Where to Find the Seven Martial Gods

Things had reached this point, and you felt it was better to be completely open with the Sword Master.

Through the bonds forged in the Third and Fourth Simulations, you knew the Sword Master's character. He was one of the rarest people under heaven—only slightly inferior to yourself.

Thus, he was worth trusting. There was no need to worry that knowing too much would lead him to do anything harmful to you.

You laid out everything for the Sword Master: the Dragon-race invasion that would come in the future, the secrets of the realm war you had uncovered back in the Demon Realm, the clues found in dismantling various strongholds, and even the key elements for breaking the Seven Luminaries Immortal Array.

After hearing all this, the Sword Master's face still showed some doubt.

"Every link connects, the logic is tight. You don't seem to be lying."

"Every word is true. But when it comes to the variables spanning decades, the final outcome might not unfold exactly as I described. What is certain, however, is that the Dragon-race will come."

With that, you produced evidence.

The Dragon-man Pearl and various materials gathered from Dragon-race strongholds.

The Sword Master examined them, his brow deeply furrowed.

"The material of this pearl is unlike anything I've ever seen. It doesn't seem like a natural creation—somewhat similar to a demon core."

Not every demon had a core; only those of noble bloodlines possessed one.

The Sword Master tried to destroy the pearl, but since he held back his full strength, he failed to shatter it.

"It seems not to be from the mortal realm..."

Combined with the vast pile of materials from the mortal realm, a creeping sensation of being scrutinized and watched arose.

You believed the Sword Master was now eighty percent convinced.

"Foreseeing the future is indeed strange, but it's not entirely impossible.

I will personally verify this later.

But right now, this matter is too important for me to pretend I heard nothing.

For the time being, I consider you the one with the clearest grasp of the whole situation. I want to know—how can I help you?"

You thought for a moment.

"The hardest thing for me right now is finding the seven War Gods. Does the Sword Master know which seven exist in this world?"

The Sword Master's expression turned troubled.

"Seven... I only know of four. And one of them is..."

"Let's start with the four first. Maybe new War Gods will emerge in the future."

The Sword Master gave a bitter smile, as if to say that becoming a War God was an incredible feat—even he had no certainty of breaking through before his lifespan ran out.

"Currently, in the mortal realm, there are four War Gods I know of. They are:

The founder of the Carefree Holy Land, God Xiaoyao, whose lifespan is not yet exhausted and remains at his peak.

The ancestor of the Star Domain Shen family, Shen Yang, who prolongs his life generation after generation through secret techniques. He hasn't left the Star Domain for many years; his condition is unknown.

Shaman Granny of the Southern Wastes, the guardian of the mortal realm, whose movements are mysterious and who rarely shows herself. No one has ever seen her fight.

And..."

"Shaman Granny of the Southern Wastes?"

You connected her to the Empress's teacher.

"So she really is a War God? I didn't realize she was also the guardian... Ah, who's the last one?"

"The last one is Li Wentian, the Ancestral Dragon of the Great Qian Dynasty."

You remembered that Li Wentian was the second guardian after the Primordial Era.

"Didn't Li Wentian die?"

"Yes."

"What use is a dead man..."

“Dead, but their power remains. They can still make a move when necessary. This is the greatest hidden asset behind the Li royal family’s enduring prosperity.”

“The problem is, a dead War God can’t take the field…”

“Even if they could, you’d still need three more to form the Seven Luminaries Immortal Array and save the world.”

You shamelessly asked,

“Ahem, is it possible that we could pool the entire realm’s resources to make three people War Gods?”

Your mind was already conjuring up a glorious scene of you, the Empress, and Big Brother—all three of you as War Gods.

From then on, the human realm would be our home!

Sword Master doused you with cold water.

“Even if you could unite the human realm to such a degree, becoming a War God isn’t something that can be forced with resources alone.

If it were possible, every War God would use their power to control all resources under heaven, pouring everything into making their own offspring the next War God.

But look—the four War Gods I just mentioned have no blood relation to each other whatsoever. They aren’t even master and disciple.

Besides, you can’t even fulfill that premise.

People all have selfish motives. Having the entire realm support one person, or three, is an ideal, not reality.

If we were truly at the brink of life and death, I’d believe everyone could be selfless and face the catastrophe together.

But in times of peace…”

Sword Master stopped there, and there was no need to say more. You understood the logic yourself.

Even if a War God could be amassed through resources,

by the time the Dragonfolk began their invasion and the entire human realm united to support three people, it would already be too late. Breaking through isn’t that easy.

You shamelessly asked again for some Spiritual Sea Realm alchemical resources.

Though Sword Master had no idea why you, already a Martial King, would need things from the Spiritual Sea Realm, he still immediately contacted someone in his sect to have them delivered here soon.

While waiting, you and Sword Master chatted about weighty matters in the human realm.

Now, you truly sat on equal footing with him.

The topics you discussed had a much broader scope.

Things like whether humans and demon races should coexist in peace, or if one side should eradicate the other.

Or how the world’s spiritual veins should be distributed to most benefit human development.

Or how the Central Plains imperial court’s fate was dwindling, and whether the Li royal family should choose to revive the imperial path or start anew.

As you talked, Sword Master suddenly recalled something.

“War Gods who aren’t human—can they enter the array?”

“The Seven Luminaries Immortal Array doesn’t specify that the War God must be human. But in the human realm, if it’s not a human, would it be a demon?”

“Do you know of the Dragon-Corpse and Phoenix-Corpse among the demons?”

“I’ve heard a little about them.”

In the last simulation, the Dragon-Corpse and Phoenix-Corpse hadn’t participated in the war between the Five Regions.

But in truth, they were crucial—their role was to keep watch over the Holy Land and the Shen family, preventing a backstab.

After the Azure Dragon and the others lost, they used the Dragon-Corpse and Phoenix-Corpse as an excuse, claiming that if those two had come, they would have definitely won.

“Wait—are you saying those Dragon-Corpse and Phoenix-Corpse were both War Gods? The names sound like dead things.”

“They are dead, but it’s a situation similar to Li Wentian’s—there’s a way to make them act. However…”

Sword Master began to reveal the secrets he knew.

In life, the Dragon-Corpse and Phoenix-Corpse were called the Dragon God and Phoenix God.

Thirty thousand years ago, they were the right and left arms of the Demon Emperor, terrifyingly powerful enemies during the demon realm’s invasion of the human realm.

But unfortunately, they encountered the Human Emperor at his peak, who slew them one after the other.

The physical bodies of the Demon race were extremely tough, and those who reached the Martial God realm were considered imperishable and non-decaying.

At the time, the Human Emperor only slew them but did not destroy their remains. Later, the corpses of the Dragon and Phoenix left in the human realm could not be destroyed by anyone.

Due to the Demon race's lack of expertise in preservation techniques, these two corpses, which remained in the human realm, were poorly maintained. Therefore, compared to thirty thousand years ago, even if the Dragon and Phoenix corpses could still find a way to strike, they had lost their Martial God power.

"Dragon corpse and Phoenix corpse can now be considered at most half-step Martial Gods. Even if the Demon race is willing to cooperate, these two cannot be counted among the Seven Luminaries."