The political situation of Aterna underwent a huge shift as Gareen joined as the protector of the Royal family.

Before the Devil War, Aterna never had a solid framework of religions. The constant wars between different races kept on pushing the people to cultivate and become stronger. Some people believed in the existence of powerful entities existing beyond the plane, such entities never became a source of belief or worship. Given that cultivators had command over the daily life of mortals, the authority of religious institutions was negligible. The most widely accepted idea of religion was the worship of plane-will. But people were aware of the nature of plane-will as a semi-conscient will rather than a personified deity. But, the information on the existence of divinities in the outside world and the tales of their strength created the best circumstances of religious institutions. Many mortals even started worshipping the devils hoping to gain salvation and mercy.

The powers of divinity were felt by all beings in the plane when Mubal Kafka underwent the divine ritual of becoming an apostle. Such power directly struck awe and fear in the hearts of mortals. Following the war, under the subtle efforts of many hidden agents, the temple of Fate Seer goddess propped up in Aterna and soon replaced all other religious practices. The rise of the temple was so rapid that the native cultivators could not get a hold of the situation at all. Along with Mubal's powerful strength, the rise of religion in Aterna was unhindered. But, just when Mubal thought that the temple would finally replace the monarchy of the Rageberg family, Fate Seer divinity halted the progress on the propagation of her temple's influence. This was simply absurd to Mubal. He could not understand why the divinity would harm her own benefits.

Mubal, after becoming an apostle, had gained the knowledge of the divine realm. In the path of cultivation, the initial stage cultivators tried to comprehend and condense the laws in their body and souls. Beyond reaching a certain level of mastery, they would undergo the rigorous process of extrapolating the observable natural laws to form laws of their own. Such cultivators were known as upper-ascendants. After the gruelling process of comprehending their law to completion, the cultivators break the boundary between their personal law and the universe, essentially connecting their laws to the laws of the world. Such a step was extremely dangerous as the backlash from natural laws was enough to crumble the nascent laws of these cultivators along with their entire existence. This was the reason why the bottleneck to reaching the divinity realm was as difficult as scaling the heavens. Out of many brilliant geniuses, only the truly chosen ones managed to survive the tribulation and connect their laws to the universe. This gave them the ability to borrow some power from the natural laws in the universe, directly increasing their strength to the top of the pyramid.

In the divine realm, the cultivator would then start to increase the foundation of their law, making their law more and more compatible with the existing natural laws. Reaching the end of this process, one could undergo a final tribulation and completely turn their personal law into part of the universe, becoming a being of law, or a God! Of course, making progress in divinity stage was even more difficult than making progress in the upper-ascendant stage. One needed to tweak their laws to be compatible with natural laws, but at the same time, had to keep their sanity and identity. Such a task was extremely difficult for cultivators. But there was another method that cultivators in the divinity stage could use. It was the use of faith. Divinities had a profound connection to the universe itself, which allowed them to form anchors using their laws that spanned almost the entire universe! Using a set of rituals, one could send some information to the divinities from anywhere in the entire universe. Using this ability, divinities created temples and propagated their religions, collecting the faith from their believers. The collected faith allowed the divinities to grasp the collective information from all their believers which allowed them to increase their own understanding of different laws. This also allowed them to increase the foundation of their own domains. Basically, faith was a consumable cultivation resource for divinities. Even after becoming a God, faith had numerous uses.

Thus, after reaching the divinity stage, all cultivators would establish demi-planes and propagate their religion to different areas in the universe. Fate Seer divinity naturally did the same, and Mubal being the apostle of the divinity, was one of the beneficiaries of the process. The more faith he could generate, the greater Fate Seer's cultivation speed would be, the greater his strength would grow. Besides that, Mubal has unrelenting loyalty to the divinity who had given him a new lease on life. Thus, he was very unsatisfied due to the restrictions placed upon him.

