When Alka opened his eyes, he was still standing in the eternal wheat field.
This time, however, he was no longer deep within the wheat field. Just a few hundred meters away, he saw a magnificent castle.
If nothing unexpected happened, this castle would be the same structure that always appeared in the wheat field.
However, each time Alka came, the building had changed slightly. This was the first time he had seen such a large, castle-like structure.
After all, each time, it was a variety of down-to-earth agricultural facilities.
This time, he was greeted by a different girl than the familiar one.
Instead, it was the Holy Sword Agent.
Meniex.
She looked at Alka approaching and nodded silently: "Follow me."
Then, she led Alka towards the fortress. You could sense her silence, but it didn't strike him as strange or particularly interesting.
Alka turned and looked at the castle. There was nothing special about it; it was just an ordinary city. They arrived at the hall together. As soon as he entered, Alka sensed a powerful aura.
Ever since he became a god in his dream, he had never entered the kingdom of God.
But this time, when he entered,
He not only clearly felt that he could easily enter and exit the kingdom, but he even sensed the restrained aura of the gods before him.
In the past, he would have been completely unaware of this.
And as he stepped into the building, he seemed to understand why he had appeared directly in front of it this time, without needing anyone to lead him out of the depths of the wheat field.
He also understood why he had appeared in the depths of the wheat field before.
Because his soul was weak and his spirit wasn't strong enough back then, he needed to make his way step by step. This was a process of adaptation, as the area where the building was located was the center of the kingdom of God.
This seemed to be some kind of uncontrollable and irreversible protective measure. Alka was no longer a baby or child in this building.
In the hall before him, the Holy Mother stood.
Looking at him.
Alka took a few steps forward, nodded, and bowed: "Holy Mother."
The Holy Mother looked at him and said, "Although your physical body in reality has not yet ascended to godhood, your soul and spirit in your dreams are already kings.
From now on, you will no longer need to bow when you see me. This is the most basic etiquette, a sign of mutual respect that cannot be refused."
Hearing this, and looking at the Holy Mother's solemn face, Alka nodded and straightened slightly.
Indeed.
After becoming a god, Alka, upon entering the Kingdom of God for the first time, clearly felt many changes he had never felt before.
For example, he could clearly sense that this so-called Kingdom of God was a spiritual world based on reality reflected in the virtual world.
It felt a bit like a dream world, yet more realistic than a dream.
Souls, spirits, and physical bodies could all roam here.
It was a truly unique realm.
And it was completely bound to the Mother God, practically the domain she controlled.
Looking at this divine kingdom, Alka, within it, probably had a certain understanding.
For example, the kingdom within his dreams could be considered a different kind of divine kingdom.
Because it was the realm of dream creatures, the only difference from the divine kingdom was that it was not suitable for the existence of tangible, real things.
The divine kingdom was like a dream kingdom with this added function, and it was highly bound to the individual.
After all, the kingdom of kings in dreams was called a kingdom precisely because it was not completely bound to an individual.
Perhaps out of respect or some other reason, Alka felt that he could easily escape from the Mother God Kingdom at any time.
"Your growth has surpassed my imagination. I never imagined you could become a god in such a short time." The Virgin Mary beside him sighed slightly.
Perhaps for Alka, his experiences have already stretched over decades.
It's not a short period of time.
But the problem is, for a god, decades are just a blink of an eye, and no god can grow in just a few decades.
Of course.
Perhaps there was, but it was a very long time ago, so long ago that even gods would find it distant.
For example, Alka knew.
The former owner of the power hidden in his eyes.
"Your rate of growth reminds me of a friend."
"Friend?" Alka asked, puzzled.
"Yes, a mortal who became a god, the first mortal to achieve godhood. His achievements even surpass those of all natural gods."
Hearing this, Alka understood who the Mother was referring to.
But was this Quarter God and the Mother still friends? Alka wasn't quite sure.
After all, the Golden Age stretched for hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of years. Alka had skipped almost every period, capturing only a few crucial moments.
If the world hadn't been destroyed at the end of the Golden Age, how glorious would this world have been?
"Judging from your expression, you should know. What a pity," the Mother said.
After all, this Quarter God was supposed to have been the strongest among the group protecting the world.
It's just that he was always mysterious, and until he finally disappeared, no one knew what he had done.
Bypassing this topic, the Mother looked at Alka and said, "My brother is looking for you again, right?"
Alka nodded. "I could sense his departure, leaving the boundless sea and heading for the astral realm. I also sensed the return of his divinity, but it seems he will never return."
