Chapter 204: Gathering of the Powerful, Proving Strength


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    The group flew across mountains and valleys, their powerful aura as divine beings spreading throughout the air. Not a single beast dared to cause any trouble along their path.


    Michelle kept a close eye on John, who was trailing behind. He deliberately increased his speed, but John followed at a steady pace, never falling behind.


    It was clear he wasn''t at his limit.


    He could have gone even faster, but the nine demon race powerhouses apanying him would struggle to keep up.


    At this point, a few of those fellows were already panting heavily.


    Yet John, riding his flying sword, remained rxed and at ease.


    "Hmph, let''s see how long you can keep up that arrogance," Michelle thought with dissatisfaction, deciding not to push further.


    As they advanced, the surrounding temperature continued to drop, and snowkes began to swirl in the air.


    In the distance, a massive snow-covered mountain came into view.


    "Master, that''s the ce," Elsa whispered softly beside John.


    John nodded, already sensing several powerful auras atop the mountain. One of them was no weaker than Michelle''s, indicating the presence of another mid-tier god.


    Whoosh...


    A frigid wind cut like a de. Following the demon race, John arrived at the peak of the snow mountain.


    Many people had already gathered there, clustering ording to their respective factions. John curiously scanned the crowd.


    There were members from the Angel Race, Dark Humans, Orcs, Beast n, and Demon Race.


    Additionally, new races had emerged since the opening of the Divine Path: Dragonkin, Giants, Barbarians, Evil Demons...


    Among them were beings of divine rank, the weakest being demigods, while most were lower-tier gods.


    Aside from Michelle, there was one more mid-tier god.


    John turned his gaze toward the individual-someone with long, curly purple hair, standing at the forefront of the Angel Race and Dark Humans. The man''s eyes were closed, appearing


    to rest.


    If John''s guess was correct, this man was likely a god.


    "Master, that is Mantra, a mid-tier god from the gods'' faction," Elsa whispered an introduction.


    John nodded, noticing that there were even humans standing behind Mantra.


    "The Azure Family!" John''s brows furrowed, killing intent shing in his eyes. Behind Mantra, a group of ten humans from the Azure Family stood, led by none other than Hummer.


    The Azure Family-just as had suspected, they had indeed aligned themselves with the gods!


    Hummer also spotted John. With a cold look, he raised his hand and made a shing motion across his throat.


    "Hmph!" John snorted dismissively, ignoring him, and turned to survey the other powerful beings present.


    "Tony?" He noticed Tony in the Beast n''s camp and was about to greet him when Tony subtly shook his head.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Immediately, a voice echoed in his mind.


    "Kid, didn''t I ask Ben to warn you not toe?" It was Tony.


    John shrugged helplessly. He couldn''t use soul transmission-that was a technique reserved for demigods.


    Tony said, "There''s a soul contract. Just speak in your mind; I can hear you."


    Understanding dawned on John, and he spoke in his mind, "With so many treasures, I don''t want to miss out."


    Tony replied, "You''re courting death. Don''t you know all these people are here because of you?"


    John thought back, "Ben already told me. If things really go south, I''ll have to trouble you, senior."


    Tony sighed, "Just don''t go overboard."


    With a resigned sigh, Tony stopped paying attention to John.


    At that moment, two more groups arrived.


    One was a group of human cultivators from the Skyline Continent.


    The other group''s aura was equally formidable. Leading them was a lower-tier god, with ten others following closely behind. Their bodies were covered in dense scales, but it was unclear what race they belonged to.


    "Master," Elsa leaned closer to John and whispered, "These beings are from the Sea n. They usually hide deep within the vast ocean and rarely make an appearance."


    The Sea n?


    John looked on curiously. Their group also had ten ninth-tier powerhouses, seemingly on par with the demon race and Beast n.


    "Is everyone here now?" Mantra spoke indifferently, opening his eyes. His gaze, as sharp as lightning, swept over the crowd one by one.


    When his eyesnded on John, he paused slightly.


    He continued, "Those participating in this treasure hunt, step forward."


    From each faction, a few individuals stepped forward. All were ninth-tier peak powerhouses.


    The gods'' faction, counting the ten from the Azure Family, had a total of fifty slots. The Angel Race, Dark Humans, and Orcs each had twenty slots.


    The demon race, Beast n, and Sea n each had ten slots, while most other races were allotted three to five slots.


    "Hmm? Why are there three extra people?" Mantra''s eyes narrowed as he noticed Sara and her twopanions, his tone turning cold.


    John stepped forward with a smile and replied, "Sir, they are under mymand."


    "You?" Mantra''s eyes narrowed even further, his expression icy. He asked disdainfully, "What faction do you represent? Do you have any divine beings?"


    John maintained his smile and responded, "I''m from the Earth Human faction, and we have divine beings."


    Mantra''s brow furrowed, a hint of caution in his gaze as he nced at Hummer standing


    behind him.


    Hummer shook his head gently, indicating that he was certain Earth no longer had any


    immortals.


    Mantra''s gaze shifted to Elsa beside John and he said dismissively, "Angel Race demigods don''t count."


    "I know." John nodded calmly, "But I can kill demigods. Does that count as being at the demigod level?"


    "You can kill demigods?" Mantra sneered, his tone full of disdain. "Not even ninth-tier powerhouses dare say that. You, a mere seventh-tier weakling human, aren''t you afraid of


    biting your tongue?"


