The Sole Dragon God Emperor's Past and the Unwanted Dispatch
In the war for the Otherworld, the Dragon God race—once the undisputed strongest in the Absolute Realm—had stagnated. While other clans continued to evolve and advance, they were pushed aside until they became little more than a rare species. Jinri offered them not the slightest mercy.
Every time their numbers decreased by even one or their power weakened in the slightest, he interrogated them with merciless severity. “Personally, you are my son. But officially, we stand in a superior-subordinate relationship. As an Eternal Being of the Absolute Realm, I will not forgive this disgrace that invites the weakening of both the territory and the race entrusted to you.”
As a result, the Sole Dragon God Emperor received punishments several times harsher than anything the other members of the Ten Centers endured during their training periods. Even his own companion, who had tried to intervene on his behalf, received no leniency and was placed under house arrest. It was an utterly ruthless disposition.
After being beaten so severely by Jinri, anyone would expect him to harbor resentment. Yet he never did. Instead, he flailed desperately to meet those expectations, and the method he ultimately chose was to challenge the first-generation Ten Centers alone.
He sought to restore his self-respect as the successor by defeating the very first-generation Ten Centers who had once forced countless defeats upon Jinri. Ignoring the dissuasion of the Golden Absolute, himself, and the entire Wind Family, he broke the Eight-Ring Seal and declared before making the attempt:
But the wall formed by the first-generation Ten Centers was impossibly high. What’s more, because Jinri had already granted them death, their divine spirits had vanished. Their bodies rampaged without any restraints, unleashing power far greater than when they had been alive.
In the end, driven into a corner, the Sole Dragon God Emperor released even his true form as the Dragon God Origin—whose size surpassed entire star systems—only to be brutally torn apart and defeated. The punishment that followed was cruel beyond measure.
Even the Golden Absolute, who had always looked upon the Wind Family’s direct interventions in the Absolute Realm with disfavor and constant wariness, was shocked to his core.
Sealing the entire Wind Family and maintaining the Eight-Ring Seal by sacrificing the Sole Dragon God Emperor’s main body? It was practically a death sentence.
The heads of the Wind Family requested reconsideration, but the disposition for a loser did not change simply because he was a son. Thus the Wind Family—never one of the Ten Centers’ own clans yet the strongest as Jinri’s bloodline—became sealed away. Only their outstanding Origins were permitted to remain active. The Sole Dragon God Emperor, too, could only operate through an incarnation of the Dragon God race’s Origin.
With the Wind Family’s seat left vacant, the Dragon God race reflexively rose from their subsidiary position to become the official ruling clan of a Ten Center. Yet far greater trials were only beginning.
The Dragon God race could never replace the Wind Family. In the end, we had no choice but to move ourselves.
Once the Wind Family disappeared, there was insufficient power to maintain the Absolute Realm. More precisely, there were simply too few absolute experts to oversee its vast territories and preserve order. Therefore the Golden Absolute created the Golden Clan, and he himself created the Substitute Clan. Jinri granted them the Wind Star, allowing their numbers to swell beyond a billion.
This was the same blessing once given to the Dragon God race, the species of his companion, and it was bestowed equally upon the newly ascended clans of the Ten Centers.
The Ten Centers poured every effort into strengthening and prospering their clans in order to maintain their hierarchical standings and territorial dominance. As a result, the other Ten Centers’ clans grew ever stronger, surpassing the Dragon Gods, while the stagnant Dragon God race continued to plummet without end.
Finally, during a hierarchy battle among the Ten Centers, the Dragon Gods not only failed to assist their Origin, the Sole Dragon God Emperor—they actually became a hindrance. At that point, the fate of the entire race was as good as sealed.
Every Dragon God who entered the hierarchy battle was annihilated by the other Ten Centers’ clans without fulfilling any role whatsoever. Even the Sole Dragon God Emperor, once evaluated as half of Jinri himself, could only exert one-tenth of his power in incarnation form and was unable to stop them. The Golden Clan, acting as a unified collective, proved truly formidable. They bridged the gap between the Sole Dragon God Emperor and the Golden Absolute, contributing decisively to victory. That was the day the Sole Dragon God Emperor officially became second in rank—though unofficially, as Jinri’s successor, he had stood at the very top.
Even now, the mere memory sent a chill through him. The incarnation of the Sole Dragon God Emperor, forced to fight alone against the full might of the Golden Absolute and the entire Golden Clan, was defeated. And Jinri had been genuinely furious.
Just thinking about it is horrifying. His disappointment in his own blood relative had nearly driven him to confirm the man’s transformation into a spiritual being.
