Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

"No, that's not right."

Lysa quickly realized that her concern had led her astray.

Besides the possibility hinted at by Hunzhen, another possibility is that the Lord of the Luo River sensed the shift in fate and thus foresaw their arrival.

Rather, this is more likely to happen!

Thinking of this, Lysa silently rolled her eyes at Hunzhen.

Why does this person always try to amuse themselves? I just don't get it.

After that, there were no additional cumbersome procedures or difficult situations encountered.

The structure and positions within the Temple of Destiny are very simple.

From top to bottom, the hierarchy is: temple master, goddess, maid, and servant; there are no other distinctions.

The temple master is naturally the God of Luohe, and the goddess is currently only Lysa.

Therefore, Ryza can be said to be a truly powerful figure in the Temple of Destiny, second only to the leader.

The Fate Maidens are in charge of all the trivial matters within the Temple of Fate. There are only subtle differences in status among the Fate Maidens; there is no difference in rank.

While they devoted themselves entirely to the Lord of Luohe, they also received one of the greatest benefits: the ability to listen to the Lord's teachings during his sermons.

Each of the Destiny Maidens is at least at the Saint level and has evolved a Chaos Space of Destiny.

Over the long course of time, some powerful god-kings were born among them.

The maid of destiny who had been waiting for Hunzhen and his companion and led the way was a god-king of the path of destiny.

However, even if she becomes a God-King, her status will remain similar to that of other Destiny Maidens, and there will be no biased treatment where saints are punished for their crimes while God-Kings are treated leniently.

Those who serve under the Destiny Maidens are those who have not yet transformed their Supreme Destiny Heart into cultivators of the Chaos Space of Destiny. From the weakest to the most immortal, and from the strongest to the eternal true gods, all are included in this category and are governed and ruled by the Destiny Maidens.

As can be seen from the above titles, since the attendants were in reserve for the position of maids, they must all be women. Indeed, this is the case, as only women exist in the Temple of Destiny.

Throughout the entire Temple of Destiny, he did not see a single male life other than himself. In fact, his appearance attracted the attention and whispers of many maids and servants.

From this perspective, the Lord of the Luo River may be someone who pursues purity or actively distances himself from the opposite sex to avoid trouble.

From this perspective, it is somewhat surprising that the Lord of Luohe was willing to meet Hunzhen.

However, before Hunzhen could think much about it, under the guidance of the maid of destiny, the two quickly and successfully met the legendary Lord of the Luo River and took their seats on the pedestal that had been raised in front of the Lord of the Luo River in the main hall.

Hunzhen met the Goddess Luohe in the main hall of the Temple of Destiny. Her attire was basically the same as Lysa's. At first glance, she had the feeling of a "mature version" of Lysa. However, her eyes were completely covered by golden ribbons, which was somewhat similar to the blind saintess often seen in Japanese fantasy novels. She was fragile, noble, and yet possessed a strong spiritual power, giving people a complex and multi-layered first impression.

The maturity mentioned here is not physical maturity, but rather a maturity of temperament.

After all, Lysa is an old woman who has lived for half of the Great Epoch. She has already grown up in all the ways that she should have grown up, so what is there that is not mature?

However, in terms of temperament and atmosphere alone, Lysa still has a bit of a restless air about her. On the surface, in the eyes of others, she looks like a holy and transcendent goddess, but in reality, she still has obvious personality flaws.

This Lord of the Luo River, having withstood the test of time, possesses an impeccable composure.

For example, if Ryza is an "innocent girl" who has not yet seen the many complexities of the world and has never even tasted the forbidden fruit, then Lord Luohe is a "perfect saint" who has experienced all the trials and tribulations of life and washed away all worldly impurities.

Of course, these are all metaphors. What the God of Luohe had experienced was naturally beyond Hunzhen's knowledge.

The maid of fate who had led the way quietly withdrew, and in the blink of an eye, only the three of them—Lord Luohe, his disciples, and Hunzhen—remained in the spacious main hall.

Hunzhen looked at the waiting Luohe God, and although the other's eyes were wrapped in ribbons, he had the illusion that he was being stared at by a deep gaze and was having a long eye contact with the Luohe God.

"Why are you wearing this 'blindfold'?"

Hunzhen was the first to ask a question.

