Chapter 330

Chapter 330: Ancestral God!

Ye Tianming and Qingyuan followed the middle-aged man into the outer courtyard.

At first, the middle-aged man was quite friendly toward the two of them, but upon learning that one had inferior aptitude and the other had average aptitude, his attitude clearly shifted.

Polite, but distant.

Qingyuan had been excited at first, but he quickly noticed the change in the middle-aged man’s attitude and stopped asking questions.

The middle-aged man led Qingyuan and Ye Tianming into a grand hall. Qingyuan asked with some curiosity, “Instructor Wumu, is this the outer courtyard?”

Wumu was indeed this middle-aged man, one of the outer courtyard’s instructors.

Wumu glanced at Qingyuan. “Once you’ve received your identity jade tokens and outer courtyard uniforms, you’ll be outer courtyard disciples. However, you’re only entitled to attend public lectures — there are only two public lectures per month. To enter the academy for classes, you must have credits. Credits can be earned by taking on academy missions, which are accepted at the Mission Hall. Everything else will be explained to you by the welcoming disciple.”

With that, he turned and left.

One with inferior aptitude, one with average aptitude — as far as he was concerned, their paths would never cross again. If it weren’t for Zhu Bai, they wouldn’t even be crossing paths now.

Besides, in his view, neither of these two could possibly last long at the Divine Academy.

After Wumu left, a young woman walked over. She appeared to be in her twenties, dressed in a simple moon-white skirt, with delicate features and a gentle, graceful appearance.

The woman smiled. “Hello, I’m Qing Wanwan, a welcoming disciple responsible for guiding newly enrolled students. From here on, I’ll be leading you around and helping you get familiar with our Divine Academy and all its rules and regulations in the shortest time possible.”

Qingyuan quickly bowed. “Thank you kindly.”

Qing Wanwan smiled. “No need for thanks, it’s my duty.”

As she spoke, she opened her palm, and two sets of clothing along with two jade tokens appeared before Ye Tianming and Qingyuan. “Please change into your uniforms first. I’ll wait for you outside.”

With that, she left the hall.

After Qing Wanwan left, Qingyuan looked at the outer courtyard attire in his hands and said excitedly, “Brother Ye, we’ve really become students of the Divine Academy.”

Ye Tianming smiled. “We have.”

Qingyuan took a deep breath. “Brother Ye, we have to work hard — harder than most people. I believe hard work can make up for a lack of talent. It definitely can.”

Ye Tianming nodded. “Let’s give it our all together.”

Qingyuan grinned. “Come on, let’s change.”

A moment later, the two had changed into their outer courtyard uniforms and hung the jade tokens at their waists. Qingyuan kept looking himself over in his student uniform — he was genuinely thrilled, practically buzzing with energy.

Ye Tianming smiled. “Let’s head out. Miss Wanwan is still waiting for us.”

Qingyuan nodded quickly. “Right, right.”

The two left the hall. Qing Wanwan glanced at them and smiled. “Congratulations, you two. From this moment on, you are officially students of our Divine Academy. Come, let me take you to learn about the history and culture of our Divine Academy first.”

Ye Tianming nodded. “Wonderful!”

Although he had learned some history of this divine universe from Lu Ren, it wasn’t much.

Before long, Qing Wanwan led Ye Tianming and Qingyuan into a grand hall. The hall was extraordinarily vast, as if it could contain the boundless expanse of an entire galaxy. Its ceiling soared high overhead in a domed shape, and starlight poured through the transparent crystal walls, shimmering in harmony with the stellar patterns inlaid across the floor — dazzling and breathtaking.

At the very center of the hall stood a massive stone pillar, covered in enormous murals. Painted with stars as ink and the cosmos as canvas, these murals depicted the glory and vicissitudes of the age of the gods with both delicate detail and sweeping grandeur.

Ye Tianming was struck with awe once again.

He had never underestimated this divine universe from the very beginning, yet he found that he had still underestimated the martial civilization it contained.

This was on an entirely different level from what lay below.

Of course, that woman in the plain white dress was an exception.

Because he had discovered that even here, the Space-Time Dao within his storage ring could still suppress the Daos of the outside world.

And then there was that man in the blue robe.

Though he hadn’t had much contact with him, he could sense that the man’s strength was undoubtedly terrifying beyond measure.

At least beyond anything he could currently imagine.

Could he ever reach their level?

Ye Tianming smiled.

He knew the road ahead would be grueling, but that was fine. No matter how long the road, keep walking and you’ll get there.

What he needed to do now was take it steady. Take it slow.

No rushing.

Just then, Qing Wanwan beside him suddenly said, “This is the history of our age of the gods…….”

She turned to look at Ye Tianming and Qingyuan with a smile. “Have you two learned about it before?”

Qingyuan was still staring in awe at the murals before him. Hearing Qing Wanwan’s words, he quickly shook his head.

He came from a poor background and had barely read any books. Let alone the history of the age of the gods — he didn’t even know much about recent history.

Ye Tianming also shook his head.