However, the Mother's expression was devoid of emotion, as if she were speaking to a stranger.
Afterward, the Mother looked at Alka and said, "The damage to your body is severe."
Hearing this, Alka nodded in silence.
This was the price.
It wasn't just the price he paid for dealing with the newborn god, but the price he paid along the way.
As a living being, he had been the king of dreams from the very beginning, resulting in his soul and spiritual energy in dreams always surpassing his physical body.
Even now, Alka finds it difficult to suppress it.
He granted Alka power far beyond his peers, the authority of the dream king.
But all this came at a price.
While this price would be completely insignificant to most people, it was a significant concern for Alka.
It was, of course, a rupture between body, mind, and soul.
An irreparable rupture.
Especially this time.
Even if, through the efforts of everyone and himself, it was repaired, it would be nothing more than a patchwork.
With a little force, it could be easily torn apart.
"But this is also a rare and perfect opportunity," the Virgin Mary said, smiling as she looked at Alka.
Without waiting for Alka to ask, she explained.
"For most people who aspire to become gods, or who have already achieved godhood, the problem is integrating the power of their soul and spirit into their physical body.
This is because they lack the means, or rather, their soul and spirit strength simply cannot keep pace with the physical body's.
They can only choose this method at the time of godhood, and consider slowly addressing this issue afterward."
After hearing the Mother's explanation, Alka nodded in understanding.
Because this is indeed the normal situation.
After all, compared to improving the spirit and soul, improving the physical body is much simpler.
As long as the spirit and soul don't lag behind, it's fine.
Even if they lag behind, there's no need to worry too much.
"But you know, everything has a price. The price is that it's difficult and troublesome to replenish the strength of the spirit and soul later.
Although the strength of the spirit and soul doesn't meet the standard, it is indeed at the level of a god."
Hearing this, Alka could probably understand. Raising the strength of the spirit and soul—although their strengths were equal, one soul was that of an ordinary person, while the other was that of a god.
The two were equal in strength, but the time and expense required to achieve this were clearly different.
Because of their different statuses.
"But my current rift is severe. This isn't the time to be thinking about such things," Alka said.
He couldn't even alleviate the rift and synchronize his body and soul. Considering such things was completely pointless.
This would surely become an obstacle to his ascension to godhood.
Hearing this, the Virgin smiled at him, then patted his head like a mother.
"Silly child, there's certainly a way to do what I say."
But at this moment, clusters of light shone around the Virgin.
Alka instantly sensed that these clusters of light came from the power of other gods.
Interrupted, the Virgin Mary could only smile helplessly at Alka and withdraw her hand.
Amidst the radiance, the images of gods emerged one after another.
Alka finally saw the other gods.
His body was a deep blue, like the water element, muscular and perfectly sculpted, with a short white beard that reached down to his ears.
He held a trident and wore a crown, a classic image of the sea god.
Judging from his appearance, he looked middle-aged, but his serious expression and frown gave him a look of formidable foreboding.
Next to him was a beautiful, quiet girl, draped in a simple dress woven from vines, green leaves, and flowers.
She stood barefoot, devoid of any ornamentation.
This must be life.
On the other side, there was the image of an elderly man, his face only vaguely visible in the dim shadows due to his hood.
And this face was eerily familiar to Arka, bearing at least an 80% resemblance to the Four Gods.
In addition to the images of these three gods, there was also the image of another.
Emerging from within was naturally a flower fairy, dressed in light clothing and a shawl.
Unlike the other gods, the flower fairy was quite lively.
Looking at Arka, he smiled and waved in greeting.
But this was clearly not all the gods of the Outer Defense Line, for as far as Arka knew, there were also some newly ascended gods who had ascended in the past ten thousand years.
"Are you Arka?" a voice shone with a touch of vehemence.
The voice was the phantom of the Sea God.
Hearing this, Arka nodded.
The Sea God sized him up. Alka could clearly sense the Seagod's gaze, like a scanner, a stinging sensation.
"Not bad."
Alka had expected him to say something unkind, but instead, it was a faintly complimentary remark.
Hearing this, the flower fairy next to her covered her mouth and couldn't help but laugh.
The Seagod glanced at her, his eyes filled with disdain.
"Don't be surprised, Alka. This old man is just like that. If I'm not mistaken, he's probably thanking you for freeing his worthless son."
Hearing the flower fairy's words, the Seagod's irritation intensified. He glared at her and said.
