GDK 851: Nope, too weak
Zovic was flabbergasted. To his knowledge, on the entire Elysium, only the Overgods who possessed the Quintessences could alter and rewrite the operation of natural forces.
The originally unexceptional concentration of elemental energies in the valley had suddenly spiked. This was not something that an average god could accomplish. Even the Five Sovereigns weren’t able to do such a thing if they did not wield the Quintessences.
Zovic took a moment to carefully sense the environment. He was yet again shocked for he discovered that the concentration of all Eight Elemental Energies had increased. An Overgod was only able to alter the concentration of the element they cultivated. This meant that unless the eight respective Overgods joined hands, no being could accomplish what Han Shuo just did.
Zovic was stupefied and he almost could not believe his senses.
Rose and Romon were also incredibly amazed. It was unbelievable even to Rose who knew a thing or two about Han Shuo’s brilliance. She had seen Han Shuo deploy demonic formations of serious firepower but she had never seen him deploy one that could gather elemental energies.
Any gods who cultivated in a region of higher elemental energy concentration could make progress multiple times faster compared to their counterparts in places of lower concentration. In other words, those who cultivated in this valley could grow stronger much faster than others. This would be a terrifying advantage to have.
But the transformation hadn’t stopped yet!
While Zovic and the others were still in shock, the elemental energies everywhere continued to gather towards the valley. Han Shuo kept smiling but said nothing other than to ask his servants to keep watching.
***Half an hour later…
The concentration of elemental energies continued to elevate before it finally stabilized – at thirty times the original concentration!
Zovic’s mouth was wide open. He flew all around to survey the valley as he mumbled to himself, “How? How is this possible?!”
Of the party, only the four Elite Zombies were not surprised. The four little fellas knew just how miraculous Han Shuo’s demonic arts were. The Places of Extreme Yuan that they were born from had elemental energies even denser than was found in this region.
After a long, long time, Zovic finally managed to slightly calm down. He asked Han Shuo, “How did you do that?” Zovic’s gaze towards Han Shuo had completely changed to show reverence.
Han Shuo smiled and calmly replied, “Perhaps I’m no match for the Five Sovereigns for now, but the energy which I master has the potential to far exceed all the Sovereigns. What I’ve done to the valley here may seem unimaginable to you, but it’s a normal day’s work to me.”
“Master, you must be more powerful than the Five Sovereigns! I doubt that the Five Sovereigns could accomplish what you could!” Romon admired Han Shuo even more after witnessing the transformation to the valley.
“As I’ve said, the transformation you see now is not the final result. When my other son returns, we will be able to complete the whole thing and the valley will be operating at a much higher capacity,” said Han Shuo before he walked to the monolith engraved with the outline of the Cauldron of Myriad Demon. He fiddled with a few things and the intense elemental energies gradually started dissipating from the valley.
“We will leave the valley in its original state and head to the Omphalos. The next time that we are here, we will complete the stronghold.” Han Shuo, Han Hao, and Han Tu had an appointment at the Omphalos. In addition, Goron and the other experts that Han Shuo had recruited will also wait for him at the Omphalos. Han Shuo wished to assemble everyone at the center of the Fringe and return to this valley.
By now, Zovic could not be more impressed by Han Shuo’s marvelous abilities. He felt that Han Shuo must have the strength to contend against the Five Sovereigns.
After thinking for a moment, Han Shuo decided to conceal the demonic formations in the valley. After the elemental energies dispersed and returned to normal levels, other than the unusually lush plants, the valley appeared quite ordinary.
The party left the valley which Han Shuo temporarily named Pandemonium and headed to the center of the Fringe.
*** The Empyrean Peak. The mountain that pierced through the clouds was guarded by layers upon layers of boundaries. Brightly shining energy towers stood in every corner.
Near the mountain’s summit was a majestic palace where a three-meter tall man was sitting on the throne. His thick beard was meticulously woven into many small braids dangling over his chest. His eyes as deep as the sea were looking straight ahead. He exuded a terrifying demeanor even though he was in a calm mood.
In the hall, below his throne, several late-stage highgod experts were crouching before him. They were all characters of great power and influence in the Fringe but they were incredibly humble while in the palace. One of them was an expert who had tried to recruit Han Shuo outside the Omphalos.
