The trading market thrums with energy—deities from every corner of this Basin, and even beyond, weave through stalls, bartering goods and trading secrets. It’s a chaotic, thriving hub.

  Oliver slips through the crowd, snagging trinkets and piecing together vital intel.

  For one, he’s only just learned the chaos world is carved into Basins and kingdoms.

  A lone wolf for so long, Oliver carries an odd aura—like a wild beast stumbling back into civilization’s glow.

  But as he hones in on gathering more info, a voice cuts through the din. Someone’s pointing at him, shouting with uncontained excitement.

  “You… it’s you, right? You’re that legendary snake! The one who crushed a squad of level 13s in the Chaos Fire Sea!”

  A level 9 deity, eyes wide with hero-worship, gawks at Oliver, practically bouncing with glee. “I know your story—you pose as a low-level deity to roam markets. That wolf-head guy nearly ticked you off and was so spooked he almost fled the Water Palace Basin!”

  This guy’s treating Oliver like a living idol.

  That wolf-headed deity he mentioned? Oliver vaguely recalls him.

  Guess the guy pieced together I was the deity he met at the market back then?

  Pretty sharp, actually.

  What Oliver doesn’t see coming is how the level 9 deer-headed deity’s outburst draws every nearby deity’s gaze.

  “Is that him? The level 13 snake? Calls himself Stark… weird name. This guy’s strength is insane…”

  “So that’s the guy. He’s been kinda famous around here for centuries!”

  “Gotta snap a mental image and send it to my clan—warn them not to cross this dude.”

  “Heard even Lord Aegir wants to recruit him. If he joins the Water Palace, he might rival Lord Tempestriax someday.”

  “You kidding? Sure, this snake’s tough, but Lord Tempestriax? He’s the storm war god—fought countless battles, bodies stacked under him. No way!”

  The crowd buzzes—praising, marveling, fearing Oliver.

  This Tempestriax they keep name-dropping? Oliver’s only been in the market a short while, but the name’s already everywhere.

  Guy’s got a wild reputation—started low-level, kept slaying deities stronger than him. His legend’s built on a mountain of corpses.

  Now, some dare compare Oliver to Tempestriax, while others scoff, insisting Oliver can’t hold a candle to the storm war god.

  “Hmph, I don’t know if this snake measures up to Tempestriax. All I know is he killed Lord Arachnethos’s brother in the Chaos Fire Sea. Word is, Lord Arachnethos is racing here from another Basin to take him out!”

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  “Lord Arachnethos? You mean that guy from the Pegasus Basin next door?”

  Someone gasps, stunned.

  “Yup, the one you’re thinking of—Lord Arachnethos. He wields the Law of Fate, weaves destiny itself. Legend says even Lord Tempestriax crossed paths with him once and bailed without a fight! Afterward, Tempestriax admitted Arachnethos spared him out of mercy. Get this—back then, Arachnethos was only level 13, a level below Tempestriax.”

  “That was a thousand years ago. Arachnethos is probably level 14 now—maybe 15.”

  The crowd explodes, some deities eyeing Oliver with outright pity.

  This Arachnethos sounds like a monster.

  Why? He wields the Law of Fate—the Fate primal rune!

  Of the 144,000 primal runes, some outshine others, and Fate’s undeniably top-tier.

  “I pissed off a powerhouse like that?”

  Oliver muses, unfazed.

  His brother?

  Must be that spider.

  “Lord Stark, you gotta run! If you ditch this Basin, you might have a shot at surviving!”

  The deer-headed deity who first spotted Oliver blurts out, genuinely worried for his idol.

  Oliver just chuckles, cool as ever.

  He’s level 15 now—if this guy’s 15 too, why would Oliver sweat it?

  Fate runes are strong, no question.

  But Oliver’s packing Darkness, Death, Life runes, plus S-tier, SS-tier, and SSS-tier gear. That’s not exactly shabby, is it?

  “This guy’s not running? Still strolling around all chill?”

  “Is he nuts? Doesn’t he know Lord Arachnethos is coming?”

  “I bet this is just a disposable clone he’s using in the market—that’s why he’s not bolting.”

  “Oh, makes sense. Looks calm on the outside, but he’s probably panicking inside, huh? Haha!”

  “Even if he flees to another Basin, he might not make it—unless he joins a group like Glimmers. Maybe they’d back him.”

  “Didn’t they say Lord Aegir was recruiting him? Lord Aegir…”

  “Giants don’t fight for their slaves. If this guy doesn’t settle his feud with a powerhouse like Arachnethos, Aegir might not even want him anymore.”

  “Glimmers sounds way better…”

  “Shh, quit spouting nonsense—if those damn warrior goons hear you, you’re done…”

  Wherever Oliver goes, the chatter trails him. He’s undeniably the center of attention.

  Can’t help it—his stunt of wiping out a pack of level 13 deities recently caused a massive stir.

  The spider deity and metal bull he killed? They were local bosses, practically celebrities among these deities. And Oliver took them all out in one sweep.

  His name’s been echoing through the Water Palace Basin.

  Now, with a titan like Arachnethos from another Basin gunning for him, it’s igniting wild curiosity.

  But what no one expects? While the crowd’s lost in gossip, a ferocious gust rips through the sky.

  In the next instant, two colossal figures materialize, hovering over the trading market.

  “Big snake Stark, you still in the market? Get out here!”

  A cold, thunderous voice booms, rattling every deity’s ears, laced with authority and killing intent.

  All eyes snap upward—it’s the Water Palace’s heavyweights, Thalassorath and Tempestriax!

  Their massive forms, stretching 800,000 kilometers, loom like storm clouds, blotting out the sky.

  Weaker deities catch one glimpse and struggle to breathe—some nearly collapse.

  The pressure from these two is overwhelming!

  A primal fear surges in countless deities’ hearts!

  （Yo, guys, I got a question—can anyone help me out? So, I messed up and picked the sci-fi tag for my story. I mean, I kinda thought it had some sci-fi vibes, right? A few days ago, I actually made it onto the sci-fi Rising Stars list—barely, like, near the bottom, but still! I was stoked, getting like 7-8 new followers a day. But then, out of nowhere, yesterday I got kicked off the sci-fi Rising Stars list. My follower count’s been dead—zero growth for two days straight. Did the site penalize me and tank my visibility? I didn’t get any notification or message from them. I tried fixing it by swapping the sci-fi tag for drama, and I did show up at the bottom of the drama Rising Stars list, but still, no new followers. What do I do now? If the site’s really punishing me, how long does this last? Anyone know?）