The rain of light filled the world over the night.

That's right—it didn't just rain light in the Dragon G.o.d Empire Imperial City. Rather, it covered the whole area within the Dragon G.o.d Empire's borders. Every city and town on a slightly larger scale saw the skies raining light upon them.

For a while, the Dragon G.o.d Empire, which had only just gone through a few serious upheavals and hadn't yet completely recovered, was swept into even fiercer and more surging waves.

“The Great G.o.d Meng Lei is a Devil from the Demon Realm?”

“Perverse? Heinous?”

“The rain of light from above is a warning from the deities! This is a sign from the G.o.ds. We have to believe in it!”

“Rumors! These are purely just rumors! The Great G.o.d Meng Lei took down the n.o.bles, distributed the lands, and allowed us, slaves, to see better days. How can he possibly be a Devil?”

Toward the news brought by the rain of light, some scoffed at it, but more thought of it as a sign from the G.o.ds and started to waver.

For a while, everyone in the whole of the Dragon G.o.d Empire was in a state of alarm and anxiety, and the vast Dragon G.o.d Empire was shrouded in a fearful atmosphere once more.

Yet another heavyweight piece of news also began to make the rounds at this point—a month later, Meng Lei would ascend the throne on Mount Dragon G.o.d's summit and become the empire's new emperor. Additionally, he was also sincerely inviting the other three empires to come and watch the ceremony.

The moment the news was out, the people's hearts entered even bigger turmoil!

Since time immemorial, the Far Northern Wastelands had always been the Beast People's territory. For millions of years, the Beast People Empire had been thriving and proliferating on the wastelands across generations.

Beast People tribes of varying sizes were littered all about every corner of the Far Northern Wastelands. They did their best to make use of everything that the wastelands gave them, pursuing survival with dogged resilience.

The Beast People royal court was located in the Far Northern Wastelands' central region. There, the lands weren't endless wilderness, but a continuous stretch of mountain ranges and primeval forests instead.

Verdant, thick ancient trees and rich, lush vegetation adorned the area.

Beast roars could be heard while unusual-looking birds soared.

The whole mountain range was linked together into an encirclement that surrounded the Beast People royal court, forming a natural defensive barrier and protecting it.

Therefore, the Beast People also called the mountain range the Beast G.o.d Mountain Range, likening it to the great Beast G.o.d protecting the Beast People Empire from the flames of war.

At the imperial palace in the Beast People royal court…

Compared to the Dragon G.o.d Empire's lavishness and grandeur and the t.i.tan Empire's heroic spirit and gallantry, the Beast People Empire's imperial palace came across as one that was extremely simple and unadorned.

The imperial palace was simple and plain as it was formed from stacking rocks on top of one another and using round wooden rods as ceiling beams. Even the chairs that the Beast Emperor and his officials were seated on were sculpted from rocks. None of the Dragon G.o.d Empire's extravagance and grandeur could be seen here at all.

It wasn't so much that the Beast People Empire was as poor as a church mouse and couldn't even afford to smith a few decent chairs. Rather, this was a deliberate move by the current Beast Emperor.

The current Beast Emperor was named Grom Lexar. An emperor with great skill and strategy, his roots were in the mountains and wilderness. Thus, he knew very well the people's suffering and hards.h.i.+ps.

Therefore, since the day he ascended the throne, the Beast Emperor had sworn to lead the Beast People Empire out of the resources-scarce and supplies-barren Far Northern Wastelands and into more fertile lands.

That was also what Grom Lexar had done. In the 100-odd years since he had taken over the throne, the Beast People Empire had annihilated dozens of big and small kingdoms around it, such as the Earth Fairy Kingdom, the Man-Eating Demon Kingdom, the Halfling Kingdom, the Far Northern Icelands Kingdom, the Dwarf Kingdom, and so on.

As a result, the Beast People Empire's territory had doubled. They overlooked the Endless Oceans in the east, faced the Sunset Ranges in the west and the Magical Beast Ridge in the south, and entered the north's Far Northern Icelands.

Because of this, the Beast People Empire had also become the empire with the vastest amount of territory in Heaven's Vault Continent.

Aside from expanding national territories, Grom Lexar was also very accomplished in managing the empire's internal affairs.