Qing Wanwan smiled. “Then let me explain it to you. The age of the gods was three hundred billion years ago. According to records, the Divine Hall at that time housed three thousand six hundred and seventy-two true gods, three supreme gods, and one ancestral god. That ancestral god was the head of all gods. He founded the Divine Hall and established the divine order…….”

As she spoke, her expression grew reverent. “The ancestral god not only established the divine order, but also created the ‘incense offering’ cultivation system. Our current cultivation system originates from this ancestral god. Beyond that, he also built the ‘Reincarnation System’ — all living beings in our divine universe can enter this cycle of reincarnation after death and be reborn, retaining their memories. That’s essentially the same as immortality!”

Immortality!

Hearing this, Ye Tianming’s expression grew serious.

If a person could die and be reborn over and over again with their memories intact, that truly wasn’t much different from immortality.

Of course, his instincts told him things couldn’t be that simple, because if true immortality were really possible, that would be terrifying beyond words.

Qing Wanwan continued, “The ancestral god also established the divine Dao of karma, the divine Dao of fate, the divine Dao of reincarnation, the divine Dao of time…… and each Dao branched out into billions of sub-Daos. He commanded the past from above and held the future in his grasp. His true self walked among the mortal world, governing all fate, karma, reincarnation, time, Dao, law, gods, immortals, saints, and humanity…….”

As she spoke, her expression grew ever more reverent. “He was the most powerful god in all of history — the ancestor of all gods, unmatched before him, and none have come close since.”

Beside her, Qingyuan listened with a face full of awe and longing — though more than anything, it was reverence. To him, godhood…… was truly, impossibly far away.

Ye Tianming suddenly asked, “Is this ancestral god still around?”

Qing Wanwan paused briefly in thought, then said, “He dissolved his Dao.”

Ye Tianming was puzzled. “Dissolved his Dao?”

Qing Wanwan nodded. “Yes. And it was precisely because of his dissolution that the Divine Hall fell into internal strife. Otherwise, which god would have dared to cause trouble? Not even those three supreme gods would have dared.”

Ye Tianming asked again, “Why did he dissolve his Dao?”

Qing Wanwan said solemnly, “I heard from a former instructor that at the height of his power, the ancestral god suddenly told all the gods that he was ill.”

Ye Tianming was even more puzzled. “Ill?”

Qing Wanwan nodded. “Yes. The gods were baffled too. A being of his level was already undying and indestructible — how could he possibly fall ill? But the ancestral god never explained. Not long after, he dissolved his Dao, and the moment he did, the divine order immediately collapsed.”

She let out a quiet sigh. “Because the ancestral god held many, many beliefs, and the gods each inherited different ones. Due to these differing beliefs, after his dissolution, the gods began to turn on one another, ultimately triggering the great war of the gods…….”

Ye Tianming asked with some curiosity, “What kinds of beliefs did the ancestral god hold?”

Qing Wanwan looked at Ye Tianming and smiled. “That I really don’t know. I only know that this is something only the gods of that era would have known.”

Ye Tianming nodded and looked up at the towering stone pillar. At its very top stood a figure, his back turned to all the gods and all living beings.

This figure was the ancestral god.

Ye Tianming gazed at the ancestral god’s silhouette, and for reasons he couldn’t explain, a peculiar feeling suddenly welled up inside him.

Familiarity.

A strange sensation stirred within his heart.

It left even Ye Tianming himself feeling unsettled.

Beside him, Qingyuan stared in awe at the murals. “Can we become gods someday too?”

Qing Wanwan turned to look at Qingyuan. He gave an awkward laugh, looking a little flustered and uneasy. “I…… was just asking.”

Qing Wanwan smiled. “In theory, any of us can become a true god. Of course, it’s undeniably incredibly difficult. But as long as we work hard, it’s not impossible.”

Qingyuan said earnestly, “I’ll work hard. From now on, I’ll only sleep two hours a day.”

Qing Wanwan smiled to herself. Though she felt that hard work alone might not be enough to become a true god…… she didn’t mock Qingyuan.

People with dreams are admirable, and they deserve to be respected.

Qing Wanwan suddenly looked toward Ye Tianming and, noticing him staring at the ancestral god’s silhouette, smiled and said, “Junior Brother Tianming, you seem very interested in the ancestral god!”

Ye Tianming nodded. “Mm.”

Qing Wanwan laughed. “That’s natural. The ancestral god is the creator of our divine universe…… Work hard, and maybe one day you’ll become an ancestral god yourself! It’ll be incredibly, incredibly, incredibly difficult, but my teacher always told me — where there’s a will, there’s a way!”

Ye Tianming smiled. “Alright, I’ll work hard!”

Qing Wanwan smiled brightly. “Let’s work hard together!”

Ye Tianming suddenly asked with curiosity, “Senior Sister Wanwan, does the ancestral god have a name?”

Qing Wanwan shook her head. “His name isn’t known. But according to the divine history records, the gods of that era didn’t call him the ancestral god.”

Ye Tianming asked curiously, “Then what did they call him?”

Qing Wanwan said, “The Shepherd God.”