Chapter 712: Probing

A month later, in the outer void of the Bright World, within Athena's divine realm of wisdom, the Wisdom Goddess of the Fate Divine System stood by a lake. Her jade-like right hand extended forward, generating numerous 'bubbles' from her fingertips, some large, some small. Some vanished in an instant, while others endured long and firm.

Yet the fragments of those broken 'bubbles' were all incomparably sharp, cutting one rift after another at the edges of this divine realm, even extending into the boundless void beyond.

"Are you studying the authority of space?"

The void here was suddenly torn open, and then Metis, Athena's mother and the current 'Protector of Infants,' stepped in. Her gaze was puzzled: "I thought you would continue developing in 'War'; your war is already very close to truth. Or is this the will of His Majesty? Does He—"

Athena shook her head, interrupting her mother: "Don't make wild guesses, Mother. His Majesty places no restrictions on us. This sovereign is completely different from my father. He wishes nothing more than for more of us to attain Divine Rank 20 and master more power as soon as possible. You can't imagine that now, at every meeting, the first thing our sovereign says is to urge everyone to improve their divine authority and rank to the utmost, and He spares no effort in supporting us."

"I truly cannot imagine it," Metis said with a bitter smile. "But I have heard of His Majesty's generosity. It's evident from His attitude toward those pseudo-truth-level mythic armaments. He was willing to grant such powerful artifacts to Artemis. Does His Majesty not fear that His own position and authority might be challenged by His subordinate gods?"

Metis's expression was filled with infinite emotion: "This is something Zeus could never do. If it were Him, He would rather keep those things in His treasury. I was very jealous when I heard about it, but I had to admit that, in the face of a great enemy, this is a truly wise and convincing approach. So, Athena, you?"

"The reason I abandoned war is my own doing."

Athena smiled slightly, her expression calm: "That gap, for me now, is like a chasm. Ancient forms of war are completely different from modern ones, and the foundational structure of divine authority has undergone nearly颠覆性 differences. To improve in war would be as difficult as starting over; it's better to begin anew."

"Moreover, even though His Majesty possesses unparalleled magnanimity and spirit, as subjects, we must not lack reverence for our sovereign. I anticipate that for a long time to come, this will remain one of His Majesty's most important authorities."

"You're right."

Metis nodded thoughtfully, guessing that Athena had further considerations beyond this, but it was inconvenient to speak of them.

Thinking more carefully, abandoning 'War' was indeed a very wise decision for Athena.

The Lord of Fate's position as the God of War in the pantheon and the Bright World was already secure, something Athena could never shake.

This authority, only when held by the Lord of Fate as the master of the pantheon, could best aid the pantheon and benefit all gods.

Athena continuing on this path would only be redundant.

"But the path of space is not easy either, is it? I witnessed firsthand how difficult it was for Eke back then."

Eke was a primordial god of Greece, the source of infinite time and space, but this god of powerful authority had fallen thousands of years ago.

Athena laughed after hearing this: "It's easier than you imagine, Mother. I studied it before, spending quite some time. Now, with His Majesty's support..."

Athena's true confidence came from the 'Wish Spell' granted by His Majesty.

Over these thousands of years, she had accumulated a great deal of 'merit,' currently one of those with the most merit in the Fate Divine System, even surpassing Diana.

Moreover, she sensed Li Mochen's favor toward her. Her 'Wish Spell' was different from that of other gods; it might not match Angela or Conshuli, but it was similar to that of Heracles, Achilles, and others.

This showed her sovereign's expectations and trust in her.

However, Athena still held back some of these details in front of Metis.

"Look!"

Athena then created another 'bubble' at her fingertip, stretched it into four dimensions, and integrated it into this world. Metis's pupils contracted slightly.

"Close to pseudo-truth level?"

Space was the highest divine authority; even pseudo-truth-level 'Space' could contend with truth-level 'War.'

According to Einstein's theory of space, 'Space' and 'Time' could transform into each other. Developing these two divine authorities to the extreme would lead to unity.

But Metis remembered that a few years ago, Athena's control of 'Space' had not even reached the ultimate level. Was it because of His Majesty?

"A little short, but soon."

