Chapter 1143: The Ancient Gods

During this period, Lin Yan's strength surged forward rapidly, and the goddesses of the Lin Yan pantheon also made rapid advances in power.

The direct consequence was that, within the Star Map, the divine star belonging to Lin Yan had become extraordinarily bright!

Since Lin Yan established a great divine nation, the divine nations of the pantheon goddesses all lay within Lin Yan's divine nation.

With this combination, that divine star became even brighter!

Now, Lin Yan's divine star had become the brightest star in the night sky!

Although everyone knew that the brightness of Lin Yan's divine star included the combined luminosity of the pantheon goddesses' stars, becoming the brightest star in the night sky still shook many heavenly deities!

At this moment, some deities who had always believed Lin Yan should be the top figure of the fourth tier became even more certain!

In fact, during this period, discussions about Lin Yan in the Heavenly Realm had never ceased.

And with the end of the solar energy tide, more and more deities returned from the sun of the Heavenly Realm, all of them startled by the new rumors emerging in the Heavenly Realm!

Although these later-arriving deities were generally weak, mostly first- and second-tier deities.

Yet their shock was equally immense.

Many deities flocked to the Spirit Realm of the Demon Lord and the Demon Lord's Divine Domain; when they saw the colossal divine nation of Lin Yan radiating light for ten thousand zhang within the Spirit Realm, and the divine domain of the Demon Lord still blazing with roaring flames, these deities were all deeply shaken!

At this moment, some deities suddenly emerged and actively sparked the debate.

"The Flame Lord's deities are clearly bluffing—does he really think he's the top figure of the fourth tier? How dare he waste power to create the brightest divine star!"

In the Demon Lord's Divine Domain, one deity sneered.

"True enough—even I, with only third-tier power, could briefly create an ultra-bright divine star if I didn't care about expending energy, but that would be utterly meaningless, merely wasting power. The Flame Lord may be powerful, but for his divine star's brightness to increase tenfold in mere months? Impossible. He's clearly spent energy deliberately to make it brighter."

Another third-tier deity said.

"But what purpose does the Flame Lord serve by doing this?"

At this moment, a nearby deity who had overheard them asked.

"Simple—the Flame Lord wants to solidify his status as the top figure of the fourth tier. Don't underestimate this title; should the Abyss and the Heavenly Realm erupt into war, the Flame Lord can rally more deities to fight for him, minimizing losses to his pantheon."

The earlier-speaking deity said.

"I agree. If we're talking about the true top figure of the fourth tier, it should be Venerable Tianlan—Tianlan Empire has been the number one empire on the Continent of Gods for ages, and Venerable Tianlan has existed for an incredibly long time; she is unquestionably the top figure of the fourth tier!"

At this moment, the earlier-speaking third-tier deity exclaimed!

"Venerable Tianlan may be strong, but the Flame Lord is an ancient deity too—he has mastered the power of cosmic laws and even slain two powerful Ancient Gods. Has Venerable Tianlan mastered the power of cosmic laws?"

This third-tier deity's words immediately provoked opposition from other deities.

"How do you know Venerable Tianlan hasn't mastered the power of cosmic laws?"

The third-tier deity retorted.

"I still believe the Flame Lord is the strongest in the fourth tier. As for your claims about him wasting energy to brighten his star—given his character, he would never stoop to such a thing. His current divine star's brightness far exceeds Venerable Tianlan's—doesn't that prove anything?"

Another deity said.

"By instinct, I also feel the Flame Lord wouldn't deliberately brighten his star."

"Hmph, how do you know what the Flame Lord thinks?"

"..."

In the Demon Lord's Divine Domain, many deities began arguing.

Another week passed, and this debate spread across nearly half the Heavenly Realm, with deities popping up everywhere, pitting the Flame Lord against Venerable Tianlan.

Some deities spoke with extreme rhetoric, even hinting at provocation.

Meanwhile, some mysterious Holy Spirits appeared in Venerable Tianlan's Tianlan Divine Domain, deliberately stirring up this topic.

"Everyone outside is saying Venerable Tianlan is inferior to the Flame Lord—haven't you heard?"

One Holy Spirit said to another Holy Spirit of the Tianlan Pantheon in a divine city within the Tianlan Divine Domain.

"Yes, I've heard too—but these people are just talking nonsense. Venerable Tianlan has existed for over a hundred thousand years; how could she possibly be inferior to a newly emerged Flame Lord?"

"It's the Flame Lord's cunning—he's reportedly wasted considerable energy to make his divine star the brightest, making himself the first deity in the Heavenly Realm to do so. How shameless."

"Indeed, many deities supporting the Flame Lord now claim that Venerable Tianlan, after living so long, hasn't broken through, saying she's grown old and useless."

"..."

These Holy Spirits were deliberately stirring up controversy within the Tianlan Divine Domain, and their words clearly contained exaggeration and distortion.

This unusual situation naturally reached Weiweila's attention.

"Venerable, outside, many deities are debating whether you or Venerable Tianlan is stronger, and several claim your divine star's brightness was deliberately meant to overshadow Venerable Tianlan."

Weiweila reported.

"Venerable, Nina believes there is a conspiracy here."

The Goddess of Eternal Night also arrived.

Weiweila nodded and said: "It must be. Venerable Tianlan's Tianlan Empire has existed for an immeasurably long time and has been the number one empire on the Continent of Gods for tens of thousands of years. In the past, many deities believed Venerable Tianlan was the strongest in the fourth tier of the Heavenly Realm. Now, these deities are deliberately pitting you against Venerable Tianlan—they're setting enemies for you."

The Goddess of Eternal Night said: "It's not just Venerable Tianlan—other powerful fourth-tier deities may also grow resentful toward you. Weiweila, who do you think is behind this?"

Weiweila and the Goddess of Eternal Night exchanged glances, then uttered two words: "Ancient Gods?"

The Goddess of Eternal Night said: "I agree—it must be the Ancient Gods' conspiracy. They haven't given up."

Beside them, Lin Yan, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke: "Weiweila, have you absorbed the sixteenth-tier divine power I gave you?"

Weiweila nodded her small head and said: "Divine Master, Weiweila has absorbed it."

Lin Yan said: "If you were to attempt breaking into the fourth tier now, do you have the confidence?"

Weiweila had spent over half a month absorbing that single drop of sixteenth-tier divine power, thoroughly studying all its rules and mysteries.

She had already glimpsed many secrets of the fourth tier.

In short, the difficulty of her breakthrough had been greatly reduced.

Weiweila said: "Venerable, Weiweila still lacks some resources."

Lin Yan said: "I can gather the resources for you."

Lin Yan is no longer what he once was; back then, it took him considerable time to gather the resources needed to upgrade his divine grid, because he was new to the Heavenly Realm and unfamiliar with everything.

Now, the level he interacts with is entirely different.

Whatever resources he needs, he can simply purchase from peers of equal strength.

Such as the immensely wealthy Fairy Zunzhu, Flowing Frost Zunzhu, and others of the fourth tier.

Lin Yan's own ascent to the fourth tier is relatively simple—it merely requires resources.