Chapter 573 – Divine Realm?
The skies outside slowly became dark. While the other Dwarves were heading home, they were still clueless about what Billy was planning to do. Billy didn't want this matter to be known to a lot of people, therefore, he didn't announce it.
Zhao Hai didn't walk around, he just stayed in his room while waiting for Billy to arrive. When the skies turned completely black, Billy and the other elders arrived at Zhao Hai's room.
After Zhao Hai asked them to come inside, Billy carefully and with full respect, lowered the hammer towards the table. Then he turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Mister, this is our race's Divine Artifact, we must ask for your help."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "I'll do my best. Please help me maintain the conditions outside. Laura, you and the others please assist me."
Laura and the others complied and cleaned the table, leaving a big area for the hammer. Upon seeing this arrangement, Billy's group immediately said their goodbyes and then went outside. The group didn't move far away, they just stood at the distance, waiting for Zhao Hai. Naturally, they were also prepared to guard Zhao Hai's dwelling this night.
After Billy's group left, Zhao Hai immediately held the hammer as he flashed to the Space with Laura and the others. Upon entering the Space, a prompt was then heard, "Item with weak Spirit detected, strengthening the Item's Spirit." Then Zhao Hai saw the hammer flash with red light as a figure slowly appeared in front of him.
Zhao Hai gawked, he discovered that the tone of the Space has changed compared to the last time when it upgraded Mu'er. But after he thought about it, the Space had already been upgraded many times, and it also had acquired new abilities and had become more magical, therefore, it was natural for it to change its tone.
The Space was acting like program before, but now it's speech had gotten much smoother. This was good for Zhao Hai, now he was really anticipating how the Space would evolve in the future.
At this time, the figure had almost completed its appearance, which also stemmed Zhao Hai's anticipation. It seems like the hammer's Artifact Spirit was a Dwarf.
The Dwarf looked at Zhao Hai and then said, "Who are you? You're not a Dwarf, why can you awaken me?"
Zhao Hai stared, then he understood that this Artifact Spirit was more advanced than Mu'er, it might also know something. So Zhao Hai immediately said, "Hello, I am a friend to the Dwarves. I have a method to make you materialize, therefore they asked me to help you do it."
The Artifact Spirit nodded. And at this time, a prompt was heard from the Space, "Spirit is not willing to submit to the Host, the Space will subdue it!" And as the prompt ended, a bunch of white light suddenly wrapped the Dwarf Artifact Spirit. The Spirit roared for a moment before it turned silent. After the white light vanished, the Dwarf was seen again, respectfully standing in front of Zhao Hai this time.
Zhao Hai was shocked when the heard the Space's prompt. He wasn't expecting the Space to help him subdue the Artifact Spirit. He stood there in a daze, waiting for the Space to finish.
Zhao Hai looked at the respectful Artifact Spirit in front of him and couldn't help but smile bitterly. If the Dwarves were to know that he had subdued their Divine Artifact's Spirit, won't they get offended?
While he was bitterly smiling, Zhao Hai looked at the Artifact Spirit and said, "What is your name? Do you remember anything?"
The Artifact Spirit respectfully answered Zhao Hai, "Yes, my name is Iron Hammer. My master is the Artisan God Hom. I was sent by master to the lower realm in order to protect the Dwarves."
Zhao Hai stared, he was confused, so he looked at Iron Hammer and said, "Lower Realm? What's that?"
Iron Hammer replied, "Lower Realm refers to the world where beings like humans lived in, the Ark Continent. The Ark Continent is only a plane, a single plane among many in this universe. I came from a place called the Divine Realm. Ten thousand years ago, my master was the most powerful warrior and skilled artisan in the Dwarf Race. When he broke through and reached godhood, he went to the Divine Realm. But in order for the Dwarves to live well, he sent me back and act as the race's Divine Artifact and protect the Dwarves."
Zhao Hai was shocked, he didn't think that this universe would have a Divine Realm, moreover, there were actually Gods.
After some time, Zhao Hai looked at Iron Hammer and then said, "Is there really a Divine Realm? Does that Realm have many Gods?"
