Lin Lei had previously held only a shallow understanding of the Lord God's might, thinking it was merely an advanced form of divine power. Now he could see that it was completely different. The Lord God's might could actually be used as soul power.
"The Lord God's might has another benefit," Gaserson said with a smile. "During the brief moment when you use it, both your body and soul receive a small boost."
"Hm?" Lin Lei was surprised.
"It's a fact," Gaserson sighed. "But the boost isn't that significant. If you were willing to waste it, using hundreds or thousands of drops of the Lord God's might in succession would cause your soul and body to undergo a transformation to an extremely powerful level."
"Hundreds or thousands of drops—who has that kind of wealth?" Lin Lei laughed.
"Even if someone did, no one would be willing to squander it," Gaserson said.
"Our Four Divine Beast families have only one advantage over the Eight Great Families—we possess a fair amount of the Lord God's might," Gaserson sighed. "It is thanks to the Lord God's might that we can fight back even when surrounded, and maintain a one-to-one death ratio between both sides."
Lin Lei nodded. After this battle, he had discovered that the enemy was formidable as well.
For instance, Morseley's innate divine ability had been truly terrifying.
"Once an ancestor falls, the Lord God's might only gets used up with no way to replenish it," Gaserson warned. "Lin Lei, don't use the Lord God's might unless it is absolutely necessary. It is far too wasteful to squander."
"Yes, Patriarch," Lin Lei replied.
Even the Four Divine Beast families had dwindling reserves of the Lord God's might by now.
"All right, go back for now. My sister probably won't assign you any missions for a while. After this incident, the Eight Great Families will be on guard against you. It won't be so easy to kill two Seven-Star Demons next time," Gaserson said with a smile.
Lin Lei nodded and took his leave.
Along the eastern border of the Azure Mansion, four of the Eight Great Families had their territories, including the Barbari Family, which had migrated from the Water God's plane.
Deep within the cold, dim mansion, a giant of a man stood in the garden.
He stood a full three and a half meters tall, his face covered with green bristly whiskers like steel needles. He wore a simple set of ancient-looking armor, with a robe bearing the pattern of a great black serpent draped over both shoulders. At this moment, he was staring at Koro before him.
"Koro, you were killed without even having time to fight back?" the giant frowned.
"Patriarch, I... I didn't expect it," Koro said, seething with rage. "He was clearly a mid-stage god, but who would have thought he was concealing his aura? He launched a sudden ambush when he was extremely close to me... I didn't even have time to retaliate."
At this point, Koro had only a single Wind System divine clone remaining.
"Not just me—even Morseley failed to detect that the man was hiding his aura," Koro continued quickly.
The patriarch of the Barbari Family furrowed his brow deeply.
"Morseley didn't detect it either—I've heard about that. His most powerful Death divine clone was destroyed this time as well," the Barbari patriarch said. "It seems this person must be extraordinarily powerful in terms of the soul."
"Patriarch, according to what my subordinate clones reported, the one who killed me didn't have particularly strong soul defenses," Koro said quickly.
"Hm?"
The Barbari patriarch couldn't help but feel puzzled. He immediately looked toward the garden entrance, and in an instant, a dark shadow darted in from outside and stood respectfully to one side.
"Go investigate immediately whether the Azure Dragon clan has gained a new elder, and whether this person is skilled at concealing his strength," the Barbari patriarch ordered directly.
"Yes, Patriarch."
The dark shadow vanished once more.
After completing the last mission, the Grand Elder wouldn't be sending Lin Lei into battle again anytime soon. So Lin Lei stayed in the Great Canyon with Bei Bei, Dilia, Hisay, and the others, enjoying a rare stretch of peace.
Two years had passed since the last mission, and during that time, nothing of note had occurred. On this particular day, Lin Lei and Dilia were eating a meal together.
"Dilia seems to have something on her mind," Lin Lei thought to himself with a quiet smile. Today, Dilia had been absentminded throughout the meal, wanting to say something but holding back.
"Lin Lei." Dilia had hesitated for a long while before finally speaking up.
I've been waiting for you to say something. Lin Lei smiled and said, "Dilia, what is it?"
Dilia chose her words carefully before speaking. "Lin Lei, we've been here in the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range for quite some time now—over eighty years, I'd say."
"Mm." Lin Lei nodded. "And?"
"Lin Lei, we fought our way here to the Azure Mansion and entered the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range. Yes, we've rejoined the family. But... are we going to stay inside this mountain range forever?" Dilia countered.
Lin Lei couldn't help but frown. "Dilia, you want to go outside? You want to leave the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range?" He was baffled.
"No, that's not it," Dilia said quickly. "Actually, I'd like to go to the city with the family's forces for a trip."
"No," Lin Lei said firmly, refusing outright. "It's far too dangerous. Absolutely not."
"It's not dangerous," Dilia said quickly. "And it's not just me—Bei Bei, Di Lin, and many others want to go out too. Lin Lei, we're always stuck in one place, never going anywhere. It's fine for you—you can cultivate, you can go fight. But the rest of us are cooped up in the Great Canyon. After a while, it starts to feel suffocating."
Lin Lei was taken aback.
He could understand how Dilia felt. Being in one place without any contact with the outside world was tolerable at first, but after a while it became stiflingly oppressive. If it went on even longer, one would grow accustomed to the loneliness and the oppression, and once that happened, one's very nature would change.
This was especially true for Dilia, who had traveled with him through all their adventures. Her heart was a free one—she could not bear to be confined.
"Dilia, I understand how you feel," Lin Lei nodded.
Back when he had entered the Magic Beast Mountain Range to train for three years, Bei Bei had been his only companion. That loneliness had indeed been oppressive. He had nearly been unable to endure it—it was only his hatred that had kept him going.
"Dilia, I'm sorry." Lin Lei reached out and took Dilia's hand.
At that moment, Lin Lei finally realized something.