Athena's eyes sparkled; she believed that before her merit was exhausted, she would surely step into this realm, even if it cost her merit and luck.

Metis then sensed something else: "Athena, your divine power seems thicker and richer?"

Athena nodded: "Thanks to His Majesty, my divine power has grown considerably recently. Now, I only need His Majesty to ascend to the top to enter Divine Rank 20. I estimate that Apollo and Artemis are about the same."

Others in the pantheon, like Diana, Prometheus, and the Supreme Dragon God Ao, were even standing at the threshold of Divine Rank 20.

"This is truly a generous god-king."

Metis sighed again, with a sense of relief: "He is completely different from Gaia and Zeus."

She knew that before this, Athena had remained stuck at Divine Rank 19 despite mastering the truth of 'Wisdom,' partly due to the suppression of the Lord of Radiance and partly due to the divine power extraction by Gaia and Zeus, preventing Athena from gaining enough divine power to elevate her faith-based divine office.

If Greek mythology had not been preserved in history, and Athena herself was not a law god and ancient god, her daughter might not have even maintained her Divine Rank 19.

In the Fate Divine System, although the Lord of Fate also took a 30% cut of his subordinate gods' faith income, first, the proportion was low, and second, it was more symbolic—in ancient times, taxing subjects was a king's most important right. Thus, this faith income cut symbolized the gods' submission to the Lord of Fate.

In fact, the Lord of Fate would later return most of the faith income He collected to His subordinate gods, and even subsidize those with few followers but whose divine authority and office had significant value.

For instance, Metis herself, when her followers numbered no more than ten thousand, received daily from the Lord of Fate faith power exceeding that of a high god.

Thus, Athena and others, freed from the constraints of Gaia and Zeus, indeed had the qualification to advance to Divine Rank 20.

Their only obstacle now was that their king was still at Divine Rank 19.

"I came this time for Porus, but seeing your situation now, I know my worries were somewhat unnecessary."

Metis's child Porus was currently serving as the Lord of Fate's attendant and also His disciple.

"You really don't need to worry about Porus. He is now at Divine Rank 16 and has even become a powerful archmage. I think it won't be long before Porus catches up to Heracles."

"Divine Rank 16?" Metis was startled again; this was completely beyond her expectations: "Is this true? How could it be so fast? Last time we met, wasn't he at Divine Rank 8? How long has it been?"

It had been only five years since they changed allegiance and Porus was born. And only two years since Metis last saw Porus.

"Of course, it's the Wish Spell. You should know that the same Wish Spell has vastly different effects on different people. His Majesty once told me that Porus has astonishing luck, which can serve as fuel for the Wish Spell; his amount is seven times mine. Moreover, His Majesty spares no effort in cultivating Porus. As far as I know, His Majesty's support for him is no less than that for Princess Angela, and He has arranged three additional archmages as his teachers."

In this regard, Athena held nothing back from her mother: "I was also surprised by Porus's progress. I originally thought His Majesty would have some wariness and precautions toward my brother, but the result was completely different from what I imagined."

Her words contained admiration: "If there is anyone in this world who can become the leader of the gods, leading us against chaos and external invaders, then the only one I now recognize is our sovereign."

"As you say, He is a king who can make people willingly serve Him."

Metis agreed, but she also expressed concern: "I worry that Porus is still too young and completely ignorant of worldly affairs. In His Majesty's divine court, might he offend His Majesty or that ghost god?"

"I am watching over him, Mother! Porus is also more mature than you imagine. Don't forget that although he is only five years old, he had consciousness before birth. He knows who is truly good to him and cherishes it more than anyone. In fact, almost everyone in His Majesty's presence likes him."

Athena waved her hand, dispelling the bubbles in the air, and looked at Metis with concern: "As for you, Mother, how have you been lately? I can probably guess that you are very busy now. The divine office His Majesty granted you is not simple; you'd better not disappoint Him."

The divine office of 'Protector of Infants' might sound unimpressive, but in reality, it is one of the few faith-based divine offices with great potential.

Most humans in the mortal world are willing to devote themselves wholeheartedly to their children and seek help from the gods for them.

Thus, the Lord of Fate did not slight Metis but held great expectations for her.

