I'm not just human!

"If it weren't for the fact that the two gods, [Nature Monarch] and [Supreme Law], have made so many contributions and sacrifices for humanity, leading humanity to develop and grow stronger, I'm afraid that at that moment all of humanity would have to believe in [Absolute Defense]."

"But without a doubt, [Absolute Defense] is the most powerful god among the nine righteous gods! It is not an exaggeration to describe Him as supreme, powerful, and virtuous!"

"What happened next, I'm sure you've all heard about from the myths and epics I've told before."

"【Absolute Defense】After single-handedly killing the five Great Old Ones who dared to surround Him, He continued his efforts and began hunting down other Great Old Ones throughout the universe."

"Later, the Natural Monarch and the Supreme Law also joined this group."

"Later, the remaining members of the nine great gods—[Silver Universe], [First History], [Error Rules], [Paradox Joker], [Temporary Reality]—appeared one after another. Although no one knows where they came from, they did indeed appear in the universe as gods."

"Under the leadership of [Absolute Defense], the nine Great Gods hunted down the Great Old Ones together. Under such circumstances, naturally none of the Great Old Ones could withstand it."

"The final outcome was that all the Great Old Ones in the universe were hunted down and wiped out. Their powers were either completely sealed or put into... well... you can't hear this, or you'll lose control on the spot."

"In short, it is because of the unparalleled power of the Absolute Defense, and the efforts of the other eight true gods, that we now have this peaceful, prosperous universe, and that we humans and demi-humans have grown stronger."

"Furthermore, because there are no longer any Great Old Ones to wreak havoc, supernatural beings can be born stably and eventually evolve into humanoid supernatural beings, establishing civilizations in the Ghost Realm..."

The bard, having said this, suddenly showed a touch of melancholy and sighed softly:

"Alas, I don't know why, for the past ten thousand years, the nine great gods have stayed in their respective earthly kingdoms and have hardly come out. They have even rarely responded to prayers. I have no chance to go and pay homage to them."

He sighed softly, seemingly unwilling to say more, and continued:

"Alright, that concludes the recounting of the secrets concerning the nine great gods. Everyone, see you next time if fate allows."

Suddenly, leaves and petals rained down from the sky, the pure white petals even bearing dewdrops. The sound of a harp rose, melodious and beautiful, but the bard's figure suddenly vanished.

Someone reached out to take them, only to find that the leaves and petals were just illusions, all fake.

Most people in the tavern didn't actually move, because they were still immersed in the history told by the bard, in the unparalleled achievement of [Absolute Defense] single-handedly killing five Great Old Ones and thus ushering in an era of great prosperity for humanity.

My mind was shaken and I couldn't calm down for a long time.

It took Xia Fa quite a while to calm down, and he was still filled with emotion.

He even considered changing his religion.

But that was just wishful thinking. The Silver Church treated him quite well, not to mention his colleagues like Chestnut Ethan, and the cold-faced but warm-hearted demigod, Tyrene.

"By the way, among the nine great gods... who is the ninth one? The bard only mentioned eight earlier..."

"No, it's not that only eight were mentioned, it's that only eight were mentioned on purpose."

Xia Fa frowned as he thought of this.

The reason is simple: from the moment he came into this world until now, he has never heard of the title of the ninth god.

Not only had he never heard of it, but he had also never heard anyone else mention it.

It seems that the title of this ninth true god is a taboo among taboos.

He thought for a moment, and the other eight of the nine righteous gods were:

【Silver Universe】

[Nature Monarch]

Paradoxical Joker

[Supreme Laws and Decrees]

[A Brief Reality]

[First History]

[Error Rules]

Absolute Defense

However, he had absolutely no recollection of who the ninth righteous god was.

It was as if some unseen force could influence the entire universe, causing everyone, even physical beings, to forget about this ninth god.

He only remembered the name of the church under the ninth god's command—the Church of Destiny.

"The Church of Destiny... what is the title of the true god they worship? Why does it seem like nobody in the entire universe remembers or knows?"

Xia Fa only pondered for a moment before daring not to think about it any further.

Because, just from the word "destiny" in the Church of Destiny, he could vaguely guess that this ninth true god must hold power related to destiny.

Fate is the most mysterious, unpredictable, and uncontrollable thing in this world.

Therefore, Xia Fa was afraid that even just speculating in his mind would attract the attention of this most mysterious ninth god, leading to some unpredictable events.

Seeing that many people in the bar had stood up and left after the bard finished his story, Xia Fa also quickly finished a large table of food, then got up and left the bar as well.

He had not forgotten the purpose of his visit to this extraordinary market on the island.

Of course, hearing such a magnificent piece of history was an unexpected bonus, and I felt like I had gained a lot.

"It's easy to find a black bag, but... where can I buy clothes that can withstand the high temperatures of my Silver Throne Rhine Silver Mercury?"

Chapter 97: The Black Bag that can yield a Hegemon-level Secret Contract?

As Xia Fa walked out of the bar, he headed toward the extraordinary market, which was located in the center of the island and was almost like a bustling small town, while still savoring the history he had just heard from the bard.

But he was thinking about something else entirely.

"If what the young miner said is true, then..."

Xia Fa remembered that the young miner had said that he would be very happy if one day the god of absolute defense discovered that he had also signed the Silver Throne, a supreme-level secret contract.