He was prohibited from using the powers of Fate Seer offensively. This made it so that he couldn't actively guide the political situation in the plane either. Thus, he could only depend on schemes and plans to increase the influence of the temple. While his political situation was the opposite of Michael, his prized student, Mubal did not feel that he was in the wrong at all. First of all, Michael had not found a way to extend his lifespan despite knowing the desperate situation he was in. While he did not blame the kid consciously, there was indeed a hint of resentment in his heart. But ultimately, he did not agree with Michael on the future plans for the development of the plane. Michael was a proponent of the autonomy faction, the ones who wanted Aterna to be autonomous in its internal issues. He, on the other hand, was the proponent of the submission faction and wanted to convert Aterna into the personal faith-herding grounds for Fate Seer Divinity.

While others might be appalled at the idea of complete submission, it was the safest and only possible choice in the scenario. The discovery of Might secret realm had almost put the eyes of the entire dominion on a small plane. Even a powerful primary plane wouldn't stand a chance against so many super-forces, let alone Aterna, which was a tertiary plane just a few decades back. There was hardly enough accumulation to challenge a secondary plane. Among the native cultivators, there had yet to be a rank-3 ascendant, let alone a law master. In the fearsome ocean, they were pitiful. insects who were almost at the bottom of the food chain. If not for Divine Sea Sect's intervention, the plane would have been destroyed. In such a situation, any thoughts of autonomy was a fool's dream. Without sufficient strength, there was no way to gain respect from super forces. Michael seemed to be betting on his genius talent, but he was not only betting his own life but the fate of the entire world! Even if he had saved the world, he did not have the right to play with its fate! The weak had no choice except submission. Mubal's plan was the only one that could ensure their survival. Fate Seer was a powerful divinity and was a part of the camp led by her and Sword Saint divinity. The couple was a major faction in the Divine Sea Sect. Besides, the cultivation using laws of fate made her special in the entire dominion and hence, her status in the sect was only below compared to Divine Sea Divinity herself. She was perfectly capable of protecting the plane. With thousands of races, Aterna could offer several flavours of faith to the divinity. In a few decades, there would be a population boost, which would solve all the problems, making Aterna into a fat faith farm that even a divinity would not ignore.

But, the goddess had strangely been silent to his prayers and had actively held back her authority, creating a strange balance with the autonomy faction. Mubal could not understand the reason why the goddess would choose to do so. Alas, he could only try his best. Given that Michael had employed an expert, he could only plan and increase the power of the temple gradually.

While Mubal had no idea, Fate Seer divinity was looking very closely at the situation in Aterna. Looking into the thousands of races existing on the plane, she knew that there was an opportunity knocking on her doorstep. Fate Seer or Miranda Reeves was an expert on the laws of Fate. Her fate law, fate navigation was one of the most powerful and strategic laws in the entire domain. Her law allowed her to look into fate and navigate situations in a way that would be the most beneficial for herself. It was this law that she had condensed into a blessing to Alexis, making her unreasonably lucky. In fact, Alexis had another divine blessing from her father but it was yet to awaken.

Over the years, Fate Seer had become an expert at strategizing. Her ability made her the brain of the entire Divine Sea Sect. She was the leader of strategy and decision making for the entire sect, making her status even higher than her husband, who was stronger than her in terms of combat prowess. And through her law, she could vaguely feel that the secrets of the plane ran very deep. She could feel a sharp sense of danger whenever she thought of taking it entirely for her own. For her, extinguishing the plane-will was only a matter of thought but she was sure that if she followed through with the idea, she would be inviting an irrevocable calamity that would likely result in her death. At the same time, she could feel that there was an opportunity hidden in Aterna. Hence, she had chosen to adopt a wait and watch attitude. As for Michael Rageberg, she had sensed the gaze of an almighty being on him. While the almighty being might not be particularly defensive of the boy, she did not want to risk the wrath of such a being for no benefits. It was known to almost every elder in the sect that Michael Rageberg was not ordinary and was hiding many secrets. His off-the-charts willpower was an anomaly that couldn't be hidden from divinities. The most plausible theory was that he was a bigshot from Samsara Sect undergoing samsara tribulation and deepening his comprehension. There were some other theories as well but there was nothing conclusive yet. If he was the reincarnation of a mighty cultivator, taking him in as a disciple would allow her to form a bond with the Samsara Sect as well. But again, she had decided to adopt a wait and watch attitude. As for Mubal, he was only a pawn she had invested in. While the loss of an apostle position was a painful blow, she wanted to have a strong foothold on the plane. Mubal was not someone she would give a second thought to. He was not worthy.

