The moment he laid eyes on the List of Gods, he knew it was the List of Gods that had granted him a second chance at life. After all, of the five supreme Divine Artifacts universally recognized by the human and Demon races, only this one possessed such a capability, so he was hardly surprised.
What did surprise him, however, was that the List of Gods had actually acknowledged him.
In his past life, he had tried every trick in the book to win its recognition—going through fire and water, steaming, deep-frying, you name it, he had tried it all.
Yet the List of Gods had completely ignored him, turning a blind eye and a deaf ear. You have to hand it to the List of Gods; it had incredible patience, holding out all this time before finally showing its face.
"Out with it. You dragged me in here—what do you want?" Moyuan asked, glancing sideways at the List of Gods with a disgruntled look.
"Hmph! You brat, I just saved your life, shouldn't you be expressing your endless gratitude? What's with that attitude?" The old man flared up instantly upon seeing Moyuan refuse to even look him in the eye.
"You didn't choose to acknowledge me earlier, and you didn't choose to do it later. You had to wait until after I died and was reborn to finally do it. Haven't you heard the saying? A love that arrives late is worth less than a blade of grass." Moyuan simply crossed his legs lazily and propped his chin in one hand.
"Bullshit! I wanted to acknowledge you as my master long ago! I didn't accept you at first just to test your character and observe you. But what did you, you little punk, do? You picked up a six-foot saber and hacked away at me like a madman! When that didn't break me, you straight up had people set a fire to burn me! When burning didn't work, you threw me right into a steamer! And right after that, you tossed me into a wok of boiling oil! It's a total waste that you didn't become a chef! After pulling stunts like that, you still expected me to accept you? In your dreams!"
Hearing Moyuan's words, the old man grew so furious his beard and mustache bristled, and the glare he fixed on Moyuan made it seem as though he wanted to swallow him alive.
"Oh? Is that how it was? Ah, you should've said so earlier! Why didn't you just tell me? If you had told me sooner, would I have done any of that?"
Before long, Moyuan appeared right beside the old man, patting him on the chest to help him catch his breath, looking every bit as cautious as someone terrified of accidentally causing the old man to drop dead. Remembering all the things he had put the artifact through, Moyuan wore a sycophantic smile.
"Whatever instructions you have for me, senior, I will obey without hesitation, whether it means scaling a mountain of knives or plunging into a sea of fire."
The old man brushed Moyuan's hand away and cast another sideways glance at him.
"Very well. Then why don't you go take a stroll across a mountain of knives and through a sea of fire, you brat?"
The moment the old man finished speaking, the scene before them shifted abruptly.
A towering mountain rising straight into the clouds was completely covered in razor-sharp blades, right next to a churning sea of fire whose purple-red flames made Moyuan's heart skip a beat.
"Huh? Ah, come on, senior, why are you holding a grudge against a mere child? After all, I'm still just a kid."
Feeling the searing heat of the flames, Moyuan had no doubt that if he stepped down there, whether he died or not, he would definitely come out roasted to a crisp.
"Hmph."
The old man let out a cold, disgruntled snort.
"Enough. I can't be bothered to dwell on the things you pulled in the past. Bringing you in here actually is for something we need to discuss."
"Oh, go ahead and speak, senior. As long as it's within my power, I'll gladly give half my life for it."
"Cut the empty flattery, you brat. The only reason I brought you back across the river of time is because I want you to reforge the Heavenly Court and perfect the Heavenly Dao."
"Reforge the Heavenly Court? Perfect the Heavenly Dao?"
Moyuan scratched his head, feeling a slight itch up there as if his brain was finally starting to grow.
He knew what those words meant individually, but strung together like that, they made no sense to him whatsoever.
He still had some vague notion of what the Heavenly Court was from his past life, but as for the Heavenly Dao, he didn't have the slightest clue.
"Is there really such a thing as the legendary Heavenly Court? And what on earth is the Heavenly Dao?"
Right now, Moyuan felt as though he had a hundred things on his mind and his head was splitting.
"Naturally the Heavenly Court exists. Otherwise, how do you think the human race could possibly have the environment it enjoys today? In the primordial era, the human race was weak while the Demon race was strong. The Demon race took pleasure in devouring humans, pushing humanity to the brink of extinction time and time again."
"Later on, mighty figures among the human race rose up to resist the Demons. Using the power of the List of Gods, they conferred titles upon three hundred and sixty-five orthodox deities and established the Heavenly Court centered around the Nine Heavens, thereby perfecting the Heavenly Dao. Afterwards, they engaged in a cataclysmic war with the Demon race, a battle that directly sealed the Demons away in the Demon realm, preventing them from ever setting foot in the human realm."
Moyuan scratched his head, still deeply puzzled.
"Then why did the Demon race manage to enter the human realm again?"
