The Era of Gods

Chapter 381 Element Tides?

The hierarchy of creature strength in this world is quite simple:

Low-level demons, equivalent to humans who are below Sixth Level Transcendent.

Middle-level demons, equivalent to humans who are above Sixth Level Transcendent up to Rank 7.

High-level demons, equivalent to humans who are of Rank 8 Legend and above, but below Rank 10 creatures.

Super-level demons, equivalent to the existence of a True God and above.

As for fierce beasts, there’s no need to mention them; mortal world’s beasts are merely a bit stronger than wild animals.

And exotic beasts, also known as devils, are just different names used in various places.

Besides, there are a few unexplainable and bizarre existences in this world, which have a power system different from the Totem Master power system of this world. According to the books, they belong to a kind of conceptual existence, and their combat methods are similar to causality rates, very difficult to deal with.

It might be hard to explain just how bizarre these entities are using words. There was an introduction in the book about an event that occurred fifty years ago in this area, where a cabin in the woods would appear randomly in some location every month, and anyone who saw it would, willingly or unwillingly, or through some inexplicable means, enter the cabin without exception.

All who entered the cabin had a fifty-fifty chance of disappearing or turning into a monster and escaping.

For example, more than thirty years ago, a gambling phantom appeared, and anyone who saw it had to gamble with it, unable to refuse. To refuse meant death.

Its power was extremely bizarre; even an Official Totem Master would drop dead instantly upon refusal, without any sign or logic.

There are two outcomes to gambling with it: loss leads to punishment, and the punishments are myriad. Directly taking one’s life is just one of them. The most terrifying are the weirdest punishments imaginable, such as men turning into women, women into men, souls swapping with monsters, and anuses appearing where mouths should be, and so on.

Bizarre entities are extremely difficult to kill because Totem Masters of this world still do not understand what they are exactly. At least the books he read did not provide any methods or examples of killing a bizarre entity. However, there was an introduction to a tragedy.

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Over a thousand years ago, a Grand Totem Master School with a comprehensive strength rating of seven stars had a bizarre entity suddenly appear at its edge. At first, it was an area less than a hundred square meters shrouded in fog, and anyone or any beast entering it could not escape. The fog neither expanded nor moved; it just stayed there.

But as the saying goes, “Who can sleep soundly at the edge of a bed?” With their considerable strength, the principal of the school led more than a dozen Totem Lords with a sect-controlling super magic weapon to attack into the fog.

What happened next was that the fog, which had been stationary for over a decade, suddenly expanded, forming a giant fog that covered thousands of kilometers within a matter of minutes, engulfing the entire school.

When the fog lifted a year later, only a Totem Master King, comparable to a True God, emerged with the shattered sect-controlling magic weapon. Other than him, the entire school had vanished—not just the people but also all the school’s buildings. Nothing was left of the school’s original location, just an empty foundation.

Such examples are not many, but they’re not rare either, and the outcome is mostly failure.

The reason for saying “mostly” is that these bizarre entities are not truly invincible and can be destroyed.

For instance, the most recent record from a few hundred years ago tells of a Totem Master who fell into a bizarre entity. When everyone thought he was sure to die, he actually succeeded in destroying the entity. Afterwards, his strength appeared to surge, and he soon ascended to Totem Lord. He is now one of the rulers in the Totem World.

No one knows what that Totem Master used to destroy a bizarre entity that could even bring down a Totem Dominator, nor do they know what benefits come from destroying such an entity.

Well, in the scarce records, anyone who can destroy a bizarre entity achieves extraordinary accomplishments. Everyone knows that destroying a bizarre entity, or simply surviving one and coming out alive, brings unimaginable benefits. However, the extremely high mortality rate is daunting, and at least according to the literature and what teachers say, everyone is sternly warned to stay away from bizarre entities.

“Tsk, tsk, truly terrifying. I have to ask about what this strangeness is like, and if there’s any nearby.”

After closing the book, he thought this as he left the library.

Just as he reached the entrance, he sensed something and looked up to see a middle-aged man in a professor’s white robe entering the place. His expression quickly turned serious, and he bowed his head slightly, moving aside.

The middle-aged man stood still, looking at him for a moment, then stepped in. As they brushed past each other, a voice reached his ear:

“Boy, you won’t live long!”

Lin Xiao’s mouth twitched slightly, and after he walked out of the White Tower and stood at the entrance for a while, he turned back with a hint of fierce determination in his eyes:

“Who kills whom is still undecided.”

After muttering to himself, he pressed his temples again.

An Official Totem Master, certainly a bit troublesome, and without any assistance here, the whole White Tower had already seen five or six Children of the Spirit Realm, yet not a single Son of the Human Divine Realm, not even a helper in sight.

