Chapter 261: Chapter 21: The Silent Lord and Titles

Separating the Great Being’s aura from the Evil Soul wasn’t difficult. Within his Soul Space, Yara simply batted the Evil Soul around a few times with her tail as if it were a ball, then easily extracted the aura.

The aura of a Great Being, and a Celestial God Seal.

Su Zhou was well aware of how important these two things were to him.

The former was like a stack of tickets to an Otherworld’s Teleportation Sect, while the latter was a universal transporter that allowed him—a mere Extraordinary Tier Cultivator—to travel between worlds. Of course, it had other wonderful uses, too, like kicking a Great Being such as Yara back into her seal at a critical moment.

’But Yara is right here, so there’s no need to say that out loud. It would just hurt her feelings.’

Of course, Su Zhou was also well aware that the dangers of Otherworlds were not to be taken lightly.

Take the Divine Wood World, for instance. If he hadn’t leveled up so quickly, and if the local powers hadn’t happened to forge the Blade of Annihilation to counter the Demon Emperor’s faction—which allowed a series of seemingly ordinary actions to achieve the best possible outcome—Su Zhou couldn’t have guaranteed he would escape unscathed. He might have had to flee in disgrace and use the Celestial God Seal to return home just to save his own skin.

’I’m not yet strong enough to treat Otherworlds like dungeons to be farmed. In fact, Otherworlds grow stronger too. I’ll definitely pay the price if I underestimate them.’

Even though he had just annihilated the Shepherd of Spirits, an Extraordinary Tier being, Su Zhou was well aware that it wouldn’t have been possible without the South Sea Fleet. Had they not coordinated with him to suppress the Shepherd of Spirits, forcing him to flee through Spiritualization, Su Zhou would have needed to unleash at least a hundred more lightning strikes and spend the better part of a day to finish him off—and that’s without revealing his bottom card.

So, in response to Yara’s alluring words, Su Zhou remained perfectly calm. "So, who is this Great Being? The Silent Lord? The Great Being worshipped by a scumbag like the Shepherd of Spirits... Don’t tell me he’s a vile entity, just like Dusk?"

"Not quite."

The mention of an old friend piqued Yara’s interest. Su Zhou could feel her straighten up in his hair; if they weren’t backstage at a government press conference, she might have even swished her tail. "That’s right. His title is the Silent Lord, the origin of all Netherworlds and the earth, the Dominator of death and Reincarnation, of decay and rebirth."

"As for the Shepherd of Spirits, haven’t I told you? He was an anti-fan. The Silent Lord himself—or rather, most Great Beings—are actually very ’benevolent’ toward life. Of course, for you humans and other sentient lifeforms, that benevolence might be a bit hard to accept. But the Silent Lord happens to be one of the gentlest, second only to those two from the Twin Divine Trees."

"Huh? He’s that benevolent?" Su Zhou was a little surprised. He wasn’t entirely sure about the Twin Divine Trees’ disposition, but judging by the boons he received from the Immortal Banyan Tree and the Tree of the Great Dao at the end of his time in the Divine Wood World, they were indeed relatively inactive and gentle Great Beings.

And the Silent Lord was similar to them. It was hard to imagine a being who presided over death and decay being so gentle.

But on second thought, it wasn’t so strange. Although the title "God of the Underworld" was frightening, most Nether Gods weren’t actually Evil Gods by nature.

In fact, most Nether Gods also held divine portfolios related to judgment, the earth, and the nurturing of new life.

Osiris from Aii Country’s mythology is a classic example. He possessed divine portfolios related to the Netherworld, the souls of the dead, the harvest, plants, and agriculture. He also held the Authority to judge the dead, was the giver of civilization, and as the King of the Netherworld, he presided over the judgment that determined if a soul was worthy of eternal life.

The same was true for Hades. In Mycenaean mythology, he was the King of the Netherworld, or even a name for the Netherworld itself. Although his Authority was limited to the Netherworld, his wife was the daughter of the Agricultural Goddess, the Grain Goddess herself. The land and the Netherworld were not separate; rebirth and decay always appeared together.

A Netherworld Goddess from the ancient myths of the Central Asia region held divine portfolios over the Netherworld, Judgment, and the creation and enforcement of laws. Her sister was the Harvest God... the two were closely intertwined.

Zhengguo’s ancient mythology has the Earth Emperor, who holds similar divine portfolios. This is the most classic example of such a Deity. She is the Earth God, the King of Youdu, the Mother Earth who nurtures all things, and also the Nether God who receives all the dead. The derivative Deities, such as the Lord of Mount Tai and King Yan, all share the duty of Judgment.

The transition between the Earth and the Netherworld, the repetition of rebirth and death—to pass judgment on the meaning of it all is the very essence of Reincarnation. There are countless Nether Gods, but their myths are all largely similar.

Unlike the Divine Tree, the innumerable Deities derived from the Silent Lord hold extremely important positions in the myths of many worlds; most are either one of the Supreme Gods or one of the Main Gods.

"I’m not surprised that this one was sealed."

Although the meaning Nether Gods represented wasn’t as evil as most people’s first impressions suggested, they also weren’t as detached from worldly affairs as the Divine Wood. So, Su Zhou didn’t jab Yara about it again. He was simply curious, and asked, "But Yara, it’s rare to hear you speak well of another Great Being instead of calling them some kind of ’lone survivor’... Besides, don’t snakes represent ’immortality and cycles’ in most myths? Shouldn’t you and a Nether God be enemies?"

