Man on the ark, forced to become king

The moment he saw this person, he straightened up and immediately felt wide awake.

Even she has to have enough respect for this person, whether in terms of strength, status, or character.

"Old Master?"

"Your daughter is here too? What a coincidence."

The old master smiled and agreed, not bothering Chongyue who was halfway through his punch. He bypassed the area where the master and disciple were and went to the door.

"You just got back?"

Lin Lu came to her senses and glanced at the old celestial master, immediately noticing something amiss.

The slightly worn robe had some tears and marks from some unknown source at the edges, but it looked very fresh, obviously recently put on. Although the person looked calm, there was actually a sense of travel-wornness, as if they had rushed here and hadn't had time to tidy up.

"Mr. Lin has a keen eye. I encountered some issues on the way here, which delayed me for a while."

The old Celestial Master nodded, casually tucked his palm-leaf fan into his waistband, and cupped his hands, saying, "I heard from General Zuo that I was unable to arrive in time, all thanks to Mr. Lin's righteous intervention. The fire, which had spread for three hundred miles, was extinguished and the danger to Yumen Pass was averted!"

"You're welcome."

Lin Lu returned the greeting with a fist and palm salute, and said with a smile, "I have been entrusted with this matter, so I must be loyal to it. Since I have agreed to take care of the affairs of Yumen Pass, I naturally cannot be perfunctory."

"Mr. Lin is very kind. I will remember this kindness."

The events outside Yumen Pass were truly beyond the Old Celestial Master's expectations. His request for help from the Golden Tree was aimed at those powerful deities within the Golden Tree, hoping to use them to help Yumen Pass overcome its difficulties.

It's unbelievable that Lin Lu single-handedly repelled the evil spirits from beyond the pass.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the crisis at Yumen has been truly resolved, and the promised "generous reward" from Longmen cannot be delayed any longer.

Fortunately, he had some gains on his way here, otherwise it would have been really difficult to repay this huge favor.

Helping the soldiers of Yumen defend the border is not the same as directly repelling the evil forces outside the pass. The latter is undoubtedly much more difficult and has a much greater impact on the overall situation of Yumen City.

The compensation I prepared beforehand is somewhat lacking; I need to add something extra.

"Mr. Lin, please take a look. This is something I acquired by chance on my way here. Do you find it acceptable?"

The old celestial master flicked his sleeves, raised his arm, and held up an object from his palm.

The object, held in my hand, looked like a heart. It was entirely red, seemingly made of jade, crystal clear, with light shimmering inside. It expanded and contracted, like a heart beating.

From this palm-sized gadget, Lin Lu sensed an unusually large amount of energy, and vaguely, it seemed that something else was hidden within it.

"What's this?"

After taking the item and examining it closely, Lin Lu had some guesses in her mind, but she didn't say them out loud. Instead, she looked at the old master and waited for his answer.

"It seems Mr. Lin has already guessed it."

The old celestial master stroked his beard with one hand and said in a deep voice, "This is a crystal heart forged from the flesh and blood of a deity. It contains the power of the deity, and that deity is sealed within this crystal heart."

"When I was passing through a city, I happened to encounter a deity breaking free of his seal and intending to return to the mortal realm. So I sealed him back and continued to suppress him within the Crystal Heart."

"I see."

The treasure sealed within was a deity. Regardless of the deity's strength, their status was undeniable, and Lin Lu was extremely satisfied with this reward.

Once the Golden Tree devours this thing, it means that another authority will soon be added to the Golden Tree's system.

However, the appearance of this thing also stirred up Lin Lu's thoughts.

These internal and external troubles of Yan Kingdom... seem, perhaps, maybe, possibly... are all excellent tonics for the Golden Tree?

Chapter 188 The Believer of the Loser

After a conversation, Lin Lu learned from the old celestial master what the current situation of Yan Kingdom was, and why it didn't even have the spare capacity to support Yumen Pass.

The Yan Kingdom has a long history and profound cultural heritage, with a rich domestic tradition and a million-strong army. Its full strength is no less than that of any other country on the continent.

It might even exceed that by a considerable margin, even compared to large countries like Ursus and Victoria.

It is only because Yan Kingdom adheres to the principle of 'national peace and prosperity' and rarely interferes in foreign affairs or launches foreign wars that people underestimate the true strength of this behemoth.

Logically speaking, even if the Sui Beast were to revive, it would at most perish together with the capital of Yan Kingdom. It would be unrealistic to expect it to seriously damage Yan Kingdom or even cause a devastating blow.

Time flies, and the events of a thousand years ago have long since faded into the past.

A thousand years have passed, and the gods are still the same, but people are very different from before.

The development of Originium Industry and the rise of modern technology have enabled ordinary humans to arm themselves. The fruits of modern industry—mobile cities and high-speed warships—are, to some extent, comparable to gods, though not quite as good, but not by much.

It has a clear advantage, especially when dealing with truly enormous beasts.

Therefore, the Yan Kingdom today is capable of killing gods, and is far from what it used to be.

Even if those ancient gods who were driven out a thousand years ago intended to return, theoretically it would be impossible for them to control most of the Yan Kingdom's energy, preventing the court from even supporting the border.

