Death... and me

Not long after, their bodies released a burst of Godly Energy, causing their cultivations to rise rapidly. The energy fluctuations spread through the residence as the four absorbed the final bits of energy needed for the breakthrough. It only lasted a few moments before everything settled down once more. When the dust finally cleared, they had all successfully stepped into the Late Stage of the Anchor God Realm.

Rean checked his cultivation and nodded in satisfaction. The increase wasn’t enough to dramatically change his combat power, but every step forward in the Celestial Plane required an enormous amount of resources and effort. Reaching the Late Stage was already a significant achievement. "Well, this is it for now," he said as he stood up. "I’m going back to the Arrays Guild. I’ll let you know if I find anything about the Relic, but that’s unlikely."

Roan wasn’t disappointed by that answer. "It’s fine. We weren’t expecting much to begin with."

And just like that, Rean returned to his airplane project while the rest of the group continued cultivating. Time passed quickly, and before anyone realized it, an entire year had gone by since the end of the war.

---

During that period, the corridor project gained momentum. More and more cultivators accepted missions related to its construction, allowing the Guild to steadily push deeper into Godly Creatures’ Territory. By the end of that year, over half the distance had already been covered, with outposts established all along the route and cultivators permanently stationed to defend them.

Naturally, the Godly Creatures didn’t simply ignore the construction effort. Attacks happened from time to time, forcing the defenders to mobilize and eliminate threats before they could cause serious damage. Even so, the entire system had been carefully designed with such situations in mind.

Some people questioned what would happen if another large-scale horde appeared. After all, hordes were hardly uncommon in the Besgol Region. However, the answer was actually quite simple. Thanks to the chain of outposts and the information constantly flowing between them, cultivators would detect the approach of a horde far earlier than before if they came from the north.

If necessary, they could temporarily abandon sections of the corridor and retreat to safer positions. Once the horde had been dealt with, the outposts could simply be reclaimed and repaired. Building the corridor was the truly difficult part. As long as the framework existed, recovering from losses would be much easier than creating everything from scratch again.

---

Today, more than forty thousand cultivators had gathered at the very end of the completed section of the corridor, approximately halfway between the Sacred Relic’s influence and the future settlement. This force represented the Guild’s largest effort so far.

The plan was simple: finish the remaining distance in a single operation. An enormous quantity of materials had been transported to the front lines, while Array Masters, builders, formation specialists, scouts, healers, and combat cultivators had all been assembled together. Once the order was given, the army would advance and begin establishing the remaining outposts needed to connect both ends of the route.

Not far behind this enormous force stood Tobao. Officially, his mission was straightforward. He was there to monitor the surroundings and react to any unexpected threat, particularly the possibility of a previously undiscovered Godly Horror appearing. Outside the Sacred Relic’s influence, even Tobao would be at a disadvantage against such creatures. Nevertheless, his strength should still be sufficient to buy time for the entire army to retreat if something truly disastrous occurred.

Despite the importance of the operation, Tobao’s thoughts were focused elsewhere. Recently, he, Arcis, and several other high-ranking members of the Godly Subjugation Guild had gathered to discuss the fate of the mysterious Godly Crystal recovered after the war.

The crystal contained an absurd amount of energy. Not only was that energy immense, but its purity was unlike anything they had ever encountered before. Anyone who used it would have an incredibly high chance of achieving a breakthrough. The amount of energy contained within was so great that it could likely support multiple cultivators simultaneously. Opportunities like this simply didn’t exist. At least, not in Besgol.

As much as everyone involved prioritized the region’s welfare, it would be dishonest to claim there were no personal interests involved. Some argued that the crystal should be used to strengthen important arrays throughout Besgol.

Others believed it should be given to several Peak Stage Zone Gods to help them break through into the Law God Realm.

Naturally, there were also those who proposed giving it directly to Tobao and Arcis. After all, both were already Law Gods. With such a treasure, they might be able to raise their cultivation by one or perhaps even two entire stages.

