A Card In Hand

Chapter 96: Eh? Who are you?

As soon as the patriarch of the Ironclad Family, Long Tai, heard the news, he quickly led Tie Zheng, Fuxi, and Li Ao out to meet the visitors.

Although Li Ao had previously cancelled his appointment with Ling Long and the others by leaving a note, they became concerned when they found out that he and his companions had been secluded in the Bloodline Testing Grounds for three days without emerging.

Wondering if something was amiss, they went back and informed their classmates, and soon, the entire cohort arrived.

Every cohort has its prodigies, and supernovas are constantly emerging.

However, a tyrant like Li Ao, who dominated the arena by forcefully grinding all his peers into submission, was truly unprecedented.

This cohort couldn’t be without Li Ao, so everyone rushed over to await news.

Not only them, but three old men from the Pantheon of Myriad Realms who had been quietly monitoring the new talents also came to the Ironclad Family to inquire about the situation.

In addition, there was a lady cloaked in a mantle—Ms. Hui Ye, a white-robed priestess from the Temple of Creation, who also came uninvited.

Li Ao had recently been recognized by the God of Creation, and it would be a serious matter if something happened to him; she had to come and understand the situation clearly.

Ling Long and the others were just discussing obtaining three hundred new recruits’ transformation cards from her.

She came under the pretext of delivering these transformation cards.

“Heartbrow Elder, Jinye Elder, Niu Shan Elder,” Long Tai greeted the three elders from the temple, recognizing each one.

Li Ao and the younger members hurried to follow suit in the greeting.

The three elders didn’t act like outsiders, happily accepting the greetings.

The gaunt, dry-looking elder was named Heartbrow; he was the leader of the three and possessed unfathomable strength.

The elder with a goat beard was named Jinye.

Ranked second in strength.

The last, a bald elder named Niu Shan, appeared to Li Ao as a half-step legendary figure. Jinye, the goat-bearded elder, seemed to have a strength similar to that of the patriarch Long Tai, both just a step away from reaching legendary status.

As for the strongest, Heartbrow, although he didn’t wear the badge of a legendary warrior nor displayed any overt signs of a legendary realm, Li Ao knew that this deeply hidden elder was definitely a legendary figure.

Moreover, Heartbrow was no ordinary legendary fighter.

He could freely control the legendary realm.

Silently.

Without showing any trace.

Li Ao knew how incredible this control was.

“Patriarch Long Tai, please, no need for formalities. We few old fellows are just idly curious to see so many young people gathering, so we came to join the fun,” Elder Heartbrow, representing the Pantheon of Myriad Realms, replied with a smile. The Pantheon might be influential, but they couldn’t stop other families from training their younger generations in whatever way they saw fit.

Moreover, to these old men, the Ironclad Family’s method actually suited their taste quite well, as opposed to some of the newer families that preferred to pile on combat power on their youngsters with powerful beasts or treasures, which they found less interesting.

“Greetings to Her Majesty of endless wisdom and boundless creation, Ms. Hui Ye, welcome,” Long Tai said, a bit puzzled by the arrival of the white-robed priestess Hui Ye.

“Perhaps Patriarch Long Tai is not yet aware?”

Ms. Hui Ye smiled slightly: “Li Ao, the new star of invention of the Ironclad Family, is a divine favorite of my lord!”

“A divine favorite?”

Long Tai was astonished.

The Ironclad Family, known for fighting and killing, had plenty of capable hands.

But invention and creation as our family’s specialty? That sounded somewhat fantastical.

If Hui Ye had mentioned anyone other than Li Ao—be it Tie Zheng, Fuxi, or another family member—Long Tai would surely have thought there was a mistake.

Li Ao?

This young man was somewhat eccentric; if it were him, then there was a slight possibility.

A Divine Favorite of the God of Creation, Long Tai racked his brain but couldn’t fathom how Li Ao achieved such a status.

The three old men, seeing the puzzled look on Long Tai’s face, laughed heartily.

Combining the events that had happened earlier, it was not hard to guess the real reason.

The Ironclad Family head, eager for talent, must have hurriedly taken them to a secret space within the Ironclad Family on the very first day Li Ao and Fuxi arrived, for a secret cultivation session.

Moreover, as soon as they entered, it was three days straight, and they only emerged after the younger ones had completed their cultivation goals.

In the meantime, there certainly was no time to ask about other matters.

Now hearing that Li Ao was a Divine Favorite of the God of Creation, how could he not be confused?

“When classmate Li Ao was designing the newcomer kits for himself and his companions, his brilliance shone through. He boldly incorporated various formations into the newcomer kits. For example, the self-cleaning formation we use to clean the temple inspired him, and he miniaturized and placed it in the decorations, giving the designed newcomer kits a highly convenient self-cleaning function.”

“More importantly, he miniaturized the secret sound formation and placed it on the collar.”

“Unlike our usual one-way specific secret sound techniques, he boldly pioneered a new direction, changing the one-way specific to an unrestricted multi-target group direction, and he set related codes for the long wave, medium wave, and short wave of the secret sound formation.”

“My master, after divine power deduction, determined that this invention will revolutionize life in the lower realms, and in the future, hundreds of millions of beings will benefit from it.”

Hui Ye spoke of the deity she served.

She bowed devoutly.

And paid her respects.

Then added, “This invention by classmate Li Ao pleased my lord greatly, who descended a strand of divine thought and granted Li Ao the title of Divine Favorite, as a mark of appreciation.”