"Don't call me old, especially you."
Is that the point?
Alka was a little confused.
The rebuttal was completely different from what she had expected.
Life smiled at Alka and nodded, a greeting.
As for the Wise Man, Alka only sensed that his gaze from beneath his hood was directed at him.
At this moment, the Flower Fairy and the Sea God were still trading sarcasm.
The Holy Mother spoke up, "Well, we don't have much time. We're here to discuss where the Ascension Society's masterpiece should be placed."
"Wouldn't it be fine on Origin Island?" the Sea God said bluntly.
Life shook his head, "No, it's too conspicuous there."
"That's right."
The Wise Man then spoke up, "Just place it directly on the scar. It's both the most dangerous and the safest spot.
There's no safer place right now, and we can rely on the treasure's attraction to attract more people."
It was clear that the Wise Man had already considered this issue and offered a better option.
When he finished speaking, the gods couldn't help but ponder it for a moment before nodding in agreement. The location was quickly decided, very efficiently.
‐‐Arka was slightly bewildered.
‐‐He could probably tell the gods were considering where the twelve Trial Towers should be placed.
‐‐He just didn't understand what their words meant.
‐‐"You don't understand, do you?" The flower fairy had suddenly arrived beside Arka, looking at him and saying with a smile.
‐‐Arka nodded.
‐‐"The so-called Ascension Society is actually Chitok, the alchemists' former small circle. You should know this."
‐‐Arka nodded.
‐‐Chitok is the abbreviation of the Trial God's name.
"The purpose of this secret council is to grant its will to the eternal existence of rules.
They are more concerned with whether their will can be passed down forever."
"And the Origin Island is the center of the Boundless Ocean; it anchors the entire ocean."
With this explanation, Arka could probably fully understand what the gods were talking about.
"Okay, now it's time to discuss more important matters.
So, do you think your child is capable of such a role?" The Sea God looked at Arka, then turned to the Mother and asked.
"I believe in him, and you should too," said the Mother.
...
When Arka opened his eyes from the sofa,
The crowd immediately gathered around him.
The curiosity in their eyes was undisguised, staring at Arka. Their curiosity was self-evident.
Seeing the curiosity in their eyes, Arka shook his head helplessly.
"I did see the Four Gods."
Hearing this, the curiosity in the crowd intensified.
They were already urging Alka to tell them quickly about the images of the Four Gods he had seen in the Kingdom of God and how he felt about them.
"Okay, I'll tell you about them and how I felt about each of them."
With this, Alka began to describe the other images he had seen of the Four Gods, their relationships, and how they spoke.
It was all details and unimportant stuff.
In short, it was just what everyone was interested in.
So what did he talk about?
After finishing, Alka spread his hands and said, "We only have so much time, so I only know this much."
"So what did they talk to you about?" Jason asked curiously.
Alka thought for a moment, then summarized his thoughts and said, "They talked about where the twelve Trial Towers should be placed.
They also explained why they hadn't known about the twelve Trial Towers before.
That answered our long-standing question. It was through us that the Four Gods learned about the twelve Trial Towers and the functions they could provide when connected.
Then they emphasized that they were truly powerless regarding the demons scarring the world.
For it's not just the traitorous gods who are lurking within the astral plane, but also numerous evil higher-dimensional beings harboring ill will towards this world."
After listening to Alka's general account, everyone nodded.
"Doesn't that mean we don't have to attend that so-called meeting tomorrow? After all, the Four Gods have already decided where to place the twelve towers," Jason said.
"Fool! This meeting isn't for us, nor for the Church of the Four Gods. It's for the other major powers," Lucelia said, sitting on Alka's shoulder.
This was indeed the case.
The Four Gods had already decided where to place the towers.
This meeting was naturally for the major powers involved.
To prepare them and explain the situation.
As for inviting Alka and his team later, it was naturally to make them known. After all, it was they who proposed the twelve Trial Towers, and it was they who began searching and collecting them.
Finally, they would retrieve and store them, displaying them to the public.
According to Alka's inside information, almost all the major powers had no idea what the twelve Trial Towers could accomplish together. All we know is that their combined power could be immensely powerful.
This is also a secret preserved by the Four Gods.
Otherwise, collecting these twelve Trial Towers and the challenges they would encounter along the way would be far greater.
Had those cult gods and demons known the specific uses of the twelve quadruple towers, how could they have allowed Alka to collect them so easily?
Although preserving these twelve towers did incur certain losses and costs for the local churches,