Tobao hadn’t been the one to suggest that last option, though. He would be lying if he claimed the thought wasn’t tempting, but his reason told him that creating additional Law Gods was unquestionably the better choice.

Arrays were important, but they were stationary, whereas Law Gods could be deployed anywhere in Besgol. Likewise, Tobao and Arcis were still only two individuals. No matter how powerful they became, they could only be present in two locations at once, while two or three new Law Gods would provide far greater flexibility and protection for the entire region.

Eventually, the decision was made that the crystal would be used to create new Law Gods. Unfortunately, that only led to an even bigger argument. The Wangamiglia Sect’s Sect Master, Kavile, was naturally one of the first names brought up. Everyone acknowledged that he was among the cultivators closest to breaking through into the Law God Realm. The problem was that he wasn’t the only candidate.

In truth, Besgol possessed nearly thirty Peak Stage Zone Gods. The bottleneck between Zone God and Law God was simply too terrifying. Throughout Besgol’s long history, there had never been more than four Law Gods at the same time. Countless Peak Stage Zone Gods had spent their entire lives unable to cross that final threshold.

Every candidate believed they could contribute to the region. To be fair, most of them were probably right. Any new Law God would immediately become one of Besgol’s most important defenders. Just like Tobao and Arcis, they would be expected to answer crises, support major operations, and place the region’s safety above their personal interests even more than they already did.

There was no doubt they would become even busier than before. Still, they were talking about the Law God Realm. No amount of work could diminish the attraction of such an opportunity. A breakthrough would grant greater power, a longer lifespan, a much higher chance of survival, and the possibility of pursuing even higher realms in the future.

Tobao let out a long sigh as he rubbed his forehead. In the end, the responsibility for choosing the candidates had somehow fallen onto him. That happened because he immediately rejected the idea of using the crystal on himself or Arcis. Since everyone trusted him and recognized that he had no direct stake in the outcome, the various factions eventually agreed to let him make the final decision.

Unfortunately, that was exactly the problem. No matter who he selected, someone would inevitably be disappointed. He had even proposed using a lottery and leaving the decision to chance, but nobody supported the idea. Such an opportunity was simply too important.

"Are you still thinking about it?"

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. Looking up, Tobao saw a blue demon beast descending from the sky. Arcis had returned from his scouting mission.

"Already back?" Tobao asked. "Any problems?"

Arcis shook his head. "Quite a few Godly Beasts and one Godly Predator, but nothing this army can’t handle. As for your problem..." He smiled before continuing. "Have you made your decision yet? Just pick some experts and get it over with."

Tobao narrowed his eyes. "If it were that simple, I would’ve done it already."

Arcis chuckled. "Since it isn’t, why not leave it to them?"

"Them?" Tobao looked confused for a moment before realization dawned on him. "The twins’ group? Why would I do that?"

Arcis shrugged. "Why not? Besgol is still standing partly because of them. They discovered the Godly Horrors, helped kill the Raven, and now they’ve developed a teleportation concept that might completely change everything if it works, and it is looking more and more like it will. So far, every major contribution they’ve made has benefited Besgol. They even refused credit for most of it. If they wanted fame and wealth, they could have easily taken it. Maybe they’ll have an idea we haven’t considered."

Tobao still looked doubtful. "And if their suggestion is terrible?"

"Then ignore it," Arcis replied. "I’m not saying you should let them decide. Just ask what they think. In the end, the decision is still yours."

Tobao considered the suggestion for a moment before finally nodding. "I suppose it can’t hurt."

Back at the Godly Subjugation Guild branch in Jufafner Country, Roan suddenly received a communication request through his RC. Several moments later, after listening to the contents of the call, his mouth twitched.

"Let me ask you something," he said. "Why the hell would you even think about leaving such a decision to us?!" He didn’t even know the existence of that crystal until seconds ago...

However, before he could continue complaining, he remembered a certain orb and a certain incredibly annoying ability connected to it. His expression immediately darkened.

"Oh, right... That’s why."

[Rude!]