The scene returned to the Night Watchman's highest-security reinforced conference room. The fifth Commander-in-Chief, Ye Fan, and several of Humanity's Ceilings sat around Ian.
Their eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge, attempting to press Ian on exactly which god's proxy he was, and why his Divine Realm power was so overwhelmingly strong that it defied all logic.
"To be honest, I haven't decided who I want to proxy yet," Ian said, stroking his chin. "But since you're all so curious, I'll let you meet my backups."
"Huh? You can summon gods?"
"Wait, did I hear that right? Did you just say you haven't decided who to proxy? You have backups? Is that even something you can choose?"
Faced with the urgent questioning from Humanity's Ceilings, the corners of Ian's mouth curled up, revealing a meaningful smile.
In the next instant, he no longer held back. The aura around him suddenly erupted, and a pure, ancient divine presence permeated the air.
In the void behind him, three figures forcibly pulled over by divine power slowly materialized, carrying a trace of ignorance and bewilderment.
As Ian's divine power fully bloomed, "gods" who should have been living peacefully in their respective worlds were drawn in by an invisible force.
Yang Jin, currently holding a cabbage stalk, was pulled straight from his kitchen with a bewildered expression. Even after being summoned, he was still muttering, "My mom told me to prep the vegetables."
Nezha, in his child form, had originally been attending class at school. In the next second, he suddenly appeared here, his face full of question marks.
Even the "Monkey" who had been staying in Lin Qiye's mental hospital, staring blankly at the wall and sulking, appeared in the conference room. He scratched his head, seemingly not having processed the situation yet.
Before they could investigate where they were or who had pulled them over...
...in the next second, a powerful ability acted upon them. The time on their bodies rapidly reversed until they were restored to the state before they entered reincarnation.
Then, a tremendous power erupted from them. As the light dissipated, three figures radiating boundless divine light and looking down upon the world appeared before everyone.
Looking at the three figures with iconic features behind Ian, Ye Fan and the other Humanity's Ceilings were first stunned, then filled with unbelievable ecstasy.
They knew the Great Xia mythology system like the back of their hands, recognizing the identities of these gods almost at a glance—they were none other than the legendary Yang Jian, Nezha, and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!
"Are they really... Great Xia gods?!" one of the Ceilings confirmed with an uncontrollable tremble in his voice. The entire conference room instantly boiled over. Their valuation and expectations of Ian reached their peak; this was undoubtedly humanity's greatest gospel.
"Great Xia gods really exist! But where did they go before? Why haven't they appeared all this time?"
"Wait, did I just see Yang Jian prepping vegetables?" another Ceiling couldn't help but ask.
"Was Nezha just at school?"
"Was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven just sulking?"
Faced with the excitement and questioning of Humanity's Ceilings, Ian simply shook his head calmly and said lightly, "Hold on, I'm not done yet."
His words made everyone's hearts leap into their throats again. The conference room instantly froze, the air thick with indescribable tension and anticipation.
As Ian released his energy once more, the void behind him seemed to transform into an infinite dimensional gate. Surges of powerful auras, carrying the unique laws of their respective worlds, flooded into the conference room overwhelmingly.
Various "gods" of vastly different styles and myriad forms emerged one after another, densely packed behind him like stars, exuding an immense sense of oppression.
As soon as Ian's voice fell, the energy fluctuations deep within the gaping void behind him grew even more violent. The previous appearance of the three gods, including Yang Jian, had already left the minds of the Humanity's Ceilings reeling. Now, they held their breath in rapt attention, their hearts practically in their throats.
First, four distinctly different yet equally terrifying auras descended with a bang.
Within a phantom of blood-red and brass light, a blurry illusion of a throne seemingly built from endless battlefields and skulls emerged. The giant shadow seated upon it radiated pure tyranny and killing intent, making the Ceilings feel as though their blood was about to freeze.
Immediately after, shifting, eerie lights flashed, and countless whispering murmurs echoed in their ears, as if all the conspiracies and mysteries of the universe had converged here. An indescribable, twisted figure appeared, making the men feel as though their inner thoughts had been instantly seen through.
Following that, an indescribable aura of decay and fecundity spread out, accompanied by the dense buzzing of insect wings. A bloated, disgusting behemoth loomed faintly; the withering of life and bizarre rebirth were paradoxically unified upon its body.
Finally, an enchanting fragrance wafted over, intertwining extreme pleasure and profound agony. An androgynous, peerlessly bewitching figure swayed in the light and shadows, tempting souls to fall into endless depravity.
The masters of these four auras merely leaked a trace of their might, yet it was enough to make the battle-hardened Ye Fan and the others feel their souls tremble. They had never encountered such pure and evil "divinity."
Moreover, the auras of these gods were completely different from the gods they had seen before; these were terrifying entities from an entirely different system.
Before they could recover from these four sinister auras, an extremely dazzling, pure light suddenly erupted, diluting much of the previous gloom.
In the void, countless wings of light and arms appeared, followed by an entity with the body of a Buddha but an indescribable head.
It contained a terrifying power capable of purifying everything, a power that caused the energy in the conference room to become chaotic and mixed once again.
"Is this really a god of the light attribute?" Ye Fan furrowed his brows. He felt his understanding of the world being constantly refreshed by Ian. The styles of these "gods" were far too bizarre and varied.
Closely following, the faint sound of dragon roars echoed.
Two figures emerged. One was pitch-black all over, as if condensed from the deepest night, with towering dragon horns, its majesty carrying a deathly stillness. The other was as white as snow, surrounded by elemental particles, noble and frigid.
They were none other than the Black King, symbolizing ultimate power, and the White King, symbolizing ultimate spirit, from the legends of the Dragon Clan.
After them, four more Dragon Kings manifested, respectively commanding Bronze and Fire, Ocean and Water, Earth and Mountain, and Sky and Wind. Each one exuded a world-dominating dragon aura that left everyone breathless.
"Are these... gods of the Dragon Clan?" Another Ceiling felt his temples throbbing. He began to wonder if he was dreaming, or if Ian was actually the general distributor for some wholesale god market.
However, the true shock was yet to come.
Just as the Humanity's Ceilings were struggling to digest the sight before them, which could only be called a "Pantheon," the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly shifted.
A cheerful yet somewhat bizarre laugh faintly rang out. Then, a giant, golden-yellow sponge block with two large, round eyes, wearing square pants and a slightly silly smile, appeared behind Ian, dancing and waving amicably at Ye Fan and the others.
Immediately after, a pink starfish popped up next to him. Wearing green floral swim trunks, he stared blankly at the ceiling.
Following that, a tiny green creature with a single eye, wearing a glass dome over his head, squeezed in while piloting a sparking miniature robot and muttering slogans about "ruling the world."
Finally, a giant crab holding a money bag in his mouth appeared, waving his claws and counting the cash in his hands.
Ye Fan opened his mouth, then closed it. He felt that the worldview he had built over a lifetime of military service had been smashed to pieces by Ian in just a few minutes, and then trampled on by these bizarrely shaped creatures.
The expressions of the Ceilings beside him went from horror to bewilderment, and finally to utter stupefaction.