Questions and Answers

The pasty flesh and blood that had pooled across the ground began to squirm, stretching into a humanoid silhouette. Then, bones reformed. Meridians, muscle fibers, and fat grew over the surface of the skeleton, followed by internal organs and skin... A living human being was reshaped as though 3D-printed. The reborn man was none other than President Void. Opening his inventory, he retrieved another silver mask and donned it. He picked up the golden armor from the ground, ignoring the shield and the sword. After stowing the armor away, he stepped into the pool of sludge formed by the melted Smoker. Bending down to rummage for a few seconds, he fished out two items. One was a porous black heart, and the other was a dark-gold female mask. Both were demigod-grade items. "Playing peak matches really is thrilling..." President Void stowed away the two supreme items of the Lethal Alchemist class. Behind him, the brass shield and the knight's straight sword slowly dissipated. The time limit had expired, and the Myriad Realms Mall reclaimed the two demigod items. Above President Void's head, an indistinct female silhouette drifted out, turning into green smoke and vanishing without a trace. His ability to revive just now had been thanks to Empress Wa's Slough, which granted him one chance to return from death. This was the trump card that had emboldened him to assemble the power of a deity. Of course, even if the third demigod item hadn't turned out to be Empress Wa's Slough, it wouldn't have mattered, as there were still two demigods of the Musician class on the field. The barrier enveloping the arena slowly dissipated, and the partially collapsed mini-continent serving as the arena repaired itself to its pristine state. The demigods who had fled returned to the edge of the arena, lingering terror still weighing on their minds. After becoming demigods and attaining the pinnacle realm, this was the first time they had truly felt the might of a deity. Even though it had been merely a single blow! That terrifying power chilled them to the bone, and that dreadful aura was utterly irresistible. After becoming demigods, it had been a very long time since they felt so small and insignificant. Today, they had tasted it once again. At the same time, an unprecedented hunger awoke within them to obtain full administrator privileges. Ling Tuo stared intently at the Lord of the Stars, laughing out of sheer fury. "What a move, what a fine move... Father, don't tell me you didn't know Void opened the Holy See's treasury." "What does this have to do with him? The Holy See's treasure was unlocked through the blood, sweat, and tears of me and my true successor!" Uncle was the first to object indignantly. "Indeed, it has nothing to do with me," the Lord of the Stars said impassively. "Ling Tuo, let me teach you a second principle: even a Lord of the Stars cannot calculate everything under heaven. Enough idle talk. The arena has been repaired; let us continue." The evil demigods, however, seemed to have lost their fighting spirit. Their expressions were dark, no longer displaying their earlier high morale or unshakeable confidence in victory. Two level 11 demigods of the Second District had fallen, and their strongest trump card had also been slain by Void. To secure victory in the arena battles, the Freedom faction still had to win two more rounds, whereas the orthodox faction only needed a single win. The orthodox faction still had one point left. From here on, even if the Freedom faction achieved the absolute best possible outcome, winning two consecutive matches and eliminating half of the opposing demigods, it would still not be enough. Having lost Dionysus and the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, it was virtually impossible for the Freedom faction to prevail over the orthodox faction in the subsequent formation contest. "We've lost!" the Illusion God of the Southern Sect muttered in a low, grim voice. "Ling Tuo, you have lost the chance to compete for Lord of the Sun. We have no chance of winning." Ling Tuo's voice turned chillingly harsh: "This war has never been just about winning or losing. It is a matter of life and death. Even if the odds are slim, we must stake our lives. I will not surrender." Pausing, he looked up into the heights, his gaze seeming to pierce the barrier and see the intruders outside the dungeon. "Besides, those entities are even more anxious than we are. They will find a way to interfere with the dungeon. That is our backing—reinforcements the orthodox faction can never have." Withdrawing his gaze, he stepped forward. "For this round, I'm taking the stage!" Clad in black robes, Ling Tuo looked at the orthodox demigods and spread his arms wide: "I hope you will fight me fair and square, rather than using points to exempt yourselves from death and dodging the duel. Wouldn't you agree, Your Majesty Sea Emperor?" The Sea Emperor, whose thick beard concealed half his face, glared with bulging eyes. "Ling Tuo, back then you obscured the Merit Roster and caused me to be ambushed by the bastards of the evil faction, nearly costing me my life. Today, I'll settle that old debt with you!" A massive wave rose beneath his feet, and riding atop its crest, he descended onto the arena. Yet the moment he set foot on the arena, the orthodox demigods behind him raised their