Only through the desperate pleas of the Wind Family’s Origins did Jinri barely regain his reason. His response was swift. The Taegeuk Heavenly Sword—the very symbol of the Wind Family head—found itself gripped in Jinri’s hand once more, drawn from behind the Sole Dragon God Emperor.
Kwoooooooong—!
From the blade of the Taegeuk Heavenly Sword, searing red and blue light mercilessly drew blood from the Sole Dragon God Emperor’s neck. Yet it did not sever his head.
Even the victorious Golden Absolute could only lower his head and remain silent before Jinri’s thunderous rage. Jinri stood with the sword at his son’s neck for a long time, hesitating, before finally letting out a heavy sigh and returning the Taegeuk Heavenly Sword.
With those words, he expelled every Eternal Being who had been living thoughtlessly like stones or trees from the center of the Absolute Realm, driving them to its outer edges. There, they were to create the Main Universe and manage it as Creators. Regardless of any collective resistance from the Eternal Beings, he completely overturned the structure of the Absolute Realm and made a declaration.
The Absolute Realm shall bear no responsibility for any domain managed and developed by the Ten Centers. For the sake of eternal happiness, I shall transcend the limits of the domain known as the Absolute Realm and create a new Main Universe.
Thereafter, he left the Absolute Realm and did not return unless a hierarchy battle or matter concerning the Ten Centers required his presence. In the Main Universe, he devoted himself solely to endless competition with the very Eternal Beings he had banished.
The Sole Dragon God Emperor changed as well. He refused to accept defeat simply because he existed in an incarnation state. He trained without end and eventually raised his power to more than half that of his main body. That strength had reached a level where even the Ten Centers would require at least two of their number to subdue him. And the Dragon God race, who had done nothing but get in the way, were no longer forcibly conscripted. He fought alone.
Of course, as head of the Wind Family, he could have mobilized their Origins. He never did. He also refrained from using the Taegeuk Heavenly Sword he had once wielded with such pride, relying solely on the Sword of Ruin and Soul given to him by Jinri whenever he entered a hierarchy battle.
The transformed Sole Dragon God Emperor could no longer be defeated even when the Golden Absolute and the other Ten Centers combined their clans’ full strength. They could only concede to him, for the mutual damage had grown too severe and the battles dragged on far too long.
Only then did the Sole Dragon God Emperor become the true number one in individual combat ranking—not as Jinri’s successor, but through his own power alone. And he devoted himself completely to achieving Jinri’s seemingly impossible goal of eternal happiness.
He took no action against the Dragon God race that had driven the Sole Dragon God Emperor into such dire straits. One could truly call him a saint.
On the surface it looked like forgiveness, but I never understood what he was truly thinking inside. Now I finally do.
When the Grey Absolute threatened to exterminate any clan of the Ten Centers that refused to participate in the hierarchy battles, he had evacuated only his own mother to the Wind Family Main House. As their Origin, he had turned a blind eye to his clan’s annihilation. This came as a tremendous shock even to the Ten Centers.
They say a good man’s anger is terrifying, but no one imagined he would become furious enough to allow the extermination of his own kind when given proper justification.
Looking at it now, he simply excluded the hopeless Dragon God race and poured all his efforts into strengthening the Wind Family alone.
That explains why the Wind Family’s Origins are so overwhelmingly powerful.
I have no idea what will happen from here on.
If the Sole Dragon God Emperor regains his true body, could he truly stand against Jinri?
Daeshin shook his head as his thoughts reached that point.
I’ve gone too far. Everything up to this point has followed Jinri’s will. It will surely continue that way.
The Grey Absolute had shaken the long-stagnant status quo and dragged every hidden truth into the light. Daeshin felt mentally overwhelmed.
No one had known that Black Flame coveted the Grey seat. No one could have imagined that the highly respected Sole Dragon God Emperor had been waiting for the chance to exterminate his own clan.
And the greatest revelation of all was the astonishing rise of the Substitute Gods. Though created by a Wind Family Origin through the modification of existing Creator Gods and scattered across the Main Universe, they displayed combat prowess approaching the mid-to-upper tier. The highest-ranking Creator Substitute Gods were now considered evenly matched with clans of the Ten Centers possessing equivalent divine power.
It was astonishing, especially since the highest-tier warriors had supposedly been eliminated. The Grey Realm—once under stable management by the Golden Absolute’s proxy—had lost more than half its territory in the blink of an eye and was now locked in a desperate struggle. The development was shocking.
The Substitute Gods created by a Wind Family Origin are this powerful? We cannot afford to feel safe either.
