Death... and me

The days passed as Arcis gradually recovered his energy. From there onward, there was truly nothing left that could threaten their entourage. They did encounter another Godly Predator on the journey back, but with Arcis leading the expedition alongside so many Zone Gods, the battle ended almost as quickly as it began.

The creature quickly realized it had no chance against such a force and fled after suffering a few heavy injuries, allowing the group to continue their return without any further complications.

Eventually, they entered the range of the Besgol Network once more, and the Sacred Relic immediately detected their approach. Before long, Tobao personally went to receive Arcis and the returning exploration groups.

The Array Masters Guild was just as eager to welcome them back. Naturally, Guild Master Flugel was among the first to arrive. Out of everyone present, he was probably the one who cared the most about the outcome of this expedition.

As soon as Arcis handed over the collected runes, Flugel’s eyes lit up. He immediately began inspecting several of them before bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! This will help us for decades to come! Seems like we won’t have to survive on scrap runes for quite a while."

His excitement only grew stronger as he carefully examined another batch. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he looked back at Arcis. "By the way, did you find anything related to the crafting or operation of the Sacred Relic runes?"

Ton stepped forward before Arcis could answer.

"We found quite a bit of damaged equipment, Guild Master. There is a chance some knowledge can still be extracted from it after careful study. Unfortunately, all the facilities appeared to have activated some sort of self-destruction sequence. Our current theory is that it happened because Harksha’s Elite Exploration Group managed to escape during the first expedition. It may have been part of the ruins’ original security protocols."

Flugel’s smile faded for a brief moment. Although disappointed, he quickly recovered and nodded. "You all did well regardless. Come, everyone from the Arrays Guild. We have a tremendous amount of work waiting for us. These runes must be cataloged, inspected, and organized properly before anything else. I expect we’ll remain busy for several weeks."

Without waiting for another word, Flugel turned around and hurried away together with every Array Master present. Their excitement over the newly acquired runes completely overshadowed every other matter.

Watching them disappear, Tobao could only sigh helplessly.

"Amitābha... Amitābha... Friend Flugel sometimes forgets proper etiquette."

He shook his head with a faint smile before turning his attention back to the explorers. "No matter. All things considered, this expedition was a tremendous success."

Taking one of the Spatial Rings, Tobao inspected its contents and immediately found the thousands of Godly Predator Crystals stored inside.

"Especially these," he commented. "According to the rules of the Godly Subjugation Guild, every resource recovered during an exploration of the Elite Groups—other than Sacred Relic runes—belongs entirely to the group that found it."

By this point, Flugel had already taken every material related to rune research, leaving behind only the remaining materials and the various Godly Crystals.

Tobao looked at everyone gathered before him. "However, these Godly Predator Crystals would greatly benefit the Besgol Region as well. Elite Exploration Groups are exempt from taxes because of the dangers they face, so I have no right to request any portion of your rewards."

He paused briefly before continuing. "Even so... I would like to ask for your help. Would you all be willing to part with half of these Predator Crystals?"

His expression remained calm, but there was sincerity in every word. "They would be used entirely for the benefit of the region, especially to support experts attempting to break through into the Law God Realm. I know this is a great deal to ask, and every one of you has earned these rewards fairly. The final decision belongs solely to all of you."

Roan was the first to answer. "No problem."

Rean nodded immediately afterward. "We’re fine with it."

Kentucky shrugged. "Sure."

Only Celis hesitated for a few moments before reluctantly sighing. "...Fine." Few know just how much those words hurt him.

Seeing the twins’ group agree so readily, the other Elite Exploration Groups exchanged troubled glances. No one wanted to give away such valuable cultivation resources, yet Tobao’s reputation spoke for itself. If anyone in the Besgol Region could be trusted to use those crystals for everyone’s benefit, it was him.

One after another, every group eventually agreed.

Thus, nearly half of the thousands of Godly Predator Crystals were transferred to the Godly Subjugation Guild.

Guild Master Clasou personally accepted them before immediately registering every crystal within the Guild’s network. Their destination and future distribution would remain completely transparent for every cultivator in Besgol to verify.

