Sovereign of the Ashes

After reaching the peak of Rank Five, Sein spent most of his time in Divine Descendants World conducting experiments.

This world was, after all, a large-sized plane filled with peculiar environmental laws and countless dangerous regions.

During this relatively long and leisurely period, Sein travelled extensively, setting up temporary laboratories wherever his research took him.

He did not destroy any of them when he left.

Who knew? Perhaps one day in the distant future, a native creature of Divine Descendants World might stumble upon one and discover traces left behind by a mage from an earlier era.

As Sein explored the plane’s various danger zones, his attention eventually turned to the three craters scattered across the battlefield.

As expected of the crash sites of overlord-level beings, these vast “basins” remained unapproachable to lower-ranking creatures even after more than a century had passed.

Only beings of Rank Four and above could barely reach their central regions in their lawful forms.

Violent energy storms and stubborn law particles continued raging at the heart of each crater. Combined with the unique terrain, they had gradually given rise to rare resources valuable enough to catch even Sein’s interest.

Sein conducted a detailed survey of all three craters.

Even the crater left behind by the Venerable Tianyang, which exerted the weakest aura suppression, would require at least another five hundred years before its law force field weakened enough for a demigod-level being to approach its centre.[1]

Venerable Muge’s crater would require roughly 2,300 years.

As for the crater left behind by the Divine Descendant Overgod, it would take nearly ten thousand years!

A raging storm that could endure for almost ten millennia had undoubtedly become a defining feature of Divine Descendants World.

And that estimate only applied to demigod-level beings.

For Rank One, Rank Two, and even weaker creatures, these vast and awe-inspiring forbidden zones were places they could never hope to understand or approach, even after hundreds of thousands of years.

Of course, they would never live that long anyway.

***

Some time after completing his main experiments, Sein summoned the deities under his command to review their performance during the Divine Descendants World War and reward them accordingly.

The law-wielding beings called before him included the God of Black Mist, the God of Twilight, the God of Scorching Wind, the God of the Black Dog, the God of Dusk Desire, the God of Rotten Soil, and Aribbean.

To Sein’s surprise, his lackey had already advanced to Rank Four.

“I thought you’d die in this war,” Sein remarked, looking at Aribbean’s fawning expression.

His words nearly made Aribbean choke, but he quickly recovered.

“It was only thanks to Master’s care and Miss’ generosity that I managed to break through my limits amidst the crisis and ignite my divine flame. My very life belongs to you, Master!” Aribbean declared.

“Oh? So you follow the faith-based system as well.” Sein nodded slightly. He had never paid much attention to Aribbean’s cultivation path before.

But the “Miss” Aribbean had mentioned... Sein first looked at Yuri beside him. Feeling that something was not quite right, he glanced at Fermera, then finally at Mel.

In the end, Yuri stepped forward and whispered, “He means Tourmaline.”

Realisation dawned on Sein’s face.

Yes, Tourmaline had given Aribbean a reward in the past.

All those years ago, this smooth-talking sycophant had somehow flattered her so thoroughly that she casually tossed him an immortal pill.

Aribbean’s advancement to Rank Four had nothing to do with exceptional talent or a solid foundation.

It was pure luck!

Even when igniting his divine flame, the man had stumbled and fumbled his way through the process. The divine relics he condensed were also of the lowest possible quality.

As for his followers, they were still the same pirate crew who had served under him before.

To put it bluntly, Aribbean’s path of advancement had already reached a dead end!

Rank Four was definitely his limit.

Unless, of course, he somehow managed to latch onto another high-ranking figure and ride their coattails.

And in Aribbean’s eyes, Sein was clearly that figure.

Sein treated those under his wing fairly well, especially those who could provide him with some value.

Aribbean might have been something of a lost cause, but his talent for brown-nosing was genuinely impressive. After all, he had even managed to coax a reward out of Tourmaline.

Not every subordinate under Sein needed to be capable and hardworking. Sometimes, keeping a flatterer around was not such a bad thing.

Besides, now that Aribbean had advanced to Rank Four, his value had at least risen slightly.

Looking at the fawning space pirate leader before him, Sein turned to the God of Black Mist.

“Neither the Insectoids nor the Dawn Empire are familiar with the faith-based system. In the future, much of the faith territory across the vast Divine Descendants Star Domain will likely be allocated to the other alliance deities. You can transfer a portion of your followers to Aribbean for now. I’ll request additional faith quotas for you from the Magus Alliance later,” Sein said.

“Understood,” the God of Black Mist replied respectfully.

Hearing this, Aribbean was moved to tears. Despite being a Rank Four deity, he looked ready to kneel and lick the soles of Sein’s boots.

Aribbean was not the only one to receive a reward. The other deities present were also rewarded for their contributions during the war.

Sein brought out more than twenty divine relics he had obtained on the battlefield of the Divine Descendants World. Some were Marduk’s secondary divine relics, including several seized by Sein and Fermera themselves.

A portion had also been captured by the God of Black Mist and the others before being handed over to Sein.

Of course, Sein had no intention of giving all these divine relics away directly. He only planned to extract the divine abilities and divinity contained within them, then distribute those among his subordinates.

The divine abilities and divinity themselves were of little use to Sein.

What he truly needed was the vast amount of energy stored within the relics.

However, to the God of Black Mist and the others who walked the path of divine faith, those divine abilities and divinity were immensely valuable.

Just as Sein possessed an insatiable thirst for knowledge, these deities naturally sought greater divine power.

Getting rewarded was always one of the most satisfying parts of any war.

By bestowing these divine abilities and divinity upon the God of Black Mist and his companions, Sein was also making his attitude clear—he did not regard them as slaves. They were subordinates who fought beneath him and shared in the rewards that followed.

This sense of shared interests would undoubtedly make them far more eager to contribute when the next war began.

Aside from distributing the general rewards, Sein also gave special recognition to the God of Black Mist and the God of the Black Dog.

He even returned the two Rank Four divine relics that the God of Black Mist and his companions had originally handed over to him.

Sein had already thoroughly studied the profound mysteries contained within them, so the relics themselves were no longer of much use to him.

The God of Black Mist received special recognition because he was currently the highest-ranked foreign god under Sein’s command. His composure also made him well suited to handling important matters on Sein’s behalf.

As for the God of the Black Dog, Sein had heard about how he had nearly sacrificed himself to save the others during the war.

Yuri had also told him that this god cared deeply for his followers and subjects. Among all the deities serving under Sein, his legion had suffered the fewest casualties.

“Keep up the good work. I have high hopes for you,” Sein said, patting the God of the Black Dog on the shoulder.

1. Author’s Note: Strictly speaking, Venerable Tianyang had fallen outside the plane. As a result, the crater he left behind was relatively small and contained only a few scattered fragments of his remains. ☜