hands in unison, choosing to use their points to exempt the match, deducting twenty-four hours' worth of points. The rage on the Sea Emperor's face vanished instantly, giving way to calm as he said indifferently, "I'm not as hot-headed as a Fire Master!" Returning to his allies, he grumbled in displeasure, "Why assume I can't beat Ling Tuo? As long as I win this match, the arena battle is ours." The Chairman of Heaven's Punishment sneered: "A Siren away from the ocean is like a tiger without claws and fangs, or a wild ox stripped of its horns. Rather than waiting until you're on the brink of death to call for an exemption, it's better to end the match now while you still have some dignity left." While the two Siren demigods traded barbs, the other orthodox demigods had already begun discussing the roster for the third match. In truth, having reached this point, losing the arena battle no longer mattered much. Given the evil demigods' current state after losing two level 11 demigods, they were bound to lose the team battle. Of course, if the orthodox faction could win the arena battle, causing the evil faction to lose another member as well as a formation, then even if the supreme entities intervened to assist them, the orthodox faction would be well-equipped to deal with it. Their chances of victory would be even greater. However, the victories in the first two matches had relied on the Lord of the Stars' sixty years of patient accumulation and Void's life-risking burst of power—feats that were impossible to duplicate. The third round was a clash between level 10 orthodox and level 10 evil demigods, where the evil side held the higher odds. Fu Qingxuan looked at the demigods outside the four alliance leaders and asked, "Who among you wants to take the field?" The Xie Family Ancestor, appearing in the guise of a fair-skinned, adorable young boy, chuckled lightly. "This round, leave it to this old man!" His small frame took to the air, soaring toward the arena. A demigod of the Spirit Society's Western Branch writhed his draconic body and was the first to charge toward the arena. "I'll kill him! Nobody fight me for this!" ... Heavenly light descended from the chaos. An indistinct silhouette, bathed in pure, holy celestial radiance, slowly touched down within the chaotic void. He—no, He—wore a simple white robe. His face was blurred and featureless, and behind His head hovered an illusory clock face featuring twelve symbols representing time. Beyond the clock face was a slowly rotating diagram of the Eight Trigrams. An Eight Trigrams diagram... Is Sovereign Haotian of the Scholar class? The clock face symbolizes time, but among the Spirit Realm's various classes, none seem to be related to time... Zhang Yuanqing scrutinized the legendary Sovereign Haotian, yet he could sense no overwhelming aura or oppressive pressure transcending ordinary ranks from Him. It felt merely like a projection. Even so, that did not stop him from adopting a respectful attitude as he cautiously asked, "Are You Sovereign Haotian?" Clad in the simple robe with an obscured face, He replied slowly: "You may also call me... the Heavenly Sovereign!" The Heavenly Sovereign... Zhang Yuanqing's pupils shrank slightly. Sovereign Haotian was the Heavenly Sovereign of the Three Sovereigns—Heaven, Earth, and Man? That mysterious Heavenly Sovereign! Among the Three Sovereigns of Heaven, Earth, and Man, only Empress Wa had historical records confirming her existence, ranking as the Human Sovereign. As for the Earth Sovereign, Zhang Yuanqing had already formed a conjecture: it was likely the Earth Sovereign whose authority shattered to become the Five Elements authority. As for the Heavenly Sovereign, he had never formed any guess at all, for no trace of the Heavenly Sovereign's existence had ever been discovered. Back in the killing trial, the clay mask that had existed since ancient times had mentioned that apart from Empress Wa, whether the Heavenly and Earth Sovereigns had truly existed remained unverified; even the Five Emperors could not confirm their reality. The Heavenly Sovereign's voice was gentle and placid, yet ethereal and enigmatic, seeming to echo from all directions at once: "Anyone who gathers the Heaven-Worship Set may make a single request of me. If it cannot be fulfilled, it may be exchanged for relevant intelligence. What do you desire?" Both the First Emperor and the Commander of the Bu Liang Ren requested methods for immortality! Immortality is meaningless to me... Could I ask You to slaughter all the demigods of the evil faction?... Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment, then spoke: "Before making my request, may I ask a few questions? If asking counts as part of the request, please disregard what I said." The Heavenly Sovereign smiled faintly. "You may ask. If I consider the question's value high enough, I will remind you." Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "Are You a Spirit Realm administrator? Do You belong to the orthodox faction?" "Yes! I am the only surviving administrator in the Spirit Realm, as well as one of the creators of the Spirit Realm," the Heavenly Sovereign answered. One of the creators of the Spirit Realm! Zhang Yuanqing asked the question he had yearned to know most ever since he became a Spirit Realm walker: "What was your purpose in creating the Spirit Realm?"