Chapter 586: The Ranking of the Pantheon of Gods
After signing the Eternal Pact, Ignatius appeared before everyone once again and stayed in the Kingdom of Azeroth for three days to receive guidance from Donald. Through the teachings of the Elven Lord, a higher deity, many of Donald’s unclear questions were answered. Although he possessed the Book of Truth, a supreme artifact containing the entire legacy of a powerful deity from another world, it was still just an artifact, and some matters simply did not have clear answers.
The benefits Donald gained from this exchange were far more significant than acquiring several powerful artifacts, as it allowed him to avoid many detours on his path to becoming a higher deity and move straight toward that goal. Besides Donald, those who observed the discussion also reaped great benefits. Though some of the profound knowledge was beyond their current understanding, even what they did grasp made it easier for them to progress. After all, this was taught directly by a higher deity, and even among the powerful gods of the multiverse, few had such an opportunity or honor.
After the Elven Lord’s avatar left, the three goddesses and the King of the North also departed. After all, though Donald’s kingdom was excellent, it was not their own. Staying there for too long could have an impact on the other gods, even though Donald had granted them the highest privileges within the kingdom. Only members of the same divine lineage were exempt from such influence, and although the King of the North intended to do so, he would have to wait until Donald became a mid-tier deity before it would be justified; otherwise, he might face punishment from the gods for overstepping his bounds.
Of course, there were also several gods who did not wish to explore the secrets of the Kingdom of Azeroth. Though they were allies, they still needed to be cautious in someone else’s kingdom. As for the Book of Truth and the Book of Fate, they were hidden along with Donald’s true divine body at the core of the kingdom. The kingdom was filled with rules established by him, including some that even he, as its master, could not yet decipher, thanks to the powers of those two supreme artifacts. Without focused analysis, even higher deities could not understand these core laws of the kingdom, let alone detect the existence of the two supreme artifacts. This was a measure to protect against those who might act dishonestly—though clearly, the gods who could interact with him were all of noble character.
It took a considerable amount of time to establish the Divine Kingdom from raising the throne. After all allies left, only Uther, the Holy Light Angel, remained in the Divine Kingdom; the others returned to the Main World through the dimensional portal opened by Donald, joining Clinton and Kelthas to govern Dalaran and other territories. Although the Divine Kingdom was now officially located on the edge of the Outer Realm, near the material plane, it still maintained close connections with the Main World. The key to this connection was the plane of Nordahil, where the World Tree stood. Now, Nordahil was positioned at a corner of the main material plane, in a straight line with the Main World and the Divine Kingdom of Azeroth. The World Tree in Nordahil served as a direct transit point between the Divine Kingdom and the Main World, maintaining close ties between them through its main roots. Thus, Donald could travel from the Divine Kingdom to the Main World at any time, as well as bring people from the Main World to the Divine Kingdom. As the World Tree grew stronger in the future, the connections between the three planes would become even more stable, beyond even the gods’ ability to break. After finishing the initial tasks in the Divine Kingdom and stabilizing it, a month had passed since the throne was raised. The remaining matters were not very urgent, so Donald decided to head to the Pantheon to receive the blessings of the gods! Most importantly, he wanted to establish his position among the gods and secure a proper place for himself! This time, Donald deployed his strongest power other than his true form—the Avatar of Judgment! After all, to gain a foothold in the Pantheon, it was likely more than just sending a fragment of his consciousness; especially since this was Donald’s first appearance since becoming a lower god. Creating an avatar as soon as he entered the realm of lower gods, even if not world-renowned, would surely cause a stir among the gods in the Pantheon! When Donald’s avatar contacted the mark left in the Pantheon, three solemn and majestic bell sounds suddenly rang out. The bells’ tones were loud and resonant, as if imbued with their own laws. These were the unique bell sounds of the Pantheon. Whenever a new god was born or fell in the multiverse, no matter where they were, a bell would ring in the Pantheon, which oversaw the entire multiverse, to announce and celebrate such events. The birth or death of a lower god triggered three bell sounds; accordingly, six bells rang for mid-tier gods, and nine for higher gods.
As for the Supreme God, legend has it to be twelve chimes, but aside from the oldest true gods, none of the other gods have ever heard them. Even those surviving ancient true gods have never revealed any information about the Supreme God due to certain taboos. Thus, most true gods doubt the accuracy of these rumors.
