Chapter 66: Slaying the Deity

Hong Ren landed vertically. He made no effort to slow his descent mid-air, and the powerful inertia combined with his weight smashed into the ground, leaving a terrifying crater.

Yet he moved as if walking on flat ground, completely unfazed by the height. After landing, he quickly left the area. Terrifying sonic booms accompanied his movement, and wherever he passed, the ground was left with horrifying cracks.

“How did it go?”

Hong Ren pulled out the black mirror from his chest. On its surface appeared a small, green-skinned old man, who spoke to inquire.

“He accepted both the Magic Mirror and the contract. Judging by his expression, he seemed to have some thoughts about it.”

At that moment, Hong Ren sensed a powerful surge of Magic Power in the distance. He accelerated his running speed once more, racing without hesitation toward the northern mountains.

“Are the Dragonkin chasing you again?”

The aged voice echoed from the Magic Mirror once more. Hong Ren frowned slightly, responding with a hint of displeasure.

“The Demon King has long signed a non-aggression treaty with the Dragonkin. My crossing the border this time was already a violation. If not for the Demon King’s sake, I wouldn’t have risked my life to come here.”

“There was no other choice. According to the Demon King’s detection, that Spirit King Tree might possess a trace of Deity-level power. As soon as we received the information, we couldn’t rely on sheer numbers to overpower it.

The team assigned to capture the Primordial Spirit consisted of only the two of us Demigods, making success difficult. Moreover, that Primordial Spirit might have mastered Teleportation Magic. On this Dragonkin territory, completing the pursuit becomes even harder. We had no choice but to send you deep into the heart of the Forest.

However, as long as you haven’t revealed your Demigod-level strength, the Dragonkin won’t trouble you. Hurry to the northern mountains before you’re intercepted. I’ll be waiting here to assist you.”

In truth, with Hong Ren’s strength, ordinary Dragonkin posed no threat to him. But this was the ancestral land of the Dragonkin, where entry was forbidden to all non-native Forest forces.

A true Dragon God resided here, whose power far surpassed that of a Demigod like him. As for that Spirit King Tree, it was likely a contingency left by the Elven Divine Tree, granting it a sliver of Deity-level power. Hong Ren and his companion dared not risk attacking it, leading to this awkward situation.

When the two sides’ strengths were mismatched, Hong Ren and his companion had planned to launch a full-scale assault, overwhelming their target with superior power and numbers. But the Demon King’s sudden warning changed their course of action. Since their target was the Primordial Spirit, there was no need to clash head-on with the Spirit King Tree.

In fact, before the Goblin Legion had even assembled, Hong Ren had been stationed near the northern mountains to prevent the Primordial Spirit from escaping into the Dragonkin ancestral land, avoiding putting themselves in a passive position.

But Zhai Guangyi had teleported directly inside, rendering all their preparations futile. Hong Ren had no choice but to risk entering, offering tempting bait to lure the Primordial Spirit.

“What if that Primordial Spirit doesn’t trust our contract? Do we just abandon him? Then wouldn’t my life-risking intrusion have been in vain?”

Although Hong Ren felt there was a chance, the Spirit King Tree was right here—there was no reason for the Primordial Spirit to follow the Demon King. Both the Primordial Spirit and the Spirit King Tree were likely contingencies left behind by the Elven Divine Tree.

“If he doesn’t accept our invitation, I have a backup plan. We’ll discuss it when you return!”

Truthfully, Hong Ren didn’t quite understand why the Demon King valued that Primordial Spirit so highly. Aside from being rare, its strength wasn’t particularly impressive.

He hadn’t studied Appraisal Magic, but through basic observation alone, he could tell this Elf possessed little real power—its Level was likely quite low. Aside from having a large reserve of Magic Power, it had no notable strengths. Against a Mage of this caliber, he could guarantee decapitation with a single strike from within a hundred meters.

“But why does the Demon King value this Primordial Spirit so much? It took me over a century to become one of the Demon King’s officers, paying many costs and accumulating countless military achievements and honors along the way.

Why should this weak Primordial Spirit directly become an officer, equal in rank to me?”

Hong Ren had been suppressing his emotions all along. He didn’t want to act within Dragonkin territory—dying at the hands of the Dragon God over a mere message-delivery mission would feel utterly humiliating.

“Do you know why most of us are stuck at the Level 70 Demigod stage, while the Demon King has reached the Level 90 bottleneck?

Because a Demigod remains just that—a Demigod. Without obtaining an Ultimate Skill, the Soul can never break free from the constraints of life. This is something even the Demon King cannot help us with.”

“Ultimate Skill?”

This was the first time Hong Ren had heard of the concept of an Ultimate Skill. The old man in the mirror had followed the Demon King in campaigns for thousands of years and knew far more than a newly promoted officer like him. Moreover, as someone who had always charged on the front lines, Hong Ren hadn’t had the opportunity to learn much about such knowledge.

Strength was important, but growth had its bottlenecks. The closer he got to the Level 70 bottleneck, the more hopeless further progress seemed. Naturally, he reduced his combat training and began focusing more on cultural and intellectual improvement.

Half a year ago, Her Highness Lilith’s proposal for Quality Education had been of great help to him.

“Exactly. If any being breaks through the Level 60 bottleneck, they advance to Demigod status and gain a Special Skill. But only by raising that Special Skill to Level 10 can it evolve into an Ultimate Skill.

With an Ultimate Skill, we too can break through the Demigod bottleneck, raising our Level cap to 80. As for reaching the same level as the Demon King, one must raise the Ultimate Skill to Level 10—but even that only brings one to the threshold of Deityhood, a state known as half-Demon God.

The Demon King has remained in this half-Demon God state for over a thousand years, unable to break through. Do you know why?”

Hong Ren naturally didn’t know these details, but he understood perfectly well that Skills equated to Soul Strength. Merely increasing one’s Level wasn’t enough to grow stronger. Only by relying on a powerful patron and continuously hunting Magical Beasts of the same rank to obtain Magic Crystals could one continue to advance.

“I know what you’re thinking. To ascend to a Deity, relying solely on Ultimate Skills is impossible. Even if you slaughter most of the life on the continent, possess tens of thousands of Skill Points, and max out several Ultimate Skills, you still cannot become a true Deity.

This is the conclusion the Demon King Honored One personally reached through experimentation, which is why all beings on the continent now fear the Demon King Honored One. The Human Race, in particular, is irreconcilably opposed to us, launching wars year after year.”

“As for Deities, they possess a Skill capable of altering the rules of the World. The Demon King Honored One calls it a Unique Skill. Only by obtaining a Unique Skill is there a possibility of becoming a Deity.”

Hong Ren listened to the old man’s words, his eyes filled with greed, growing more and more excited as he heard more. He had thought his martial prowess had reached its limit, but he never imagined there was such an exaggerated path to take. Slaughter half the continent, become half a Demon God—indeed, only through battle and devouring can one grow stronger endlessly.

“How can one obtain a Unique Skill?”

The old man’s voice echoed again from the black mirror. After hearing the answer, Hong Ren felt a chill run down his spine, as if something truly strange were watching him.

“There is only one way: hunt down a Deity! The end of a path can only accommodate one Deity.”