The Era of Gods

“Yes, the last Divine Treasure of Myriad. This represents not only the most precious treasure within the ruins but also a spot. As long as you can snatch it and open it, you’ll get at least one opportunity. Whether you can seize this opportunity is another matter.”

His brother-in-law gave him a contemptuous glance, full of disdain:

“It’s not that I have anything against you, but with your current strength, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to snatch the Divine Treasure of Myriad. Even getting the All-Embracing Mysterious Storehouse is doubtful. At most, you could try for a Treasure Level one. And with so many competitors vying for fewer than a hundred treasures, it’s still not certain you’ll get one.”

Heh…

He silently sneered to himself, being looked down upon.

“Yes, I look down on you. Let’s make a bet. If you can snatch a Treasures of Myriad, afterwards… aren’t you searching everywhere for Relic Shards? I will give you fifty pieces. If you fail to snatch even one, break up with my sister.”

Lin Xiao…

“I won’t bet.”

“That’s not up to you. Since when does a word spoken by this seat get retracted? That’s settled then.”

“Damn it!”

Lin Xiao was at a loss for words. He turned to look at Shen Yuexin, only to find the girl curiously gazing around, seemingly unaware of what her brother had just said.

“Stop looking. Even my sister can’t save you.”

Good heavens, it’s a blatant trap.

At this moment, he also calmed down. Mere evasion was definitely not a solution; he had to face it head-on.

Taking a deep breath to settle himself, looking up at Xia Yu, who was standing above him with an indifferent expression and skewed eyes, he said in a deep voice:

“As Your Excellency wishes, I’ll take the bet. But I have a question.”

“Speak.”

“What if I get more than one Treasures of Myriad?”

“That’s impossible. Each participant can only open one. Once one is opened, you can’t open another.”

“What if I manage to open an All-Embracing Mysterious Storehouse?”

Xia Yu’s lips curled into a smile:

“That will be easy. One hundred Relic Shards for your picking, and on top of that, three intact First Level Ancient Treasures, twenty points of Divinity.”

“Right, if you somehow snatch and open the last Divine Treasure of Myriad, three hundred Relic Shards, plus the choice of one intact Level 2 Ancient Treasure, the choice of three ancient quality Five Star cards—don’t worry, they’re all prime quality. Additionally, fifty points of Divinity and from then on, I won’t trouble you or my sister again.”

What an inside worm of my belly!

This speech struck right at Lin Xiao’s heart. He was about to ask the same questions, but his brother-in-law had said it all. He had nothing to say. Extending his right hand, he stated:

“A gentleman’s word!”

“Tsk!”

“Would someone of my status lie to you?”

Then the person disappeared. Turning his head, he heard his little aunt’s voice: “Bro, look over there, doesn’t that look like a really big flower?”

Then the brother-in-law’s voice sounded, as if they had been enjoying the view all this time.

Back to him, Xia Yu’s voice reached his ears once more:

“Don’t tell my sister about this bet, or I’ll beat you up on the spot.”

The Void Battleship slowly flew inside the temple, which was as vast as a world. As it approached the temple’s grand doors, one could already observe the silhouettes of people watching through the battleship’s windows.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the battleship entered the grand doors of the temple, which felt like they could swallow a whole planet. As they entered, the view before him brightened. At the same time, Lin Xiao felt his silent wristband, which had been dormant in the Chaotic Void, starting up again—it was receiving a signal here.

However, his attention was not on this. Instead, like everyone else, he was gaping at the indistinct figures of six colossal light beings in the void ahead. They were sitting in six directions, so large that he couldn’t make out their features. The divine light shining behind their heads reaching for the heavens made it impossible to look directly at them. They surrounded a massive Chaos Fireball burning with intense flames.

The moment he saw this Chaos Fireball, he felt a surge of countless illusions flashing before his eyes and an intense longing rising within him.

Filled with desire, Lin Xiao stared at the Chaos Orb. In that instant, he desperately wanted to sprint towards it, dive into its midst, and devour it, and then…

“The remaining essence of the All Things Crystal Wall Universe!”

The voice of his homeroom teacher, Jin Sisi, rang in his ears as she said:

“What you’re seeing now is the remains of the All-Embracing Crystalline Universe, guarded by the six Tomb Guardians. That is where you will enter the Ruins of Myriad. The Chaos Flames you see there contain the residual essence of an entire Crystal Wall Universe. Any deity at God Level 19 with Powerful Divine Power who gains the approval of the Tomb Guardians and inherits this power has a certain chance of breaking through the limit and ascending to great divine power.”

“Hisss!”

Lin Xiao inhales sharply, his gaze on the Chaos Fireball growing even more fervent.

At the same time, a question arose in his mind, prompting him to ask:

“If this residual essence could create a being of great divine power, why don’t the six Tomb Guardians use it themselves? They possess Powerful Divine Power. Surely, after all these years, at least one could have raised their Divinity to Level 19. Are they unwilling to concede to each other? And with such a priceless treasure, isn’t it…”

He had yet to finish his question when it was cut off by the homeroom teacher:

“They can’t do that because there are reasons that I can’t tell you right now, and I can’t even talk about it. You just need to know that they are Tomb Guardians, and without the permission of the six Tomb Guardians, no one can forcibly take away this residual source, not even the old principal,” the homeroom teacher said.