He knocked back the n.o.bles, encouraged production, limited reproduction, rewarded meritorious military exploits, and opposed extravagance…

After a series of reforms, the Beast People Empire never saw any more tragic incidents like the one during the snow disaster in winter where starving people were everywhere, and dead bodies littered the wilderness.

One had to admit that this was no different from a miracle.

After all, the Beast People Empire had an extremely high population but a shortage of food supplies. Winter was the hardest season for the Beast People Empire to tide over!

Every snow disaster usually starved or froze large numbers of people to death, yet Grom Lexar, the Beast Emperor, had managed to successfully prevent it from happening.

Based on this alone, his merits and achievements had already surpa.s.sed all the previous Beast Emperors'. Calling him the Beast People Empire's greatest Beast Emperor of all time was no exaggeration.

However, Beast Emperor Grom Lexar wasn't satisfied with just these. His goal was to restore the Beast People Empire's former glory and reinstate the empire to what it was like during its peak 50,000 years ago.

“Everyone, this is a secret letter from the Dragon G.o.d Empire. Take a look at it.”

The Beast Emperor Grom Lexar, who was seated on a stone chair, casually tossed out a secret letter.

A Lion-Man received the letter and started to read it. A look of astonishment appeared on his features as he asked, “Is this true, Your Majesty?”

“Yes!”

The Beast Emperor nodded slightly.

“Little did I think that something as serious as this would have happened!”

The Lion-Man's countenance was grave as he pa.s.sed the secret letter to the other officials beside him to read. Their expressions all differed upon reading the news written on it!

“Who's Horace Theodore?”

“I don't know who he is!”

“Never heard of him!”

At the sight of the officials' countenances, the Beast Emperor turned to an elderly Fox-Man at the first seat to his right. He asked with a slight look of respect on his face, “High priest, have you heard of this man?”

The elderly Fox-Man looked extremely aged. He held a walking stick while two long white eyebrows dangled at the sides of his cheeks, reaching almost all the way to his chin.

At his words, the Fox-Man got up shakily and replied, “Your Majesty, Horace is a reclusive genius from the t.i.tan Empire 30,000 years ago. Said to be the strongest t.i.tan in history, he even broke through to the half-deity stage at the age of 57 by his own efforts before subsequently breaking through the void and leaving Heaven's Vault Continent!”

“57 years old?”

“Broke through to the half-deity stage by his own efforts?”

Gasp!

Shocked by the horrifying record, all the officials couldn't help but gasp!

It was common knowledge that every Child of G.o.d in the t.i.tan Empire would break through to become a half-deity within 100 years.

But…

None among the Children of G.o.d had been able to become a half-deity at 57-years-old, let alone by their own efforts.

Horace was practically a monster!

The Beast Emperor sighed wistfully and remarked, “How amazingly talented! If not for that monster's sudden appearance out of nowhere, Horace would definitely be the youngest half-deity ever in Heaven's Vault Continent's history!”

The officials also nodded.

A Lion-Man on the left asked curiously, “High priest, where did Horace go after he broke through the void?”

The other officials also looked at the old Fox-Man.

“Initially, I didn't know what had happened after that.” The old Fox-Man shook his head slowly. “But the Beast G.o.d appeared in my dreams recently and told me about Horace!”

A dream from the Beast G.o.d!!

Shocked, the officials jumped to their feet. Even Grom Lexar stood and listened closely.

“After Horace broke through the void, he wandered the Void during the last 30,000 years before finally finding a remote existential plane somewhere and settling down there to spread his faith.”

The old Fox-Man was simply too advanced in age. Even speaking a couple of lines took a huge toll on him, and he couldn't stop coughing.

“Under the nourishment of power of faith, Horace successfully broke through to become a true G.o.d 8,000 years ago, becoming the next true G.o.d from Heaven's Vault Continent following the Dragon G.o.d.”

“A true G.o.d!”

“That guy's actually succeeded!”

Looks of astonishment came over everyone's faces!

The progression from a half-deity to a true G.o.d might seem only as far as a single step, but it was no different from an insurmountable obstacle in reality.

In the whole of Heaven's Vault Continent's long history, half-deities were a dime a dozen, yet only four had truly been able to become true G.o.ds—the Fairy G.o.ddess, the t.i.tan Spiritual G.o.d, the great Beast G.o.d, and the Dragon G.o.d.

And now, Horace would be joining their ranks!

He had succeeded!