"I know," Metis said with a bitter smile. "I am incredibly busy now. As the Protector of Infants, I need to protect all infants of the Fate Divine System, numbering in the billions. And if I want to do my job well, I have to juggle multiple divine authorities, involving protection, health, and so on. I was already dizzy with work, but the recent epidemic has made me even busier. Yet, such days are fulfilling, much more fulfilling than when I was stuck in Zeus's belly—"

※※※※

Porus was indeed thriving in the Fate Divine Kingdom.

At this moment, the youth he had grown into was in Einstein's magic tower, holding a scepter and murmuring incantations.

"Great Lord of Fate, help me make the best choice and grant me sacred opportunities."

After about three breaths, Porus tapped the two scrolls on his left with his scepter: "Teacher, my divine authority tells me that these two alloy formulas on the left have more promise. You'd better develop in these two directions. Of course, I'm not sure; this is just a choice made by opportunity—it could be right or wrong—"

"Not bad!" Bessel Einstein interrupted him before he finished, ruffling the boy's hair and speaking with approval: "Thank you, you've helped me a lot this time, Prince Porus. Your assistance has saved me at least three years and 1,200 repeated experiments."

This figure from Greek mythology, the prophesied future king of gods and men with infinite courage and wisdom, was not only the lord of opportunity and出路, the god of beauty and wealth, but also the god of creation and invention.

Thus, at this time when the Lord of Fate's avatar focused on potion research and His main body devoted itself entirely to elevating fate, and most gods had nearly exhausted their 'merit,' Porus and Prometheus had become hot commodities in the entire Fate Divine Kingdom.

His 'Opportunity' authority, though not as powerful or accurate as the Wish Spell, backed by the Lord of Fate, was not far off in effect.

At least since Porus's 'Opportunity' authority reached the ultimate level, it had rarely made mistakes.

Especially in choosing 'opportunities' for inventions and creations, Porus's accuracy was extremely high, as proven through practice.

For today's alloy formula research, Porus's accuracy was over 80%.

"It's what I should do, Teacher Einstein," Porus said with a shy smile. "The armor you designed and made for me is fantastic; I've always wanted to repay you. Besides, this helps the entire pantheon, right?"

"Indeed, it's related to the starship His Majesty is building. A battleship designed by Anthony couldn't meet the standard for engine materials. But he's stretched thin and had to entrust this to me. So, you can go directly to Anthony's assistant, the 'Goddess of Accounting and Statistics' Natalie Mays, and withdraw three billion gold shields. That's what you deserve."

However, after saying this, Einstein added solemnly: "Porus, I know you admire His Majesty and want to emulate Him in everything. But the problem is, you don't have much time now. You'd better not spread yourself too thin. Put aside your broad interests. The value of one truth-level divine authority outweighs ten pseudo-truths and numerous forbidden spells. Also, building a magic tower isn't about speed."

Porus's financial difficulties stemmed from constructing his magic tower. This newly promoted archmage had already built his tower to twenty floors and was still climbing—an extremely rapid pace, only two years since construction began. He had set a record, but it also plunged the god of opportunity and creation into a financial crisis.

Einstein thought highly of Porus. This son of Zeus possessed talent and wisdom surpassing even Heracles, Achilles, and even Apollo and Athena, and due to his divine authority, his mastery of various kinds of knowledge was astonishingly fast, almost rivaling the Lord of Fate, who had risen in just over a decade.

He believed Porus could master truth-level 'Opportunity' within the next ten years, provided he maintained focus.

Opportunity was a derivative of fate and causality, and also an extremely powerful divine authority.

"I know, Teacher Einstein," Porus replied solemnly. "You must be worried about my magic tower. But in fact, my purpose in building it is precisely to advance further in the authority of opportunity. Please believe, I have been working hard toward this goal."

Leaving Einstein's 'Supreme Truth,' Porus next went to Conshuli Willenstein's 'Silent Crown.'

He had an agreement with the latter to help Conshuli choose the future research direction for the 'Silence' divine authority, and Conshuli would pay him a huge sum of 3.5 billion gold shields.

