The Era of Gods

“I wonder who the lucky one will be to get this treasure!”

Under the watchful eyes of numerous powerful gazes, a new round of matching had begun.

Lin Xiao and Shen Yuexin seriously encouraged each other and entered the virtual plane.

As they entered the virtual plane, an unknown void stirred as a great sun dispersed rolling void energy, with billions of divine lights purifying the void millions of miles away. Inside the space, void creatures scurried to escape, not daring to linger, and through the invisible distortions, one could vaguely see a vast world within the sun.

Enshrouded by endless light, three indistinct figures stood tall above infinite divine light deep inside this world. In front of them was the scene from God’s Tomb’s square.

These three figures bore no clear hierarchy amongst them. However, it was noticeable that the divine light of the central figure was slightly dimmer — it was Major General Keri.

To his left and right, one of them was the significant figure from China’s Military Department who had previously descended into God’s Tomb to communicate with Major General Keri. As for the other, it was a high-ranking figure who had hurried over from the Ivy League Alliance of High Schools.

At the moment, the three of them were intently watching the scene on the light screen of the God’s Tomb’s square, as Major General Keri remarked:

“Such youthful vitality, brimming with youthful vigor!”

Major General Keri was rather emotional, his gaze drifting beyond the skies, seemingly reminiscing about his past.

The figure from China’s Military Department glanced at the other figure beside him and laughed:

“This scene reminds me of the past. Back then, in the four-way exchange competition, I was spirited and led my teammates to defeat all rivals, claiming first place in the competition. How similar it is to today’s scene!”

Upon hearing this, the other figure’s divine light twisted and expanded as if about to explode, but quickly deflated:

“Hmph!”

He snorted coldly without saying a word, while the big shot from China laughed heartily, clearly very proud.

Major General Keri, however, paid them no attention, muttering to himself:

“It brings me great joy to see the present Main World so strong, and new generations of elites emerging.”

“Your Excellency need not worry; once we return to Faust, the great Immortal King will personally recreate your Soul of God.”

The significant figure from the Ivy League Alliance of High Schools reassured him.

The unknown figure from the China’s department also nodded:

“Radiance, that emperor, would also be willing to personally help your Excellency.”

Upon hearing this, Major General Keri only smiled and waved his hand, saying: “Remaking my Soul of God would be equivalent to recreating a Powerful Divine Power, which would have a huge impact on both Their Majesties’ strength.” “The emperors wouldn’t mind.”

“But I do!”

He said firmly:

“After returning to the Main World, I will seek out still-living old friends. I will trouble you all at that time. Once my wishes are fulfilled, I can then return to Gaia’s Primeval Sea in peace.”

The two figures from different powers fell silent for a while before a voice finally spoke:

“Has your Excellency really decided to return to the Source Sea?”

Major General Keri did not answer but observed the light screen in front of him with interest for a while before suddenly saying:

“An interesting young man!”

The other two were somewhat perplexed, their gaze shifting to the inside of the God’s Tomb. Unlike various instructors and observers who could only see a few competitors within the God’s Tomb, their greater strength allowed them to see battles within the virtual plane, but they could only see the battles happening in the plane, not what the competitors were doing or what cards they possessed.

Their gazes passed over the five young men and women preparing for battle, wondering:

“What’s interesting about them?”

Major General Keri smiled without answering. As the Lord of the God’s Tomb, he had a full view of everything within the tomb and could see things others couldn’t.

He knew clearly what cards the five youths in the virtual plane held and their effects. That’s why he noticed something unusual about the cards in Lin Xiao’s hand.

Although all the cards drawn by the competitors were virtualizations of that Different Treasure, as the Lord of the God’s Tomb, he was well aware that these cards, even though they were false, could also be real. Being the master of those Different Treasures, he knew that some of the cards in Lin Xiao’s hand were not the original cards.

He guessed that the young man had used some special Ancient Treasure to change these cards, and he was familiar with that Ancient Treasure.

He hadn’t noticed before, nor would he have minded, because this was inherently a testament to strength and potential.

Major General Keri had no intention of probing further, nor did he intend to share this with the two behind him; he was merely interested in observing the young man.

Whether it was because of his own status or because he had already decided to return to the Source Sea, he had no interest in a young man’s treasure.

Besides, he saw no distinction between the China’s Department and the Ivy League Alliance of High Schools; he came from an era of the Earth United Nations, and in his eyes, the Main World was all the same.

The previous advantage given to the competitor from the Ivy League Alliance was merely a request from an old friend.

Suddenly, his eyelids twitched. In the second just past, right under his eyes, one of the cards in the young man’s hand disappeared without a trace, and as the Lord of the God’s Tomb, he couldn’t sense where the card had gone.

“Really interesting!”

Glancing back at the two behind him, they had not noticed this detail at all.

Above the virtual plane, Lin Xiao had yet to choose a match as he was currently merging cards.

After much consideration, he eventually decided to disintegrate the Demon Legion Card capable of summoning five thousand Berserk Demons and integrate it into the Undead Army Card.

