Apotheosis

As Zen looked around, he realized that the architectural styles of the temples here were different from what he'd seen before.

Come to think of it, the temples Zen had seen on Stage One each had different styles, too. It seemed they were built in different eras.

After all, every race had their own unique aesthetic, so it only made sense that the styles of buildings varied.

However, the four temples that loomed before him were different from each other, but all were of the human style.

"These temples... were built by humans?" Zen asked incredulously.

"Yes." Dorothy nodded. "Most of the mighty races build their temples on Stage Four. Some weaker forces can only build their temples on Stage Two or Stage Three, and the weakest nonhuman races are limited to Stage One..."

Because there were many races in the Source World, establishing a temple on Stage Four was a way to assert their power.

"So, are you saying, Stage Four is the liveliest place?" Zen asked.

"Of course it is. Just follow me, you'll know soon enough," Dorothy smiled.

Following closely behind Dorothy, Zen continued to examine the four temples, three of which represented the three orthodox human forces. But what about the fourth temple?

"There are three orthodox forces in human race and each one has a temple here. Then who owns the fourth one?" Zen voiced his thoughts.

"You should have guessed it by now," Dorothy said nonchalantly. "It's the one that is always on your mind."

'The Nine Li race...' Zen thought in his mind.

There once had been four orthodox forces in human race, but only three of them remained.

By taking advantage of the Sun Crow race's invasion, Athemar had found out Zen's background, but those of the Origin Mountain didn't know it. However, this didn't stop Dorothy and the others from guessing. After all, they were able to piece things together from things Zen said, intentionally or unintentionally.

"Oh, guessed what?" Zen suddenly laughed.

"Are you still playing dumb?" Dorothy pouted. "Am I so untrustworthy?"

Even though they had been through many life and death situations together, Zen had never revealed his origin to her. For some reason, this upset Dorothy.

Zen hesitated. Since Athemar already knew his background, and since the Oneness Sky Palace wasn't exactly the enemy of the Nine Li race, there was no need to hide it from Dorothy.

Sometimes, if one was too cautious and secretive, they were bound to lose the trust of the others. Even Zen himself would be on guar

mple had been destroyed. Only two legs remained.

Even if he had never been here before, he knew without a doubt that it was Chiyou's statue--with three heads and three pairs of arms. Now, it had been destroyed and was barely discernible. Zen sighed sadly.

But what piqued his interest was the huge ruler that stood in front of the temple of the Divine Farmer race.

It was so detailed, almost lifelike. It actually looked similar to his Infinity Ruler.

"What is the story of that?" Zen asked, pointing at the statue of the ruler.

"It's the Divine Farmer Ruler," Dorothy replied instantly. This was just common knowledge. But since Zen was a newcomer in the Source World, she had already gotten used to his ignorance.

'What's the connection between the Divine Farmer Ruler and the Infinity Ruler?' Zen wondered in his mind. But on second thought, since the members of the Divine Farmer race had made a statue of Divine Farmer Ruler as a token to worship, it must have an extraordinary origin. It might be ridiculous to try to draw a connection between the two.

When the two finally arrived at the gate of the Oneness Sky Palace's temple, two guards blocked their way. "If your are disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace, we need to confirm your identity!"

Dorothy calmly raised her arm, and the square space ring in her hand flashed with bright light.

One of them stepped aside and said politely, "You may enter." Then, turning to Zen, he said, "We also have to verify your identity."

Everyone on the Other Shore couldn't see each other's appearance, and they could only identify each other by their scent. Thus, it was only natural they couldn't tell who Zen was.