To Jinri, who pursued eternal progress, allowing the weak to become the ruling class was the gravest sin imaginable. If the clans of the Ten Centers began losing ground to the Substitute Gods of the Main Universe, a catastrophe would follow.
Seeing that he shows no mercy even toward the blood relative he values most, he would never allow such a thing to pass.
Furthermore, the Substitute Gods possessed not only superior combat ability but creative power that surpassed every clan of the Ten Centers—a truly serious problem. Should they obtain the high-density vitality of the Absolute Realm, there was no telling how far they might proliferate. The odds were high that they would become a threat the minority Wind Family could never hope to match.
I should prioritize discussions with the other Ten Centers first.
Though Black Flame and Grey continued to exchange venomous insults, they were bound by Common Destiny before Jinri. Should a crisis arise, they would all face punishment together. They had no choice but to unite their strength.
Yet the one who had caused this entire situation—the current Grey, the Magic God of Dimensions—was offering his gratitude.
“Thank you.”
“The Great God is also the prototype of the ancient god race. Since you belong to the god race, my protection is only natural. Moreover, by helping you, I secure the opportunity to receive assistance from Grey in the future. So do not feel overly burdened. Small favors like these are savings that can provide great help in times of trouble later on. You would do well to remember that—just as you received the Golden Absolute’s signature this time.”
“I will keep in mind that a favor is like savings from which one may draw help later. Since I have now spent the goodwill you have accumulated over the years, I will be sure to repay it in the future.”
To the Dimensional Mage God, who answered after deep consideration, Daeshin laughed and said,
“Haha—! It is not absolute, so do not put blind faith in it. At the very least, the other party must understand the value of the favor and the interests involved for it to be effective. Still, I am worried. You are making such a request without any preparation. Have you finished readying your forces for dispatch?”
“Pardon?”
“Have you not heard from Grey yet? Jinri has already approved the proposal that you will be the one dispatched to the Otherworld this time.”
“!”
Yet another matter was proceeding entirely without his consent. Inside his mind, silent screams and wails began to echo.
What the hell is this now? Why am I being sent to the Otherworld? I haven’t even held the appointment ceremony for Main God yet, and the Divine Realm is still barely recovering from complete chaos. If the others learn I’m being dispatched there, who knows what they’ll do.
Watching the Dimensional Mage God freeze solid, Daeshin’s expression suggested he roughly understood the situation. He began explaining in careful detail.
“As I thought, you were unaware. This matter began with an absurd request from the Otherworld asking for one of the Ten Centers to be dispatched for operational cooperation. It should not have been worth considering, but since Jinri holds the seat of supreme ruler in the Otherworld while constant vacancies caused by affairs in the Main Universe and our own matters create problems, it was difficult to refuse outright. You may consider this dispatch mission as Jinri’s stand-in in the Otherworld.”
“!!!”
The notion that they would entrust him with the role of Jinri’s proxy left his jaw hanging open. The next statement nearly made his mind go blank.
“Of course, since this is a dispatch, remember that you must not perform too well. It would be troublesome if they kept requesting you. That said, because you are acting as Jinri’s representative, you cannot perform poorly either. Do just enough to be helpful without earning any curses.”
“……”
He had heard something so bizarre he could scarcely comprehend it. It was a mission, yet as a dispatch he must neither excel nor fail.
What the hell does that even mean? Why can’t they just tell me to raise hell or risk my life for success? What exactly am I supposed to do?
Yet he could not ask. He wanted to argue, but the heavy weight of the favor—voluntarily accepting the Golden Absolute’s signature, something nearly impossible for him—pressed down on him.
Additional words halted the frantic spinning of his mind as he searched for a way to refuse.
“Since it is Grey’s own current self, he possesses the qualifications. And having become Main God this time as well, the confident recommendation that he would handle it well on his own was what secured approval. Prepare thoroughly, perform adequately, and return.”
“……”
It was yet another scheme orchestrated by his future self. Now only sighs and doubts rose within him.
What does “perform adequately” mean? What the hell is that supposed to signify and how am I supposed to do it? On what basis does this damn future self of mine confidently recommend me as Jinri’s proxy? Is he really trying to get me killed? Or is he not my future self at all, but an enemy sent from the future to destroy me?
Yet the fact that the Grey Absolute was his own future—and ultimately the same existence—remained unchanged. And because he had already received so much, there was simply no way to refuse the Grey Absolute’s request. The Sword of Ruin and Soul, bearing the signatures of the Ten Centers that the Grey Absolute had secured, felt unbearably heavy in his hands.