The Era of Gods

“Yes, the final Divine Treasure of Myriad, which represents the most precious treasure within the ruins, and also a spot. As long as you can seize and open it, you’ll have at least one opportunity, but whether you can grasp it is another matter.”

The brother-in-law glanced at him with full contempt in his eyes:

“It’s not that I have anything against you, but with your current strength, it’s quite unlikely that you’ll be able to seize the Divine Treasure of Myriad. Even the All-Embracing Mysterious Storehouse is a long shot for you, let alone aiming for a Treasure Level relic. And with so many people competing for fewer than a hundred of these treasures, it’s not certain you’ll get your hands on one.”

Heh…

He secretly sneered, so contemptuous of others.

“Yes, I am looking down upon you. Let’s make a bet, if you can get your hands on one of the Treasures of Myriad, afterwards… Since you’re looking for Relic Shards everywhere, I’ll give you fifty. If you don’t get even one, break up with my sister.”

Lin Xiao…

“I won’t bet.”

“That’s not for you to decide, the words I, the lord, have spoken cannot be taken back. It’s settled then.”

“Damnit!”

Lin Xiao was speechless; he turned to look at Shen Yuexin, only to find the girl curiously looking around, as if she hadn’t heard what her brother just said.

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

Great, he’s blatantly setting me up.

At this moment, he calmed down; sheer avoidance was definitely not an option, so he had to move forward.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he looked up at Xia Yu, who was regarding him with a lofty and indifferent gaze, and said in a deep voice:

“As you wish, I’ll take the bet. But I have another question.”

“Speak.”

“What if I manage to seize more than one Treasure of Myriad?”

“That’s impossible. Each contestant can only open one; after opening it, they cannot open another.”

“What if I could open one of the All-Embracing Mysterious Storehouses?”

Xia Yu’s mouth curled into a smirk:

“Then, it’s easy. A hundred Relic Shards for you to choose from, plus three intact First Level Ancient Treasures, and twenty points of Divinity.”

“Right, if you have the ability to seize and open the last Divine Treasure of Myriad, three hundred Relic Shards, plus any intact Level 2 Ancient Treasure of your choosing, any three Five Star cards of ancient quality—rest assured, they’re all of fine quality—plus fifty points of Divinity, and from then on, I will not make things difficult for you and my sister.”

A worm in my belly, huh?

This was exactly what was on Lin Xiao’s mind, and his brother-in-law had just spoken it for him. He had nothing more to say, and extended his right hand, declaring:

“Agentleman’s agreement!”

“Pfft!”

“Would I, the lord, deceive you?”

Then the person disappeared, and he heard his little aunt’s voice coming from behind:

“Bro, look over there, doesn’t that look like a huge flower?”

Followed by his brother-in-law’s voice, as if they had been admiring the scenery outside all along.

Xia Yu’s voice came back into his ears:

“Don’t tell my sister about this; if you do, I’ll beat you up immediately.”

The Void Battleship was slowly flying through the temple, which seemed as vast as a whole world. As it approached the large doors of the temple, one could clearly see the silhouettes of onlookers through the battleship’s windows.

After an unknown duration, the battleship entered a gate that felt like it could fit an entire planet, Heavenly Gate-like. Suddenly, his view brightened, and Lin Xiao felt the wristband that had gone silent upon entering the Chaotic Void start to reactivate—there was signal here now.

But his attention wasn’t on that. Like everyone else, he was gaping at the six enormous luminous beings in the void far in the distance, who sat forming six directions and were too hazy to make out distinct features. They each had divine light soaring above their heads that was too blinding to gaze at directly. They surrounded a giant ball of Chaos Flames burning fiercely.

The moment he saw these Chaos Flames, countless illusions flashed before his eyes, and an extreme longing surged in his heart.

Lin Xiao looked eagerly at the chaotic light sphere, feeling an intense desire in that moment to rush over and devour it, and then….

“The remaining essence of the Myriad Manifestation Crystal Wall Universe!”

The voice of his headteacher Jin Sisi reached his ears, saying:

“What you’re seeing now is the remnants of the Myriad Manifestation Crystal Wall Universe, guarded by the six Tomb Guardians. That’s the Ruins of Myriad you’ll enter eventually. That ball of Chaos Flames contains the residual essence of an entire Crystal Wall Universe. Any god with a God Level of 19 or higher who receives the approval of the six Tomb Guardians to inherit this power has a certain chance of ascending to great divine power.”

“Damn!”

Lin Xiao gasped and looked with even hotter desire at the ball of Chaos Flames.

And he also had a doubt. He couldn’t help asking:

“If this residual essence could create a being of great divine power, why wouldn’t the six Tomb Guardians use it themselves? They are all powerful deities, and over the years, surely one could’ve elevated their God Level to 19. Is it because they won’t yield to each other? And, for such a precious treasure, hasn’t there been….”

He was cut off by the headteacher before he could finish:

“That’s because they cannot do so. I cannot tell you the exact reasons right now, nor can I articulate them. You only need to know they are simply Tomb Guardians. Furthermore, without the permission of the six Tomb Guardians, no one, not even the old school headmaster, can forcibly take away this residual essence.”

