"That's it, I quit."

A battle of godly proportions, having gone on for days came to a standstill at these words.

Two members of the same sect.

The once proud and kind Lin Wu, his reputation stained beyond measure and now seen as the vile traitor of the cultivation world, despite his best efforts.

His cunning junior brother, had presented himself as an innocent, righteous young man.

Yet he had his suspicions, investigating his origin and discovering the truth.

That Gu An was the descendant of a clan his family had exterminated, clearly entering the sect for revenge.

Yet Gu An was smart, and had carefully planted evidence, even hiring an assassin in his name, to make it seem that Lin Wu was targeting him.

And now he was spurned by the entire cultivation world, even after entering the nascent soul.

He wasn't sure why. Perhaps something had finally snapped, maybe he was just tired of the play his junior had set up

Gu An asked confusedly. "What do you mean you quit?" he asked confusedly, staring down his senior brother, curious as to what finally caused him to crack.

Lin Wu rolled his eyes. "I'm tired. Of all of this.

All your damn schemes. How you've turned everyone around me against me."

Gu An showed him a cold smile. "But of course senior brother. After you discovered my schemes, how could I let you stand in my way?"

"Well, you win. I'm tired of all these ungrateful bastards! So I'm quitting.

I'm out."

"Out? Senior brother, surely you know how the cultivation world sees you now? Everyone hates you here. They all think you're a jealous fool who's tried to kill a disciple with great potential." he mocked his senior brother, only for his senior brother to snort.

"You're right, they're all blind to my good will. Lucky for me, I just recently received a job offer."

"Really? Who would be willing to take you in senior?" His junior brother asked curiously, leisurely walking through the air.

No one could see them thanks to the formation he'd set up, blinding the outside world to the truth of it all, allowing him to reveal his true appearance..

"The Romana empire sent me an invitation Once I reached the nascent soul I was offered the chance to become a minor god there. Gain incense, immortality, and a spiritual weapon specially made for me, courtesy of the cyclops and the dwarven gods. I was hesitant at first, but now?

Now it seems like the best idea I've heard in a while." Lin wu said, exhaustion evident in his voice.

He looked past the formation staring at his junior sister, who was staring at the formation with such concern.

Once, those eyes would've been for him.

Now, they were for this cunning bastard before him.

The pain had grown a bit too much for him.

He just wanted it to stop.

"And what makes you think I'll let you go so easily?" Gu An asked.

"Because your revenge goes a lot easier once I'm gone and you know it. Keeping me here merely inhibits it.

Here, look, I'll fake a life threatening injury and I'll fly away in desperation alright? You'll never see me again. " Lin Wu said, clenching his hand around an artery and squeezing it till it popped, causing his face to scrunch up, and blood to flow from his mouth.

Gu An didn't chase him, merely watching as his senior left the formation, faking his severe state.

As Lin Wu left, he heard the cheering of his juniors, and left faster.

In spite of it all, he hoped that someone would figure out his junior brother's plan, see the truth.

But they were hopelessly ensnared in his plans.

Regardless, it had nothing to dow with him anymore.

Lin Wu managed to get through the border without any real danger.

He was a nascent soul level cultivator. Few were willing to pick fights with him unless they had a serious grudge against him.

Of course, with his junior brother's meddling, he had many such enemies, but none who would have expected him to flee in such a cowardly way.

He wasn't fleeing though. Just quitting.

Sure, he'd crush an organ to make it look serious, but truthfully speaking it was hardly more than a flesh wound, and something he could easily put up with in the worst of situations.

Once he passed the border, he was greeted by a divine being.

The divine being across from him was clearly at the fourth level just like him, and yet there was something far more awe inspiring about him. Powerful. Where he had the aura of a noble person, a trangquil part of nature, the man before him felt like the shining sun, the divine light pouring upon him.

You are Lin Wu correct? The divine being asked, and Lin Wu noddd, coughing a little blood out.

Are you alright? Who dares attack one of our gods?! He shouted wrathfully,only for Lin Wu to shake his head.

"I d-did it. In order for my arch enemy to let me go, I had to retreat and suffer the loss"

Hearing that, a sad look appeared on the God's face.

I've heard of your tragedy Lin Wu. Had the oracle of Delphi not shone a light upon your tragedy, perhaps we would've never known.

Come, once you're one of us, the pain will go away. He said, offering his hand.

Lin Wu took it gladly, as he could feel the warm intention behind the beings hand, the genuine kindness, something he had not felt from his equals in so long.

My name is Phaethon, son of Helios, the old titan of the sun. I am the god of poplar trees. And this. He said, patting the gibbon pulling the chariot, added. Is one of your fellow chinese men.

Do you know who he is? The god teased.

"D-d-do you mean!?" Lin Wu asked in shock and awe, observing the particularly long armed gibbon, who was staring at him in amusement.

Indeed, it is I, the interconnected arm gibbon, whose arms can stretch out and grab the stars.

I assume you know me for the other thing though.

