Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  Chapter 1505 - Greem’s Harvest

  Plane Saka. God Kingdom of the Beast God.

  A tragic howl suddenly rang out inside the giant orc temple.

  “My true form…my actual self…who killed my true form?”

  Horr’s clone, who had been meditating silently in the temple, suddenly stood up and let out a furious and mourning howl. His radiant body began to peel apart, layer by layer. Divine power started to disperse from his body, and even his soul showed signs of disintegration.

  Every god clone left in the temple couldn’t help but open their eyes and watch in horror.

  Horr’s true form had been killed?

  It was somewhat unimaginable, but it was the only explanation for what was currently happening.

  Supposedly, even if a god’s true form was killed, the clone left behind could still survive, providing them with a sliver of hope for revival. However, the collapse of a god kingdom and the breaking of divinity triggered by the death of a god’s true body would result in a vicious backlash that no clone could ever endure.

  Horr had taken most of his divine authority fragments with him when he went into battle. Only one divine authority fragment remained in the clone left in Arugel’s temple. Obviously, this divine authority fragment wasn’t enough to support the overwhelming divinity that had shifted over after the true form’s death.

  That was why Horr’s clone was showing signs of falling apart!

  To think, Horr had actually been killed on the battlefield by a Fifth Grade adept much weaker than himself. It was clearly a difficult truth for the gods to accept. They couldn’t help but look down on Horr with disdain for that.

  Given the savagery and cruelty of the orc pantheon, useless fools like Horr were better off dead. The divinity he left behind could then be split between everyone else.

  However, letting one of his vassal gods die on the battlefield in this fashion would undoubtedly impact Arugel’s authority tremendously.

  Arugel suddenly stood up from his throne. His giant, fierce eyes glared with the flames of hatred. He waved his hand. Four perfect crystalline glowing orbs flew out of his body and into the trembling body of Horr’s clone.

  The threat of Horr’s clone disintegrating was finally put at ease!

  However, Horr had once been a Sixth Grade true god. It was impossible for him to sustain such a tremendous divinity domain with only five divine authority fragments.

  Arugel looked around the room with his fierce eyes and demanded coldly, “Anyone else who has divine authority fragments to spare, hand them over to Horr. Put together ten fragments for him and let him stabilize at the level of a low-ranked god!”

  The numerous orc gods in the hall looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

  Divine authority fragments. Those were the lifeblood of every god!

  It was incredibly difficult to obtain them in the first place. After the numerous battles, they had all experienced losses to varying degrees. Who among them had more fragments to spare?

  However, the Major God had spoken. As reluctant as they were, the other gods had no choice but to do as they were told.

  Soon, another five divine authority fragments flew toward Horr’s clone.

  A total of ten divine authority fragments quickly merged inside the body of Horr’s clone to form a complete divine authority. Sustained by such power, the threat of death finally faded from Horr’s clone.

  From now on, God of the Hunt Horr would be demoted to the level of a low-ranked god. He would be no different than those new gods that had only recently ascended. The only difference would be that he had a more powerful divinity and greater wealth reserves than them.

  However, these things were only reminders of former glory for a once-Sixth Grade god. It was nothing to be happy about.

  “Horr, what happened? Which Great Adept was it that killed you? Tell me their name. I will avenge you!” As the Major God of the orc pantheon, Arugel was beyond furious at having one of his subordinates suffer such a defeat.

  “It’s…it’s……” Even though it hadn’t been long since the death of his true form, the instinctual connection between souls meant that Horr’s clone knew about everything that had transpired trillions of kilometers away. However, the fact that his powerful self had been devoured by a mere beginner Fifth Grade weakling. He really couldn’t bring himself to say it.

  “What is it? Do you doubt my power?” The hesitation of his subordinate infuriated Arugel even further. He shouted out loud, “Tell me his name! It doesn’t matter if it’s a Seventh Grade Great Adept or the Eighth Grade Barbara herself. I will get revenge for you!”

  “It was…a human adept called Greem!”

  “Greem?” Arugel repeated this unfamiliar name. For a moment, he couldn’t think of any amongst the high-grade Great Adepts who had this name. Arugel looked at the other gods. “Any of you know this person?”

  They all shook their heads.

  Only God of Tyranny Haistoc’s clone’s expression changed. He seemed to recall something uncertainly.

  “He…he’s a beginner Fifth Grade adept!” Horr’s clone–no, what was now Horr himself–finally managed to finish his sentence.

  Buzz!

  The next moment, an overwhelming and violent consciousness caused the entire temple to shake.

  “Beginner Fifth Grade?” Beast God Arugel’s roar filled the skies, “Horr, why don’t you go ahead and die!”

  …………

  Greem was fleeing.

  Ever since he devoured Horr, he had become the public enemy of every orc god on the battlefield.

  Even the Sixth Grade One-Eyed God had cast his gaze toward him and was moving over with his lumbering form, let alone the Fifth Grade clones and orc petitioners.

  Greem turned and fled without hesitation.

  The god in his stomach had yet to fully die. He needed to find a safe place to digest him entirely.