Porus's 'Opportunity' authority could not be used indefinitely even in battle, and the consumption was especially great for such opportunity choices that could cause major changes in the future.

If he wanted to avoid damaging his foundation or consuming his luck and vitality, he could use it at most three times a month.

Thus, Porus was very cautious in using his 'Opportunity Authority.' He offered help only to those who could bring him wealth, benefit his current situation, or give him great returns in the future.

And as the ancestor of the god-king, now the 'God of Silence,' Conshuli Willenstein fit all three.

Porus eagerly anticipated the reward Conshuli would provide, which would fill his final funding gap.

His 'Gate of Opportunity' could soon be built to twenty-four floors, and Porus would thereby master his own created 'Supreme Art'—Infinite Opportunity.

This was a spell derived from his 'Opportunity' authority, somewhat inferior in effect, but consuming only one-twentieth of the divine power of the former.

This could greatly enhance his strength in battle, without having to suffer from exhaustion after at most three minutes as before, unable to choose the right opportunity.

This was something Bolos had been looking forward to, and now he was about to get his wish.

Just then, Bolos's mind stirred slightly as he looked toward the center of the divine kingdom, at the 'Fate's Domain' that had already reached fifty floors.

On the surface, this magic tower had not changed at all. But Bolos, as the close attendant of the Fate Master, sensed that his master had temporarily ended his cultivation and left the forty-eighth floor.

He was slightly surprised, then with joy in his eyes, transformed into a rainbow light and shot toward the direction of 'Fate's Domain'.

Although there was already an agreement with Consulius, they had not set a specific time, so it could be postponed a bit.

On the other hand, Bolos had not seen his Majesty, the Fate Master, for a long time. This time, his king had finally ended his meditation, and Bolos did not want to miss this opportunity.

Regarding 'opportunity' and 'fate', he had many things to consult this teacher. Although his other teachers were also powerful and wise, on the path of fate, his Majesty was the authority.

And just as Bolos returned to 'Fate's Domain', Li Mochen was already fully armed, accompanied by the Blue Blood King Janus, and the friends of the Fate Master—the Eastern True Martial Emperor and the foreign Life and War Goddess Isabel.

"Bolos? Wait here. Whatever it is, wait until I get back."

Li Mochen quickly took these three powerful divine kings and tore through the void, heading to a location about one hundred and thirty star-distances away.

For someone like Zhuanxu, even with individual strength, it would take at least an hour or two. But Li Mochen, using his own temporal divine authority, reached the destination in less than three seconds.

At this moment, a small, exquisitely shaped shuttle covered with scars also pierced through the void and hovered beside them.

The next instant, the unusually robust body of Drac the Warlord appeared outside the shuttle, wiping non-existent cold sweat from his forehead in an exaggerated manner.

"Just in time. If you were a step slower, you'd have to say goodbye to my corpse. Actually, maybe not even a corpse."

Li Mochen glanced at him, then swept his gaze across the void: "It's those few, right?"

He sensed the auras of at least seven divine kings continuously approaching.

"I don't know their identities, but they must be minions of the Terra Empire."

Drac looked at the distant void: "Among them, I suspect there is the White Scar. If not for him, I wouldn't have been so狼狈. Besides that, there might be other princes involved."

Li Mochen's companions, the Blue Blood King Janus and Isabel, both looked serious. Even Li Mochen and Zhuanxu's eyes flickered.

The White Scar, Chagatai Khan, also known as the 'White Hawk', was the fifth prince of the Terra Empire, commanding the Fifth Star Corps of the Terra Empire.

This one ranked among the foremost of all gene-seed primarchs, wielding the powers of 'change', 'freedom', 'wind', and 'kinetics'. This stemmed from his nature; for him, change was the truth of the universe, and stillness brought him unease.

Thus, Chagatai Khan was also uncontrollable. All enemies who tried to deprive him of his freedom would face his most brutal strikes.

Additionally, he mastered 'kingship' and 'combat', also at the truth level.

Undoubtedly, this was an extremely troublesome opponent. Li Mochen guessed that this person's strength was not inferior to Zhuanxu's!

While they were speaking, the figures of those divine kings had already appeared in their field of vision. They did not approach further but stopped in the void about three hundred thousand kilometers away, confronting them across the distance for a while.