Seeing that Hunzhen showed no respect for the Goddess of Luohe and so rudely inquired about matters concerning physical characteristics, Lysa, who revered the Goddess of Luohe as her mother and a deity, couldn't help but step forward and rebuke, "Lord Hunzhen, how can you be so disrespectful in front of the Goddess?!"

At the same time, a faint worry about Hunzhen lingered in my heart.

Even though she holds a very high position in the Temple of Destiny, she does not take it for granted.

She knew perfectly well how supreme the Twelve God Lords were on the Origin Continent, and that this position was brought about by their strength, which was on a different dimension than that of the other God Kings!

If it weren't for Lord Luohe in person, she might have even questioned Hunzhen, asking if he thought that just because he could rival a peak God-King, he could disrespect a great God-King.

Lord Luohe might show some leniency to the members of the Temple of Destiny, but when it comes to those who provoke him, even a God-King, he will annihilate them with swift and decisive action!

Before Hunzhen could respond, Lord Luohe lectured Lysa: "Lysa, since you have chosen to serve Lord Hunzhen as your master, you should naturally prioritize Lord Hunzhen's interests, dignity, and choices! To so tarnish your master's reputation in front of others and do such a disrespectful thing—before questioning Lord Hunzhen, you should reflect on your own behavior!"

"this……"

Lysa opened her mouth, watching as the person she was protecting turned around and spoke up for the person she was questioning, and seeing the God of Luohe's tone rise and his extremely majestic appearance, she was momentarily stunned.

"Haha, Lord Luohe, you don't need to deliberately train my Servant. After all, Lysa has only been a Servant for a short time, so it's understandable that she makes some harmless mistakes!"

Listening to Hunzhen's continued arrogant and unrestrained remarks, Lysa opened her mouth, but ultimately chose to give up... Let's get started!

"Never mind. If Lord Hunzhen really dies because he angered our teacher, and I perish as a result, it's just the outcome of fate..."

Lysa sighed inwardly. The moment Hunzhen seized her destiny, they became a "community of shared fate," a one-way "community of shared fate."

In other words, if Hunzhen falls, she will fall too; if she falls, Hunzhen will be completely unaffected. It is precisely this unequal relationship that led her to choose to become the other's servant immediately.

After all, from the moment she lost control of her own destiny, she became no different from the other party's servant.

"Since Lord Hunzhen doesn't care, then it's really not my place to say anything more."

Lord Luohe nodded gently, his tone returning to its previous calm and composed state.

She pointed with her jade-like finger to the ribbon that Hunzhen called the "eye patch," and explained, "The eyes are the windows to the soul. With my current abilities, even just my gaze could distort the fate of others. Therefore, I have no choice but to perform this seal."

"Now it's just the three of us left. Leaving aside Lysa, who is my servant, I am fully responsible for my own destiny. So, Lord God, could you please remove your blindfold?"

Hunzhen's questioning seemed somewhat aggressive.

Lord Keluohe still smiled and explained, "The removal and reinforcement of the seal is an extremely troublesome matter, and we cannot comply. Please forgive us, Lord Hunzhen."

"All right."

However, after being politely declined, Hunzhen quickly chose to give up.

In reality, he had already confirmed through simulation that the other party would not remove the blindfold regardless of whether he was forceful, gentle, or cunning.

As for why they wanted the Goddess of Luohe to remove her blindfold, and even secretly harbored the intention to remove her veil, the reason is simple.

One reason is curiosity.

Although they had only been on the Origin Continent for a short time, Hunzhen had already gathered a considerable amount of information.

Among the many people, the Goddess of Luohe is hailed as the most beautiful woman in the Luohe region and even the most beautiful woman on the Origin Continent.

Even though no one had ever seen the true face of the Lord of Luohe, and even though the aesthetics of the various races within the Luohe Realm differed, the other party still received such a title, which naturally made Hunzhen very curious.

They even felt that the other person's beauty might have become a kind of rule, recognized by the Great Source of the Origin Continent, which was why such a perception, similar to a mental imprint, was formed.

Secondly, even if he had access to the hyperdimensional vision, he would still be completely unable to observe the fate of the God of Luohe.

It was still the instinctive cognition inherited from the omniscient visionary from the hyperdimensional visionary. He realized that it was by no means because the God Lord had transcended the torrent of fate, or because of the difference in the level of life.

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Similarly, it's not because the other party has outstanding achievements under the laws of fate.

Because after entering the Origin Continent, Hunzhen had basically confirmed one thing through years of trials and tribulations.