  Covered by the ten-armed giant and Remi, he fled straight to Boulder Fortress. He shut himself in his room and didn’t show himself again.

  [Beep. Obtained one divine authority fragment.

  [Beep. Obtained one divine authority fragment.

  [Beep. Obtained one divine authority fragment.

  [……]

  [……]

  It was a simple notification sound, but Greem’s blood boiled every time he heard it ring out!

  He no longer had the mind to keep track of the constant notifications. His entire being was reveling in overwhelming joy.

  There was no sound more beautiful than this!

  He would simply be willing to bask in this happiness forever and ever!

  It took one entire year for Greem to thoroughly digest Horr’s true form. What he obtained was enough to make anyone’s mouth run dry and their eyes turn red.

  He gained 17 fragments of divine authority.

  He gained 463 units of divine virtue.

  Over 117,000 divine power crystals.

  Sixth Grade Divine Weapon: Longbow of the Ancient Keepers, Rhok’delar.

  Fifth Grade divine equipment (headpiece): Collar of the Deceiver.

  Fifth Grade divine equipment (boots): Boots of Avoidance.

  Sixth Grade equipment (dagger): Devil’s Strike.

  Fifth Grade equipment (bracer): Deathblow Bracers.

  Fifth Grade equipment (belt): Ogre’s Belt.

  Fifth Grade equipment (accessory): Great Restoration.

  ……

  ……

  One had to admit that Horr’s equipment matched his status as a former Sixth Grade mid-ranked god. Three pieces of divine equipment and a series of only Fifth and Sixth Grade equipment. It was blinding.

  This equipment was Fifth and Sixth Grade but not classified as divine equipment because divine authority fragments had not been used as their main material when they were forged. Instead, the material had been replaced with other rare resources. Consequently, the equipment could not form a soul resonance with the god and would be conside
rably less powerful.

  However, how bad could equipment used by a Sixth Grade god be?

  Obtaining this equipment instantly filled Greem’s arsenal up!

  Once Greem digested everything, he opened the restrictions and protections around his room. A flood of magical messages rushed into his mind and caught him by surprise.

  All of them were requests for transmissions, with most of them being from Fifth Grade Great Adepts. There were also a dozen Sixth Grade Great Adepts trying to reach him. And even Seventh Grade Body-Refining Adept Erlenwald.

  “See me immediately after coming out of seclusion!”

  Great Adept Erlenwald’s message was simple, but it contained tremendous magical power behind it. Greem looked the message over and thought for a bit.

  A ‘mere’ dozen divine authority fragments shouldn’t be enough to drive a Seventh Grade Great Adept to do something horrible to him. Still, you never knew. Who knew why Erlenwald was in such a hurry to talk to him?

  No matter how he thought about it, the only things Greem had that could draw his attention were the divine authority fragments.

  Greem hesitated for a few days, but he finally contacted Great Adept Erlenwald.

  Just as their consciousnesses connected, Greem felt the world around him spin and space itself distort. When his consciousness snapped back to sharpness, he found himself located in a large and majestic hall.

  The hall was empty save for a throne placed on a tall platform. An adept whose image was somewhat blurry sat silently there.

  “You are Greem?” The tall adept did not move, but an overwhelming mental consciousness pressed down upon Greem.

  Greem’s face changed. For the first time, he felt the terror of a Seventh Grade Great Adept!

  Everyone said that Fifth and Sixth Grade adepts manipulated principle power, while Seventh and Eighth Grade adepts manipulated world power. Greem hadn’t understood this saying before. But now, upon experiencing the spiritual pressure of a Greater Adept, he finally understood.

  World power…this was world power!

  At this point, the mental consciousness of the Great Adept was no weaker than the planar consciousness of the World of Adepts.

  The two might be different in terms of total power, but they were undoubtedly of the same nature.

  Equally superior! Equally majestic! Equally eternal!

  Chapter 1506 - The Primordial Kindling

  Looking at Erlenwald was like looking upon a perfect world!

  This strange sensation was not something that one could understand unless you experienced it for yourself.

  The mental consciousness of the Great Adept was as noble and vast as a planar consciousness itself. It gave rise to a strange sense of majesty, vastness, and awe that one would feel when facing the boundless sea. It was almost as if what Greem currently faced was not a person or a singular individual, but a perfect new world complete with a self-contained system.

  Greem lowered his head.

  It wasn’t out of force from Erlenwald’s spiritual pressure, nor was Greem forcing himself to express respect. It was simply because of the genuine respect and admiration he was feeling.

  It was just like when he had first come into contact with the origin consciousness of the World of Adepts!

  That feeling of belonging and warmth that reminded him of the womb was something he could still remember clearly even now.

  The adept before him radiated a powerful life aura. It wasn’t as vast or deep as a real planeworld, but the sense of nobility and majesty was the same.

  Self-contained principles, a complete world, a cycle of life, endless and eternal.

  Greem bowed his head down seriously and sincerely.

  “Kid, we meet again!” The adept didn’t open his mouth to speak, but his commanding voice echoed in Greem’s mind.

  It was indeed not the first time the two of them had met.

