She had no idea what had just happened, and she hadn't even felt any fluctuations of weird energy.

How was this possible?

She looked at Yan Jing.

Was this man truly destined to be the number one person beneath the Deities? She couldn't see through him even after becoming a Demigod.

Perhaps his strength had reached a level she couldn't even imagine.

"What are you spacing out for? Come in." Yan Jing stood inside the dilapidated ancestral hall and looked back at Zheng Youlan.

"C-coming."

Zheng Youlan replied hastily, hurrying to catch up in a few quick steps.

The ancestral hall wasn't large. It was structured like a small courtyard, with the entire yard measuring barely thirty or forty square meters, making it feel extremely cramped.

Moss-covered bluestone slabs were paved unevenly across the ground, with yellow mud exposed where the stones didn't meet.

Right in the center sat a well.

Yan Jing raised his hand, and a ball of accumulated rainwater floated up from the well and landed in his palm.

He grasped the water ball and walked into the main hall facing the gate. Aiming at the spirit tablets arranged on the altar, he counted to the fourth one from the left and threw the water ball.

Smash—

The water ball splattered into countless droplets.

The spirit tablet shattered to pieces.

A split second later, an incredibly profound and mysterious aura descended within the ancestral hall.

'It's here...'

As the date of the revelation of the gods drew closer, the auras of the Deities became increasingly dense whenever contact was made. The day before yesterday, she had witnessed someone reaching out to an upper Deity, and the scene felt just like a Deity descending in person.

And now, even a Deity of the lowest rank was erupting with a terrifying presence.

"Who has awakened me?"

A voice brimming with majesty echoed from the air, accompanied by the phantoms of countless soaring dragons. A vast divine aura descended, instantly transforming the dilapidated room into an imperial court surging with dragon-like majesty.

An illusory figure materialized on a chair in the corner of the room, gazing toward Yan Jing and Zheng Youlan.

Yan Jing looked at the figure and was just about to speak when something completely unexpected happened.

The figure suddenly stood up and charged straight toward the door where the two were standing.

!!!

Zheng Youlan shuddered in terror.

She never imagined that this Deity would choose to strike at this moment!

The revelation of the gods hadn't even begun, and it was strictly forbidden for Deities to take action. Yet, the entity in front of her was risking heavenly punishment just to attack them.

What was going on?

Had he recognized the threat Yan Jing posed?

There was no time to think. The opponent moved as fast as light and was already right in front of her.

That terrifying divine aura frightened her so badly it felt like she had fallen into an ice cavern; she couldn't even muster a single thought of resistance.

But...

In the next instant, the figure shoved her aside.

"Get out of the way!!!"

Then, it bolted for the door.

Zheng Youlan slammed heavily into the wall, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Dazed, she stared at the doorway, still failing to comprehend what had just happened.

But... Yan Jing seemed to have figured it out.

He reached out his hand, and a gray hue spread from his fingertips, instantly locking down all the surrounding space and freezing time.

He then looked at the illusory figure frozen in midair.

"Senior, why do you feel the need to run right after seeing me?"

Yan Jing's tone was calm.

The phantom's reaction, however, was extremely intense:

"Let me go!!!"

"We are colleagues at the very least! I've never done evil in my life, so why must I end up being slaughtered?!"

"I refuse to accept this!!!"

The figure's tone was thick with resentment, filled with hatred toward the injustice of heaven and earth. The resentment surged into the sky, tearing a slight rift in the gray space around them.

Yan Jing blinked.

The amount of information in those words seemed tremendous.