With that explanation from Hui Ye, Long Tai understood.

It wasn’t just for the sake of invention that Li Ao came up with the newcomer kits, but because his myriad novel ideas caught the eye of the God of Creation.

Such things were rare in the lower realms, but not unheard of. Creators, unknowingly, don’t grasp the importance of their creations, yet deities, able to divine future evolutions through divine power, do…

Becoming a Divine Favorite was a good thing; at the very least, it meant protection from the deities against any who would dare bully him.

Long Tai looked at Li Ao with a trace of delight, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Li Ao smiled, “It’s my first visit to the main house, and meeting you, the clan leader, I was too excited and forgot.”

Fuxi also nodded repeatedly, “We had no time to talk, our minds were completely focused on how to cultivate. I was so scared at that time, I nearly wet my pants. Luckily, I held onto one thought—that whatever little Li Ao does, I’ll follow. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have awakened my bloodline power now.”

“Not bad, you’ve progressed quickly,” the old man with a heart-shaped brow chuckled and praised him, causing Fuxi nearly to have a heart attack from excitement.

“Hehe~!” Aside from giggling, Fuxi didn’t know what else to say.

“You too, Tie Zheng,” the heart-shaped brow old man then looked at Tie Zheng.

“I will work even harder,” Tie Zheng, unlike Fuxi, quickly bowed in gratitude for the affirmation, which came from the Pantheon of Myriad Realms.

Li Ao, I won’t say too much, lest you, young fellow, get too proud.”

The elderly Xinmei and the other elders could sense that Li Ao was currently utilizing static energy, a significant indicator of his breakthrough to King-level.

“Divine Favorite, the newcomer’s kit can be discussed in ten years, but what about the derivative patents related to the Mysterious Sound Array? Shouldn’t we promote it to the world for the benefit of all?”

After Li Ao left, Hui Ye, the white-robed priestess, pondered deeply, feeling that since the Emperor valued it so highly, it should be actively promoted.

Li Ao and his group were reluctant to sell the newcomer’s kit; they wanted to use it to gain fame and enjoy this unique glory alone.

This did not conflict with promoting the Mysterious Sound Array and its related derivative patents.

Especially the integration for long, medium, and short wavelengths.

Controlled by a numerical sequence.

Which greatly impressed Hui Ye.

Indeed, it was this innovation that greatly pleased the Emperor… The communication on the clothes was just superficial; the real power lay in this wave control.

Using organized and intuitive numerical manipulation on the Mysterious Sound Array, any summoner could utilize it.

No combat power or war beasts were needed, just a summoner who understood how to sense Source Energy and the corresponding numbers.

Then they could manipulate this specially modified Mysterious Sound Array by the Divine Favorite.

This array could be used almost anywhere.

For communication, speeches, music, learning…

It covered everything.

If the Mysterious Sound Array was well promoted, it was unimaginable how much divine power the Emperor could gain, and this increase in divine power would continue indefinitely.

As long as humans lived in the lower realms, they would depend on this technology.

No wonder.

After Li Ao invented it.

Just a slight prayer from him had disturbed the Emperor to personally descend to the lower realm, even specifically awarding the Divine Favorite as a commendation.

“Of course, as the Divine Favorite with supreme power of the Fate Deity, I am naturally willing to add glory to the Emperor’s supreme power.”

Li Ao decided to cling to the powerful; he did not mind flattering the God of Creation. Being a higher deity, Li Ao knew the many troubles waiting for him when he returned to the Celestial Realm, and having the support of a higher deity would greatly reduce these troubles.

Not only the leg of the God of Creation, but Li Ao also decided to try clinging to the legs of many deities to see the effects.

It is extremely difficult for beings of the lower realm to ascend to godhood.

Without the protection of a deity.

Relying solely on igniting the divine fire and condensing a godhood alone, out of a thousand near-gods, perhaps not even one would succeed.

Li Ao definitely did not want to be chased by enemies like in his past life, knowing that unstable godhoods, coveted by evil deities and demigods, were their favorites. Evil gods especially liked to prey on unstable godhoods to strengthen themselves, whereas stable godhoods were less appealing.

This was similar to humans who always sought to contract dragons, or even kill dragons to drink their blood, or use dragon crystals to merge with their war beasts or treasures to enhance their combat power, only that the gods preyed on higher level things…

“Divine Favorite, my lord’s supreme power will surge because of you!”

Hui Ye was very pleased.

She knew that if Li Ao’s modified Mysterious Sound Array could be promoted as planned, the Emperor’s divine power would surely skyrocket. Her own merits would naturally rise with the tide, and she might even skip the rank of divine servant and directly ascend to divine messenger.

The three elderly men were also very happy about Li Ao becoming a Divine Favorite.

With the identity of a Divine Favorite.

Li Ao’s path to the Celestial Realm was secure.

“You guys’ classmates must be anxious by now, go and talk to them. You young people don’t need to stay with us old fellows.”

The thin Xinmei waved his hand, sending Li Ao, Fuxi, and Tie Zheng outside to meet with all their classmates who were waiting at Ironclad Square.

Li Ao and the others thanked their elders and quickly left the hall.

The classmates outside Ironclad Square rushed up to them when they saw them come out.

“Eh? Who are you?”

The lively and laughing Tang Guo was surprised when she saw the spherical Fuxi: “A mutant jelly monster? Zhao Kong, your relative!”