Iron Hammer nodded and then continued, "The current elemental density in the continent is very low. But tens of thousands of years ago, it's density was very high. At that time, people were strong, and there were a lot of 9th rank experts. After passing 9th rank, one would reach godhood. As long as one becomes a God, one could break through the space and reach the Divine Realm, where the elemental density is much higher than here. There are also natives in the Divine Realm. They were immediately 5th rank when they are born. When they reach adulthood, they would reach the power of a 9th rank expert. With enough training, it wouldn't be difficult for them to become Gods or even stronger."
Zhao Hai listened to Iron Hammer's words, he really wasn't expecting any of these. Then Iron Hammer spoke again, "In the beginning, these natives looked down on those who came from the Ark Continent, causing both sides to repeatedly wage war with each other. In the end, the experts from the Ark Continent went into an alliance, slowly solidifying their footing in the Divine Realm. Later on, they became connected to the natives through inter-marriages, and they fully integrated with each other. However, a time came when Human Gods and the Gods of other races came into conflict. Humans prepared to have a God of their own to descend and kill the descendants of the other races. But since it was difficult for a God to descend to lower realms, they used Divine Power in order to break the Space, sending that God to the continent. However, my Master and the others found out about the plan of the Humans. But since they don't have a means to make a God descend, they opted to send weapons capable of dealing with that God instead. Therefore, me, along with the Beast God's Spear, and the Spirit God's Bow, were sent to the Dwarves, Beastmen, and Elves respectively, making the three races unite together in order to deal with the Human god. With the three of us, the races fought with that God, injuring him in the process, making him return to the Divine Realm. But since the three of us were heavily damaged, we cannot go back. So we returned to our respective races and became their Divine Protectors."
Zhao Hai and the others were quite startled by all of these. They didn't expect a conflict of this scale to have happened in the continent tens of thousands of years ago.
Zhao Hai immediately said, "How about the five Forbidden Lands and the Demon Realm? Do you know anything about those?"
Iron Hammer nodded and said, "I know. The Five Forbidden Lands were originally major dwelling places of the races in the continent, they were also protecting a magical formation. When the God descended to the lower realm and waged war with the races, these major cities were destroyed. But along with their destruction, the formation was also destroyed, connecting the Ark Continent with the Demon Realm. The Demon Realm is another place, it's living conditions were very bad. When the people from the Demon Realm discovered that the conditions in the Ark Continent were very good, their greed immediately seeped in. They sent an army to the Ark Continent to invade it, but was also repelled by the joint alliance of all the races. When the Demons retreated, the cracks on those major cities were still left behind, making the barrier on those places quite thin. This would explain the times where some creatures from the Demon realm would emerge from those places, making it their territory."
Zhao Hai nodded and then said, "If the barrier between the Demon Realm and the Ark Continent is easily passed through, they why is the barrier to the Divine Realm so difficult to break? Are the people in the Divine Realm not strong enough?"
Iron Hammer shook his head and said, "Not necessarily. Each place has its own unique rules. The Ark Continent is also the same, here, the rules state that God ranked experts cannot stay for a long time. It would be impossible for Gods to stay here for more than six months. This rule made it easy for people to leave the continent and head to the Divine Realm compared to going back. Because of this, not only would it be difficult for person to descend from the Divine Realm, it would also be difficult for them to stay. But since the Demon Realm is on the same level as the Ark Continent, the barrier between the two of them is thinner. However, God ranked experts of the Demon Realm were also similarly restricted by the Ark Continent's rules. Therefore, only experts below God-ranked were able to come and invade the continent in the previous war."
Zhao Hai nodded, "So as you say, the Demon Realm is not like the Divine Realm but the same as the Ark Continent? Also, if the Ark continent doesn't allow God-level experts to stay, why are you still here?"
Iron Hammer replied, "We're only weapons, not experts. People would need to use us first in order to display our power. The stronger the person, the stronger the power we can display. During the war, 9th rank experts needed to join up in order to use me to go against the God-ranked invader."
Zhao Hai nodded, he now had more understanding about this matter. Iron Hammer was actually from the Divine Realm. Zhao Hai looked at Iron Hammer and said, "Do you have any information about the Divine Realm that you can tell me?"
