Inside the secret conference room of the Old God Church, candlelight flickered.
Several high-ranking bishops sat around a circular table, its surface strewn with various classified reports.
"Snake Woman has been missing for a long time," a cultist's voice carried obvious anxiety. "The last place she was seen was near the Night Watchman training base in Cangnan City."
Lu Liang clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
He had never hidden his affection for Snake Woman, and now that her whereabouts were unknown, he was burning with anxiety.
"There is a more serious problem," a bishop sitting at the head of the table spoke slowly.
"Great Xia suddenly announced the birth of a sixth Humanity's Ceiling, bearing the title 'Emperor One'."
"We've verified it. It should be true." Another bishop flipped through the intelligence in his hands.
Lu Liang stood up abruptly. "I'm going to Cangnan City to find Snake Woman!"
"Sit down!" the bishop scolded loudly.
"Going there now is a death sentence. The newly emerged Ceiling, Emperor One, is from Cangnan City. Aren't you just throwing your life away by going there now?"
"Furthermore, we speculate that Snake Woman's disappearance is likely connected to Emperor One."
The conference room fell into silence.
After a long while, he continued.
"Cancel the original operation targeting Lin Qiye. Our current priority is gathering intelligence on Emperor One."
"We will catch him off guard right as the recruit training comes to an end."
Lu Liang gritted his teeth. "Since when did our Old God Church have to be so cautious?"
The bishop sneered. "Caution is what keeps you alive longer. Do you think the title of Humanity's Ceiling is a joke?"
In the blink of an eye, the New Year arrived. Inside a cozy little home in Cangnan City.
Lin Qiye was sitting around the dining table with his aunt and Yang Jin, having their New Year's Eve dinner.
The Spring Festival Gala played on the television, while the occasional sound of fireworks and firecrackers drifted in from outside.
"Qiye, eat more meat. Look how skinny you are." His aunt continuously placed food into Lin Qiye's bowl.
"And you too, Ah Jin. All you know is playing games every day. Your body is going to break down."
Yang Jin smiled bitterly and nodded.
He had already recovered his normal memories, but whenever he recalled Ian's terrifying display in the conference room, lingering fear still gripped his heart.
That power, which completely surpassed their comprehension, still left him with a profound sense of dread.
"Auntie, we're doing just fine," Lin Qiye smiled gently.
Such peaceful days were exceptionally precious to him.
Yang Jin stole a glance at Lin Qiye, hesitating to speak.
He really wanted to ask Lin Qiye about Ian's true origins, but he swallowed the words right as they reached his lips. There were some things he simply didn't need to know.
The Spring Festival holiday ended quickly.
Ian returned to the recruit training camp, continuing to play the role of an "absolutely ordinary" recruit.
On the training grounds, he remained that seemingly unremarkable young man, occasionally slacking off and letting his mind wander.
Only Lin Qiye knew just how "exciting" this guy's nightlife truly was.
On a pitch-black, windy night.
Ian's figure suddenly appeared on the distant Mount Olympus.
The towering divine mountain looked solemn and majestic in the night, layered with countless restrictions and barriers.
However, these were virtually nonexistent to Ian. As if taking a casual stroll, he walked straight through the restrictions and barriers toward the palace of the Queen of the Gods, Hera.
Inside the palace, Hera was sitting upright on her golden throne.
She wore a luxurious robe and a jewel-encrusted crown, her entire body exuding the unique oppressive aura of a deity.
"Who dares to trespass into my divine domain?" Hera's voice carried a lofty arrogance.
Ian yawned. "Oh ho! You look pretty good. As expected of the old pervert Zeus's top pick."
He casually pointed a finger. Hera instantly felt the divine power within her body completely sealed, and her body began to shrink uncontrollably.
"You... who are you?!" Fear appeared on the face of the Queen of the Gods for the first time, but it was already too late.
A moment later, a palm-sized glass bottle appeared in Ian's hand, and Hera was trapped inside it.
"Not bad, another ornament for the collection." Ian satisfiedly stuffed the figurine into his pocket.