So when Donald arrived at this sacred and hidden place, he found that the gods of the four major tiers had basically gathered there.
Under the gazes of numerous true gods, Donald showed no fear at all and manifested the aura of a lower-tier god, shaking the imprint he had left on his position in the fourth tier before.
The Pantheon had its own rules and spirituality. Sensing Donald’s promotion as a true god, it immediately transferred his divine imprint to the third tier and created a throne for him, placing him among the top positions there.
A new god suddenly appeared at the forefront of the lower-tier gods—a place occupied by established, powerful lower-tier gods who were just one step away from reaching the status of mid-tier gods!
Did this mean that this newly promoted lower-tier god had the potential and strength to quickly advance to mid-tier god status?
This fact caused dissatisfaction among many lower-tier gods. But as Donald swept his gaze with the pressure of a powerful true god, they all lowered their heads in silence. Though their thoughts remained unknown, it at least showed that they recognized Donald’s right to that position.
When Donald sat down on his throne, all the gods paid him their respects, even the most powerful ones at the top. This was to celebrate the birth of another lower-tier true god.
Donald also stood up in return, marking the end of this ceremony witnessed by all the gods.
Afterward, Donald took the initiative to communicate with some neutral and order-aligned true gods around him.
The ascension of the Azeroth Divine Realm had attracted the attention of many true gods. After all, it was the first being to rise to such a high position in the Main World in hundreds of years since the last lower-tier god appeared. In particular, three powerful goddesses like Euryana repeatedly stated at the gatherings of gods Donald’s alliance with them, making this newly promoted lower-tier god highly significant among the gods of the third and second tiers of the Pantheon.
The three goddesses were pleased to see Donald navigating among their allies. The Goddess of Agriculture even joked, “From today on, many true gods will likely reach out to you, eager to form relationships!”
Although Donald wasn’t the kind of person who was adept at navigating complex situations, having been a noble in the main world for so long, he was still able to handle matters among the gods with near-perfect efficiency. Moreover, he had the support of two true gods of the Celts—the King of the North and the God of Kingship—who now essentially followed Donald’s lead. Charles, the King of the North, was somewhat better off, as he at least had the potential to become a mid-tier god, while Xize, the God of Kingship, sounded very impressive, but in reality, it was merely a branch within the domain of monarchs and kings; reaching the status of a lower-tier god would likely be the pinnacle for him! Additionally, Xize’s influence was confined to the Celts alone. Even if Donald proposed and established a close alliance like the United Kingdom of Celts and Sili, it would at most grant him some prestige in the territories on the New World—it certainly wouldn’t be enough to elevate him to the level of a lower-tier god! As for the deity of monarchy, its highest achievement was reaching the level of a mid-tier god. Within the human-centered religious system, deities representing identities such as monarchs, nobles, merchants, and farmers usually didn’t have the greatest potential, no matter how much power they seemed to possess or how many followers they had. On the contrary, domains representing broader aspects of human psychology and will, such as justice, hope, resentment, anger, and fear, were powerful deities capable of reaching higher divine ranks. However, such human-centered deities could quickly elevate a true god to the level of a mid-tier or even upper-tier god as long as most followers approved of them. But if such a god acted in a way that contradicted their principles and angered their followers, they would suffer the backlash of faith, and in severe cases, would be destroyed! In contrast, true gods within the cosmic system were far less constrained by faith. For example, the Four Elements Gods—even if their followers vanished, their divine ranks would only decline and they would suffer significant damage, but they wouldn’t be completely destroyed. As long as the elements they represented existed in the world and nothing unexpected happened, they could exist eternally! After Donald showed them the path forward, Charles and Xize already admired this newcomer greatly. When Donald surpassed them and successfully ascended to the throne, their admiration turned into respect. Coupled with the agreement between Charles and Donald regarding joining their pantheon, these two true gods now saw themselves as members of Donald’s pantheon, ranking below him.
He naturally wouldn’t turn away those benevolent gods who wanted to befriend him. He was also reserved but not arrogant toward those gods who simply wanted to get to know him, which won high praise from the other gods. As for those hostile and jealous gods who spoke in a sarcastic tone, Donald showed his magnanimity by choosing to ignore them, not wanting to engage in a scolding fight with them—that would be utterly unrefined!