Clearly, even if there had been any human Descenders before, they were probably cleaned up by them.

“Speed up the growth process!”

Luckily, he was highly talented and valued, so within the academy, they didn’t dare do anything to him.

The next morning, he arrived at the classroom full of expectation. Today was the day they would choose their totem models.

Today’s class was taught by a senior professor from the Alchemy College, named Bell, who had no relation to Professor Bell of Star College; they merely shared the same name.

He knocked on his desk and said,

“Before choosing your totem model, let me remind you as per tradition that everyone’s talent is limited. Therefore, when selecting the size of your totem model, you must measure your capabilities and not be greedy for power by choosing a totem model that exceeds your soul talent. With your best interests in mind, the college has already conducted a comprehensive assessment of your talents and prepared a selection of totem models in accordance with your abilities. We will not present any that are beyond your talents. Now, let’s distribute the models.”

Saying this, he pointed his staff at a lectern, and two mice strained to distribute a stack of booklets one by one.

Soon, Lin Xiao received a booklet with his name on it. On the first page, there was a warning:

“The soul is the support of the spirit. The stronger the soul, the stronger the spirit. Be cautious!”

Below was a signature named Griffin; he remembered this was a predecessor of the school from a thousand years ago.

Upon turning the first page, a familiar scene appeared before him: a high-level demon, the snake-faced monster.

“Wow, they hold me in such high regard?”

After the familiar introduction of the snake-faced monster, there was a complex framework of totem runes. He scrutinized it and counted sixty-six totem runes, meaning this totem model required sixty-six totem runes to be completed.

There were a few notes underneath the totem model explaining how to obtain the demon soul of a snake-faced monster to construct this totem model.

There were three main methods, but in reality, only two were viable, since with his personal strength he certainly couldn’t defeat a snake-faced monster, not even with two powerful magic items in hand.

Apart from personally defeating one, the second method was provided by the school, which not only supplied the snake-faced monster’s demon soul but also covered all related expenses after condensing the talent tree, such as a significant amount of Deity Indwelling Power.

As a top-tier local sect, the White Tower had the capability to extract demon souls from a snake-faced monster.

Note, the demon soul provided is only a portion and not the complete extraction of the monster’s soul. Constructing a totem model does not require a full demon soul.

Of course, you can use a complete demon soul if you wish, even kill for it, but that would be like draining the pond to get all the fish; after one use, there would be none left. There are not many snake-faced monsters in the Misty Mountains.

In fact, the few snake-faced monsters now in the Misty Mountains are bred, and whenever a talented newcomer is eligible to use one, a powerful individual will collect some for use.

As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. If the school were to provide all the resources directly, he would have to pay a significant price.

For example, serving the school for a number of years; the greater the expense, the higher the cost.

The second method is sponsorship; some large Totem Master families sponsor those with exceptional talent, with the price being service, or sometimes the terms can be even more demanding.

Lin Xiao’s choice was simple—provided by the school, he would just stay with the school in the future. Anyway, before becoming a Totem Lord, he had no thoughts of long-distance travel.

With this in mind, he turned to the second page of the booklet and began to read with great interest.

The booklet listed only high-level demons at the least; perhaps in the school’s view, even the least of his talents warranted constructing a high-level demon totem model. Further back, he even found two super-level demons.

It’s worth mentioning that all the demons listed in this booklet were ones that the school could provide, or had a way to obtain. Those inaccessible or unavailable would not appear here.

One of the super-level demons he had read about in the library before was called the Lord of the Mountains. The illustration depicted a giant rock beast that lay across the ground, looking like an undulating mountain range, its body likely spanning over ten kilometers.

However, this was merely the shell of the Lord of the Mountains. The real Lord of the Mountains was not very large, but due to its control over the Power of Earth, whenever it slept underground, stones and rocks would automatically gather towards it, ultimately forming a range of mountains.

The second super-level demon was named the Lord of Storms, the illustration showing a chaotic form composed of endless Lightning, looking from afar like a sun made of lightning.

This super-level demon lived in the Storm Sea, or rather, that sea was named the Storm Sea because of its existence.

Such terrifying entities would naturally demand a terrifying price. Lin Xiao only glanced at them before he passed, giving up the idea of choosing either of these two super-level demons as his totem model.

Not to mention the extreme difficulty of having a super-level demon as a totem and the rigorous challenges involved, which he was actually not afraid of, his main concern was that if he chose one of these two super-level demons and relied on the school to provide resources, he would need to sign a contract in the name of the will of the world, and that was not an option.