Dragonblood Castle, deep beneath the surface in that miniature plane.
Lin Lei was recounting the scenes that had unfolded in the Tomb of the Gods to his wife Dilia. Dilia too was shaken by his encounter with the "Ba Serpent" on the third level…
She worried about Bax's uncertain fate,
she was stunned by the terrifying Flame Lord they had encountered on the sixth level,
and she trembled hearing how Lin Lei had nearly perished beneath the vines of the Mother Empress Lashabel.
"A million Abyss Blade Demons!" Dilia was completely stunned when Lin Lei reached the part about entering the eleventh level. "Back when we dispatched our armies to resist the joint assault of the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness, I saw five hundred thousand troops assembled. Five hundred thousand troops were already an endless sea of people, stretching as far as the eye could see."
"Yes, endless."
Lin Lei's mind involuntarily replayed that scene — when a group of powerhouses had just emerged from underground, nearly a million Abyss Blade Demons blotting out the sky as they dove down in unison, slashing out waves of blade energy in an apocalyptic vision of destruction. That was the time the second of the six-eyed Golden Lion brothers had fallen.
"Go on," Dilia urged anxiously. "How did you get out? How did you obtain a Divine Spark in that kind of environment?"
Dilia understood perfectly well that she was currently only in the process of refining a Divine Spark — she could only be considered a "half-god." Even her "Divine Domain" was rudimentary, and she barely knew how to apply the profound mysteries of the elemental laws. Had she been on the eleventh level of the Tomb of the Gods, she would long since have been killed by the swarm of Abyss Blade Demons.
Lin Lei continued his account — from the moment the group of powerhouses had charged desperately toward the passage, to his last-ditch effort to block the mass of Abyss Blade Demons, to his pursuit into the depths below and his enlightenment of the "Mystic of Speed" underground…
When Lin Lei finally finished, Dilia let out a long breath of relief.
She tilted her head up to look at Lin Lei.
She still remembered how he had once been a determined, gifted youth at Ernst Academy. And now he was a peerless powerhouse capable of cutting his way through a million Abyss Blade Demons. Even she couldn't help but feel proud of her husband.
"What are you looking at?" Lin Lei asked with a smile.
"You," Dilia replied, her expression in that moment as innocent as a lovestruck girl.
Lin Lei laughed. "By the way, Dilia — about these three Divine Sparks, what should I actually do with them? Those powerhouses all gave me hints, of course. Though after Lord Belute's lecture, they may have changed their minds."
Lin Lei had to admit that when it came to handling relationships, Dilia was far better at it than he was.
"Oh, Lin Lei." Dilia gave a helpless smile and shook her head. "You really are… I don't even know what to say. In the Tomb of the Gods, five humans made it to the end — Desly, Olivier, Faan, Rosalie, and Tully. Among them, isn't Desly the one closest to us? And from what Lord Belute said, Olivier has enormous potential!"
"But look — Faan received the Source Pearl of Life, Rosalie and Tully each obtained a Divine Artifact, while Olivier and Desly got nothing."
Dilia looked at Lin Lei with a smile. "Olivier has great potential, and Desly is on good terms with us — they're both worth winning over. But as it happens, neither of them received anything."
Lin Lei opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Lin Lei, your status has changed. You're the pillar of our Baruch Empire now. You can't afford to be too casual in how you think about things," Dilia said. "Look at the human societies of the Yulan Continent today — the two most powerful nations are the O'Brien Empire and the Yulan Empire, because they have the War God and the High Priest."
"Only with a god-level powerhouse can an empire endure long-term."
"Even though you've just entered the divine realm, trying to compare yourself to the War God and the others would still be difficult, wouldn't it? After all, they entered the divine realm long ago."
Lin Lei gave a slight nod.
The strength of the War God and the High Priest was indeed beyond his ability to casually estimate.
Dilia sighed. "Desly has always lived within our Baruch Empire, and his daughter is married to your good friend Rein. Naturally, you should win Desly over to our side and make him one of us."
"Of course, winning people over is one thing. The most important thing is for us to grow stronger ourselves," Dilia continued. "So I think among the three Divine Sparks, one should go to your brother Wotton, or to one of Bax's five brothers."
"The second Divine Spark should be prepared for Desly."
"As for the third Divine Spark, we keep it in reserve for now, in case of any sudden need. For example, if the High Priest or the War God came to plead for a Divine Spark on behalf of their disciples. Di Ling and Xisai are also possibilities — Di Ling for his son, Xisai for Rosalie. Letting them owe us a favor would benefit us as well."
Hearing Dilia's analysis, Lin Lei's mind suddenly cleared.
"Good, Dilia. We'll do as you say," Lin Lei nodded.
Dilia continued, "As for the ten Divine Artifacts you obtained — the three pale-red war blades and the thousand Blade Demon swords — I think we should store those thousand Blade Demon swords for the time being. Keep them as our empire's national treasures. After all, each one is roughly on par with your Blacksteel Heavy Sword. Bringing out a thousand at once would cause quite a stir on the continent."
Lin Lei nodded.
"The thirteen Divine Artifacts including the pale-red war blades are easier to deal with. Just distribute them among the family, or perhaps give one or two to Desly. That small number of artifacts should be manageable to divide," Dilia said.
Lin Lei chuckled. "All right. But there's one among these thirteen that you absolutely must use."
"What?" Dilia asked, puzzled.
Lin Lei reached into his spatial ring and produced the set of Divine Artifact battle armor. "Dilia, this set of Divine Artifact battle armor is yours."
"Me?" Dilia was taken aback, then quickly said, "Lin Lei, you're the pillar of the empire. You should use this Divine Artifact armor yourself."
Lin Lei shook his head with a smile. "No need, Dilia. First, I already have the Source Pearl of Life. Second, once I reach the god-level realm, you should know that the magic 'Earth Guardian Holy Armor' can also be cast at that level. When that happens, the 'god-level Holy Armor' defensive capability will absolutely rival your Divine Artifact battle armor."
"Then give it to Wotton or the others. I'm still in the process of refining my Divine Spark," Dilia said.
Lin Lei shook his head. "No need. Didn't you just say that one of the three Divine Sparks should be for someone on our side? In a couple of days, I'll go ask Wotton whether he's willing to refine a Divine Spark. If he is, he can become a god too. If not, then after I finish one last thing I want to do, I'll give him the Source Pearl of Life."
"One last thing you want to do?" Dilia paused. "Lin Lei, you mean…?"
Lin Lei nodded slightly. "This is something I've been looking forward to for a long time. Although at my current level I don't have a hundred percent certainty, at the very least they won't be able to hurt me." A faint glint of cold sharpness flashed through Lin Lei's eyes.