Iron Hammer nodded and said, "Young Master, the Divine Realm is divided into 13 regions, the largest of which is the central continent. Then remaining 12 continents were placed around the central continent and they were named; Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces Continents. The way that people from the Divine Realm cultivate is much different that the Ark Continent. The main practice in here is related or offshoots of Magic and Battle Qi. But in the Divine Realm, the people practice Origin Force, which is much more formidable compared to Magic and Battle Qi. Moreover, the weapons that were used in the Divine Realm all had their own Artifact Spirits, one could also remotely control them, increasing their might."
Zhao Hai nodded, but his mood was heavy. It seems like there are more formidable people in the Divine Realm compared to the Ark Continent. If those people from the Divine Realm were to invade, what would he do?
Most importantly, Zhao Hai was worried. If he goes to the Divine Realm in the future, will the Space still be able to protect him?
After thinking about this, Zhao Hai felt that he needed to increase his strength more. He immediately looked at Iron Hammer and said, "Iron Hammer, when you've been on the continent, did you come upon any good things?"
Iron Hammer nodded and said, "I have. The last battle with that God-ranked expert was actually here, in Dwarf Mountain. There is a place deep in the mountains where the God was injured and had his blood spill out. Blood of a God-ranked being is very precious, its full of energy. If ordinary people touch it, they would explode. Therefore, that place has become a forbidden area for the Dwarves."
Zhao Hai's two eyes lit up. If people explode when interacting with that energy, then what would the Space's reaction be?
The Space needed a lot of things to be upgraded. Zhao Hai still wasn't sure if a God's blood would be able to level up the Space. But even if it can't, it would surely bring a lot of benefits to its environment.
Moreover, after Zhao Hai listened to Iron Hammer's testimony, he suddenly remembered the time when Zhao Wen first entered the Space. Zhao Wen told him that she became a 9th rank expert shortly after drinking some kind of red liquid. Could the liquid that Zhao Wen had drank be the blood of a God-ranked expert?
However, Zhao Hai changed his mind. If Zhao Wen did drink the blood of a God-ranked expert, then she should have already exploded. People weren't able to withstand that kind of energy, much less a Blood Devouring Mosquito.
But Zhao Hai also thought of another possibility. It might have been a God-ranked expert's blood, but it might be a diluted version of it. This would explain how Zhao Wen was able to withstand such energy.
The more he thought about it, the more Zhao Hai was convinced of his theory. If this was indeed true, then the more he was eager to get it. Perhaps they can find a way to make 9th rank experts with this method.
After thinking about these, Zhao Hai turned to Iron Hammer and said, "Iron Hammer, you stay here and protect the Dwarves. They still don't know that you have submitted to me. Right, as far as the matter with the Divine Realm is concerned, do refrain from telling the Dwarves about it for now, understand?"
Chapter 574 – Eternal Friend
Iron Hammer nodded and said, "Yes, Young Master, I understand."
Zhao Hai also nodded and said, "Protect the Dwarves properly, don't let any trouble come to them, I don't want to worry. Just tell them that the Gods had sent you as a weapon to protect the Dwarf Race, no need to tell anything about the Gods, understood?"
Iron Hammer nodded, "Young Master can rest assured, this one would surely not tell anyone."
Zhao Hai gave a nod and then released Mu'er and told him, "That's great, I'll be resting now. Mu'er, stay with Iron Hammer for a while, tell him about the Space."
Mu'er complied, then Zhao Hai and the others returned to the Space to rest. Zhao Hai wasn't afraid that Iron Hammer would reveal the Space. Iron Hammer was already subdued by the Space, so it was impossible for him to betray it.
The night passed by silently as Zhao Hai and the others took a good rest inside the Space. On the other hand, Billy and the others were wide awake, all of them were anxiously guarding Zhao Hai's cave, not allowing anyone to approach it at this time. They were afraid that an accident might happen. This matter was truly very important to their race.