"I wasn’t exactly speaking well of him. And you’ve misunderstood something. There’s no rule that says one who governs the Netherworld and one who grants immortality must be enemies." The Snake Spirit twitched her tail as she spoke, thinking for a moment as if considering how to best describe it to Su Zhou. "How should I put this... The Silent Lord himself is a decent fellow, but his ideas..."

As she spoke, Yara expressively used her tail to point at her head and twirl it in a circle, a clear gesture for ’he’s got a screw loose.’ Then she said, "His ’benevolence’ has a huge problem."

"Let me put it this way: all the world’s myths and legends have stories of death, the Netherworld, and Reincarnation, right? Those are all reflections of him. In the Silent Lord’s eyes, a person before Reincarnation and after Reincarnation—no matter how many times they die and are reborn—is the same being. And what he loves most is watching what kind of courage life can blossom with amidst this endless cycle of Reincarnation."

"You can see this from the fact that a large portion of his Clan are Heroic Souls who have transcended death, fear no death, and don’t even return to the Netherworld. He most admires those who can ’break free’ from Reincarnation and death. And my projections, on occasion, play a certain role in that."

"Is that so?"

Su Zhou wasn’t a fool. Although her words were a bit vague, he keenly sensed the danger they implied.

In the Silent Lord’s eyes, a being was the same before and after the cycle of life and death. This meant that, in essence, he didn’t care at all about a single death.

What mortals viewed as their one precious life was, to him, just an insignificant repetition in an endless cycle.

Yet he greatly admired individuals who could break out of that cycle... but for a person to shine with the light of courage, they must inevitably face immense danger and great turmoil.

No life could give birth to courage out of thin air. Only the most intense battles and clashes could bring it into existence.

’Perhaps the Silent Lord really does love all life, but for ordinary people who can’t even transcend Reincarnation, that kind of love is probably a little hard to understand.’

"So," Su Zhou guessed cautiously, "the world where the Silent Lord is sealed... is it extremely dangerous?"

"More than dangerous, it’s practically Hell!" Yara’s tone was exaggerated as she made a dry joke. She didn’t seem to care much, however, and instead reassured Su Zhou, "But don’t worry too much. As long as you’re prepared, as my Divine Chosen Champion, you absolutely won’t encounter any danger you can’t handle in any world."

"It’s just that you do need some Defensive Magical Artifacts to block danger for you. The Gale Shield is good, but when it comes to defense, what’s the harm in having a little more?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Fair enough." Su Zhou readily agreed with that. He might have high-speed regeneration and a tough body, but he also had a sense of pain! Su Zhou wasn’t a masochist, so why would he want to get hurt?

’I already have the Demon Emperor Dragon Horn Long Spear and the Blade of Annihilation. Those two weapons are more than enough for me right now. Plus, I’ve leveled up to the Extraordinary Tier. The power I can exert with the Blade of Annihilation, which shares my attributes, is far greater than it was in the Divine Wood World.’

He thought for a moment, then nodded. "I really do need a suit of armor, or a shield-type Magical Artifact. Hmm, it would be best if I could get my hands on a suit of Exoskeleton Armor!"

This wasn’t just baseless talk, nor was it an unrealistic wish.

Once the semester started and Su Zhou officially became a professor at an A Class Extraordinary Academy, it wouldn’t be strange at all for him to use his authority to requisition a suit of Exoskeleton Armor for himself, or even apply for a custom-built one.

As it happened, the press conference and the subsequent announcements were just about over. Su Zhou picked up the headset that gave him a direct line to the Artifice Sage and tactfully asked about the matter.

"Tactfully" was a generous term. Given Su Zhou’s way with words, it wasn’t much different from bluntly asking, "Hey, can I get an Exoskeleton Armor?" He’d nearly just blurted out, "Hook me up with one of those!"

But surprisingly, the person on the other end didn’t seem surprised in the least.

"He’s an eighteen-year-old, after all. It’s not strange for him to like Exoskeleton Armor. Various data points do show that you’re quite interested in the subject."

Clearly, the Artifice Sage had misunderstood something... or perhaps not. In any case, they had indeed already considered the matter and replied with a laugh, "We were wondering when you’d make a similar request. I’m surprised you’re only asking now."

After receiving the news that a team would be assigned to him to design all related armaments—including the Exoskeleton Armor—once the Extraordinary Academy’s relevant teams were in place after the semester began, Su Zhou hung up, satisfied.

’So this is what it feels like to have a big tree to rest under... I can get Magical Artifacts for free without spending a dime?’ he thought smugly. ’I can even get an official, legal license to hunt down evil people! Life is looking up!’

’Sigh, it seems my decision not to hide my talent back then was the right one after all!’

With that thought, Su Zhou headed to the camp to meet up with the Shao Family siblings. Although their trip to South Sea Beach had gone completely off the rails halfway through, all in all, the result wasn’t half bad.

And at that very moment, in television reports and online news articles across the country, Su Zhou’s official codenames finally appeared.

"Dragon King" and "Thunder Lord."

This was the designation the Zhengguo Government had chosen for Su Zhou.