“Culver, are you sure about what you’ve just said?” asked the godly and muscular man sitting on the throne curiously as he looked at those crouching under his feet.
Culver raised his head and revealed his revering eyes. He respectfully replied, “Lord Salas, I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes. Although that youngster appears to have ordinary strength, his true strength is very formidable,” Culver took a short pause before he continued, “I suspect that his true strength exceeds that of a highgod.”
Tiny electrical sparks suddenly started meandering in Salas’ pupils as though he was thinking. A moment later, Salas nodded. He spoke in a very calm voice, “From your recount, that youngster should possess strength above the highgod realm. But you said that you couldn’t tell which energy he cultivated in. Strange… Very strange…”
After a short pause, Salas instructed, “Culver, drop all the work you have for now and investigate everything about this youngster. His emergence could potentially upset the status quo. The five of us have been recouping our energy for some time now and will enter a great battle soon. This youngster could be a game-changer. If he will not stand on my side, I shall finish him myself.”
“Yes, My Lord! Your humble servant will investigate this person thoroughly!” pledged Culver hastily.
Salas nodded, gestured with his hand and said, “You are dismissed.” Salas then suddenly remembered something. He bunched his brows and instructed, “The trace I left on Kage has vanished. He’s been killed. Find out who did it.”
“Yes, My Lord!” replied Culver respectfully.
“Now go,” said Salas after he nodded. An enormous lightning bolt suddenly appeared on the throne and shot straight up as Salas vanished. Densely packed lightning bolts suddenly appeared everywhere around the Empyrean Peak.
***
“Brother, why hasn’t father returned yet?” the bored stiff Han Tu asked Han Hao. The two had been waiting for Han Shuo and the others in the Omphalos for several days.
“They have probably been held up by something,” replied Han Hao casually. He was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed in a secluded spot of the Omphalos. He was as still as a statue.
“Do you think Father has run into some kind of trouble? The Fringe has Five Sovereigns who are more powerful than highgods. Are they capable of capturing Father?” asked Han Tu again out of boredom.
“Nope,” replied Han Hao even more succinctly.
Seeing that Han Hao was not interested in conversing, Han Tu sighed and stopped asking.
“Excuse me, erm, are you Han Hao?” A weak, hesitant voice suddenly sounded. Several midgod teenagers were looking at the two nervously from a distance. It seemed as though they wanted to talk to Han Hao but were too shy.
Han Hao opened his sinister eyes slightly and took a glance at the teenagers before closing his eyes again. He replied indifferently, “Yes.” The teenagers had just midgod strengths and Han Hao deemed them too weak to hurt him or Han Tu.
The teenagers seemed somewhat excited after hearing Han Hao acknowledge his identity. They exchanged glances and enthusiastically approached Han Hao. One of them hastily said, “We have heard of your deeds and admire you greatly. We have all been banished from our family clans and we have nothing but black crystal coins. We do not want to live the rest of our lives trapped in the Omphalos. Will you please take us as your followers?”
The other teenagers also voiced their willingness and excitement.
But Han Hao did not even give them another look before he replied, “Nope, you bunch are too weak.”
The teenagers seemed embarrassed and dispirited after hearing the answer. They looked at each other and they were temporarily at a loss.
“You know, the Fringe has Five Sovereigns. Why don’t you look for them?” asked Han Tu, grinning. Unlike Han Hao, he was bored and was interested in making conversations.
“They don’t give a damn about the lives of their followers. We are afraid that we will be sent on a suicidal mission or be killed just because they don’t like us,” replied a pretty and innocent looking lady timidly. She did not look evil and the Fringe did not look like the place for her.
The Fringe was a place where the strong were honored and the Five Sovereigns practiced the law faithfully. For characters of their strengths, serving a Sovereign would not guarantee their safety at all. Even if they did not die to their opponents in constant fierce battles, they could lose their lives to their own superiors for accidentally offending them.
There was a large number of ferocious gods from all around Elysium traveling into the Fringe every day. These gods would try to become servants of the Sovereigns to survive in the Fringe. Therefore, the Sovereigns would always have plenty of experts to spare.
“How much black crystal coins do you have?” Han Hao who had been sitting cross-legged suddenly opened his eyes and asked the youngsters.
