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Chapter 577: Olympus
🕑 Added 2025-03-19 00:00:09 +0000 UTCThe banquet hosted by Hyllus was very lively, and it eased the tension between the immortals and the demigods. Although their customs would be considered ‘unruly’ in the Three Thousand Immortal Realms, the hospitality brought the two sides closer.
Although the banquet lasted days, it was still far from comparable to the one prepared for the divine meeting. In Hyllus’s words, “You haven’t seen anything yet. Wait till you taste the nectar of the gods later! You will think all other wine is horse piss!”
At the time, Tianyi silently lowered the wine cup in his hand. He didn’t drink much and preferred the sweeter wines enjoyed by the fairer gender, but he could still enjoy it. But how could he continue to drink after hearing what Hyllus said? Granted, the wine still tasted good, but it was yellow.
The banquet ended, and the demigods left, leaving behind only the guests and servants. There were still some delegations that had not arrived yet and it might take hundreds of years at the latest, so it was impossible to have banquets every day. Instead, Tianyi and the others were led down Mount Olympus to experience the culture of the Herakles System.
In the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System, Emperor Hall’s sole duty wasn’t to guard or discover hidden talents, but also to gather faith. To this end, they disseminated information on the various ministers and their position in the Immortal Court. After so many years, it has long become a custom for many people to visit temples or build small shrines inside their home to pray for blessings.
After several thousand years, the amount of faith the Immortal Court gathered was innumerable, but it was still far from enough. The ministers who were not revitalized upon becoming immortal officials did not absorb the faith because they felt they still had the potential to grow. Only those who reached a dead end or near the end of their lifespan would choose to absorb the faith. Those like Minister Vastlight or Minister Everpast who were one foot in the grave and only survived thanks to being conferred their position would absorb the faith.
They already reached the limit of their potential, and they had no hope of advancing, so their best choice was to become divinities of faith. At least this way, their limit would expand. Even if they couldn’t compare to divinities who cultivated to their level, they would still wield immense power in the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System. Their power would only grow the more powerful the Immortal Court and the more prosperous the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System became.
That’s why they must defeat the Numinous Sword Sect and the Buddhist Pure Lands and become the sole hegemon of the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System. Judging from how wary the Numinous Sword Sect was, the Immortal Court couldn’t discount the possibility of them allying with the Buddhists once they attacked. Of course, this was a matter for the far future.
The denizens of the Herakles System also had temples, but they did not place any idols inside their home. They would visit a temple to pray to their chosen divinity. Most temples had sculptures of the god or goddess, and they weren’t the unacknowledged recreation. The statues all held a hint of divine aura blessed by their chosen divinity.
Large temples hosted the statues of the primary divinities, while small temples usually hosted one divinity.
Tianyi was naturally taken to the largest city in all the Herakles System, Athens, and visited the temple, guided by Hyllus. Of course, only he and Minister Vastlight enjoyed such treatment. The true immortals were guided by the weakest demigods.
Inside the temple, Tianyi saw the sculpture of a giant of a man. A sash tied the man’s only clothes around his waist, but that didn’t mean he was naked above the waist. He wore a lion pelt covering his head and shoulder, and held in his hand was a magnificent war sword that looked like something between a mace and sword.
He was the current god king, the divinity of which the eponymous system was named after, the God of Strength, Herakles. Tianyi naturally knew of the famed hero, though he knew the more popular Roman spelling, Hercules. He was not born Herakles, but Alcaeus.
Because he was born between God King Zeus and a mortal woman, God Queen Hera hated his existence. To offset her hatred, he was renamed Herakles, which meant glory to Hera. Not that it did much good.
The statue to the right of Herakles depicted a man with bulging muscles. He was so thick, that built like a barrel was an understatement, considering he was also wide as he was tall. He held a bow in hand and had wavy, sea-like hair. He was Orion, the God of the Sea, and Herakles’ cousin.
To the left of Herakles was a statue of a beautiful man. Compared to the other two, although he was not obese or malnourished, he just looked ordinary, like a leisurely noble who knew not a single day of labor. His curled hair framed his face and anyone who glanced at it would feel soothed. All that despite the gloomy divine aura radiating from the statue. He was Orpheus, the God of the Underworld.
Next to these big three statues were countless other statues, each one depicting a legendary figure who had not quite reached the level of godhood. There was even one of Hyllus. Because of his presence, the temple was closed, meaning no believers would suddenly exclaim and prostrate themselves. Only the priest and priestess were left, but they dared not come near for fear of angering the prince of the gods.
After taking Tianyi to the temple, he took Tianyi and Minister Vastlight to enjoy various sceneries of the Herakles System. The most memorable one was the public bathhouse. Of course, with Hyllus, the public became private, and they were attended by beautiful servants of both genders who scrubbed and massaged their body.
It was not the treatment that made it unforgettable, but because it reminded Tianyi of the Roman bathhouses. The current culture was like a mixture of Greek and Roman from Earth’s history. Considering how Zeus became Jupiter and Hera became Juno, it was not that surprising.
Aside from that, the only thing that interested Tianyi was school. In the Herakles System, there were two education methods: formal and informal. Formal education was attained through attendance at a public school, while informal education was provided by an paid teacher and in a private setting. Because education was a core of the society, almost every citizen had access to it, at least in Athens. Of course, only non-slaves had access to education.
In the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System, only the Immortal Xi Dynasty founded by Xi Ri had access to public education, but that didn’t mean ordinary people could not learn. Thanks to the proliferation of the Xiyi Talisman, many teachers had set up courses to teach anyone willing. The first few lessons were free, but subsequent lessons needed to be paid in Xiyi coins.