The next morning, Zhao Hai and the others got up and washed themselves before they reappeared inside the cave. After taking care of the layout of the room, Zhao Hai opened his door and allowed Billy and the others to come in. Upon entering the cave, the Dwarves were nervously looking at Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai smiled faintly as he held Iron Hammer in both of his hand and said. "Good fortune truly follows the Dwarf Race. I ask Patriarch Billy to take a look."
Billy's hands were shaking as he received Iron Hammer. Then he bowed to Zhao Hai, "Mister's great kindness would surely go unforgotten by our Dwarf Race. I ask mister to take a rest first, we'll take care of the Artifact ourselves." Zhao Hai nodded. Then Billy and the others left the room.
With Iron Hammer in his arms, Billy, along with the other elders, returned to the Divine Palace. Right after placing Iron Hammer on its place and asking all unrelated people to go out, Billy went to Iron Hammer and respectfully said, "I ask Sir Iron Hammer to come out!"
After his voice fell, Iron Hammer slowly appeared in front of the Dwarves. "Dwarf Patriarch, I've always been conscious all these years, so I know about all the Dwarf's matters. However, I wasn't able to materialize until now. Let me tell you about my origin. I am the Artisan God's weapon, tens of thousands of years ago, when he was about to ascend, he was worried about the well-being of the race, so he decided to leave me behind to protect it. But I was injured in a war, so I can only recuperate in my hammer form, cannot come out. I'm fortunate that someone with skill managed to assist me. But the thing that I can still do is protect the Dwarves, I can't do anything else for you."
The reason why Iron Hammer dared say this was because in the war tens of thousands of years ago with the descended God, the historical records of various nations have vanished. This was the reason why the Dwarves didn't have any record of Iron Hammer's appearance in their race. The only thing that they know was that Iron Hammer was their Divine Protector. Therefore, Iron Hammer told this fact to Billy which would also make the latter not ask about any matters in the Divine Realm.
He can tell Billy that he came from the Divine Realm, but he didn't want to tell them about the Divine Realm. At the same time, Billy and the others didn't dare to ask anymore. Iron Hammer is their Divine Artifact, so they treated Iron Hammer with the respect that they would give their God. They wouldn't dare to scrutinize the words of their Divine Protector.
Billy and the others respectfully nodded. Then Iron Hammer said, "I've already talked about this next matter with Mister Zhao Hai. He helped me in a big way this time, so I decided to give him a gift. The things in the Forbidden Land would be given to Mister Zhao Hai."
Billy stared, naturally he knew about the Forbidden Land in Iron Mountain. That place was a red pool which stenched of blood. As long as a person gets in contact with that liquid, they would explode and perish. Therefore, it was named Forbidden Land. How could the Artifact Spirit give such a place to Zhao Hai?
Iron Hammer looked at Billy and said, "That thing is useless to the Dwarves. But Mister Zhao Hai has uses for it, so I decided to just give it to him. Mister Zhao Hai also needed some special Magic beasts and Plants, we must make sure that our Dwarf Race helps him in this matter in the future. There's no other way for us to repay his benevolence."
After Iron Hammer told them about these, he looked at Billy and said, "Alright, you still have a lot of things to do as a Patriarch. As long as the Dwarves don't experience a huge difficulty, I won't be coming out. You can now retreat." Then his body slowly vanished into the small hammer.
Billy and the others were fully obedient towards Iron Hammer, so they also turned around to leave. Although they were extremely happy, they also knew that this matter needed to be known to as few people as possible. If a lot of people knew about Iron Hammer, then it wouldn't be good for the Dwarf Race.
Billy and the others returned to their conference room to work. Billy strictly instructed the other elders that they absolutely should not tell this matter to others.
After discussing this, Billy sat there and looked at the elders and said, "For the Divine Artifact to materialize is all thanks to Mister Zhao Hai. We should also keep this matter from the others, otherwise, we would be doing Mister Zhao Hai a disservice. Moreover, I'll be sending word later telling everyone that Mister Zhao Hai is our race's genuine friend. Everyone should respect him, does everyone have any ideas?"
The other elders shook his head, they don't have any other opinion. Zhao Hai has truly helped them out. They already see Zhao Hai as a true friend.