Perhaps realizing there was no opportunity, after less than five seconds, these individuals all left.

Only one remained—a towering figure wielding a pair of curved blades, seven meters tall, covered in full magical power armor. His aura was icy and cold, and all matter and magical energy around him were in constant flux.

He gave Li Mochen and the others a deep look, then instead of retreating, advanced, crossing the space between them in an instant to stand before Li Mochen. His twin blades, wrapped in the wind of death, broke through the numerous barriers Li Mochen had set with temporal power.

The layers of space Li Mochen had divided could neither trap this person's figure nor intercept his blades.

"Please step back, Your Majesty!"

'Blue Blood King' Janus stepped forward, also holding a pair of war blades, poised to strike.

He knew he was no match for this 'White Scar'. But as a reputable mercenary, he could not retreat before his employer. A single 'White Scar' was not enough to intimidate him.

However, Li Mochen had no intention of letting his subordinate take over: "No need. He wants to test my ability, so I'll oblige him."

The four hundred and one 'Capital Thunder Fire Star Core Divine Swords' had already formed a layered sword array before him. Their shape resembled a giant shield, but their strategy was to attack instead of defend.

At least a thousand sword energies were generated at this moment, cutting and slashing at that person from all directions and angles. Every angle was extremely tricky, even penetrating dimensions and confusing temporal space, making them impossible to guard against.

The 'White Scar' indeed could not fully defend. The dense starlight sword lights also made it impossible for him to make any effective dodge. But the 'source power armor' flowing outside his body, along with the star dust particles in the astral realm, made the 'White Scar' indestructible! He did not even bother to block or deliberately evade. He almost tanked the Capital Thunder Fire Star Core sword energies and charged straight to Li Mochen.

During this, a few beams of sword light broke through the 'White Scar's' source power armor and cut into his body, but they were still futile, failing to damage this gene-seed primarch in the slightest.

"Can wind be cut?"

With this sneer, the White Scar swung a thousand slashes at Li Mochen.

This was a truth-level mythical artifact, carrying five types of truth divine authorities including 'destruction' and 'annihilation', invincible and indestructible.

The 'Thebes Sacred Shield' Li Mochen wielded could only withstand a few slashes before emitting a mournful tremor. Only the 'Gungnir Holy Spear', aided by Li Mochen's many mythical artifacts, could barely contend with it.

'Andre's Root Hand' could enhance the spear's fundamental power, and the 'Life Authority Seal' could allow it to recover slightly, making this spear left by Odin infinitely close to the truth rank.

But after a thousand exchanges, the body and essence of the 'Gungnir Holy Spear' were gradually approaching their bearing limit.

Li Mochen frowned slightly and had to avoid direct confrontation with the twin blades as much as possible. His spear was as fierce as a dragon, but subsequent collisions with those truth weapons were few and far between; out of a hundred thrusts, less than ten made direct contact.

However, it was Li Mochen who held the upper hand. Chagatai Khan's combat skills had reached truth level, maximizing the power of his twin curved blades. But Li Mochen's spear speed far exceeded the White Scar's.

The power of truth-level time allowed Li Mochen to completely ignore the concepts of time and space.

In the time the latter made a thousand slashes, his 'Gungnir Holy Spear' could thrust over three thousand times, easily evade the opponent's strikes, and effortlessly widen the distance and space between them.

But Li Mochen's rate of attack was also near his limit. On this basis, each additional spear thrust cost a large amount of divine power, making it not worth the gain.

The divine authority powers of the two also continuously clashed and collided in this void. They had not yet affected the fiercely fighting pair, but they had already twisted this region of space.

※※※※

Meanwhile, three star-distances away.

The Twelfth Prince of the Terra Empire, 'Emperor's Child' Fulgrim, smiled slightly: "He is indeed very strong. Although he only has two truths, his overall strength can even rival a God above Gods, much stronger than me. Truth and fate—truly the most superior divine authority powers. Who do you think will ultimately win between them?"

"Within five hours, it's a draw; neither can do anything to the other. In the long run, I favor Chagatai's opponent."