During this time, Tianyi also released his universe sense to see if there was a Heavenly Dao, but he found no such mechanism in the Herakles System, but that didn’t mean his universe sense was undetectable. He used it on Hyllus, who felt nothing, but he always had something in the back of his mind telling him that something was watching him whenever he extended his universe sense.
No matter how Tianyi investigated, he could not find the source of the peeping. Eventually, the banquet of the gods arrived as the last delegation reached Olympus. Tianyi and the others stood in the largest room of their abode. Tianyi was not in front, nor was it Minister Vastlight. They stood in front of an empty space, as if welcoming someone.
Tianyi waved his hand, and a portal appeared in front of them. On the other side of the portal was another portal. The first portal led to the Nine Heavens Universe, while the second portal was in the Immortal Court. The two portals were so close, they were practically one, but it was impossible for them to be one because Tianyi could not directly open a portal from the Herakles System to the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System. So, he could only use a roundabout method of opening up the portals in the Nine Heavens Universe and using it as a transition. The only downside was that Tianyi needed two conduits present, one for each location.
On the other side, the Concealed Emperor stepped through, leaving the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System and entering the Herakles System.
The Concealed Emperor did not acknowledge Tianyi or the other immortals. He first stared into the sky and then smiled. Only then did he look at Tianyi and the others. “My presence has already been noticed.”
Tianyi and Minister Vastlight weren’t surprised, and they greeted the divinity. It would be a farce if the divinities of Olympus could not detect the intrusion of an alien divinity.
“Let’s not keep them waiting,” the Concealed Emperor said. He led Tianyi and the other immortals and walked outside, where a group of demigods were awaiting them.
The one leading them was Hyllus. Tianyi recalled that the demigod awaiting them before wasn’t him. The Olympians must have detected the Concealed Emperor and dispatched Hyllus in the time the Concealed Emperor appeared and walked out.
“We meet again, Your Majesty,” Hyllus said.
The Concealed Emperor nodded. “I hope my presence isn’t inconveniencing you.”
“How can that be?” Hyllus said. “We have prepared the banquet with the mindset that every delegation will have at least one divinity.”
After the greetings and subtle exchange of blows, Hyllus led the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System’s delegation to the Pantheon Temple at the top of Mount Olympus. It looked exactly like the Parthenon Temple Hyllus used to travel the True Nothingness. To be more accurate, the Parthenon Temple Hyllus used was a copy based on the one atop the mountain.
Inside, the banquet hall was designed in layers. The largest layers were the top layers and designated for divinities. The smaller the layer, the lower it was. Naturally, it also corresponded to the guest’s strength. Tianyi, Hyllus, and others at their level could only sit on the second layer.
“Welcome, welcome,” a man who looked exactly like the statue Tianyi saw in the temple in Athens said. The only difference was that he was not sculpted out of marble and exuded an even more powerful aura than the sculpture. “I haven’t seen you before, but you give me a very familiar feeling.”
The Concealed Emperor also greeted the god king. “You’ve never seen me, but I know of you, Great Herakles. I never expected that you would have become the god king.”
Herakles only laughed and downed the wine in his hand. “I didn’t expect it either. There’s actually someone much more suitable, but she refuses.”
“Oh, who?”
Herakles waved his hand. “Forget it. She doesn’t want me to talk about it, and the other guests are coming.”
At his words, another delegation arrived. This group wasn’t led by a god, and they were placed farther away from the center, where Herakles sat with Orion and Orpheus.
“Hmm?” Two groups later, Tianyi focused on the third group. It was led by a god and one he recognized, the Sūryaḥ Buddha. That wasn’t all. In addition to the monks wearing their yellow kasayas, members of the Numinous Sword Sect mingled among them. ‘Did the Numinous Sword Sect team up with the Buddhists?’
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” the Sūryaḥ Buddha said, looking at the Concealed Emperor. He clearly remembered that the Concealed Emperor was still in the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System when he left. Even if the latter was faster, he should not have been able to appear without alerting him.
“Is it such a surprise I’m here?” the Concealed Emperor asked. Their conversation was peaceful, with none of the volatility of their last confrontation, but Tianyi sensed the gunpowder in the air, ready to explode.
Thankfully, the two didn’t come to blows, owing to the occasion. The delegation composed of the alliance between Buddhists and Numinous Sword Sect was seated further away from the god king of Olympus and across from the Immortal Court’s delegation. Their distance from Herakles silently spoke of the importance the Olympians placed on the two sides.
As time passed, more and more delegations reached their seats. Tianyi stared at them all with interest. Over half of them did not have a divinity heading them. Obviously, their system lacked one or needed them to stay back to defend. So, the delegation headed by two divinities was especially eye-catching.
If he could, Tianyi wanted to release his universe sense to observe them, but he didn’t. He asked the Concealed Emperor, and the Concealed Emperor said he couldn’t sense Tianyi’s probe unless the universe sense penetrated the surface of his body, but that wasn’t the reason why Tianyi didn’t use it. No, it was because the sense of peeping when he released it was strongest in the Pantheon Temple.
Finally, when all the delegations arrived, Herakles raised his cup and announced the start of the divine banquet.
Comments
Zaim İpek
So Athena lives, and she is watching ~secretly~. Her desire to be so hidden and low-key reminds me of another schemer, Confucius. They would probably get along well. They would play some kind of four-dimensional chess game and say "Mhm" "I see" "so that's how it is." "As expected of one such as yourself" and stuff like that.
Duy
tftc also why is the text in bold font?