"That brings us to the main point I wanted to tell you."
The old man cast a glance at the bewildered Moyuan and proceeded to clear his doubts.
"The Demon race harbored wild ambitions. After a long period of recuperation and accumulation, Demon Emperors and Demon Kings emerged in endless succession. Compounding this, the seals on the gates to the Demon realm had grown critically frail with the passage of time, allowing all sorts of Demon Emperors to shatter the seals and pour out in full force."
"When the Heavenly Emperor learned of this, he immediately summoned the three hundred and sixty-five orthodox deities and mobilized a million heavenly soldiers and generals to wage war against the Demon race, attempting to seal them away once more. But the Demon race was simply too powerful. In just a few short years, the Nine Heavens of the Heavenly Court were battered into pieces, the million heavenly soldiers and generals suffered countless casualties, and all three hundred and sixty-five orthodox deities perished. Deprived of the Heavenly Court's resistance, the Demon race then launched a massive invasion of the human race."
"Hold on. If the Demon race was able to defeat the Heavenly Court in just a few years, why did the human race manage to hold out for so long?" Moyuan immediately raised his objection upon hearing this.
"I knew you'd bring that up. Although the Demon race won that war, did you think they escaped unscathed? Countless Demon Emperors and Demon Kings perished, and the lesser demons under their command suffered heavy losses as well. Otherwise, why do you think humanity managed to hang on until now? Do you really think it was thanks to humanity's old high-tech gadgets, like airplanes and artillery? Those might still be somewhat useful against lesser demons, but against Demon Kings? Completely useless."
"By that logic, why on earth do you think I'm capable of reforging the Heavenly Court and perfecting the Heavenly Dao?"
"Because of you—your kindness!"
"Pfft, what kind of nonsense is that?"
"I've watched everything you went through in your past life. Even if your character as a person wasn't all that impressive, your inner resilience and unyielding determination are qualities I truly approve of."
The old man stroked his beard. He still had a fair amount of trust in Moyuan's character; reforging the Heavenly Court was a task that could only be accomplished by someone with immense perseverance.
"Oh, Old Man Jiang, if you're going to talk, speak more often! It's rare to find an old man who tells it like it is."
Moyuan said with a smug look.
"Ugh..."
Seeing Moyuan acting like this, the old man's mouth twitched slightly.
Was it really reliable to entrust the heavy responsibility of reforging the Heavenly Court to such a scoundrel? At that moment, he felt a slight urge to back out.
"Stop calling me old man this and old man that. My name is Jiang Shang."
"Got it, Old Man Jiang Shang."
"My name is Jiang Shang!"
"Got it, Old Man Jiang."
"Hoo."
Jiang Shang took a deep breath, desperately suppressing the anger burning in his chest.
"Don't get angry, don't get angry. Ruin your health and who takes your place?"
"By the way, Old Man Jiang, what functions does the List of Gods have? As its artifact spirit, you should know all of them, right?"
Moyuan looked around at his surroundings and cast an expectant gaze at Jiang Shang.
"Get lost! Your task right now is to build up your strength first, and then earn me plenty of Mystical Crystals! Whether its functions are powerful or not depends entirely on how many Mystical Crystals you give me. As long as you provide enough Mystical Crystals, I'll have you beat even Demon Emperors to a pulp!"
The moment Jiang Shang finished speaking, Moyuan instantly felt the world spin around him, and in the next second, he found himself back in his own room.
"Honestly, he's lived for so long, hasn't his menopause passed yet? Why is he still petty enough to bicker with a kid like me?"
Moyuan muttered quietly after coming out.
The List of Gods in his hand seemed to hear Moyuan's words, and with lightning speed, it appeared right above Moyuan's head.
Then, charging up its strength with a resounding "thwack," it struck him and vanished into a flash of white light, sinking straight into Moyuan's body.
"Ouch..."
"Two tigers, two tigers, running fast, running fast, one has no ears, one has no..."
Just as Moyuan was silently badmouthing Jiang Shang in his heart, his phone suddenly rang, bursting into a cheerful tune.
"Hello, who is this?"
Moyuan asked irritably. What kind of decent person was calling him this early in the morning?
"Moyuan! Today is ability awakening day, the whole school is assembling! Why haven't you shown up yet, you brat? Let me tell you, if you aren't here by the time it's your turn to awaken your ability, I'll skin you alive! Beep, beep, beep..."
Before Moyuan could even get a word out, the hang-up tone sounded.
"Crap, I almost missed the big deal. Today really is the day for awakening abilities." If he wasn't mistaken, the person who had just called was his homeroom teacher—a man with little ability but a massive temper.
Moyuan immediately scrambled to pack his things, dashed downstairs, hailed a cab, and bolted straight for the school.