    John pointed at the Dark Humans faction behind him and said, "They should know very well -Dark Humans'' Giant Spirit God has already fallen by my hand."


    Mantra turned his gaze towards the leader of the Dark Humans, a lower-tier god.


    That man quickly retorted, "Kid, don''t joke around. Giant Spirit God perished over a thousand years ago, probably long before you were even born. What''s next? You traveled through time


    to y him?"


    "Haha..." Laughter erupted from the crowd.


    John frowned in confusion. It''s impossible that the Dark Humans wouldn''t know about the fall of Giant Spirit God and the massacre in Giant Spirit City.


    Although he didn''tpletely destroy Giant Spirit City back then and there was no system- wide announcement, there was no way the Dark Humans could be ignorant of such an event.


    These people were clearly ying dumb.


    He then nced at the demon race, and said, "Lord Kamal can vouch for me."


    "Don''t spout nonsense-I know nothing," Kamal quickly denied, the corners of his mouth


    curling into a sly smile.


    John was momentarily at a loss.


    The lower-tier god of the Dark Humans looked at Mantra and suggested, "My lord, this kid ims he has the ability to kill demigods. I don''t think he''s lying. Why not let him prove it? If


    he can really y a demigod, then we can grant him three slots." Mantra nced at him but said nothing, which could be considered tacit approval.


    He then looked towards the demigod powerhouses in the various factions and said, "Is there


    any demigod willing to challenge this human?"


    John realized what they were plotting.


    If he could truly kill a demigod, it would weaken the strength of the opposing factions.


    If he wasn''t strong enough, they could use the hands of others to get rid of him.


    John sneered coldly and nced past the Dark Humans, his gaze settling on Michelle and Kamal. He spoke nonchntly, "I wonder if your demon race has any demigod powerhouses. I


    want to issue a challenge."


    Both of their brows furrowed, their expressions filled with displeasure.


    Regardless of whether John had the ability to kill demigods, they wouldn''t dare make a move


    against him.


    "I will!" At this moment, a demigod powerhouse from the Orcs faction stepped forward. The figure had a fierce appearance and a burly frame, wielding two massive battle axes. His


    upper body was bare, disying his muscr physique like that of a war machine. The crowd began murmuring among themselves.


    "That''s Iron Mountain from the Orcs, isn''t it? I heard he''s been a demigod powerhouse for


    hundreds of years."


    "This human is doomed."


    "Who can he me but himself for overestimating his abilities?"


    "This fight is meaningless. Let''s get it over with quickly so we don''t waste time exploring the


    treasure grounds."


    None of the powerhouses from the other factions believed John stood a chance.


    Iron Mountain nced at John with a chilling gaze and said coldly, "Kid, this is a fight to the


    death. Do you dare?"


    "That''s exactly what I want!" John took a step back, and the Sword of Divinity and Demons materialized in his hand as a surge of magical power swirled around him.


    Whoosh!


    All the divine beings present simultaneously moved back, putting more distance between


    themselves and the twobatants.


    Among them, Mantra and Michelle retreated the furthest.


    The ninth-tier powerhouses, on the other hand, gathered around curiously, observing the


    battle from a safe distance.


    John felt puzzled. Iron Mountain was merely a demigod. Could his battle energy really spread far enough to pose a threat to mid-tier gods?


    "Something''s off!" John suddenly looked up at the sky, recalling the green-robed woman.


    These people must be wary of The Immortals. It seemed that The Immortals had appeared before and had probably issued an order forbidding them from attacking him directly.


    He thought back to the divine war that had broken out when the Divine Path was first opened. Many powerful deities descended, and the result was Michelle of the demon race, along with a host of other gods, suffering serious injuries.


    Now, it seemed highly likely that an Immortal had intervened in that battle.


    "Kid, die!" Iron Mountain roared, swinging his massive battle axes. A gust of fierce wind


    swept forth as he shed towards John.


    John didn''t dare to face the attack head-on. Using his spatial discement skill sh, he


    instantly reappeared a hundred meters away.


    Immediately, he cast Dark Descent, and with a swift flick of his longsword, several beams of


    light and dark magic shot down upon Iron Mountain.


    Boom! Boom!


    A spellbo was triggered as six powerful spells struck Iron Mountain.


    John''s magic attacks couldn''t break through his opponent''s magic resistance, but they still


    inflicted close to ten million points of true damage.


    He let out a sigh of relief. This guy was far weaker than Giant Spirit God. John could take him


    down with ease.


    "Light and darknessws!" Iron Mountain was stunned but didn''t seem overly concerned.


    "Hmph, no wonder you''re so arrogant. But that''s all you''ve got! Whirlwind sh!" He bellowed in fury, both axes spinning wildly. Hundreds of frigid, gleaming arcs shot out,


    enveloping John.


    St!


    John was instantly killed, as expected. But the Blessed Ring triggered.


    "Hmm, not dead?" Iron Mountain was taken aback.


    In the next instant, more spells whistled through the air, crashing down once more.


    Boom! Boom!


    With a series of explosions, Iron Mountain lost another ten million points of health.


    His total health was around three billion. As long as Johnnded another three hundred or so waves of attacks, he would be able to finish him off. Others might find that impossible, but John could do it.


    "Damn it!" Iron Mountain was seething with rage. It was like being bitten by a tiny, insignificant ant—an insult of the highest order. He roared again and unleashed another frenzied assault on John.