This…

With the head teacher saying so, he had nothing more to say.

“For this expedition to the Ruins of Myriad, my minimum requirement for you is to open one Treasure of Myriad. If luck permits and you open a Mysterious Storehouse, next semester the school will significantly increase resources invested in you, and you will have a chance to obtain other top-level resources.”

“What if it’s a Divine Treasure?”

“Don’t set your sights too high; securing one treasure is good enough.”

Alright then, Jin Sisi didn’t even mention it, obviously thinking he had no chance whatsoever.

This piqued Lin Xiao’s curiosity even more, wondering what the requirements were to open this Divine Treasure of Myriad.

“If you’re not content, you’ 11 have a chance to find out once we enter the ruins. Then you’ll understand why I don’t want you to think about it.”

The Void Battleship came to a stop who knows how far away from that furnace, descending slowly to pause a kilometer above the temple floor that resembled a continent. Jin Sisi’s voice arose in everyone’s ears:

“Time within this temple has already been synchronized with the Main World. The midterm exams start in a day and a half. Within these one and a half days, you can move freely. You may leave the battleship, but do not approach the Tombkeepers. If not necessary, do not leave the temple. You may contact relatives in the Main World, but it’s best not to enter the Divine Realm unless necessary to avoid missing the time. If there’s anything you don’t understand, contact me. Dismissed for now.”

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

Dongfang Piaoxue said:

“I have something to do; I’ll go out for a bit.”

Another boy named Xu Zhen waved his hand:

“Let’s go together, I’ve got some things to do as well.”

Then, in groups of threes and twos, people left rapidly, leaving only him, Shen Yuexin, and another girl named Qi Siyun who was accompanying her.

This female classmate whispered something into her cousin’s ear, and the cousin came over with a somewhat apologetic expression:

“We’re going out for a while, we’ll be back soon.”

He waved his hand:

“Be careful.”

“Will do.”

Watching the two girls leave, he was now the only one left on the battleship.

Looking through the porthole, he could see them transform into streaks of light after exiting the battleship and flying towards different locations. Some headed to other Void Battleships, others descended directly to the temple ground that was like a continent below, some flew upwards, and there were several heading towards the direction of the six Tomb Guardians. There were already many figures gathering there.

After watching for a while, he withdrew his gaze and returned to his room, lightly tapping the holographic screen that popped up on his wristband to start contacting the Main World.

His mother’s familiar graceful figure appeared in front of him without any change from before, still as youthful and beautiful. Jin Yunzhu’s projection appeared, and seeing him, she asked in surprise:

“Son, are you on vacation?”

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

“All-Embracing Crystalline Universe? Sounds familiar, seems like it’s…”

She suddenly lowered her head to quickly look up some information, and soon looked up with a shocked expression, touching his face joyously and said:

“Oh my, son, you’re participating in the Myriad Ruins Competition?”

“What Myriad Ruins Competition?”

The name was a bit crude.

“Here, take a look.”

A subsidiary screen popped up displaying a message sent by his mother. Below a huge LOGO, there were gaudy gold characters: The 10,457th Myriad Ruins Competition. Below it were several sub-ports, including live-stream and betting ports.

At this moment, his mother said joyously:

“I heard that this competition invites the most outstanding students from the Main World’s four major powers, I never expected you could participate, son. It’s truly fantastic, your mother is very happy.”

“Hehe, it’s alright. The teachers have faith in me, that’s why…”

“It’s fine, even if you’re just there to make up the numbers. Participating means the teachers acknowledge your strength and potential. Work hard, and try to last as long as possible.”

“Ah…”

Lin Xiao coughed and hastened to explain:

“Mom, don’t underestimate me too much. Your son is specially recruited by Radiant, how could I just be making up numbers?”

His mother said nonchalantly:

“Don’t be embarrassed. There are many special recruits, and you’ve done well to mix into Radiant. Your grandfather and great-grandfather both approve of you. Study hard, and strive to ascend to Demigod before the college entrance exams, enter Radiant University, and become a High-Level Demigod before graduating. Once you return, the Clan will surely support you fully. With the foundation you’ve built in Radiant, achieving Divinity won’t be difficult.”

Lin Xiao felt the conversation was becoming difficult.

But upon reflection, it made sense; his mother had never seen his strength and potential, nor was she clear about his growth trajectory. She would naturally imagine things based on her understanding.

As part of a Minor Divinity Family, with both her husband and in-laws only being Demigods, she couldn’t possibly imagine her son rising high in the elite rankings.

So it was not fair to blame her for lacking vision; after all, besides looking after the joint Divine Realm with his father, she usually either communicated amicably with her sisters-in-law, boasting about her husband and son, or decorating the house, playing the part of a beautifully dressed little fairy.

Therefore, Lin Xiao wisely chose not to argue. Let his mother think what she may—for now, he thought, she would find out once he made it onto the elite supplementary list.