The reason was simple: While the Berserk Demons were powerful, the Demons were hard to control, and a main force losing control during an intense battle would be hugely problematic.

Undead are much easier to control by comparison, and they don’t become much weaker when strengthened.

As the Magic Cube slowly rotated above the Sea of Gods, the two Cards completely fused into one with an intense crystalline glow.

Ancient Five Star Soldier Card—Undead Legion: Summons an Undead Legion ruled by twelve Sixth Level Grand Magician Skeletons, including an army of fifty thousand Undead.

Carefully inspecting the Card, one could clearly know the specific composition of the fifty thousand-strong Undead Army.

Just as he had anticipated, although the five thousand Furious Demons had disappeared after the fusion, there were now five thousand enhanced Skeleton warriors among the Undead, as well as several thousand Undead whose strength lay between Rank 2 and Rank 3 from the fusion of the other two Soldier Cards.

With the Card in hand, Lin Xiao was brimming with confidence.

Combined with the Flame Melting Sea Card, whether he needed cannon fodder or a main force, he had it all, in addition to an overwhelming high-end combat force: twelve Sixth Level Transcendent Undead Great Wizards, more than a dozen Transcendent Fire Elements—his military power was simply explosive.

Clasping these two Cards, Lin Xiao had the illusion that he could slay gods if they blocked him and demons if they stood in his way.

Full of confidence, he pointed and clicked to match, and a mechanical voice rose:

“Match successful, congratulations on the bye!”

“????? A bye?”

His breath hung midway as if, at the moment of climax, a fleshlight suddenly malfunctioned, leaving him hanging so badly that he couldn’t say a curse for a long time.

He had already thought about what to say to each of the other four competitors, and whether he would receive acclaim from the observers if he were to eliminate Aria, the last player from the Ivy League Alliance of High Schools.

He had thought about how to win gracefully if he came up against Wu Zhonglin, the gifted player.

He had thought about how to let his little aunt lose face if he came upon her— whether to narrowly triumph in an evenly matched battle, or to win only after a series of exchanges.

If…

Now it was all gone, because he got a bye.

“So annoying…”

“Young man, are you surprised?”

The sudden voice made Lin Xiao stare, and it sounded somewhat familiar. Quickly reacting, he stood at attention and gave a military salute, saying earnestly,

“Junior Lin Xiao, I’ve seen Major General Keri!”

Major General Keri had not revealed his form, but his voice resonated in Lin Xiao’s ear:

“Young man, let me advise you, in the future, don’t expose your most crucial trump card to others so readily.”

The voice wasn’t loud, but for Lin Xiao, it was like a nuclear bomb exploding in his brain, leaving him stunned, and an instant fear overwhelmed him.

Before he could ponder further, that voice sounded again:

“You are very cautious. I can’t see what that Ancient Treasure of yours is, and I believe no one present can see it, but you’ve left a slight clue that made me aware.”

“Senior…”

Lin Xiao didn’t know what to say.

The gentle voice rang out again:

“You need not worry, everyone has secrets, and I’m not interested in yours. Those in the Main World who could discover your secret would not be interested, and those who might be interested can’t detect it.”

The voice paused, then added:

“Nor can they snatch it away.”

Lin Xiao was puzzled by the meaning of those words, but Major General Keri’s voice rose again:

“With your strength and potential, I believe that many top-tier Colleges will offer you special admission spots. As a special recruit of a top-tier College, possessing a rare Ancient Treasure is not extraordinary.”

The subsequent words from Major General Keri reassured him. From his words, it could be inferred that even Major General Keri and any other important figures could not detect the Creation Rubik’s Cube hidden in the Sea of Gods. Even Major General Keri himself was unable to discover it—it was only because of Lin Xiao’s peculiar current location that the Cube was detected, but Keri considered it some kind of special Ancient Treasure.

“Brilliant!”

With a flash of inspiration, Lin Xiao thought that he could openly claim to have a special Ancient Treasure.

No, he was even beginning to doubt whether the Creation Rubik’s Cube really was some kind of special Ancient Treasure, as there was no evidence.

After all, he was one of the strongest candidates at Summer Camp, and assuming he would win first place in the exchange competition and inherit from Major General Keri, his potential would definitely be visible to the observers, second only to that of Wu Zhonglin. So what if such a talented elite had an Ancient Treasure!

He knew that Wu Zhonglin certainly had a remarkable Ancient Treasure in his possession, about which everyone knew yet no one coveted.

Being a Summer Camp breakthrough candidate and a special recruit of a top-tier College, it was perfectly normal to have a special Ancient Treasure.

And, he was entitled to hold one.

With this thought, Lin Xiao’s worries vanished.

That’s when Major General Keri’s voice resonated once more:

“Young man, of all people, you are one of the two I am most hopeful about, so work hard! If you make it to the end, you will find a tremendous surprise waiting for you.”

A tremendous surprise?

Without thinking, Lin Xiao asked:

“Could you tell me what the treasure is?”

There was no reply, and Major General Keri’s consciousness left, but Lin Xiao knew that somewhere, the other man was certainly observing him..