Chapter 71: The Divine Plan!
A divine radiance enveloped the entire Modo City.
Soren’s promotion to **Moderate Divinity** created quite a stir, possibly even larger than his previous apotheosis, as the power generated by moderate divinity was enough to influence a nation. In Modo Harbor, the figure of the **Goddess of Wealth** reappeared. This time, her divine incarnation was more concentrated, seemingly because Soren defeated her enemy, the **Lord of Shadows**, or perhaps because Soren was nearing her level of power. The **Lady Wealth** personally appeared to congratulate Soren on his promotion to moderate divinity. The **Goddess of the Ocean** also arrived not long after; Modo City was one of her key faith propagation areas, and she, too, appeared to extend her congratulations to the promoted Soren.
Outside the Material Plane.
With Soren’s divine power fluctuations, the half-elf kingdom located in the higher realms began to slowly descend. Prior to Soren’s apotheosis, this kingdom had fallen due to the demise of the former **God of Half-Elves and Wanderers**, and although Soren’s power had temporarily stabilized it, it was nearing the boundary of the higher realms. Now that Soren was taking **Shadows** as his primary divine profession, according to the laws governing deities within the multiverse, his kingdom should be close to the Shadow Plane.
Currently.
As Soren ascended to moderate divinity, the entire half-elf divine kingdom was also gradually descending toward the Shadow Plane; although this descent would be slow, it would reach the Shadow Plane in about six months at most.
At that time.
Soren would simultaneously receive the divine kingdoms of both the **Lord of Shadows** and the half-elves, and how to merge these two divine kingdoms would be an issue he had to face then.
As the initial tumultuous currents subsided, Soren’s power gradually became more gentle.
He had successfully broken through the barrier of moderate divinity, and after surpassing a critical point, Soren’s mastery of divine power became increasingly refined. His power rippled outward like waves, nourishing his followers and leaving behind traces of **Soul Marks** on them.
This was the mark left by Soren.
Now, during the **Cataclysm of Saints**, the souls of his followers who died may not all reach Soren’s divine kingdom normally. If they cannot reach Soren’s divine kingdom, considering that many of Soren’s followers belong to the **Evil Faction**, these souls are likely to fall into lower planes such as the **Bottomless Abyss**, **Gray Wastes**, **Hell of Bartok**, or **Hell of Scorching Flames**. This would be a tragic outcome for the followers and a significant loss for Soren, so he must leave a **Soul Mark** for these devoted followers to facilitate their souls’ guidance to the divine kingdom when accidents occur.
Thus, even in death, they could achieve a sense of belonging.
The ripples of divine power gradually expanded.
Soren’s power surged like flowing water toward the entire Modo Island, subsequently linking with the temples of all towns. A certain force enveloped Modo Island and then gradually faded away.
When Soren’s divine radiance disappeared.
A row of data appeared before his eyes:
“Promotion to **Moderate Divinity**!”
“Divine Power increased! … Saint’s form enhanced! …”
“You have acquired new abilities—**Instant Casting for 1-3 Circle Spells**! …”
………………
Why is it difficult for mortals to encircle and kill powerful divinities?
Just look at Soren’s current abilities to understand. Soren just promoted to moderate divinity and automatically gained the divine power of instant casting all 1-3 circle spells.
This capability is an extraordinary specialty beyond normal spell instant casting.
Soren does not need to spend higher-level spell slots to memorize spells; instead, he can instantly cast all 1-3 circle spells using their original spell slots. Normally, to achieve this ability, one must first gain the legendary specialty for instant casting 0 circle spells, then advance to the legendary specialty for instant casting 1 circle spells, and finally enhance it to instant casting for 3 circle spells, requiring three specialty points in total. The **Princess** possesses such instant casting abilities, but she relies more on her own efforts to obtain and enhance them.
At this moment.
Soren’s data had changed to:
“Name: Soren – **Saint’s Form** **Moderate Divinity**.
Race: Half-Elf **God of Slaughter**.
Attributes: Strength 23 (+6), Agility 38 (+6), Constitution 28 (+6), Intelligence 30 (+7), Perception 21 (+6), Charisma 25 (+9).
Faction: Lawful Evil.
Class: 10th level Thief (0/1150000), 10th level Shadow (MAX/MAX), 10th level Wizard (0/2175000), 10th level Archmage (0/2455000) **Rank Seven**.
Hit Points: 585/585 **Strong**.
Experience Points: 355075 (Killing Experience), 17545 (Class Experience) **Unallocated**.
Skill Points: None.
Attribute Points: None.
