Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)

“A Venerate amongst gods?”

Long Chen sucked in a cold breath of air. Now, he understood what this title meant.

It meant that Lord Brahma was a supreme existence amongst gods, the only one worthy of reverence as a Venerate. He reigned as the most formidable god cultivator; otherwise, he wouldn’t bear such a title.

The cultivation world of the human race was divided into two major lines: god cultivators and immortal cultivators. Both factions had engaged in constant squabbles throughout history.

Immortal cultivators refused to acknowledge god cultivators, saying that the latter relied on their ancestors and subordinates to gain an unfair advantage. For a normal person, going down this path was basically a dead end.

After all, a person needed to accumulate faith energy for many generations to advance and pursue this path. Even a minor accomplishment along this path might require millions of years of dedication.

Furthermore, during this long period, they had to constantly gather more and more believers, never ceasing in their endeavors.

Although the cultivation world teemed with countless god cultivators, inheriting the legacy of a god cultivator was exceedingly difficult due to the extensive time required to amass sufficient faith energy.

Conversely, while immortal cultivators also somewhat relied on the accomplishments of their ancestors, at the very least, they needed to work hard for their future.

Although these two factions coexisted in the human race’s cultivation world, the proportions were lopsided.

Immortal cultivators constituted ninety percent of all cultivators, while god cultivators comprised only ten percent. Despite their numerical disadvantage, the god cultivators’ faction consistently rivaled, and oftentimes surpassed, the strength of the immortal cultivators.

This was because god cultivators could leverage the cumulative efforts of past generations. Some god inheritances could even be traced all the way back to the primal chaos era.

Given that they had begun accumulating faith energy since the primal chaos era, the extent of their amassed power was simply unimaginable.

While immortal cultivators consistently produced countless geniuses who soared like shooting stars, those stars inevitably faded over time. Sometimes, they were nothing more than fleeting fireworks.

A powerful immortal cultivator might cause one family, one faction, or one sect to rise to glory for a moment. But once that genius fell, their faction would rapidly decline or vanish from history just like that.

In comparison, god cultivators were able to sustain themselves for longer. Thus, throughout history, there had been many cases of powerful immortal cultivators turning into god cultivators.

On the contrary, some god cultivators experienced decline and lost their inheritance. With no other recourse, they had to transition into immortal cultivators.

In the human race, the immortal cultivators looked down on god cultivators, saying that the latter solely relied on their ancestors’ legacies and hadn’t achieved anything through their own efforts. They labeled it as cheating.

However, oftentimes those criticisms carried a hint of jealousy. Due to the powerful foundation that god cultivators possessed, others harbored feelings of envy and resentment toward them.

In reality, immortal cultivators were truly at a disadvantage against god cultivators. This was an incontestable fact.

A god cultivator’s inheritance grew in power as time passed, leading to the existence of many hidden factions that instilled wariness among others. Perhaps some hidden faction would one day emerge with a god legacy dating back from the primal chaos era.

Many ancient factions amongst god cultivators were extremely low key. However, even within all of that, Lord Brahma was called a Divine Venerate, an existence all gods had to revere. He was absolutely terrifying.

Moreover, the title of Divine Venerate Brahma had existed for countless years already. In other words, no one had been able to shake his position all this time. Otherwise, someone would have challenged him and taken that title for themselves.

After thinking through all of this, Long Chen felt cold sweat on his back. Now, he finally understood just how terrifying of an existence Lord Brahma was.

Back when he first came to the immortal world, he thought that as long as he could reach the Divine Venerate realm, he would be able to get his revenge. How unbelievably naive was he then?

Simultaneously, Long Chen seethed with rage at the vast disparity. This huge difference enraged him. He wished he could refine some peerless divine pill that could let him challenge Lord Brahma after consuming it.

“Don’t get angry. This is what it means for a journey of a thousand miles to start with a single step. You cannot just skip to the end. The more you try to rush, the slower you go,” said the Earth Cauldron.

Long Chen smiled bitterly. “Thank you for your teachings. I know those principles. However, I’m just a normal person after all. Unlike senior, I’m unable to keep a calm heart like water without the slightest ripple.”

“This has nothing to do with being a normal person or not. It’s just that you haven’t experienced enough,” sighed the Earth Cauldron.

“I haven’t experienced enough?” Long Chen asked, shaking his head bitterly. Although he was young, he had experienced countless dangers and adventures. He believed he had experienced more than those ancient beings who had lived for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

“Of course you haven’t experienced enough. All you know is fighting and killing. You’ve only experienced a single season of this world, the season of rain and snow. When you have experienced the passing of eras, the changing of the times, and the rise and fall of heaven and earth, you will find that everything you have experienced is nothing more than a single section in the thick book of history. It doesn’t even count as a chapter on its own,” said the Earth Cauldron with a sigh, lost in distant memories.

“Of course this little one’s experiences count for nothing in comparison to you.” Long Chen nodded. He really couldn’t compare with the Earth Cauldron.

The Earth Cauldron grew solemn. “I have witnessed this world’s most glorious era, only to see it decline step by step, and all I could do was watch. I have seen countless races become this world’s master and then get knocked off their throne. Some were wiped out of existence and drowned in the river of history. I have also witnessed peerless geniuses rise like shooting stars, their brilliance illuminating the entire world before fading into darkness. No matter how formidable the cultivator, they were unable to escape the control of fate. To be honest, aside from my first generation master, I have been with several fated companions, and amongst all of them, you are the most…”

“The most talented?” asked Long Chen excitedly.

“The most stupid.”

“... Fuck.”

“This is the truth. I also don’t know how you became my companion. When you woke me up, to tell the truth, I was very disappointed,” said the Earth Cauldron.

“Senior, don’t you think you’re being a bit too mean?” asked Long Chen bitterly. The Earth Cauldron sounded like it was turning its back on him. That was a huge blow to Long Chen.

The Earth Cauldron continued, “In truth, there were many times I thought that something went wrong somewhere. How did I end up with a companion like you? But as I witnessed you become stupider with time, I finally understood something. I’ve made a decision.”

“What decision?” Long Chen was worried. The Earth Cauldron wouldn’t be leaving him, right?”

“I’ve decided to formally accept you as master.”

The Earth Cauldron’s declaration was like thunder shaking Long Chen.