Zeus sensed the sudden disappearance of Hera's aura, and thunder instantly echoed throughout the entire divine mountain.
"Who is it?! Who dares to lay a hand on my Queen?!"
Furious lightning struck in all directions, causing all of Olympus to tremble, but Ian had long since vanished without a trace.
The gods were thrown into a panic; they had never encountered such a bizarre situation.
The dignified Queen of the Gods had actually been abducted silently from her own palace?
A few days later, ignoring the martial law imposed on the divine realm, Ian "strolled" over to Aphrodite's temple.
The Goddess of Love and Beauty was doing her makeup in front of a mirror. Upon sensing an intruder—and noticing that the intruder was an incredibly handsome male god—she immediately couldn't hold back and began to charm him.
She directly slipped off her outer garment as pink divine power permeated the air, carrying a fatal allure.
"All flash and no substance. Not even a ten-thousandth as good as Slaanesh," Ian critiqued bluntly.
"Perfect timing. I'll get that guy a toy." Ian directly opened a portal.
Before Aphrodite could even react, Ian grabbed her by the chest and, ignoring her terrified screams, tossed her straight into the portal.
On the other side of the portal, inside the Evil God Prison, Slaanesh, who had been spacing out in boredom, saw the Goddess of Beauty suddenly delivered to his doorstep. Seeing Ian waving at him from the other side of the door, a delighted and twisted smile formed on his face.
Afterward, Ian's hunting grounds quickly expanded to other pantheons.
The Goddess of the Ganges was bathing in the sacred river, enjoying the prayers and offerings of her believers.
Suddenly, the river water began to flow backward.
A massive, invisible hand reached out from the void and scooped her out of the water.
Before she could unleash her divine powers, she was stuffed into a crystal-clear little bottle, unable to escape no matter how hard she struggled.
The Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi, was sitting upright on her lotus throne, surrounded by piles of gold and jewels offered by her believers.
Ian suddenly appeared and said, "The gold you have here isn't of very good quality. It's not pure at all. I have one hundred percent pure gold over here, do you want to come take a look?"
As soon as his voice fell, Lakshmi, along with her lotus throne, vanished without a trace.
Ian's hunting grounds continued to expand relentlessly. Not even the divine beasts escaped his clutches.
The three-headed hound of hell, Cerberus, was guarding the gates of the Underworld. Its three dog heads faced different directions, vigilantly watching the surroundings.
Suddenly, the leftmost dog head felt a chill on its neck.
By the time it reacted, its left head, along with one of its hind legs, had vanished into thin air.
"This dog head looks pretty cool, it'll make a nice ornament. And this thigh is so muscular, the meat quality should be great."
Ian's voice drifted through the air. "The leftover leg bones should make a very fragrant soup."
Cerberus, having just realized what happened, let out a miserable howl, but it was already to no avail.
The Hindu divine bird, Garuda, was soaring through the sky, its golden feathers sparkling in the sunlight.
Suddenly, one of its golden wings was torn off by an invisible force. Then, it took a punch to the head, screaming miserably as it plummeted to the ground.
After crashing to the ground, all the magnificent feathers on its body had completely disappeared.
The divine bull Nandi was resting leisurely on the grass when, suddenly, one of its hind legs inexplicably vanished.
Then, its head felt light—its horns had disappeared as well.
Major pantheons suffered consecutive incidents. Goddesses went missing, and divine beasts were left mutilated.
Panic spread among the foreign gods.
They gathered information through various channels and eventually locked onto a suspect—Great Xia's newly emerged Humanity's Ceiling, "Emperor One."
The furious gods wanted to march to his door and demand an explanation, but the moment the thought arose, they all sensed a fatal crisis.
This forced them to abandon the idea. They could only temporarily shrink their divine realms and huddle together for warmth.
For a time, every goddess across the foreign pantheons feared for her safety, and all the divine beasts hid their iconic features.
Later, rumors even spread that this "Emperor One" wouldn't even spare male gods.