Nightmare Light

Chapter 170 The Levels of Gods

Shi Xiong slightly withdrew his gaze.

His imposing figure carved out a space for him among the surrounding crowd of laymen.

Beside him, a man dressed almost identically, also shrouded in a black robe, asked in a low voice, "Commander, when do we make our move?"

"Make a move? Make a move of what?" Shi Xiong frowned slightly, looking in the direction Lin Wang and Vice Bishop Zhao had left, and answered absentmindedly.

"You saw it yourself, that northerner, he's using white fire!"

"That doesn't mean he is 'that being' reborn!"

"My lord! Who else in this world can wield white fire? Besides, the aura of that fire is exactly the same as it was over a hundred years ago!"

"Enough! I will make my own judgment!" Shi Xiong said in a slightly lower voice. "Besides... that northerner was helping someone just now... When have you ever seen an evil god do good deeds?"

"What's impossible about that? That person was once infamous for lies and deception..." the black-robed follower said urgently. "My lord, give the order! While He is still weak, otherwise, once He fully recovers His former strength, our entire battle group combined will be no match for Him!"

Shi Xiong was so annoyed by his noisy subordinate that he said to him, "Fine, I agree. Go and do it."

"Alright! Then I'll proceed immediately... uh, sir, how shall we proceed?"

"In the temple, under the watchful eyes of hundreds of high-ranking priests and nearly ten thousand lay masters, they forcibly fought their way out."

"Then, you storm into the temple, and with an archdeacon and at least a hidden Crusader chapter watching, hack that 'potentially evil god' northerner to death... and then swagger away."

Shi Xiong looked at his subordinate with a blank expression, as if he were an idiot: "Isn't this your plan?"

"...There's no rush." ​​Shi Xionglue's subordinate said righteously, "Sir, I believe it's necessary to investigate thoroughly before taking action!"

“Idiot…” Shi Xiong rolled his eyes slightly.

He gazed into the depths of the temple and said slowly, "That northerner did something righteous... If he is indeed a righteous person as he appeared... I will never attack him."

"after all……"

"Although no one in this generation of the temple remembers our existence... we did, after all, swear an oath before our mother."

"We will defend the light, even if we walk in darkness."

……

Tap, tap...

The sound of the scepter striking the ground rang rhythmically.

Amidst the sounds of collisions and footsteps, Lin Wang followed Vice-Bishop Zhao into the depths of the passage, into a stone room.

"Alright, child... you can speak freely about those very dangerous things you want to know here."

Vice-Bishop Zhao had a gentle and kind expression, and drew a triangle on his chest.

"I'm very old... and the time I can spend taking care of my mother is running out..."

The old man's gaze swept over every rock in the stone chamber.

“Look at this magnificent temple… only someone with the utmost devotion to their mother could have built it… but…”

Vice-Bishop Zhao shook his head, smiled at Lin Wang, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Sorry, I'm getting old. Old people tend to ramble on... Young man, what do you want to know?"

"What I want to know are the two questions I asked before." "First, the people of Lushan claim that their power and rights come from 'gods' rather than 'mothers.' How can this be?"

After listening to Lin Wang's question, Vice-Bishop Zhao pondered for a few seconds.

He raised his hand and tapped the air a few times.

A shimmering light appeared in the air, forming words.

The old man looked at the text in front of him and slowly said, "Regarding the earliest source of power of the three royal families, and the source of their authority... there are different versions of the records in different histories, and even in the temple's own records."

"Among these records, there is a saying that the power of the Three Sovereigns did indeed come from their mothers, but in their later development, for various reasons, they forgot their origins." The old man waved his hand. "But I personally think that this saying is unreliable."

Lin Wang's heart began to pound—he realized that the old man in front of him was telling him some incredible knowledge.

"The second theory is that the gifts from the three royal families did indeed originate from a goddess—but it was a different goddess."

"Another goddess?" Lin Wang frowned.

“Yes, child, with your understanding of the temple and your research on ancient history, you should be very clear about a truth—in the earliest times, there was indeed more than one god in this world…” Vice Bishop Zhao winked at Lin Wang and leaned closer, “There are even legends that to this day, those ancient gods are still walking in places that humans cannot see.”

Lin Wang remembered the three altars beneath the Mist Clan Temple.

I should go back and study it when I have the chance...

Lin Wang nodded: "I have indeed read the relevant materials."

Vice-Bishop Zhao continued, "However, I also know a third version of the story regarding the power of the three royal families—that their power comes from another great monarch."

"Another Great Khan?!"

"Just as there are different levels of ordinary masters, there are also different levels of deities."

Bishop Zhao said, "The hierarchy of deities is... distinguished according to the ranks of Duke, Earl, Grandfather, Great Grandfather, Lord, and Great Lord, as recorded in the classics."

A flash of lightning struck Lin Wang's heart, and he was taken aback—this was the first time he had heard a clear and specific classification of the divine ranks.

Vice-Bishop Zhao waved his hand and said, "Of course, the four levels of Duke, Earl, Grandfather... and Grandfather are basically the limits of cultivation for mortals."

"According to historical records, the king and the great king belong to the true realm of gods, which mortals can never reach."

The old man shook his head: "When people get old, they tend to become long-winded... But then again..."

“Mother is a recorded great ruler, a realm that only truly powerful beings can reach.”

"There are three such great rulers recorded in the temple's records."

“One of them is the one we suspect bestowed power and authority upon the three royal families—the Primordial Lord.” The old man spoke slowly, his tone filled with emotion, “I never imagined that in my lifetime I would actually discuss such secret knowledge with someone outside the temple…”

“The Great Lord of Origin…” Lin Wang murmured the name of this deity, “And the other one?”

Vice-Bishop Zhao gave Lin Wang a deep look: "That's another story... Young man, you'd better ask what you want to know first."

Lin Wang snapped out of his thoughts and nodded: "Second question, besides the three royal families, have any gods... or goddesses ever given any 'extra gifts' to mortals?"

The old man did not answer Lin Wang's question directly. He pondered for a while and then suddenly asked Lin Wang a strange question.

"Child, do you think mortals are qualified to receive gifts from the gods?"

(End of this chapter)