Seeing that nobody disagreed, Billy continued, "Good, I'll spread the word later on. Right, have people collect some special Magic beasts and Plants as well. Since Mister needs these things, then we should do our best to help him out."
The other elders agreed, then they turned around to leave. Billy also changed his clothes as he walked to Zhao Hai's room. When he was outside Zhao Hai's cave, Billy felt hesitant, he thought that Zhao Hai was very exhausted of what just happened, so it was possible that he was resting at this time. He didn't know if disturbing Zhao Hai would be appropriate this time.
At this moment, Zhao Hai opened the room and walked out, he looked at Billy and said, "Patriarch Billy, come in."
Billy gave Zhao Hai a small nod before entering Zhao Hai's room. Upon entering, Billy was about to give Zhao Hai a bow before Zhao Hai stopped him hastily and said, "Patriarch Billy is too polite, there's no need to do so."
Billy looked grateful at Zhao Hai and said, "We're very lucky this time due to Mister's help. Otherwise, Sir Artifact Spirit wouldn't be able to materialize. Our Dwarf Race would be forever grateful to mister."
After Zhao Hai invited Billy to sit down, he smiled and said, "Patriarch is too serious, I just happen to have this ability, so since I was able to help, there's no reason to not do so. Patriarch doesn't need to take it seriously, I also see the Dwarves as my friends. Helping a friend is no big deal."
Billy looked at Zhao Hai in gratitude as he said, "Mister is truly a friend. Rest assured, Mister's Buda Clan would be our Dwarf Race's Eternal Friends. Right, I'll have to invite Mister to eat. After the meal, I'll be taking mister to our Dwarves' Forbidden Land. Sir Artifact Spirit told us to give the things in the Forbidden Land to mister."
Zhao Hai nodded and in embarrassment he said, "I'm ashamed to be in front of Patriarch. My family's refining master is truly curious about these things. Since I have Space equipments, I can handle those things. Sir Artifact Spirit also told me that those things are useless to the Dwarves, so I thickened my face to ask for them."
Billy smiled and said, "Mister doesn't need to say anything more. The Blood Pond in the Forbidden Land is truly poisonous. As long as one comes in contact with it, their body would surely explode. Keeping that thing here is only a disaster waiting to happen. For mister to take them away is akin to helping us erase an evil, this is enough to make us happy. As the matter stands, it's us who have been unfair to mister. If Mister has any need for our assistance in the future, then please don't hesitate to send word."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Then I would take Patriarch's words at heart, this Zhao Hai's gratefulness is endless."
Billy laughed and then said, "Mister should not be polite. Mister, let's walk and have a meal. After that, we'll go to the Blood Pond. I also had the others collect Magic Beasts and Plants for mister. I believe that they could deliver those to mister soon. This is a sign of our gratitude."
Zhao Hai also knew that if he declines or offer something in compensation, he would seem ingenuine and in turn making Billy unhappy. This was one of the differences between Humans and Dwarves. Therefore, Zhao Hai didn't decline, he just smiled and said, "Then I have to thank the Patriarch."
Seeing Zhao Hai receive their gifts, Billy immediately became happy and then said, "Mister is too polite, right, let's get going and have a meal." Then he pulled Zhao Hai towards the Dining Hall.
Laura and the others also followed them out. At the same time, they also met Juno along the way. Billy invited Juno for a meal as well. Although Zhao Hai was his new friend, his many years of friendship with Juno isn't something to be forgotten.
Seeing Billy's expression, Juno knew that yesterday's matter had gone very smoothly. Juno couldn't help but be surprised at Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai seemed to be much more mysterious in his mind. At the same time, Juno also resolved himself to establish a relationship with Zhao Hai. Not only because of him saving Kristen, but also because of Zhao Hai's abilities.
The Hurricane Family was strong by themselves, but the reason why they had their influence was because of their relationship with others. They didn't offend anyone, whether it be the Buddha Empire or the other Nobles, all of them had good relationships with the family. This was the reason why the Hurricane Family can settle down and live with their current lifestyle.
And since Zhao Hai was the Patriarch of the emerging Buda Clan, his power and influence in the continent had become very powerful. This kind of person wasn't someone that Juno doesn't want to neglect.