  The last time they had met would be back when Greem was executing his mission in the Arcane Empire. Someone from among the adepts had unexpectedly sabotaged them on their way back; they almost died during the teleportation. If it hadn’t been for Great Adept Erlenwald’s aid then, Greem would probably not be here now.

  That was why Greem hastily replied in a respectful fashion, “Greem expresses his regret for not having thanked my lord for his help last time.”

  “Hmph! There’s nothing to thank me for. I just don’t like it when certain people’s arms get too long and reach into my territory!” The Great Adept grunted and said, “Who would’ve expected you to be so incredibly lucky. To think you would have been able to survive despite that bitch Maysa’s grudge against you? And you were even able to stumble into such fortune.”

  Greem didn’t know what to say in reply. He could only bow and listen respectfully to what the adept had to say.

  “Alright, there’s no need for any riddles. You should know why I called you over, right?”

  “For those divine authority fragments?” Greem asked probingly.

  “Hmph! As long as you know!” Erlenwled chuckled and said. “We’ve fought those orc brats for so long, and I still don’t have enough fragments to make Seventh Grade magical equipment. That’s a horrible feeling, I’m telling you.”

  Since he was already being so direct, Greem didn’t have much room to wiggle around. He could only smile and ask, “May I know how many divine authority fragments my lord requires?”

  “Ten fragments!”

  Ten fragments were equivalent to an entire divine authority.

  If a treasure like this were given to the stupidest and most useless individual in the world, they would still be able to ascend and become a true god. The significance was so immense that Greem, despite his intelligence and decisiveness, couldn’t help but hesitate.

  “Hmph! Kid, do you think that I, as a Seventh Grade Great Adept, would just take your treasures for nothing?” Erlenwald seemed to have seen through Greem’s hesitation. He laughed coldly and said, “Us adepts have always paraded the principle of equivalent exchange. Naturally, I won’t break custom either. Take a look.”

  He waved his hand, and three one-meter-wide bubbles suddenly appeared in front of Greem. Each of them carried a prismatic treasure as they hovered in the air.

  “This is some of my collection; they should fit your needs. Simply pick one for our exchange!”

  Greem’s heart trembled when he heard Erlenwald’s words.

  The collection of a Seventh Grade Great Adept. Any of these things would be invaluable treasures!

  He rubbed his eyes and commenced scanning each and every one of them.

  What floated inside the first bubble was a strange metal the size of a fist. It glowed a ghostly-purple shade, and the aura it gave off was very mysterious.

  Perhaps sensing Greem’s line of sight, Erlenwald spoke up.

  “This is a piece of Starfallen Godmetal! Its name might sound vulgar, but it is quite powerful indeed. It is a material that can only be obtained after extracting and refining an entire continent. If used to refine the flesh, it can improve a body-refining adept’s immortal body by two entire levels immediately. As for a…principle adept like you, regardless of how terrible our Physique is, it will instantly be increased to 50 points!”

  Fifty points of Physique…wouldn’t that make him reach the level of a Fifth Grade body-refining adept?

  Compared to his current 35 points, it was a ridiculous improvement!

  However, Erlenwald wasn’t finished yet.

  “Moreover, after completing the refinement of your Physique with this godmetal, you will be immune to all negative effects. All debuffing curse or magic will be ineffective against you!”

  Tssss!

  Greem drew in a breath of cold air. His eyes betrayed an unconcealable desire when he looked at the metal again.

  He was a principle adept, and Spirit was the most important attribute for him. However, he did have the starbeast bloodline. If he could boost his Physique tremendously, the Devourin
g Fish Transformation could be used as an everyday means of combat in the future!

  Greem couldn’t help but fantasize about the possibilities, but making a hasty decision was unwise. With great determination, he turned his head to the second bubble.

  A black liquid floated within it. It looked like a strange liquid monster struggling and twisting.

  Greem couldn’t obtain any discernable or useful information no matter how the Chip scanned or analyzed. It was evidence that this was a high-grade resource that Fifth Grade Great Adepts should not have been able to come into contact with.

  “This is the Essence of Destruction. I extracted it from the true form of an orc god. It contains a large amount of divine virtue of Destruction and a portion of the divinity of Destruction. If you are lucky enough, you might be able to obtain unique powers related to Destruction after using it to refine your Spirit.”

  Destruction.

  Greem lowered his head and thought for a moment.

  Given the fundamental principles of the World of Gods, the fire principles were indeed under the domain of Destruction. They were a branch of Destruction. If the Chip could thoroughly analyze the Essence of Destruction, it would significantly improve his flames’ might.

  Out of curiosity, Greem forced himself to look at the third bubble.

  A strange fire the size of a finger floated within it. Moreover, the fire’s color and the attribute it radiated shifted and morphed as it flickered.

  “This is the Primordial Kindling, an unusual principle fire. It contains all the fundamental fire principles required to forge a world of fire. It is an absolutely necessary item for a principle fire adept to continue advancing upward!” Erlenwald said calmly.

  “I want it!” Greem made his decision without hesitation.

  As a fire adept and a principle adept, a top-class resource that could directly impact his future growth was imperative.