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In Jupyter, on a demi-plane connected to the Divine Sea Sect, the military training grounds were arranged. The entire demi-plane had been crafted carefully by divinities in creating the best possible training grounds for building a powerful army. Krill Nash was currently leading his army through practice battles, training them through actual fighting rather than drills. His troops were experts in oceanic battles, especially in fortifying defences. They were one of the strongest armies in the Divine Sea Sect, the hollow-tiger regiment. After completing the combat mission, the army soon regrouped and was pulled out of the battlefield through spatial formations directly bringing them out to the resting lounge. Looking around, his eyes landed on a young fellow. The guy was decent looking and had a serious expression. He was currently briefing his team of commanders before entering the practice run.

Leonor Rageberg.

This was one of the latest additions to the provisional seeded army list, the Aterna regiment. The army consisted entirely of Aterna natives who were currently being trained by the Divine Sea Sect, free of cost. There were many jealous eyes on the group, but none of them dared to cause any trouble despite the group being pathetically weak. This was because military discipline did not allow for infighting or bullying, especially when it involved rookies.

Krill just took a look and proceeded onwards. While Leonor Rageberg was talented in command, his army was too weak and he had too much to learn. It would only be known in a few thousand years if the army could turn into a powerful seeded army or would be a mediocre bunch.

Going through teleportation arrays, Krill eventually reached the demi-plane of his teacher Sludge Sea Divinity. He then directly teleported to the mountain peak that Sludge Sea divinity resided on. Approaching the small hut that gave others a feeling of pressure, he respectfully stood at the gates. Soon, a voice echoed in his mind, "Come in."

Krill entered the hut and sat face to face with his teacher. Sludge Sea Divinity was a handsome man dressed in a black robe. He gave off a transcendent aura that made it hard for Krill to look directly at him for a long time. It was as if seeing the extraordinary visage for too long would lead to the crumbling of his existence. There were 2 stars rotating around his head showing his status as a divinity. This was the true form of Sludge Sea divinity, a form that even upper-ascendants would not be able to look at directly. His robe was made out of black water that was flowing in intricate and profound patterns, concealing secrets of countless natural laws.

Krill respectfully said, "Teacher, I recently had an epiphany. I have a feeling that I can achieve the completion of my path as long as I take my army on a challenging mission. I just need to concentrate my insights through combat and I will be able to take the last step to complete my personal law."

Sludge Sea divinity smiled, showing his happiness with the news. This mere action caused a change in the environment, making the entire hut brighter. Krill himself felt the laws around him expressing their jubilant mood. This was something that divinities, who were connected to the universe could cause with a simple thought while it was impossible for anyone yet to cross that threshold.

"Very good Krill. You have made very good progress. If you can successfully become a peak ascendant, I will appoint you as my successor disciple. But you must not be hasty, as it would surely cost you your life during the divine tribulation."

"Teacher, I wanted to ask the command for the expedition to the Might secret realm."

The Sludge Sea divinity frowned before continuing, "I too would have wanted to give you the overall command, but it is not going to be easy this time. Sword Saint's successor disciple Nostradame is also going in this time alongside Perseus Pendragon. You are still lacking compared to them. I can't get you the commander position but you can definitely enlist with the Hollow Tiger regiment. I will make sure that you are a part of the expedition. In fact, I think that you are not ready for this mission."

"Teacher, why do you say so? Nostradame and Perseus are indeed stronger than me, but I am an army man. How can they command the army better than me? How can they be more suitable?"

