The young man revealed an awkward expression as he hesitated before sighing. He replied, “I won"t lie to you. While there are plenty of advantages that come with being a G.o.d, you will suffer from the sense of loneliness. Those G.o.ds who can reside peacefully in the G.o.d Realm for prolonged periods of time are those who can withstand loneliness. Because a G.o.d can get anything he or she wants in the G.o.d Realm, there is an unfortunate absence of bliss and happiness. After pa.s.sing my G.o.dly Seat to you, I will bring my family to look for another G.o.d Realm, and experience what life is in the worlds beyond that.”
“Another G.o.d Realm?!” Huo Yuhao blurted, “Hold on. There"s more than one G.o.d Realm out there?”
The young man with the golden hair smiled, “Of course. Our G.o.d Realm might control a hundred and eight worlds, but what about the other worlds? Our worlds are boundless, and I believe there must be other G.o.d Realms in the vast s.p.a.ce out there. And that is what I hope to do—to journey out far beyond to find these realms. I have resided in this G.o.d Realm for many years, and continuing such a plain life is not what I want. My children will descend into the mortal worlds to train after I leave with my wives to seek out the other G.o.d Realms. Who knows? I might return one day. Even though I would have lost my G.o.dly Seat—hopefully to you—I can still create my own little haven in the G.o.d Realm with my abilities. After saying so much, what"s your decision? Do you want to inherit my G.o.dly Seat?”
Huo Yuhao paused for a short while before asking, “Senior, may I know why you chose me?”
The young man with the golden hair replied, “Because I have found many similarities between your experiences and mine. I have been silently observing what you have been through, and I feel that you have surpa.s.sed me in many ways. At the very least, you are a lot more faithful to your loved one.” While he was finishing up this last line, he could not help but give an awkward smile. “I was not able to remain faithful to my partner, and this failure affected my cultivation. Even though I was able to integrate my learnings and abilities before I attained G.o.d status, my unbecoming lifestyle had affected my cultivation. If not, with my abilities, I would have possessed the power to challenge one of the five seats in the Committee. I hope that you can surpa.s.s me after obtaining my G.o.dly Seat, and ascend to the pinnacle of success within the G.o.d Realm.”
Ascend to the pinnacle of success within the G.o.d Realm…? The young man"s voice might be calm, but it invigorated the compet.i.tiveness within Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath before asking the question that was plaguing him. “So, what do you need me to do? Or rather, what kind of tests do I need to go through?”
The young man with the golden hair nodded and said, “You have already gone through enough tribulations in your life. Even though those challenges were not issued by me, I have seen how you have persevered through those tough times. Selecting the successor to a G.o.dly Seat has always been a process infused with a huge element of luck and chance. Your understanding and potential in ice-type techniques, as well as the way you invest your emotions into your soul skills, made me choose you. Of course, you will still have to go through other evaluations, but they will not be issued by me. I can now plant the G.o.dly seed within you. Once your cultivation level is high enough, I will ferry you into the G.o.d Realm. The ultimate test you will have to face is what you already know. You will have to stop all your other compet.i.tors who will be trying to stop you from qualifying for the G.o.d Realm. Once you are done with that, you will see me again.”
There was absolutely no reason for Huo Yuhao to turn down his offer. As a human, he had long been cultivating and training to enter the G.o.d Realm!
“Senior, after I have become a G.o.d, can I bring my loved ones to the G.o.d Realm?”
The young man with the golden hair smiled. “Of course you can. After inheriting my Core G.o.dly Seat and becoming a G.o.d, you will have the right to bring some of your loved ones into the G.o.d Realm. As with any other world, the stronger you are, the more weight your words will carry in the G.o.d Realm. So if you want to bring more people into the G.o.d Realm, you will have to put in a lot more work and effort.”
After hearing his words, Huo Yuhao no longer had any doubts. He respectfully bowed before the young man and announced, “I am willing to inherit your G.o.dly Seat.”
After those simple words came out of Huo Yuhao"s mouth, the young man"s body started to give off a golden glow. Huo Yuhao"s soul form also started to shine as his body took on a golden glow.
The smile on the young man"s face disappeared, and it was replaced with a solemn and serious expression.
“Huo Yuhao! From today onwards, you will be the successor to my G.o.dly Seat. As a member of the G.o.d Realm, I am not allowed to interfere with matters in the worlds beneath the G.o.d Realm. However, after possessing my G.o.dly seed, your journey to becoming stronger will be a lot smoother. My G.o.dly Seat is named Emotion. The better you understand emotions, the smoother the process of inheritance will be.”
As he spoke, he raised his right hand and extended his index finger before tapping Huo Yuhao"s forehead.
At that instant, Huo Yuhao"s entire body trembled. He felt as though his body had become clear and transparent. Under the intense trembling, his soul seemed to have been cleansed by a mysterious power.