Of course, the same goes for the entity called "Storyteller".

Xia Fa didn't understand why before, and he still doesn't understand now, but after obtaining new information this time, he vaguely guessed what it was.

The demigod Axo once described the Silver Throne, a supreme-level contract, as "extremely powerful, extremely domineering, and irresistible."

Now, after signing the contract and experiencing it firsthand, Xia Fa has found that Axel's description was indeed correct.

To exaggerate a bit, when he transforms into that three-meter-tall metal humanoid form, even if he is only an insect-level superhuman, he can hunt down elephant-level or even whale-level superhumans with his extremely terrifying destructive power and unparalleled speed!

If it weren't for the fact that the demigod was simply too powerful, transcending the level of mortal life and having just begun to touch upon the existence of "gods," then it would have been impossible to defeat him...

Now, Xia Fa sincerely felt that the story of the god [Absolute Defense], whether it was hunting down the Great Old One [Fallen Evil] or single-handedly killing the other five Great Old Ones who dared to besiege Him, was very similar to the description of the Silver Throne.

Extremely powerful, extremely domineering, and irresistible.

"Could it be that [Absolute Defense] has also signed the Silver Throne, a supreme-level secret pact? Do gods need to sign secret pacts too?"

"Wait a minute, if we follow this line of reasoning, did the entity that answered the story also sign the Silver Throne? Does the entity also need to sign a secret contract?"

Xia Fa shook his head with a sigh. It seemed that his previous understanding of the concept that "the secret contract is the foundation of the extraordinary" was still too superficial.

Now it seems that the secret code... could even be said to be the root of all the extraordinary!

Apart from certain supernatural creatures and the bizarre.

"arrive."

Suddenly, Xia Fa stopped and stood in front of a bungalow.

The entire bungalow was built with pure black walls, had no windows, and even the roof was made of black bricks.

Moreover, these black wall bricks seem to absorb light; even when the bright and intense sunlight of the island shines on them, there is no reflection whatsoever, and the patterns on the bricks are not even visible.

One can imagine how dark the interior of the house would be when someone went in and closed the door.

There was a small stall at the entrance, with brand-new black robes displayed on the stall made of coconut bark.

Xia Fa nodded slightly, first spending a silver coin to buy a black robe, and then walked into the pure black bungalow.

The door closed almost the instant he entered the room, revealing it to be pitch black inside, as if he had fallen into a lightless abyss.

The room was filled with the sound of rustling footsteps, suggesting that there were dozens of people inside, but no one was speaking. Only occasionally could one sense the fluctuations of extraordinary power.

With a slight thought, Xia Fa immediately covered his face with a bronze ghost mask and wrapped his body in dried mud.

This made him look suddenly much more robust and muscular, no longer the skinny man who lacked muscle and fat.

He draped a black robe over himself, covering him from head to toe.

Even those who know him very well would never recognize him as Xia Fa at first glance.

Xia Fa was quite satisfied with his attire. He pushed open the door on the other side of the bungalow and went out.

This is a "disguise hut" found in every extraordinary market, specifically for extraordinary individuals who do not wish to reveal their identities.

Superhumans disguise their appearance and physique in various ways. Some rely on secret contracts, some on secret treasures, and some even on sealed artifacts. The Disguise Hut only provides a brand new black robe and does nothing else.

Xia Fa naturally disguised himself using the power of the Etheric Source Pact, the bronze mask came from the use of the gold element, and the mud block came from the earth element.

After leaving the disguised hut, Xia Fa began to truly explore this extraordinary market.

Clearly, this place is a melting pot of all sorts of people from all walks of life.

Interestingly, the Extraordinary Market is divided into two areas. The East Zone is where the shops and stalls are set up by the real extraordinary individuals, and it occupies a larger area. The West Zone is exclusively for ordinary people to buy and sell.

Because the disguised cabin was located in the West District, Xia Fagang entered the West District as soon as he came out.

There are almost no shops in the western district, only two or three fish stalls. Apart from that, everything else is just a thick cloth or mat spread out on the ground to sell.

"Sir, would you like a human-faced eel? We just caught one today, so I'll give you a special price: 260 gold pounds!"

At one of the fish stalls, the owner greeted Xia Fa warmly, showing no fear of his bronze ghost mask and black robe, as if he were used to seeing superhumans dressed like this.

A human-faced eel?

Xia Fa turned around and curiously glanced into a glass fish tank at the fish stall.

There it was, a black eel with brown spots, about the thickness of an adult's forearm, swimming and swaying its body in the aquarium.

Strangely, it actually has a human face, exactly like a real person, as if someone had shrunk their head and embedded it in.

Moreover, the person's face showed a tearful expression, but their eyes were also rolling around, looking at Xia Fa curiously.

The moment Xia Fa met the human-faced eel's gaze, he suddenly felt slightly dazed, his vision blurred for a moment, and he couldn't help but look away in surprise.

As recorded in the data, although the human-faced eel is not very aggressive, it does have a certain psychological effect on people and is suitable for superhumans who have signed a spiritual and mental bond to consume.

Xia Fa browsed through other stalls and saw that they mostly sold ores, herbs, fruits, etc., and rarely saw items like the secret treasure.

"Sir, come and see the Hibiscus syriacus I just dug up in the mangroves by the sea today! You definitely won't regret buying it!"