Sludge Sea divinity went silent for sometime before sighing. He said in a deep voice, "Things are not simple this time. The Might secret realm has been confirmed to be connected to Might God. In fact, it is his domain. He is a Dao God, and he has been independent of all the emperors all this time. Naturally, he is powerful enough to do so. The devils have invaded this realm because the Devil Ancestor is targeting him personally. Thus, you can guess how dangerous the secret realm is going to be. Naturally, we would not have entered such muddled waters by ourselves, but Heaven Emperor has given the direct order to create a connection with the Might God. Therefore, this time, a few divinities are going alongside."

Hearing these words caused Krill's expression to change drastically. He exclaimed, "How is this possible!? Divinities will also be suppressed in secret realms, why would the sect take such a huge risk?"

Divinities were known to be incredibly powerful. With their laws already connected to the universe, it was generally very difficult to kill any divinity unless one could lock down the area thoroughly suppressing the universe using the power of a domain. But such domains could only be generated by high-raked divinities generally beyond the six-star stage. Thus, even though a six-star divinity was many times more powerful than a one-star divinity, they would find it extremely difficult to kill the other. The price to pay for such an act generally exceeded the limits of low-ranked divinities. Given that most of those who reached the divinity stage stagnated before ever-reaching the seven-star stage, most divinities would not face life and death crisis in their life. This was also why after passing the divine tribulation one could be considered a powerhouse in the universe. But, there was an exception to this rule, the presence of secret realms.

Different secret realms would be created due to different factors but they all had the characteristic of suppressing the natural laws of the universe. The extent of suppression depended on the grade of the secret realm. This was why ascendants who carried powerful bloodlines were considered a precious resource to different sects. The powers of bloodlines or conscient were not suppressed in these secret realms. This allowed ascendants to travel to these realms and harvest resources that were extremely unique and precious.

Even though ascendants were suppressed inside these secret realms, the divinities faced much greater suppression. After all, divinities were fundamentally connected to natural laws. As a result, their origin of power was in direct contradiction with the source of uniqueness of the secret realms. In such places, the powers of divinities were suppressed to less than 10% of their full strength. Inside powerful secret realms, the suppression was enough to suppress divinities to a level just slightly stronger than the peak ascendant realm. Due to these factors, divinities avoided secret realms like plagues. History was filled with examples of divinities who could not resist the greed for resources of these secret realms and ended up losing their lives inside secret realms. Given that the Might secret realm was the domain of a dao god, it was likely that it was a powerful realm. Any divinity entering this secret realm would be risking their life. This was a huge risk for the sect! After all, the appearance of a divinity took hundreds of thousands of years on average.

Sludge Sea divinity replied, "While we are the vassals of the Heaven Empire, we are ultimately not their people. After we were defeated in the war of 5 Emperors, we no longer have any control over our destiny. We can only grit our teeth and take the risk. Besides, this is also an opportunity. Might God is a powerful Dao God, and has been able to keep operating independently under the pressure of three different emperors. It goes to show that he has extraordinary means. If we can make a deal with him, not only will be able to obtain the complete legacy of astral path, we will also gain a powerful ally. It will also ease the political pressure on us and we will be able to become more independent. Thus, this time, the sect will be sending Fate Seer alongside Sword Saint and Endless Sea. Fate Seer will be the strategist and Sword Saint will be the overall commander of the expedition."

Krill was left speechless for a long time. Eventually, he sighed and bowed to his teacher before planning the expedition.

Looking at Krill fading out of his demi-plane, Sludge Sea fell into deep thought.

While divinities are suppressed inside secret realms, once one becomes a God, there is nothing that can possibly suppress them. It is highly likely that the Devil ancestor is already hidden somewhere in the realm. If he truly makes a move, no one from the expedition will return. Fate Seer, you are taking a risk beyond your capability this time. If you succeed, you might be able to grasp the position of Second Elder in the sect. But if you fail, it is likely that you might turn to dust. Hopefully, you will be able to succeed and reach one step closer to your goal of overthrowing fate.