Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Divine Son

Zhou Tian stared at him, speechless. This was far too tragic.

“It can’t all be blamed on me. Who could have expected the Holy Divine Church to suddenly establish contact with their divine lord and be granted so many hidden cards? Otherwise, I would have escaped for sure.”

Seeing the strange look in Zhou Tian’s eyes, Zhang Yi hurried to explain, throwing all the blame onto the Holy Divine Church’s divine lord.

“How did you know they had made contact with their divine lord? And how do you know this place so well?”

Zhou Tian asked in slight surprise. Zhang Yi had been imprisoned here ever since arriving in the Godforsaken Land; how could he possibly know so much? Even if the pope had summoned a phantom of a holy envoy, that might merely have been a hidden card preserved from antiquity. It still did not prove they had truly contacted their divine lord.

And those detailed matters concerning the Inquisition—Tian Qin’s intelligence reports did not include any of that.

Hearing Zhou Tian’s question, Zhang Yi looked toward a nearby cell, and a clear voice came from within.

“I told him.”

From the darkness inside that cage, a man stepped forward. He wore a white robe, though it was already in tatters. He looked young, with skin still faintly fair and tender, and his eyes were brilliant, as if they contained something indescribable.

Zhou Tian had assumed there was no one in that cell at all, since when he had walked past earlier, no one had come out of it to observe him.

“Didn’t they say sound can be sealed in here?”

Zhou Tian asked Zhang Yi beside him.

“Before I saw you, I actually thought this place could truly hold anyone below the level of the Great Emperor.”

Zhang Yi did not answer directly, but his meaning was perfectly clear.

“...”

Zhou Tian rolled his eyes at him. Could those two situations even be compared?

“Can you tell me why you can ignore the suppression on the cage?” the man asked again.

“Then can you tell me why your voice can get out?” Zhou Tian shot back.

“Of course,” the man said readily.

“Because I am a god.”

“Is that so? What a coincidence. So am I.”

Zhou Tian raised an eyebrow.

“I thought as much.”

Zhou Tian had not expected the man to actually look as though this were only natural.

“Has this fellow gone mad?”

Zhou Tian looked helplessly at Zhang Yi beside him.

“No, he really does seem to be a god,” Zhang Yi explained with unusual seriousness.

“What do you mean?”

Zhou Tian’s brows knit slightly. A god? A god would be imprisoned here?

“He has a tiny trace of divinity from some unknown source.”

“Divinity?!”

Zhou Tian was somewhat astonished. He had seen the term divinity in the information Tian Qin had gathered. It was also something unique to this divine realm, an exceedingly special power.

As everyone knew, every god in the divine realm had countless believers, and countless prayers arose without cease. With so many prayers, even a lord of an entire divine lineage would struggle to process them all. Divinity was the power that helped them handle those prayers. That was only one of its uses; it had many other mysterious functions as well. In short, it was immensely powerful.

The source of such power was also extremely difficult to obtain. It had to be refined from the power of faith, and no one knew the exact method. The people of the Nine Provinces had investigated the rise of many divine lineages in extraordinary detail, yet still could not uncover even the slightest clue.

“You mean he is a primordial deity?”

Zhou Tian looked at the man. Ever since the ancient gods fled, there had not been a primordial deity in the Godforsaken Land for many years.

“I am not entirely sure about that,” Zhang Yi said with a shake of his head. Although divinity was difficult to obtain, it could be bestowed, and many divine lineages were formed in precisely that way. The divine lord was the source of all divinity.

“I am not a primordial deity.”

The man had remained silent all along, simply listening to their conversation. But at this moment, he finally spoke to deny it.

Zhou Tian and Zhang Yi turned their attention to him and said nothing, waiting for his explanation.

“I am a descendant of a god. My name is Anduin. Divine blood flows in my veins, and I was naturally born with a trace of divinity. That is why I can hear the hymns of the believers here, and through them I can learn much of what is happening outside. But my divinity is far too meager, and with the suppression of this place, I cannot answer them.”

Anduin explained very clearly, his voice calm and unhurried, carrying a tranquil quality. A golden radiance rose in his hand. Even through two layers of bars and restraints, Zhou Tian could still feel the sanctity emanating from it. This was the manifestation of divinity, and Anduin was using it to substantiate his words.

“A descendant of a god?”

Zhou Tian pondered for a moment, then asked,

“Who is your father?”

Anduin dispersed the glow in his hand and shook his head with a smile.

“My father is only an old farmer. I am not that god’s direct child; I can only be considered his descendant. For some reason, divine blood simply awakened within me.”

“According to the believers who found me, I am a descendant of the Lord of Ashes. I can also wield the Ash Spear, which is the Lord of Ashes’ weapon, so there should be no mistake.”

“Why do you speak so candidly?”

Zhou Tian did not ask who this Lord of Ashes was, but instead raised another question, because Anduin was far too straightforward. Whatever he was asked, he answered, explaining everything clearly.

“I naturally have my own purpose...”

Anduin had not yet finished speaking when his brows suddenly furrowed, and he said to Zhou Tian,

“Go back quickly. The Inquisition gate has opened again.”

Zhou Tian froze, but he did not hesitate. He left Zhang Yi’s cell and returned to his own. Anduin had no reason to deceive him over something so trivial.

Thud, thud! Thud, thud!

The sound of an energy construct’s heavy steps on the floor drew near, growing closer and closer. Soon, a towering suit of armor reached them, carrying a person in its hand. That person was also armored, though the armor was already in tatters.

As it passed, flames leapt up along the cages, and all manner of strange beings stretched out their arms toward the energy construct, baring their fangs and claws as if trying to say something. Most likely they wanted to report Zhou Tian. Unfortunately, the construct had long since lost the intellect it possessed in antiquity. It simply kept walking forward with the person in its grasp.

As it drew near, Zhou Tian also made out the person it held.

“Mu Su?!”

Zhou Tian cried out in surprise. The figure clutched in the energy construct’s hand was none other than his newly acquainted companion, Mu Su, though he no longer had the carefree air he had worn a few days ago.

When the construct passed Zhou Tian’s cell, Mu Su clearly saw him too. At once, his bloodless face flushed red, his eyes widening until they were as round as lanterns. His mouth opened and closed, but Zhou Tian could not hear a sound. Most likely, he was cursing him.

Crackle, crackle!

A burst of electric arcs crackled through the air, and runes lit up on the energy construct’s broad metal palm. Lightning coursed over Mu Su’s body, apparently as punishment.

Mu Su’s body trembled violently, and he stopped speaking. He simply glared at Zhou Tian with fierce resentment.

Zhou Tian rubbed his nose in embarrassment. Surely this could not be blamed on him. Who told you to curse me?

Requests for recommendations, and requests for bookmarks.

Thanks to Fallen Sheep for the tip.

Yesterday’s count was one chapter owed; I will make it up.