Suddenly, Huo Yuhao felt his spiritual energy change. It did not become stronger. Instead, it had evolved into something grander and more deserving of reverence. This sensation felt strangely familiar; he had felt it during his encounters with the Calamity Necromancer, Electrolux.
This must be what the divine sense feels like.
“Yes. That is what you people call divine sense. After accepting my G.o.dly seed, a part of your consciousness in your soul will turn into divine sense. As your cultivation continues to improve, it will evolve more into a more complete divine sense. But I must remind you not to release your divine sense at any point in time unless you are in a life-and-death situation. If someone were to take away your G.o.dly seed, you would die. Also, my G.o.dly Seat will be wrested away from me. Thus, you must be extremely careful for yourself and for your family. I would suggest you keep your G.o.dly seed a secret. Do not tell anyone—including your loved ones—about it.”
“Yes!” Huo Yuhao respectfully acknowledged the man"s instructions. His heart was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with happiness after sensing the improvement of his soul.
The young man smiled. “Besides giving you my G.o.dly seed, I have two other things for you. I believe they will allow you to grow faster, and become my successor sooner. They will be planted into your body along with the divine sense I have given you. Remember my words: regardless of whether it pertains to your cultivation or your emotions, being faithful, dedicated and focused will be your greatest strength. Now go on.”
As he spoke, the young man waved his hand, and Huo Yuhao felt his surroundings become illusory. At that very instant, his soul form could no longer sense or perceive his surroundings. He found himself surrounded by golden sparks, as though everything had ceased to be real.
“Remember me. I am the G.o.d of Emotions, and my name is Rong Nianbing.”
As his mind reverberated with Rong Nianbing"s words, Huo Yuhao slowly lost consciousness.
As Huo Yuhao"s soul disappeared before him, Rong Nianbing revealed a sly smile as he continued to prepare his delicacies.
“Did you choose that young lad because of his potential in cooking?” A light flashed, and the old man who had played chess with Rong Nianbing appeared by the young man"s side.
Rong Nianbing smiled. “There"s definitely a little bit of that. But it"s a little too late to start learning now. Also, I needed him to take over my G.o.dly Seat as soon as possible. If not, I would have taken him in as my disciple, and pa.s.sed on the top-cla.s.s cooking skills you taught me in the past.”
The old man hissed, “But you might have gone overboard this time round! This lad was already hand-picked by that guy. You should know very well how much that guy would hate you if he were to know that you"ve intervened.”
Rong Nianbing chuckled. “That would be his fault for not seeing this coming. Anyways, even if Huo Yuhao were to inherit my G.o.dly Seat, it would still do him good. It would be so much better for him to gain the support of another Core G.o.d than for him to give up a Core G.o.dly Seat, right? The only problem is that he can"t afford to be lazy anymore. But I can! Don"t you want to travel with me to the other G.o.d Realms?”
The old man laughed, “You are still the decisive one between us. Now that all is said and done, even if he were to uncover what we have done, he would have no way of reversing it. All he can do is vent his frustrations on that poor lad. You know what? I am starting to feel sorry for that young boy! All of you cunning folks are really bad people—picking on a young man like him.”
Rong Nianbing replied casually, “One can only improve and become better if he or she can handle the hardships of life. When I told him about my wish for him to ascend the pinnacle of this G.o.d Realm, I meant every single word I said. Also, I feel that my abilities are better suited to him. Don"t you agree with me?”
“Yes yes yes. You"re always right. Now go and prepare lunch. I"m already famished.”
“Yes, my dear master.”
……
Golden. It was still golden. When Huo Yuhao woke up, he realized he was still cultivating with Tang Wutong. They were still drawing upon their soul power and improving their Haodong Power.
While they were basking in their mutual love for one another, their Haodong Power seemed to have improved. Within the rapidly flowing fluid, the golden spirals had expanded to twice their original size. Even though these spirals were unable to compress as much soul power as soul cores, they were able to contain more soul power than the usual medium. This allowed their soul power to continually expand and increase as they mixed and combined with one another.
Was all of that a dream? Could it be some sort of hallucination?
After Huo Yuhao woke up, he started to think back to the out-of-body experience he had had earlier.
That young man with the golden hair. That paradise. That pavilion.
The G.o.d of Emotion, and the G.o.dly Seat?
Were those things real, or just products of my imagination?
If it was all real, that would be insane! The Beast G.o.d Di Tian must have thought that he would be able to seal me with his reverse scale. But he didn"t know it wouldn"t even be able to detect it when a real G.o.d decided to intervene and take action.
As he mulled over what had happened, Huo Yuhao focused on his soul power and felt the changes in it.
Very soon, he realized—much to his surprise—that the increase in strength and solidity of the Haodong Power whenever he and Tang Wutong circulated it was not a result of any change in their cultivation methods. The spirals that allowed their soul power to become more condensed were the product of an inherent change within his soul power.