"Yes sir! ONe of the four chaos monkeys, said to belong to none of the 10 categories of all things!" he said, desperately trying not to say the most popular reason, only for the gibbon to smirk knowingly.

His arm stretched out, as the interconnected arms slid, and one arm shortened and the other grew and he tapped the man's nose.

There's no need for flattering. Yes, I am one of sun wukong's brothers. Unlike Liuer and Wuzhiqi, I am not particularly offended by my obscurity.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The senior ape said gracefully, showing not a trace of annoyance, merely doting for the younger generation.

Seeing the gibbon was not offended, he quietly exhaled in relief. The long armed gibbon was a divine being older than most, and at the pinnacle of the 5th level.

He hadn't noticed it earlier when it was hiding its presence but now that he faced it, he could feel the power of a 5th level being.

Which was confusing to him.

Seeing his curious expression, the long armed gibbon laughed.

You are wondering why I, a pinnacle 5th level being, have taken the initiative to abandon the Qing dynasty?

Lin Wu nodded carefully, worried he would just be vaporized on the spot, yet the monkey smiled and explained.

The current Qing dynasty is a dynasty of cultivators. And cultivators of the higher level need higher resources. Needless to say, we, the divine beasts, have become nothing more than resources in the eyes of the cultivators.

Once upon a time, when Heaven ruled over man, they could enforce certain rules, and punish those who committed such heresy.

However, as the people's awe of the cultivators rose, they replaced the awe of the Gods, and incense stopped flowing.

The gods in Heaven are no longer as strong as they once were, and are now oppressed by the imperial army. Anyone who leaves is executed and used to boost the foundation of its warriors.

The divine beasts and beings have since fled the great Qing, with the only ones remaining being the ones who couldn't escape, or the ones they dare not provoke, such as the dragon clan or the Xuanwu clan, or Baihu.

Even then, they are no longer completely safe.

I was unwilling to remain in such a dynasty which no longer respected us, nor Liuer or Wuzhiqi, so we left.

Hearing this, Lin Wu was horrified. It was true, divine beings had slowly disappeared from the dynasty, but he had not realized it had gone this far.

A dynasty wide massacre!

Despite being a cultivator, Lin Wu still had a high respect for the divine. True, cultivators and beasts clashed in several instances, but this was different. He didn't know that Heaven itself had been oppressed! That meant the natural order of the world had been flipped!

Hearing this, the young cultivator felt relief that he had fled now. Cultivators could live for millenia. He may not see the changes immediately, but he was sure he would notice eventually. But like a frog in a boiling pot, it would be too little too late.

Enough about this. I hear that you're a young nascent soul. Only 180 years old, and already a fourth level being! I had to come after hearing that! Luckily, Appallas Ra didn't need me to move the chariot today. The monkey said cheerfully, inspecting the young man a way seniors inspect promising new juniors.

Come, let's go get you registered. He said happily, dragging the young man to the chariot before pulling it to the underworld.

Lin Wu could never have imagined that he would get to ride a chariot pulled by a fifth level being.

It was a terrifying experience, as he worried all the way to the underworld.

----------------------------------------

As they floated above the river styx, as the senior called it, Lin Wu couldn't help but stare in awe as he watched the souls drift around aimlessly.

Lin Wu had seen the undead of course, which one hadn't dispelled a few? But watching an underworld work was fascinating.

Everywhere he looked, there was a buzz of authority in the air, a doist rhythm beyond his understanding.

The quiet feeling of an authority beyond his understanding was there, the authority of the dead.

Impressive isn't it? There isn't as much qi in the west as there is in the east, but the laws are more dense, thanks to the divine being greatly respected still.

The long armed gibbon, who called himself Gibbs, explained.

Phaethon looked at the two quizzically and the gibbon explained to Lin Wu.

THe boy was born divine, so he's naturally in tune to the laws. However, he's also never been trained, merely died a demigod, then lifted to Godhood, relying on the trees that popped up after his death.

As a result, he has no comprehension of the laws he uses. THe gibbon explained, and Phaethon nodded in understanding.

Oh, those. Yeah, whenever cultivators talk about that, or gods like Orpheus explain it I never quite understand. Anway, still pretty cool right? He said, pointing at Cerberus who quietly watched them pass.

Lin Wu had to admit it was pretty cool, the three headed dog of Hades. Even he had heard of it, being a terrifying guardian that stopped any soul from leaving.

You know, I hear he's having another litter soon. If you want, you could sign up and see if you get lucky. Phaethon chatted, happily sharing the latest rumors.

"You can just adopt divine beasts?" Lin Wu asked curiously, and Phaethon shrugged.

You'll be a god soon, and that means immortality. Unless you find a goddess who fits the same niche as you, or a god, finding a partner in this life may be very rare. So a divine beast would make a good companion. And who knows? We have a lot of couples match up at pet gatherings.

I met my wife, a dryad at such a place. He said, winking playfully.

"You have a divine beast companion?"

One of my kids, yes. The gibbon commented, seeming rather indifferent to this.

Eventually they arrived at the center of the underworld, which was a busy place, as beings of the fourth level rushed back and fourth frantically, much to Lin Wu's dismay.

