"I am Di, the primary head of this Ancient God Clan. Today, I shall decide whether you are worthy of the mantle you have been gifted."
Damien furrowed his brows upon hearing those words. Quite a dreadful feeling filled his body.
"Clan Head Di, since you're treating me with sincerity, I'll do the same with you." He began.
"Currently, my time is extremely limited. I do not have the luxury to take three hundred different trials to gain the acceptance of the Ancient God Clan and its people." He continued, looking directly into Di's eyes.
"I will not complain about the treatment I've received here, nor will I complain about the main trial you give me, however, I will not go through any trial for anyone who doubts my strength or potential."
"Frankly speaking, I really don't care about the Ancient God Clan enough to put that much effort into you guys."
Damien finished his words on such a note, unwavering and steady.
He wasn't lying at all.
Ever since he came to the Divine Realm, Damien had been facing trial after trial, all arranged by people who wanted to see his potential and help him because of it.
There wasn't inherently a problem with this, but Damien was tired of it. He couldn't stand constantly moving at the whims of other people to prove himself.
After all, he knew his strength better than anyone else.
Even before he entered the Void Corridor, he was able to fight against late-stage 4th-class enemies without much trouble. At that time, his ability was capped here because the nine revolutions of extreme peak 4th class each produce a great level of power that anyone under that level would be hard-pressed to compete with.
Now…?
Now that he'd digested all of the boons he received in the Void Corridor, including the heavenly vine's lifeblood…?
Now, he was sitting comfortably at level 399, just barely reaching the cusp of the extreme peak level.
He wasn't quite there yet, but he didn't doubt that anyone in their first or second revolution would have a difficult time dealing with him.
He had just hit 30. On the universal scale, there were barely any geniuses who could match his current achievements.
When it was taken into account that he hadn't even been leveling for 15 years yet, that number became zero.
Needless to say, Damien understood his current worth, and he was no longer prone to act along with the wills of others if he didn't have to.
Besides, when it came to new forces…
Damien smiled slightly. Hadn't he just received a semi-large force for himself?
He had to wonder what the empty inside of the Void Corridor looked like.
Nevertheless, Di looked at Damien quietly as he finished his words. Even though he didn't show any hostility, the strength of his gaze made Damien feel like his soul was being sucked out.
He stood his ground and endured for an entire five minutes before Di retracted his gaze.
"Very well," Di said. "It is normal for supreme geniuses to have their own pride."
"Boy, let me tell you this. The current Ancient God Clan has no interest in being controlled by you, just as you have no interest in controlling it. However, as we are bound by fate, this is not an outcome that can be avoided."
"Our clan was built on the foundation of that promise we made to the founder. If we renege it now due to our pride, won't our clan suffer the consequences?"
Di sighed and put his hand on Damien's shoulder.
"This clan already belongs to you. In truth, regardless of what tricks we use, the fact that you've stepped into this world means you've already claimed ownership of our clan."
He waved his hand, removing the facades of the world for Damien.
Reality didn't change at all, but for someone with All-Seeing Eyes, the veil of reality meant nothing.
"So that's how it is…" Damien muttered as he observed what Di showed him.
'The grand formation isn't just a concealment formation, but a sort of ethereal prison that houses the Ancient God Clan.'
It wasn't a physical prison, but rather, a prison of soul. The souls of the Ancient God Clan members were intrinsically connected to the grand formation, and they were entrapped by its laws.
If someone gained control over this formation, controlling the life and death of the Ancient God Clan became possible with a single thought.
Even if the one that needed to die was a Demigod.
Damien flicked his finger in the air and watched the force of his mana resonate through the grand formation.
"This…" he muttered under his breath.
"…belongs to you." Di finished his words.
"The moment you stepped into this world, the grand formation transferred control of its mechanisms to you. Ran likely sensed this as well, which is why she chose to antagonize you previously."
"A little stupid to antagonize someone who controls your life," Damien scoffed.
Then again, he knew clearly that Di wasn't lying.
After Di removed the veil covering his eyes, he could feel the instinctive control he held over the formation.
In the end, he sighed to himself.
'Even if I can't obtain their approval, they'll be forced to follow me, but that will negatively impact the performance they display on the battlefield. Regardless, I have to do something to earn the trust of the clan.'
Not a menial task to gain Di or Ran's approval, but a true quest that could grant him the submission of any and all Ancient God Clan members in existence.
He shared his thoughts with Di, who quirked his brow in surprise.
"Are you certain?" He asked.
"I am," Damien responded.
Di nodded.
"Then I shall give you a task, however, the reason for this task's difficulty is a bit strange." He said slowly.
Di pulled up several holographic projections displaying a portion of the universe that Damien had never seen before.
"The Ancient God Clan has three ancient artifacts that double as the lifeblood of our clan." He began.
"The first is the Mist-Piercing Mirror, the heavenly artifact that allows us to control the spread of our bloodline and prevent outsiders from tainting our clan's lineage."
"As we've learned in recent days, it doesn't seem to work on those that the mirror approves of." Di finished with a smile.
"The second treasure is the Alteron Star Cruiser, a star destroyer-class battleship that was gifted to us several tens of thousands of years ago."
"Unfortunately, the Alteron Star Cruiser was destroyed in war 10,000 years ago."
"The final treasure…" Di said while flipping the holograms in the air, his voice turning far more solemn than before.
The image of a strange nondescript bead appeared on the screen.
"The final treasure is the Genesis Bead, our clan's true lifeblood and the origin of our All-Seeing Eyes trait."
As Damien looked through the various images he was provided, he got the gist of what he had to do.
To say he wasn't excited by the prospect wasn't a lie.
See, this was the type of trial he didn't mind taking at all.
"The Genesis Bead is currently on Beast Emperor Star in the hands of the Golden Dragon Godbeast Clan. Your task is to go to the Beast Domain and retrieve the Genesis Bead using whatever means necessary."
Di glanced at Damien with an imperceptible smile.
"What do you think? Can you do it?"
Damien grinned. It was just as he expected.
A new place he'd never been, new treasures for him to plunder, and new enemies to boost his progress.
There was only one word that needed to come out of his mouth at this time, and he spoke it with absolute confidence.
"Absolutely."