Omniscient Vision is at least a power above that of a God-King, meaning that at its weakest, it is a power on the same level as the supreme power controlled by a God-Lord.

Therefore, the superdimensional vision above the omniscient vision must be a power above the upper limit of the god's ability.

Therefore, his inability to observe the fate of the God of Luo River must be due to a special reason that does not involve the level of power.

In the depths of his being, Hunzhen had a sudden realization that he would know the answer as long as he looked into the eyes of the God of Luohe.

Unfortunately, Lord Luohe seems exceptionally kind and easy to talk to, and would even teach Lysa a lesson "for the sake of Hunzhen".

On this point, however, there was no room for negotiation, demonstrating the rigidity and absoluteness of the divine authority.

However, Hunzhen did not exhaust all methods of probing in the simulation.

From Lysa, Hunzhen had personally experienced the ability of the power of destiny to cope with simulation abilities to some extent.

In a sense, this may be the only special ability in the world capable of simulating Hunzhen.

While the God Lord of Luohe does not share the same connection to his own destiny as Lysa, he also possesses a unique destiny. Coupled with his strength at the level of a twelfth-ranked god and his mastery of the laws of destiny, he should not be underestimated.

Therefore, even in the simulation, Hunzhen dared not make any overly aggressive attempts.

As for testing the true strength of the "Twelve Divine Lords," he had already done so countless times before even entering the temple.

Yeah, we can't beat them, we can't beat them at all.

That's not just a difference of one or two levels.

If a real fight broke out, the God of Luohe could probably crush him to death with a single finger.

Why do we say "it's really going to break out"?

In the simulation, no matter how Hunzhen attacks, Lord Luohe will never retaliate; he will only defend with a smile.

The more this was the case, the more it gave Hunzhen a feeling of "terrifying horror".

In the end, even when Hunzhen unleashed his full power in front of him, he couldn't break through Luohe God Lord's defenses by even a fraction of a micrometer.

That's why Hunzhen felt that the other party could crush him with a single finger.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic."

Hunzhen abandoned his casual tone and went straight to the point: "Lord God, what is your purpose in sending your disciple to find me and in specially inviting me to your door today?"

To be honest, Hunzhen was indeed extremely curious.

What kind of pursuit could someone as powerful as the God of Luohe possibly have for himself? What kind of benefits does he intend to gain from me?

You can think of it as... I have high hopes for you.

"You think it's a good fit?"

Lord Luohe nodded slightly: "It's like an investment in talent. Before the other lords noticed you, I chose to place my bet early."

Hunzhen frowned slightly: "I already know that the so-called Goddess of Destiny is just Lysa's position in your Temple of Destiny. Is betting really necessary for you to hand over the Goddess of Destiny, whom you treat like a child? Moreover, at your level as a God Lord, even if you are not as good as other God Lords, you are almost invincible, right? In addition, given the special nature of the laws of destiny, there should be nothing in this world that would make you so accommodating to an impudent person like me."

This statement almost implies that Hunzhen's actions just now actually concealed a hint of deliberately causing trouble.

However, the God of Luohe showed no anger upon hearing this.

However, a hint of helplessness appeared on her face as she said, "Lord Hunzhen, do you feel that the God Lord is high above, carefree like a supreme deity? But... contradictions are everywhere."

"As long as humanity (referring to intelligent life) continues to exist, the channels for the distribution of benefits will expand endlessly within the vast, layered social structure, and every channel for the distribution of benefits will inevitably breed corruption."

"Thus, on the surface, the Origin Continent appears to be peaceful and relatively stable under the rule of the Twelve Divine Lords. However, if you look at it from the inside out in broad daylight, it is just a pile of collapsed fortresses, filled only with extravagance, waste, excessive spending, plundering, debt, pawning and mortgaging, persecution and exploitation, hunger and cold, and suffering."

"This is suffering that comes from the bottom up, and suffering that comes from the top down. Even the highest god cannot escape it."

In a daze, Hunzhen seemed to sense that the eyelids of the God of Luohe under the golden ribbon opened, radiating endless sharp divine light.

"Lord Hunzhen, do you know why the Twelve Divine Lords possess power far exceeding that of other Divine Kings, or even those who have reached the level of Divine Lords?"

The voice of the God of Luo River was soft, yet it carried a weight that resonated deeply. (End of Chapter)