I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

His golden pupils fell upon Ji Tian, ​​devoid of pupils, only containing countless intricately rotating phantom gears. He pondered for a moment with some confusion, and finally spoke:

What does this mean?

Ji Tian raised his head and met the gaze of the two gear-shaped eyes. He had just repeatedly scanned the other's divine body with his divine sense, and the conclusion was:

It is very resilient and not necessarily easy to kill. Its authority and power are completely tied to this new era.

The only way Ji Tian can think of to defeat them right now is to devour and absorb their authority, or simply turn back the clock and destroy the factory and all related products.

Okay, let's ask them if they're from the same hometown first, as is customary.

He began by saying, "Odd changes, even remains the same."

The gears in the eyes of the god of industry paused slightly.

How are you?

silence.

For the first time, doubt appeared in those golden pupils, if the stopped gears in his eyes could be considered doubt.

"So we're not from the same hometown after all?" Ji Tian felt a pang of disappointment, then asked in the language of this world, "You're not from this world?"

The god of industry did not deny it.

He descended slowly, and his divine body emerged from the void. It was a form that existed between reality and illusion, with a blurred face and a tall stature. He wore clothing that resembled both a formal suit and a divine robe, with gear and chimney patterns embroidered on the hem.

I come from another world, a world you cannot imagine.

My name… cannot be revealed for now. My father is the god of industry there, and now, I am the master of industry and innovation in this world.

Ji Tian nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

He didn't care about the other person's past or present life; he only wanted to know two things: "How did you get here? What are you planning to do next?"

The god of industry conjured a phantom of a spinning gear in his palm. His gaze pierced through the stone walls of the dungeon, looking toward the factories in the capital, without answering the first question that had not pleased him.

[To consolidate the divine body, harvest faith, and expand authority.]

He paused, then his dual-gear-like eyes returned to Ji Tian.

[You are special. Your power system does not belong to this world, nor to any pantheon I know of. I need the gods. If you are willing to submit, I can grant you power far exceeding your current strength, to jointly rule this era.]

Ji Tian raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to recruit me as your subordinate?"

[Younger brother?]

The god of industry repeated the word, seemingly digesting its meaning.

[This can be understood as follows: in our world, gods serve the supreme god, and the supreme god protects the gods, but their relationship is mostly one of birth and being born.]

Ji Tian's lips twitched, then he laughed in exasperation. "Fine, fine, so you want me to be like Lü Bu, huh?"

He was about to say something when his expression suddenly shifted, and he turned his head to look at the top of the dungeon.

Not only him, but the god of industry also raised his head.

A powerful beam of holy light descended from the sky, landing vertically with the might of a powerful being, piercing through the layers of stone walls of the dungeon, and directly striking the divine body that the God of Industry had just condensed.

A burst of light erupted, scattering golden sparks like a shower of stars.

The god of industry swayed, and the gear patterns on his robes dimmed slightly.

A hoarse yet powerful roar came from above, "Heretics! Don't even think about causing trouble here!"

The stone walls of the dungeon began to crack, and golden light emanated from the cracks.

The entire dungeon seemed to be lifted up from above by an invisible hand, with stones floating upwards, chains breaking, and instruments of torture falling down.

Ji Tian and the others stood on the shattered ground, with the night sky of the capital city above them.

The leaden clouds had been dispersed by the holy light disc player, and a layer of pale golden light enveloped the entire area.

Cardinal Valentine of the Royal Cathedral floated in mid-air, dressed in a deep red robe embroidered with golden holy symbols, holding a holy relic in each hand.

In his left hand was a short, silver-white staff, the head of which was inlaid with a large holy crystal that emitted a soft yet intense light. That was the Holy Spirit Staff, the most powerful relic of the church, which was placed in the Royal Cathedral.

In his right hand was a palm-sized round shield, its surface as smooth as a mirror, with fine runes flowing along its edges. The defensive artifact that Ji Tian had sensed at the banquet was now emitting a faint glow.

Behind Valentine, a delicate dark silver balance scale floated, with two weights on the pan, which were swinging violently up and down, making a crisp "clinking" sound.

It is precisely the [Scales of Order]!

"It's understandable that the Church and heresy are sworn enemies, but why did the Kingdom Council intervene so quickly? And why is the Prime Minister willing to lend this relic to the Church?"

"No, that's not right. It should be considered the Prime Minister's personal behavior."

Ji Tian quickly understood Augustus's plan: if the new god did not die, the prime minister and his family's old grudges of being two-faced might be settled by a god, and he could not afford to gamble.

Valentine's gaze swept across the dungeon ruins, first landing on the God of Industry, his pupils contracting slightly, then sweeping over Ji Tian, ​​lingering on him for a moment before letting out a cold snort and asking no further questions.

Clearly, he mistook Ji Tian for someone from the academy.

Valentine's voice, amplified by the holy light, resounded throughout the entire area: "Evil God, your conspiracy has been exposed. From this moment forward, the Church will strangle you in your infancy!"

"Is this old man really that strong? He's only a Grand Magister, right?"

The God of Industry raised his head and looked at the cardinal floating in the air, his gear-like eyes showing only a faint disdain.

His voice resounded in everyone's minds.

"You? A mere mortal?"

Valentine was not angered by these words, and the Holy Spirit Scepter in his hand shone brightly.

His magical energy began to rise at a visible speed, breaking through from the peak of Archmage to Legendary, and then climbing even higher from Legendary.

His soul was also being contested by other beings, all of whom were sages who had reached the level of demigods throughout the church! In the end, his soul settled in the body of a being most suitable for Valentine.

Ji Tian's eyelids twitched. 'The Church's foundation is truly unfathomable; they even possess the Heavenly Rank combat skill [Possession]! And this Cardinal in Cardinal robes really doesn't flinch at all!'

At the same time, the Scales of Order behind Valentine emitted a clear and melodious sound, and invisible ripples spread out from the scales, enveloping the god of industry.

The god of industry stiffened slightly, sensing that some kind of rule was trying to level his power with that of the one before him.

The core ability of [Balance of Order]: After determining that both parties are in a "hostile" state, it forcibly pulls the strength of both parties to the same level.

It is of course ineffective against a true and complete god, but it works just right for this newly born, unstable, and half-baked god.

The God of Industry looked down at his own solidifying yet slightly dissipating divine body, then looked at the other.

[Interesting, but you don't really think you can eliminate me with just this, do you?]

Valentine did not respond. The ripples emanating from the Scales of Order behind him intensified, the aura of the God of Industry began to decline, while Valentine's aura remained at the threshold of demigod.

One rise and one fall eventually reached a delicate balance at a certain point.

Valentine's original voice rang out again, "Great Sage, Shadownail has returned to the Holy City to request reinforcements. If we can hold out until reinforcements arrive..."

"Hey, enough with the nonsense!" His voice turned youthful and unrestrained again. "It's just an evil god, isn't it? There were plenty of similar things in the capital when I was alive... I finally got out of my lord's kingdom, so let me have some fun."

"But……"

"No buts! Don't worry, in my time, I was the strongest below the gods!"

As he spoke, he pointed the Holy Spirit Staff forward, and a blazing pillar of holy light shot out from the tip of the staff, heading straight for the face of the God of Industry.

The strongest demigod of ancient times versus the weakest god of modern times—the battle is about to begin!