Chapter 40

1

The Divine Realm, above the clouds under a clear blue sky.

Inside a magnificent complex, Marutian stood in his signature white robes, facing a long corridor with cruciform arches. He kept running his hand along each pillar, examining them, as if utterly fascinated by this one column. He was so focused he ignored the presence behind him.

He studied every carved detail on the pillars, then copied them stroke by stroke onto a board. The proportions were precise and clean, basically a structural drawing.

“How do you think this layout handles the daylight?”

Marutian had almost finished sketching the entire corridor. He slid a finger lightly over the board. Beams of sunlight appeared on the diagram, piercing into the hall. Lines of data floated up across the surface. Marutian shifted the beams around, slowly watching each data set change.

“Your Majesty Holy Dragon, the craftsmen poured a lot of effort into this corridor. Lighting’s not an issue at all. And we’re above the clouds; nothing can block the sun.”

The man behind him stretched his arms out, clearly enjoying the warm light.

“I think there’s too much light,” Marutian said.

“Your Majesty doesn’t like sunlight?”

“The sun’s… vicious.” Marutian narrowed his eyes at the light slanting into the building, then turned to the man behind him—long silver hair, a face still full of collagen, skin so pale there wasn’t a trace of blood color.

“The council side looks peaceful enough, Speaker Brandt.”

Marutian kept filling in the diagram, but his gaze drifted past the far end of the corridor toward the busy Divine Council in the distance.

“Without Your Majesty’s help, the lower gods in the Lower Council would never obey our Brandt family so easily.”

“How many cycles has it been since House Brandt last held the reins of the Divine Council? Then you’d better work harder if you want that seat to stay put.”

The silver‑haired man clearly didn’t like that. “It has been a long time. Even so, House Brandt is grateful. But our relationship is only cooperation.”

“The words ‘only cooperation’ shouldn’t be coming from you. The one cooperating with me is Allen Brandt. You—Augustine Brandt—should keep straight who you’re talking to.”

Marutian folded up the board. His posture turned arrogant, his presence instantly suppressing the esteemed Speaker.

“Y‑yes, Your Majesty!”

“Allen isn’t here. Give me a rough progress report.”

Marutian took the board back out and started drawing again.

“Most of the Angels who went to sanction Othrie have already returned to The Divine Realm. Only one old Angel named Cai Sai hasn’t come back. Maybe he’s too old to make it.

“As for the Angels embedded in nations friendly with The Divine Realm, they’ve begun eating into their leadership.”

Augustine produced an emerald ring and projected the early stage of the plan into the air.

“Cai Sai? He was killed by someone from the Demon Dragon’s side.”

Marutian tapped a name on the Angel list.

“The Demon Dragon? He should be in The Demon Realm.”

“He prefers staying in The Human Realm, in Othrie.”

“If he’s in Othrie, then yeah, that’s trouble. No wonder the Icewheel Valkyrie needed Allen to personally go down to The Human Realm.”

“Didn’t the Icewheel Valkyrie already come back? Why haven’t I seen her in so long?”

“There’s no need to worry, Your Majesty. The Valkyrie is just exhausted. After a few days’ rest she’ll be serving by your side again.”

“It’s fine. Let her rest a bit longer.”

Seeing how absorbed Marutian was with the board, Augustine thought for a moment, then said, “If Your Majesty’s interested in building structures, I can show you our Brandt Cathedral sometime. Its architecture is as top‑tier as it gets in The Divine Realm.”

“Another time. I’ll get around to drawing House Brandt sooner or later. When I do, you can be my guide.”

“It would be an honor. Does Your Majesty have any message I should pass on to Allen?”

“Yes. Make sure the order beneath the clouds is handled. Don’t let what happened yesterday happen again, or things will get troublesome.”

Augustine let out a bitter laugh and nodded. Just thinking about yesterday’s incident under the clouds left him irritated.

Not long after, he finished his report and left the corridor. At the corner, he turned on the attendant waiting there, snarling, “Once I get full authority over House Brandt, I’ll show you who’s really fit to ‘cooperate.’ I’m Speaker of the Council—I should be the most powerful man in The Divine Realm. Why do I still have to bow to Allen and the Holy Dragon?”

He continued down the corridor with his attendants. Up ahead, a woman in a white cloak approached. Augustine stared, puzzled. He couldn’t see her face, but both cloak and outfit were anything but ordinary. Set into the forehead of the hood was a rare Magic crystal—Southern Bixia.

“This crystal… heh.”

Augustine let out a meaningful little laugh. He had planned to stop her, but in the end, he stayed silent.

“You got here fast,” Marutian said, stowing the board as he spoke to the cloaked woman.

“Yao, Qin Yang’s awake.” The woman skipped all small talk and went straight to the point.

“How is he?”

“Not good. His body can’t handle repeatedly forcing out his potential. He needs to build up to it slowly.”

Marutian smiled, as if this outcome was exactly what he expected.

“Have Tony and the others lie low for a bit. Let them really think about what stunt they’re going to pull next. Kidnapping’s low‑class. I want them to complete their missions and give me something fun to watch at the same time.”

“I like having something fun to watch too.”

The woman lifted her head so Marutian could see her face.

He gently stroked her cheek like he was greeting a lover he hadn’t seen in ages, his eyes soft and tender.

“Do you like this crystal? I bought it at a crystal expo last year. It came from the mouth of a Monster in the far south of The Divine Realm. So bright… it’s a rare one.”

Marutian admired the beautiful crystal against that intensely alluring face. In his mind, only such a precious gem was worthy of that face. Any other crystal would look dull beside her.

“What’s the use of a rare crystal? I can only wear it out now.”

A trace of resentment colored her voice. No matter how pretty the clothes, they were meaningless if she couldn’t show them off. Beautiful clothes were meant to be flaunted, but she never had the chance.

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t have given it to you?”

Marutian picked her up and breathed in her scent, completely intoxicated.

“Hmph. You don’t need to act like you’re so captivated by me.”

“No. Today I really do want to be captivated. These gods are exhausting to deal with.”

She turned her head away, looking off to the side. “Looking at you, I really don’t feel like seducing you.”

“You haven’t seduced anyone in years. Do you even remember how?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s instinct.”

The woman pulled back the hood, lifted her head, and extended her tongue to his neck. It was a snake’s forked tongue, flicking back and forth against his skin, the itchy sensation maddeningly sharp.

Marutian gave a very provocative grin, acting like he was totally into it. His hand squeezed her butt. In that long corridor, they ignored everyone else. Not that anyone dared disturb them— even the Speaker had wisely withdrawn.

“Qing! It’s been so long since we did this.”

A crimson, gem‑like light cracked open on Marutian’s chest, spreading across his entire body. His head began to shift and twist. In the woman’s eyes, a massive dragon head emerged. In Marutian’s eyes, all he saw was a giant serpent’s head.

For a moment, a dragon and a snake entwined around the huge building, then soared off into the distance.

From the old castle, Elena saw the whole scene of dragon and serpent intertwined.

“Why? Why? Why?”

Tears slipped from Elena’s eyes for no reason she could name. Confusion and panic surged through her. She didn’t want to accept any of this.

“Qin Yang!”

A name suddenly surfaced—a name that, out of nowhere, made her feel safe.

PS: End of Volume 9