Legendary Degree: 200.
Divinity Value: 222 **Moderate Divinity**. (To advance to **Superior Divinity** requires 300 points.)
Divinity Value: 112 **Moderate Divinity**. (To advance to **Superior Divinity** requires 300 points.)
Divine Power: 313/2240. (To upgrade to **Moderate Divine Power**, requires 1200 points of divine power and mastery of the **Divine Laws of God’s Descent**. The current storage limit for divine power of this divine tier is 2240 points.)
Divine Professions: Shadows, Theft, Half-Elf, Wanderer, Tracking.
Domains: Trickery, Slaughter, Death, Fear, Evil, Domination, Piracy, Shadows, Plants.
Aura: Evil Aura, Fear Aura.
Status: Normal.
Basic Skills – Stealth 505. Knowledge 375, Theft 325. Lockpicking 315, Traps 275, Concentration 275, Persuasion 465. Valuation 225, Deception 275, Intimidation 575, Taunt 275, Performance 215, Listening 365, Evasion 325, Deflection 215, Blocking 175, Healing 215, Searching 375, Investigation 375, Scribing Scrolls 185, Spell Identification 255, Wilderness Survival 325, Use Magical Device 185, Cooking 125, Alchemy 275. Forging Magical Weapons 235.
Saint’s Form – **Transcendence**, Spell Immunity 1-4 Circle, **Epic Divine Power**, Instant Casting 1-3 Circle.
Divine Capabilities – Change Space, Hand of Death, Change Reality, Change Form, Divine Shockwave, Speak Languages, Read/Written Languages, Plane Communication, Astral Teleportation, Plane Teleportation.
Legendary Skills – Legendary Resilience, Legendary Spell Penetration, Legendary Reflexes, Weakness Insight, Perfect Dual Wielding, Universal Skillful Hand, Legendary Evasion, Legendary Combat Technique, Epic Agility, Epic Intelligence, Epic Constitution.
Special Proficiencies – Blessing of the **Goddess of Magic**, **Godslayer**, Blessing of the **Goddess of Misfortune**, Blessing of the **Goddess of the Ocean**, **Dragonblood Baptism LV2**, Heart of Slaughter, Butcher, **Deathwalker**, Ascetic, Scholar, **Blasphemous Language**.
Personal Proficiencies – Dexterous Left Hand, Photographic Memory, Resilience, Photographic Memory, Mastery of Spellcasting, Proficiency in Reflex Evasion, Proficiency in Intuitive Evasion, Rolling Evasion, Agile Movement, Avoiding Sight, Darkvision, Combat Spellcasting, Mobile Spellcasting, Spell Control, Spell Amplification, Spell Overpower, Crafting Magical Equipment, Spell Penetration, Weak Spell Resistance, Minor Cold Resistance, Moderate Fire Resistance, Minor Toxin Resistance, Minor Electric Resistance, Toughness, Regeneration **Advanced**, Telepathy 100 feet.
Class Proficiencies – Arcane Memory, Arcane Counter, Arcane Runes, Lord of Shadows, Mental Flexibility, Military Weapons [Mastered], Curved Blade [Legendary].
Combat Skills – Summon Shadow, Shadow Leap [300 meters], Shadow Assassination, Shadow Travel [2 times], **Vampire’s Touch** (Divine), Sword Intent [Heavy Slash], Sword Intent [Horizontal Slash], Sword Intent [Decapitation], Sword Intent [Bisecting], Sword Intent [Whirling Dance], Whirling Slash.”
………………
“The foundation has gradually stabilized.”
Soren’s figure slowly vanished into thin air and then reappeared within the Grand Temple. Now that he had ascended to moderate divinity, his power was once again enhanced, bringing him closer in strength to established deities. Even his basic skills were catching up, with his core skills reaching three to four hundred points or more, and even other skills around one to two hundred points. Various basic specialty abilities were all nearly enhanced, and his future focus would shift to legendary specialties.
“My lord.”
As Soren completed his ascent to moderate divinity, the outside prayer ceremony was also coming to an end, and the High Priest appeared before Soren.
Soren turned to glance at her and said, “The timing is nearly right.”
“I’ll help you lift the curse left by the **Spider Queen**.”
Upon hearing this, the High Priest’s expression showed a hint of excitement, and she respectfully stood in place.
——“Trickery **Domain**!”
——“Saint’s Form!”
A golden glow materialized around Soren. He appeared to be enveloped by divine light as he slowly placed his hand on the High Priest’s head, only to see a sinister force erupt.