He was Heaven's Vault Continent's fifth true G.o.d!

“Following that, Horace pledged allegiance to the t.i.tan Spiritual G.o.d, became one of the true G.o.ds under his command, and was bestowed upon with six material planes!”

The old Fox-Man sighed. “With billions of lives on six material planes producing power of faith to nourish him, even His Holiness, the Beast G.o.d, has no idea just how strong Horace has become after 8,000 years!”

“Bestowed with six material planes!”

Everyone looked astounded at his words. To bestow six material planes upon him at one go, the t.i.tan Spiritual G.o.d was honestly too generous.

A shrewd gleam flashed in Grom Lexar's eyes as he asked, “In other words, Horace is extremely strong?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The elderly Fox-Man panted as he said, “Per the Beast G.o.d's instructions, the t.i.tan Spiritual G.o.d's purpose in deploying Horace to Heaven's Vault Continent is to punish Meng Lei and maintain the t.i.tan Empire's rule while seizing the opportunity to fight for the Dragon G.o.d Empire at the same time. Your Majesty may act at your own discretion!”

The Beast Emperor was sorely tempted. Located in the east, the Dragon G.o.d Empire had mild temperatures and rich, abundant resources. It was ten times, no, a hundred times more fertile than the barren Far Northern Wastelands. He wanted to take over the Dragon G.o.d Empire's territory even in his dreams!

But…

“Is Your Majesty having reservations regarding Horace?”

The old Fox-Man was old but intelligent.

The Beast Emperor nodded lightly and replied, “Since Horace has already become a true G.o.d, Meng Lei undoubtedly wouldn't be his match, but neither does the Beast People Empire have any powerhouses that can contend against Horace.”

“Don't worry, Your Majesty!”

The old Fox-Man let out a hoa.r.s.e-sounding chuckle. “Your Majesty, you can do whatever you want without any worries. The great His Holiness, the Beast G.o.d, naturally has ways to deal with Horace.”

A huge jolt went through the Beast Emperor, and bright, shrewd glints flashed in his eyes. “With the old high priest's promise, there's no longer anything to fear. The Dragon G.o.d Empire will be mine! Send my orders!”

Whoos.h.!.+

All the court officials bowed and listened respectfully.

“a.s.semble the ten major military units and head south at once! Deploy the troops to the Dragon G.o.d Empire borders, get ready to invade and conquer the Dragon G.o.d Empire, and await my orders!”

The Beast Emperor gave a battle order of the highest level.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

All the officials chorused aloud.

“Everyone, 60,000 years ago, our Beast People Empire forebears' horses drank the waters of the eastern oceans, hunted in the Fairies' forests, competed for the t.i.tan Plateaus, and stood at the top of all the races. How mighty were they?”

The Beast Emperor said with a pa.s.sionate expression, “Ever since I have ascended the throne, I have exhausted and taxed my ingenuity, and acted with utmost care as though I'm walking on thin ice. Never for a moment did I dare to forget my forebears' ambition!

“Yet time will not wait for me, and fate does not favor me, and I haven't been able to bring back the Beast People Empire's previous glory. I frequently awake in a panic at night and sink into self-blame!

“But now, the grand opportunity that the Beast People Empire has waited 60,000 years for has finally come! We absolutely mustn't let it slip by us!

“How brilliant, Your Majesty!”

All the officials were boiling with pa.s.sion.

“Everyone, whether or not we can bring back the Beast People Empire's former magnificence and restore our forebears' glory hinges on the moment now!”

With a grand wave, the Beast Emperor ordered, “Make your preparations now!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

In the twinkling of an eye, all the officials had left the hall to busy themselves with their respective tasks, leaving behind only the Beast Emperor and the old Fox-Man.

“Do you still have any other instructions, high priest?” asked the Beast Emperor respectfully.

“Your Majesty, even though Horace has thrown down the gauntlet, not only has Meng Lei not run away from the challenge, but he has even risen up to the challenge and is ascending the throne in a month's time. I'm afraid he has a trump card up his sleeve!”

The old Fox-Man's brows were tightly drawn together.

“You worry too much, high priest. Not only is Horace a true G.o.d, but he has even cultivated for 8,000 years while being nourished by an endless supply of power of faith. How can Meng Lei possibly be his match?”

A confident smile graced the Beast Emperor's lips.