'Space Wolf' Leman Russ squinted: "I don't yet know this guy's divine power reserves and recovery ability, but Chagatai's consumption is clearly higher than that Fate Master's."

In this short time, the 'White Scar' had been hit by Li Mochen's Capital Thunder Fire Star Core sword energies at least thirty times. Although Chagatai suffered no damage, that didn't mean he paid no price.

He had to expend a large amount of divine power to maintain his special state.

"A whole set of mythical artifacts—that guy just relies on external advantages."

'Iron Hand' Ferrus Manus sneered disdainfully: "If that's all, I can rest easy. I really don't know why Horus lost to him."

"Your view is too biased. Being able to harmonize so many divine artifacts for his own use is part of his strength. Also, it was only Horus's avatar that lost to him, and the war between their main and secondary bodies consumed too much of their power."

'Space Wolf' Leman Russ shook his head in correction: "Chagatai is only able to match him because of his special power, and he also relies on mythical artifacts. Moreover, this guy's true terror hasn't been revealed yet."

The Second Prince 'Dark Angel' El'Jonson stared coldly: "You mean his speed?"

"That's one aspect!"

'Space Wolf' Leman Russ nodded: "And his explosive power. The King of No Land's choice is not without reason."

At that moment, Li Mochen's 'Gungnir Holy Spear' broke through the magical power armor outside Chagatai Khan and pierced through his entire body.

However, all matter in Chagatai's body was in a flowing state, like wind—formless, intangible, and elusive.

Even though Li Mochen's powers of death, thunder, and annihilation were doing their utmost to destroy the White Scar's internal body, and his temporal divine authority divided Chagatai's body into a thousand parts placed in different times and spaces, Li Mochen knew that this spear had not even harmed a hair on Chagatai.

His fate power had never been able to steer this person's fate toward death, or even injure him.

"I told you, your meager power cannot cut the wind of freedom!"

Chagatai Khan said this with full mockery, and his curved blades brought deathly light and shadow, continuously striking the 'Thebes Sacred Shield'. The terrifying destructive power nearly destroyed this pseudo-truth-level artifact.

"Interesting!"

Li Mochen's figure flickered, dodging Chagatai's counterattack.

While pulling away, he glanced at this gene-seed primarch with a faint smile. Then the next instant, he flashed to a location twelve star-distances away.

Before him, a figure with blue-green skin and limbs resembling amphibian webbed feet was swiftly swimming through the void.

This was one of the six divine kings of divine rank 20 who had withdrawn earlier. When he sensed Li Mochen, he first looked stunned, then showed a vigilant wariness, strengthening his defenses to the utmost in the next hundredth of a second.

But Li Mochen had already thrust his 'Gungnir Holy Spear' at him.

"In the name of the Fate Master, this spear shall kill without mercy!"

The 'Divine Sky Spirit Fortune Purple Gold Tower' burned seventy million merits at this moment—a small amount compared to the nearly ten billion reserves, but Li Mochen's strength was already sufficient to instantly kill this person.

The wish, aided by the power of the Divine Sky Spirit Fortune Purple Gold Tower, was only to ensure absolute certainty.

The moment his spear struck, this powerful divine king of divine rank 20 had his body explode. The power of annihilation annihilated his flesh, and the authority of death deprived him of life.

After killing this person, Li Mochen swept his spear back, then flew back a thousand meters in a thunderous crash.

Appearing before him was Chagatai Khan, who held his twin blades and locked onto Li Mochen with endless killing intent.

Although his face was hidden within the magical power armor, making his expression unreadable, his violent and icy aura revealed his mood.

"Follow me, Prince Chagatai! This is the first one."

Li Mochen smiled. Although his figure still remained before Chagatai's eyes, he had already left this place. The power of time made his speed surpass light.

In the time it took for his image to project into Chagatai's eyes, Li Mochen could move hundreds of star-distances!

Chagatai Khan's aura also changed drastically. He unhesitatingly continued to pursue. When he followed Li Mochen's aura to another void twenty star-distances away, he saw Li Mochen's 'Gungnir Holy Spear' wrapped in billions of lightning, piercing through a burly figure!

This sight made the White Scar's pupils contract to the extreme.