This force twisted into a grotesque spider mark, which screamed before being expelled by Soren’s divine power.
The mark of the **Spider Queen**.
When the power of the trickery domain was completely purged by Soren, the twisted spider mark vanished entirely. However, it was certain that the Spider Queen was definitely aware of this.
She was currently engaged in conflict with the elven gods and probably wouldn’t rush to trouble Soren just yet.
………………
Everything in Modo City gradually fell into place.
Soren’s promotion to moderate divinity did not bring too much pressure on other gods because he had only slain almost isolated deities, who had poor connections.
Furthermore, a crucial point is!
Currently, all the deities in the **Pantheon** were united. Even deities like the **Spider Queen** understood the need to cultivate a few subordinate gods to form their **Drow** pantheon. A deity like Soren, who fought single-handedly, would find it difficult to threaten those truly high-ranking beings, even if he advanced to **Strong Divine Power**.
The absence of divine pantheon power.
Relying solely on oneself is fundamentally ineffective because even a powerful deity cannot be everywhere.
When divine clashes escalate, they often evolve into conflicts between divine pantheons.
Elven Pantheon.
Dwarven Pantheon.
Orc Pantheon.
Halfling Pantheon.
Nature Pantheon.
Radiant Pantheon.
Death Pantheon.
Just by looking at the list of names here, one can see that Soren’s power, while indeed quite strong in the mortal realm, wouldn’t amount to much in the Pantheon. Any pantheon could easily crush Soren, and the key is whether they would be willing to pay such a steep price. If the **Cataclysm of Saints** hadn’t erupted, by now some deities would likely have sought to recruit Soren, as a rapidly rising new god could bolster their pantheon’s power.
However, the current chaotic year has led to significant internal conflicts among many pantheons, and no one has the energy to recruit Soren at this time.
Moreover!
Soren is currently part of the **Evil Faction**, with abilities leaning towards individuality; aside from the evil gods headed by the **Lady of the Night**, other pantheons generally do not favor the divine professions of Soren.
The problem is, the **Lady of the Night** craves the divine professions of shadows, which makes it challenging for the two to unite.
Being a lone deity is quite awkward.
This is not only true for Soren, the plight of the **Goddess of the Ocean** is similar.
Why does the **Goddess of the Ocean** always seem overshadowed by the **Lord of Storms**? It’s not because the **Lord of Storms** has subordinate gods, while the **Goddess of the Ocean** is still nurturing her subordinates who just barely possess weak divine power, with some being mere demigod-level beings.
If she were to battle the **Lord of Storms**.
It would undoubtedly result in an all-out war on multiple fronts, and in such a scenario, the **Goddess of the Ocean** could barely manage on her own. If it wasn’t for this reason, she wouldn’t have invested so much effort into creating an ocean pantheon.
This is also a problem Soren must face.
The **Cataclysm of Saints** affects the entire multiverse. If Soren does not join a pantheon, he will have to create his own.
Otherwise!
If one day a pantheon becomes hostile towards him, the situation of encircling the **Lord of Shadows** would repeat itself, and even if he became stronger, he would find it hard to oppose many foes, leading to an extremely passive situation.
In this era.
Even non-combat deities like the **Goddess of Agriculture** have a bunch of **Goddesses of Rivers** and **Goddesses of Lakes** as subordinates, and if Soren doesn’t cultivate a few subordinates, he might find it awkward to even greet deities of other strong divine powers in the future.
If Soren seeks to cultivate a pantheon.
Then he must start planning now. First, **Saruman** can be a promising seed, followed by **Vivian**, who is advancing to demigod status.
These are two choices for subordinate gods.
In the future, Vivian will inevitably face the **Demon God of Fear**, and when Soren reaches a certain level of strength, he will undoubtedly launch an attack on the **Demon God of Fear’s** divine kingdom, ultimately destroying the **Throne of Fear** and killing the **Demon God of Fear**.
In this way, Soren’s pantheon might possess two **Strong Divine Powers** in the future.
This is also why he never considered joining other pantheons.
Besides this, Soren will definitely need to separate the **Half-Elf** divine profession, which can be used to cultivate a racial subordinate god, and then the powers of the **Piracy** domain. It’s quite easy for Soren to condense the **Pirate** divine power, and if one of his subordinates has sufficient strength to be deified, bestowing the **Pirate** divine profession upon them is also a viable option.
For the time being.
Soren isn’t completely without a foundation to build his own pantheon!
………………
(PS: Every time I organize these attributes, it feels fantastic; I quickly finished writing a chapter.) (To be continued ~^~)