Through the old master's explanation, Lin Lu finally understood where the problem lay—no matter how advanced the weapons and warships were, they still needed people to use them.

Cold, inanimate objects are easy to build; they only require resources. The most unpredictable thing is the human heart.

A thousand years ago, the war to slay the gods raged across the land of Yan, and blood was spilled on the earth. After that war, the gods who once lived on the land of Yan were killed, fled, and were in a very sorry state.

Those fleeing gods left the Yan Kingdom and disappeared, their whereabouts unknown.

However, some of the gods who were killed within the Yan Kingdom became hidden dangers, such as the sealed artifact in the hands of the Old Celestial Master.

At that time, the Yan Kingdom was severely damaged after the great war and was unable to completely deal with all the remnants of the gods, let alone kill them completely, so there was no possibility of revival.

As a result, some items containing fragments of deities fell into the hands of the common people and became the 'seeds' for the resurrection of those dead deities. The glass heart in the hands of the old celestial master was one of them.

Something like the Glass Heart is relatively conspicuous. Many artifacts containing divine power are extremely ordinary and common in appearance. Some gods have even left their nests in certain hidden places.

In the time that followed, the Yan Kingdom recuperated and sent experts to patrol its territory, concentrating its efforts to resolve many hidden dangers. However, the Yan Kingdom had a vast territory and abundant resources. To search out and destroy all the artifacts and nests containing divine power on such a vast land was like finding a needle in a haystack, and it was simply impossible.

Despite countless patrols conducted over the millennia, there are always some who slip through the net.

In fact, if that were all, it wouldn't be too troublesome, because those gods who only had 'seeds' left were all killed in the war against the gods. It would be very difficult for them to be resurrected, and it would take a very long time, at least a thousand years. It was impossible for them to be able to be resurrected in a thousand years like the Year Beast.

According to the calculations of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, those gods who have died once need at least two thousand years to rebuild their bodies and return.

—This is on the premise that no one is deliberately helping.

If someone is willing to devoutly worship the dead gods, it can greatly accelerate their return.

Based on this, the imperial court exerted a very high level of scrutiny over domestic religions, and the source of any belief had to be thoroughly investigated.

Such a decision was indeed effective, and to some extent prevented the return of the gods.

However, people's hearts are unpredictable, and there are always those who have different ideas. They secretly form religions, develop followers, and want to welcome back the old gods.

For a thousand years, they remained hidden in the shadows, some even infiltrating the imperial court and holding high positions.

This time, the Old Gods religion, which had been hiding in the corner, suddenly erupted as if they had planned it all, sweeping across the entire Yan Kingdom in a very short time.

This caused great turmoil within the imperial court. Signs of divine resurgence were found in many places, spreading everywhere. It was a mix of truth and falsehood, with traitors secretly influencing the situation. As a result, the Imperial Observatory and the Imperial Calendar Office were severely understaffed and had to rely on the troops stationed in various places to deal with the situation.

Beset by internal and external troubles, the vast imperial court was immediately hampered. Before completing the internal purge, the emperor did not even know how many lurking traitors remained, and dared not allow the army, which had not yet been investigated, to intervene in the divine crisis, let alone support Yumen.

"Why would those people, who have been lying low for so many years, suddenly expose themselves? Isn't doing this putting all their assets on the table, a desperate gamble? Are they really that confident they can do what they want?"

Lin Lu found it a bit hard to understand the actions of the followers of the Old Gods.

This doesn't look right at all, does it?

Since they have already secretly accumulated such enormous power, there is absolutely no need to suddenly unleash it and fight to the death with the Yan Kingdom's court.

If they haven't been discovered for so many years, wouldn't it be better to just keep hiding?

Although this sudden outbreak did cause a lot of trouble for the imperial court, the power they wielded was still far from comparable to that of the imperial court.

No matter how impressive it seems now, it will be completely suppressed before long.

At that time, they will lose everything, and the court may even eradicate them completely. Even if they can resurrect one or two gods, it will be of no use.

When the dust finally settles, they will find that they have paid such a huge price, and have gained nothing except causing chaos in Yan for a few days.

All they did was, at best, a major farce, nothing more.

"You think you can reason with a fanatic? There's no reasoning with them."

The old celestial master shook his head and sighed: "In the eyes of those people, the gods they believe in are omnipotent. They think that as long as they welcome back the ancient gods, the glory of the gods can return to the earth."

"Such believers have a completely distorted understanding of the world. They firmly believe that their god is capable of doing anything, and therefore they are willing to pay any price for the revival of the god, even their own lives."

"makes sense."

Lin Lu was speechless.

That is indeed the case.

Those fanatics who treat faith as everything are completely unreasonable; they have been thoroughly brainwashed.

Few people willing to join such underground religious organizations are likely to be mentally sound.

After all, what kind of person would elevate a group of losers from the old era back to godhood?

If those gods were really that powerful, how could they have been killed by the Yan Kingdom back then, leaving only seeds waiting to be revived?

"This is really... why do people always want to find themselves a father?"

Lin Lu said she couldn't understand this inexplicable belief at all.

Even back in the border region, he never truly believed in anyone when he used prayer.