The remaining Predator Crystals were divided among the Elite Exploration Groups according to their respective contributions. As expected, the Zone Gods received the largest individual shares, while the Aura Gods and Anchor Gods received proportionally smaller portions.

The Godly Beast Crystals were treated differently. Tobao never even suggested taking any of them, leaving the entire stock for the exploration groups to divide as they saw fit.

Among all the teams, one clearly stood above the rest.

Harksha’s Elite Exploration Group.

After all, they were the ones who had first discovered the ruins, explored them while every defensive system was still fully operational, and survived dangers none of the later groups ever had to face. Without their efforts, no one would know what was there.

For that reason, everyone unanimously agreed that Harksha’s group deserved thirty percent of every remaining reward before the rest was distributed.

With that, the division of the expedition’s spoils—excluding the Guild’s official mission rewards—was finally concluded.

While everyone busied themselves celebrating or checking their newfound wealth, Arcis quietly sent a Divine Sense message to Tobao.

’We still need to decide what to do with these.’

Without drawing anyone’s attention, he allowed Tobao to inspect the contents of his Spatial Collar.

The monk’s expression changed instantly. ’These...’

Even though it was his first time seeing them in person, there was no mistaking their identity. ’Godly Apex Crystals... Twelve of them.’

Godly Apexes were fifth-level Godly Creatures. Neither Tobao nor Arcis had ever encountered one personally. Their knowledge came solely from ancient records preserved by the Region.

Naturally, compared to the Godly Colossus Crystal recovered earlier, these twelve crystals seemed insignificant. The Colossus Crystal’s value lay in its ability to continuously cultivate Godly resources for the entire region, making it practically priceless.

These twelve Godly Apex Crystals, however, were consumable.

Yet that was precisely what made them so valuable.

Tobao silently watched the cheerful cultivators receiving their rewards.

By every rule established within the Guild, those twelve crystals should also belong to the exploration groups.

Unfortunately, after everything involving the hidden backdoor inside the farm arrays, revealing the existence of Godly Apex Crystals could easily create more problems than benefits. Such treasures were capable of stirring greed even among trustworthy cultivators.

After several moments of silence, Tobao finally sighed. ’What do you think? Should we follow the rules?’

Arcis remained thoughtful. ’I’m honestly not sure.’

He looked down at the Spatial Collar hanging from his neck. ’Both of us would benefit tremendously from these crystals. Personally, I believe a single one would finally allow me to break into the Middle Stage of the Law God Realm. I’ve been stuck at the Initial Stage for far too long.’

Tobao nodded. ’You led this expedition. According to the rules, you would receive a few of them anyway. I don’t see an issue with that.’

’I don’t need several.’ Arcis immediately shook his head. ’One... perhaps two at most. After that, it would just be normal accumulation again.’

His gaze shifted toward Tobao. ’But what about you? You’re in the same situation, except you’re trapped at the Middle Stage. The only reason you stayed behind was that the region needed someone strong enough to guard it, and your cultivation is higher than mine, after all.’

Tobao smiled bitterly.

There was no point pretending he wasn’t tempted.

Any cultivator would covet treasures capable of accelerating Law God cultivation.

Unfortunately...

Both he and Arcis carried responsibilities that often forced them to place the region above themselves.

"Great!"

A cheerful voice suddenly interrupted their thoughts.

Both Law Gods looked over at the same time.

Celis had just finished receiving the twins’ group’s share of the rewards, and the cedar looked thoroughly satisfied.

"Seems like we’ll be cultivating for quite a while again," Kentucky muttered.

Unlike Celis, however, the bird looked completely depressed. His expression made it seem as though entering secluded cultivation was some terrible punishment.

Rean laughed as he patted Kentucky’s back. "Come on! Being stronger feels good too, doesn’t it? You’ve gone through much worse than this."

Roan, as usual, didn’t even bother commenting.

Watching the four of them interact, Tobao and Arcis exchanged another glance.

The exact same thought appeared in both their minds.

’I suppose... we can ask for their opinion... again...’

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