NABC 17. Divine Arrival
17. Divine Arrival
Growth has not stopped.
This was Ling Bingtian's first reaction. The originally short crystal tablet expanded to about six feet wide in just a few breaths, and its height continued to rise until it pierced through the clouds.
The shocking scene before him made Ling Bingtian hold his breath, staring wide-eyed at the incredible growth.
Surprised, after an unknown amount of time—perhaps a breath, perhaps ten—the crystal tablet stopped growing, and the side facing Ling Bingtian emitted a faint blue light.
Soon, a figure appeared in the blue light.
Ling Bingtian stared intently, and the first thing that struck him about the figure was its eight-pointed blue hair. Before he could observe further, the figure beckoned him to walk forward.
Upon realizing the figure's identity, Ling Bingtian swallowed hard, utterly stunned by the Ice God's sudden freeze. He hadn't expected the Ice God to be able to do this in this dimension.
At this moment, the state of these people could only lead Ling Bingtian to one possibility: time had been frozen!
Seeing the Ice God's signal, Ling Bingtian didn't hesitate any longer and strode forward. At this moment, Ling Bingtian noticed that the carvings on the altar, like the crystal tablet, were emitting a faint blue light, as if welcoming the Ice God's arrival.
These carvings depict people, animals, and some strange and unusual plants. They differ in form, but share the commonality of bowing down in submission to the center of the altar.
'It seems this Ice God is very concerned about his image,' Ling Bingtian thought to himself.
Of course, it's also possible that the altar was built for the Ice God by his subordinates. If it was built by devout believers, then the carvings on the altar wouldn't be incomprehensible.
Stepping on the blue light, Ling Bingtian walked step by step towards the center of the altar, finally stopping three meters in front of the crystal tablet. Considering the size of the crystal tablet, this position was just right.
Ling Bingtian tried to appear nervous, and in fact, he was indeed very nervous. Even though he had criticized certain gods in his past life, this was the first time he had ever truly looked a god in the eye. Ling Bingtian wasn't exactly a calm person, and the nervousness made his legs tremble slightly.
However, his adult soul from his previous life allowed him to forcibly stabilize his body and prevent any major physical movements.
The Ice God sat on the bed of 100,000-year-old Xuanbing marrow, looking at the boy in the crystal tablet in front of him with some curiosity.
The accumulation of years had made Him lose interest in many things, but the boy's newly acquired abilities were enough to arouse even the slightest, insignificant interest in Him.
Looking at the ice armor on the boy's body and the wings behind him, the Ice God could feel a mixture of familiarity and strangeness emanating from them.
The sense of familiarity came from the familiar phoenix bloodline. These damned birds had devoured many of their own kind when the human race was not yet prosperous. No matter how much the changes were, the Ice God could not forget their aura.
The sense of unfamiliarity came from the peculiar mask, especially the crimson crystal located between the boy's eyebrows.
On that surface, the Ice God could not sense any gathering of energy, nor could he see through the essence of the crystal.
'Perhaps the boy's ability to sense himself is related to this crystal,' the Ice God thought to himself.
"But it doesn't matter, there's still plenty of time. Even if I can't see it now, I'll figure it out eventually." The Ice God, completely unaware that he had set a flag, quickly lost interest after thinking about it.
It was this constant tossing and turning in thought that caused Ice God to lose most of his interesting ideas.
"Let's get down to business first."
The Ice God withdrew his gaze from Ling Bingtian, instead adopting a haughty and indifferent divine demeanor, and said calmly, "Having entered this place and been able to trigger a connection, it means you are qualified to inherit my divine position. Do you understand?"
"Understood." Ling Bingtian shuddered upon hearing the Ice God's calm voice, and then reflexively replied, just like a student who had been daydreaming in class and had been called on by the teacher.
After taking a few deep breaths, Ling Bingtian began to calm down. So what if they were people at a higher level of evolution? What was there to be nervous about? He'd even transmigrated before; had any gods ever transmigrated? Probably not.
Feeling the feedback from the altar, the Ice God was surprised to find that Ling Bingtian had actually calmed down, which was an incredible phenomenon for a young boy!
"Interesting, interesting."
This time, Ice God's curiosity, which had been relatively calm, was truly aroused.
What is it that allows a young boy to sense his presence and adjust his emotions so quickly? Ice God simply couldn't help but be curious about this.
However, although the Ice God is arrogant, He is not the kind of god who is entirely self-centered. Before letting the boy inherit His divine position, He believes it is necessary to talk to him about Himself and the divine position.
"Now that you understand, I will tell you my story." The Ice God's words surprised Ling Bingtian. Judging from the Ice God's attitude, he thought he would get straight to the point, but instead, the Ice God wanted to tell him a story first. However, since the Ice God was willing to speak, Ling Bingtian was naturally happy to listen to the god's story.
"I became the Ice God nearly a thousand years ago. At that time, the human race hadn't even been born on the continent yet; there were only us, the Soul Beast race." Unexpectedly, the Ice God's first words stunned Ling Bingtian. The Ice God was actually a god who rose from the Soul Beast race? Wasn't it said that the God Realm hadn't had a Soul Beast god for a long time?
But this surprise didn't last long, as Ling Bingtian soon found the answer in the Ice God's next words.
"My true form is the Eight-Cornered Mystic Ice Grass. I was fortunate enough to be born in a blessed land with exceptional ice attributes. There, I not only cultivated to the level of a 100,000-year-old soul beast, as you now call it, but I also received the greatest opportunity. I met the previous Ice God." Ignoring Ling Bingtian's gradually changing expression, the Ice God continued in His own rhythm, "Under His guidance, I became the first soul beast on the ice plains to transform into a human. Under His protection and guidance, I inherited His second-level godhood in just two hundred years, becoming the new Ice God. At the same time, I also made many soul beast friends and friends from the divine realm. Unfortunately, in a later great battle, they were almost all wiped out."
At this point, Ling Bingtian could clearly see a trace of pain in the Ice God's deep eyes. Obviously, the deaths of His friends had greatly hurt Him.
But the Ice God did not stop. After a slight pause, He continued, "Because I first became human and then a god, this great war did not affect me. However, since then, I have also grown weary of this eternal life and the boring divine realm. It was from that time that I met your ancestor in this plane, and I have fulfilled my promise. Now, it is your turn to undertake your mission."
Perhaps because he thought his friend was a little emotionally affected, the Ice God suddenly didn't want to say any more. He briefly described his own affairs, without explaining what he meant by the second-level godhood, and then threw the question directly to Ling Bingtian: "I am the Lord of the Ice Plains, the King of the Cold River, and the Head of All Ice! Are you willing to inherit my godhood?"
"A second-level god..." As Ling Bingtian received the message from the Ice God, he also gained a direct understanding of His divine position from His words. Although he had only read Douluo Continent I and II in his previous life, he remembered some basic classifications of the Douluo God Realm from other enthusiasts.
The five God-Kings reign supreme in the God Realm, followed by numerous powerful First-Level Gods, then Second-Level Gods, and finally, Third-Level Gods. Given this context, if I were to truly inherit the Second-Level Godhood of the Ice God, wouldn't I be forever subservient to a certain selfless God-King, and wouldn't I also disgrace the many transmigrators who came before me?
But now that the atmosphere has been built up to this point, if he dares to say "no," not only will he be unable to leave this plane, but the two elders behind him will also be unable to leave.
Looking at the indifferent and solemn Ice God before him, Ling Bingtian took a deep breath, knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and answered in an excited tone.