<div>


    "As a Level 9 deity, I''m now terrifyingly powerful…"


    After checking his panel, Oliver felt immense joy in his heart; he could sense what a majestic being he had become.


    It was likely that even a single scale falling from his body could become a treasure countless magicians would scramble for, capable of crafting numerous powerful magical artifacts that would leave humans in awe.


    And from his panel, it was clear that Oliver''s greatest strength wasn''t his physical body, but his soul. His soul stat had reached an astonishing 14,000 points.


    A powerful soul didn''t just mean an increase in the strength of soul-based attacks; more importantly, it signified a growth in his wisdom. Oliver could now comprehend the laws within the chaos faster and more efficiently than ever before.


    Moreover, relying on his formidable soul power and the ability of the Eye of Laws, Oliver uncovered the secret of his first chaotic treasure, the Wishing Bottle. He realized that the reason it could guide the future was because it contained the Law of Fate! It connected to and perceived the threads of destiny of countless objects and beings, which allowed it to guide Oliver down one correct path after another.


    "It''s said that the Three Fates of later generations possess three tools—Thread, Spindle, and Shears—capable of weaving destiny. I wonder if their treasures are connected to my Wishing Bottle?" Oliver mused thoughtfully.


    <hr>


    Oliver began wandering through the chaotic world, getting accustomed to his incredibly formidable body. His power had surged too rapidly not long ago, his size increasing by a factor of ten or twenty in a short time. He even felt somewhat unaccustomed to such immense strength. If he were still human, he might have crushed his dishes or broken his bed due to his overwhelming power—of course, that''s just a metaphor. A full month passed like this before Oliver finally gained complete mastery over his strength, able to wield every bit of it to its fullest potential.


    Of course, during his wandering, he didn''t idle. Instead, he used the power of the Wishing Bottle to search for Alex and the others! That’s right—Oliver was tracking them down with the Wishing Bottle! Along the way, Oliver slew numerous weaker deities, growing stronger with each encounter while steadily closing in on the location guided by the Wishing Bottle!


    What’s worth mentioning, and what surprised Oliver a little, was that finding Alex and his cronies came at no small cost. In fact, the energy he expended this time was more than ten times greater than the last time he used it, yet Oliver didn’t feel weakened. This was because his body had grown far too powerful; the cost of powering the Wishing Bottle was, to him, no longer a significant burden.


    "Finding Alex and those guys shouldn''t cost this much energy. Could it be that the place they''re at is somehow special?" As Oliver pressed forward, he pondered this, his massive serpentine body moving at an unimaginably fast speed.


    <hr>


    Whoosh!


    Oliver flew onward, and before long, he crossed a distance of tens of billions of kilometers, arriving at the location indicated by the Wishing Bottle’s thread of fate. What appeared before Oliver was a massive palace made entirely of flames! Yes, a palace of fire.


    Having wandered the chaos for so long, this was the first time Oliver had seen a structured building, even though this palace was composed entirely of searing flames. From a distance, the place was breathtakingly beautiful—bright, raging flames, constrained by some special force, formed enormous, towering structures. These buildings were larger than typical planets, clearly not meant for humans—who hadn’t yet come into existence—but for deities like Oliver.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    In an instant, Oliver sensed that, with his current abilities, he absolutely couldn’t construct such a grand palace. In fact, it could even be said that the owner of this palace was undoubtedly many times more powerful than Oliver was now!


    "Alex and those guys live in a place like this?" Oliver’s heart filled with astonishment and doubt. Logically, he had grown this quickly—could those guys have outpaced him?


    And while he was lost in thought, a massive goat-shaped deity from within the palace suddenly noticed Oliver’s presence.


    "Great serpent, do you have a name? Are you here to visit our great Giant Lord, Surtr, hoping to submit at his feet and become an honorable giant servant?" The goat’s mouth opened and closed, uttering syllables formed from primordial runes! The chaotic world had evolved over countless years, and now its deities had developed the ability to use basic primordial runes for communication!


    "I’m just passing through," Oliver responded, a sudden realization dawning in his mind.


    <hr>


    Sure enough, Alex couldn’t have grown this fast—this palace belonged to the giant Surtr! Surtr! The name rang a bell for Oliver. Through the Book of the Chaos Era, Oliver had learned of many yet-to-occur creation myths, and this name had been briefly mentioned among them.


    Surtr was a subordinate of the primordial giant Ymir, an immensely powerful fire giant. In mythology, its sword shines brighter than the sun, and it once set half of the chaos ablaze, playing an extremely significant role in the events of Ragnar?k. Of course, the Surtr of this moment likely isn’t as powerful as it was during Ragnar?k, but even so, it’s still utterly terrifying. A figure that holds such an important place in mythology is, as expected, extraordinary.


    Oliver didn’t rush to leave; instead, he began conversing with this goat deity. Through his conversation with this guy, Oliver learned many things. For instance, the so-called servants of the giants! It turns out Surtr is building his own faction, recruiting many deities as servants and underlings. Any deity that pledges loyalty to him has their soul bound by his flames, leaving them with no choice but to obey. It’s as if they’ve become slaves.


    But there were benefits too. For one, Surtr was the dominant overlord of the surrounding hundreds of billions of kilometers of space. Becoming his subordinate meant no other deities would dare attack or devour them. This allowed them to live longer! Moreover, Surtr would periodically reward some of his servants and help them grow.


    This goat deity seemed quite envious of this arrangement and specifically mentioned a dragon deity named Alex, who was particularly favored by Surtr. It was said that this Alex possessed exceptional intellect and was always able to offer Surtr astonishingly effective suggestions.


    "Sure enough… the Wishing Bottle’s guidance was right. Alex, that guy, has actually become Surtr’s servant?" Oliver came to a realization, though his heart felt a bit troubled.


    With his current strength, killing Alex might not be an issue, but taking on Surtr was next to impossible. If he could catch Alex alone, then he might have a chance at success.


    <hr>


    As Oliver was thinking this, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure emerging from the fiery palace. It was a deity resembling a bull in shape. Oliver glanced at him and immediately saw his system panel:


    <ul>


    <li>Name: Hector</li>


    <li>Race: Deity</li>


    <li>Deity Rating: 7</li>


    <li>Attributes:


    <ul>


    <li>Defense: 4,000</li>


    <li>Strength: 3,500</li>


    <li>Chaos Power: 3,000</li>


    <li>Soul Power: 3,200</li>


    </ul>


    </li>


    <li>Skills: Unknown</li>


    <li>Possessions: Unknown</li>


    </ul>


    Hector? It was him! Oliver remembered this guy—he was one of Alex’s lackeys who also followed Alex, bullying him back in the day, and he even clamored to eat Oliver along with Alex. This guy was Alex’s die-hard buddy, just as rotten as him, constantly tormenting others.