He had never seen so many 4th level beings concentrated in one area, not even at those grant meeting between sects!

Another god walked up to them, but this one looked more mundane he had expected.

Lin Wu correct? My names Bill, god of paperwork. Hearing this, Lin WU couldn't help but feel surprised.

The empire truly had a God for everything!

Did you know, Bill's from another world! Phaethon added on, and Lin Wu couldn't help but stare at this "Bill" more.

Bill seemed indifferent to his gaze as he waved it off. Don't overthink it. I came from a rather boring world. No magic no gods, nothing. Just a lot of middle class people doing a lot of middle class work.

Yeah, but it was your amazing organizational paperwork that the workload down here became so much easier! I mean, I actually get an hour of free time now! The young god exclaimed, with Bill barely recognizing the response turning to Lin Yu.

Lin Wu was astonished by the statement? there were other worlds?

Were they higher realms? Lower ones? Like those summoned heroes?

Seeing the curious look in his eyes, he said quickly: You can ask later when I'm free.

Here, just read this and sign off. He said handing the clipboard to Lin Wu.

Lin Wu carefully read over the agreement, which was rather simple.

He was no longer a resident of the Qing empire, but of the Romana Empire.

As a god, he must be prepared to fulfill his corresponding duties and respond to at least one prayer a month.

He must be prepared to fight the enemies of the empire in the worst case scenario

And that by signing this agreement, he became immortal, and was aware of that.

Rather simple form, which Lin Wu readily agreed, having had all his bridges burned in his home land.

As he signed it, he felt a thread snap inside of him, as if something had disappeared inside of him, a connection to his own home.

This feeling was replaced with a bond to the Romana empire.

It was more of an instinctive feeling than anything else, but he felt it, knew it.

Not only that, but he felt it. His mortality was burning away, being replaced by an inexplicable thing.

A warm, radiant power.

Was this... godhood?

Congratulations, you are now a minor God. Bill said calmly as he then summoned a large board, with a large list of words.

Pick an authority. It'll determine where you start working.

Hearing that, Lin Wu looked down the list, before finally picking out one.

He picked poppies in the end. A minor plant, but also one of medicine and healing.

He'd been a cultivator who'd specialize in plants, so doing a type of plant made sense to him. Unfortunately, the likes of ginseng and bamboo seemed to have already been taken. Too popular probably, Lin Wu knew he wasn't the first, so others probably rushed forth and grabbed the more popular ones before he could.

Poppies, huh? Alright, that puts you in the medicinal department, where you'll be working for the god Asclepius, the god of medicine. And you also will part time under Persephone whenever she needs someone to help her with Spring stuff.

Isn't that a little messy? Lin wu asked, and Bill smiled, but there was a hollowness behind those eyes.

A desolate emptiness. Phaethon laughed at that. It used to be worse than that back then. Gods used to just run around, doing their thing and becoming local deities wherever. And then they'd piss someone off, and then Ausir Hades would have to come back up and start doling out judgements again. Real mess when god of the underworld has to keep leaving his post.

And then Bill came along and made things cleaner. Now we know who to blame when things go wrong, and less instances of Gods wandering around aimlessly.

Another God ran up to Bill, frantically shouting. Bill! Jorvus and Hathera are fighting again! The sky is tearing itself apart again! Quickly! We need you to do that magical thing again!

Mediate!

Yes, that ! As Bill was dragged away onto a rainbow he called back to the group. Go see Ted and he'll give you the proper authority. I gotta go *sigh* fix a marriage.

We should call him God of marriage counseling with how much of that he does. Phaethon said humorously, while Gibbs could only shoot the poor God a look of sympathy.

Who's Ted? Lin Wu asked.

God of human resources. Great guy, but no one wants to talk to him on business time. No likes human resources after all, much less deity resources.

----------------------------------------

And here is your authority as god of poppies. Ted said calmly, shoving a glowing ball into Lin Wu's chest as he felt his connection to poppies grow.

I thought I was already a god? He asked confusedly, and Ted shrugged.

It's all semantics. You sign the agreement, you become a god, but one without a specific role, given immortality by the faith in the pantheon as a whole. But now as a God you'll be given incense and immortality specifically tied to poppies.

Anyway, next! Said the impatient god, shooing the group out the door as another group of Gods walked into the room as they left.

Despite being so impatiently shooed away, he was excited. Lin Wu did not feel rejected in this environment, hated as he was now in the east, but treated like a peer as he had once been.

He walked up to Phaethon and Gibbs waiting outside the room, looking forward to meeting his new colleagues.

Sure, it seemed he would be treated like a middle class worker, but he had to admit, being treated like a normal person was quaint, fun even.

Perhaps he would come to like being a God here.

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1 year later

What are you doing here! He shouted, pointing angrily at the figure in front of him.

He had just finished his shift of answering prayers, only to be told a new god had come over to this department, something he was deeply grateful for.

Being a God was difficult.

But what he had not expected, was seeing the man who ruined his life standing here.

Why was the new god GU AN!