This…

With the homeroom teacher saying that, he had nothing more to say.

“For this expedition to the Ruins of Myriad, my requirement for you is to at least open one Treasures of Myriad. If you are fortunate enough to open a secret vault, the school’s investment in you next semester will significantly increase, and you will have the opportunity to obtain other top-tier resources.”

“What if it’s a Divine Treasure?”

“Don’t aim too high; it’s fine to just secure one treasure.”

Alright, Jin Sisi didn’t even bring it up, obviously believing that he stood no chance whatsoever.

This further sparked Lin Xiao’s curiosity, wondering what the requirements to open this Divine Treasure of Myriad actually were.

“If you’re not content with that, when you enter the ruins, you’ll get a chance to find out. Then you’ll understand why you shouldn’t even think about it,” the homeroom teacher said.

The Void Battleship stopped somewhere far from that furnace, slowly descending to hover a kilometer above what seemed like a continent-sized Temple floor. Jin Sisi’s voice rang out in everyone’s ears:

“The flow of time inside this Temple has been synchronized with the Main World. The midterm exams start in a day and a half. During this time and a half, you are free to move around. You may leave the battleship, but do not approach the Tombkeepers. Unless it’s necessary, do not leave the Temple. You may communicate with family and friends from the Main World, but it’s best not to enter the Divine Realm to avoid losing track of time. Contact me if there’s anything you don’t understand. Dismissed.”

Lin Xiao activated his wristband, which showed that he was now able to leave the battleship.

Dongfang Piaoxue said:

“I have something to do, I’ll step out first.”

Another boy named Xu Zhen waved his hand:

“Together, I’ve got some stuff too.”

Then groups of people left in twos and threes, and soon only he and Shen Yuexin were left, along with another girl by her side named Qi Siyun.

This female classmate whispered something in her cousin’s ear, then came over with a somewhat apologetic tone:

“We’re going out for a bit; we’ll be right back.”

He waved his hand:

“Be careful.”

“Okay.”

He watched the two girls leave, and he was left alone on the battleship.

Through the porthole, he could see that after they left the ship, they turned into streaks of light soaring toward different directions. Some headed to other Void Battleships, some descended directly to the Temple ground that looked like a continent, some flew upwards towards the sky, and there were quite a few flying toward the direction of the six Tomb Guardians, where many figures were already congregating.

After watching for a while, he turned his attention back to his room and touched the light screen that popped out of his wristband to start contacting the Main World.

Soon, a holographic projection popped up, forming a familiar and graceful figure. Jin Yunzhu appeared before him, looking exactly as youthful and beautiful as before. She asked with great surprise:

“Son, are you on holiday?”

“No, I am currently in the All-Embracing Crystalline Universe.”

“The All-Embracing Crystalline Universe? Sounds familiar… it seems to be…”

She suddenly looked down to quickly search for information, then looked up with a surprised face, touched his face, and exclaimed with joy:

“Oh my, son, are you participating in the Ruins of Myriad Competition?”

“What Ruins of Myriad Competition?”

That name sounded rather crude.

“Here, take a look.”

A split-screen popped up, showing a message from his mother with a huge LOGO. Beneath it was a line of glittering ostentatious gold letters — the 10457th Ruins of Myriad Competition, with several sub-ports below, including live viewing and betting options.

At that moment, his mother excitedly said:

“I heard that this competition invites the most outstanding students from the four major powers of the Main World. I didn’t expect you to be able to participate, my son. This is really fantastic; I am so happy.”

“Heh, it’s alright, the teacher had faith in me, so…”

“No problem, even if you’re just making up the numbers, being able to participate means the teachers acknowledge your strength and potential. Work hard and try to last as long as you can,” she encouraged.

“All…”

Lin Xiao coughed, then quickly explained:

“Mum, don’t underestimate me. Your son is a special recruit at Radiant University; how could I just be filling in numbers?”

His mother said indifferently:

“Don’t be embarrassed. There are many special recruits, and it’s already quite impressive that you made it to Radiant. Your grandfather and great-grandfather both think highly of you. Study hard and aim to advance to Demigod before the entrance exams, then enter Radiant University. Try to become a High-Level Demigod before college graduation. After you return, the Clan will definitely support you fully. With your foundation from Radiant, attaining Divinity won’t be hard.”

Lin Xiao felt the conversation wasn’t going anywhere.

But then again, his mother had never witnessed his strength and potential, nor was she clear about his growth trajectory; her imagination was surely based on her understanding.

As part of a Minor Divinity Family, with both her husband and in-laws only being Demigods, her imagination wouldn’t stretch as far as envisioning her son on the list of prodigies.

So it wasn’t really her fault for not seeing his potential; after all, when she was at home, aside from looking after the joint Divine Realm with his father, she would either have friendly exchanges with her sisters-in-law, boasting about her husband and son, or decorating the house, just being a pretty little fairy.