William restricted Gu Dianlong using Earth Elemental handcuffs and opened his Reverse Domains to seal the other Elements. This was done at Gu Dianlong's request, since he wasn't able to defy the orders of Retribution and might attack William otherwise.
Once he was done, William then made a portal for both of them to return to the surface, which required him to temporarily unseal the Space Element.
The Four Divine Beasts were already waiting for them outside, which terrified Gu Dianlong the moment they appeared. He immediately dropped to the ground and kowtowed in the direction of each of the four Beasts as he spoke.
"Almighty overlords, we didn't mean to intrude on your territory. Forgive us."
He looked over to William, who was still standing. "What are you doing? Bow to the overlords before you're killed." he hissed.
William was amused. He looked at his four Companion Beasts and asked, "I don't know. Should I bow to you?"
"N-No Master, we should bow to you!" the Juvenile Vermillion Pheonix said hurriedly as it elegantly dipped its head towards the ground. The others quickly followed suit, though the Azure Wyrm was a bit stubborn and took half a second longer than the others.
William looked back at Gu Dianlong, "These guys will help you remove your Array."
They're his pets? What happened while I was underground? Wasn't he barely at the peak before? I heard he was only lucky enough to have a stronger Domain than both the leaders...
If the battle between William and the two leaders of the Yu Royal Family had been decided by who had the stronger Domains, then one would've expected it was only a matter of luck and William's combat strength wasn't truly at the peak.
He had Flame Dragon Uri as a helper that time, and then Atticus was the one dealing with Retribution's higher-ups. Did William just have some sort of special affinity with Magical Beasts? Is that why he was so strong?
Gu Dianlong didn't know, but he adapted quickly to the situation. He smiled and bowed once more to the four Divine Beasts of the Providence Zone, which was slightly difficult with his hands bound and his Mana restricted.
The four Beasts didn't like the idea of having to serve a human besides William, especially since their hatred for humans was still just as strong as before. That said, they didn't really have a choice, and Gu Dianlong had acted appropriately thus far, so they decided to give him a pass.
On William's order, Atticus and the other four Magical Beasts started channeling their Mana into Gu Dianlong's Enslavement Array, while the Flame Dragon arrived a few hours later, seemingly exhausted from flying at high speed for a long period of time.
"Where have you been?" William asked. Your next read is at mvl
"I was across the ocean, Master. Sorry for being late." Uri replied simply, though his expression was a bit dimmer than usual.
William whispered to the dragon using the Sound Element. "Is everything alright? I've never seen you like this."
"Yes Master, it's just..."
Rewards: 250,000 Potential Points, +100 Reputation with the World Efretta, 3 Free Ask Function Responses, -100 Reputation with ??? Heavens, A Memory of the Past.
Penalties: Instant Death
Time Limit: 10 years
Quest will begin after absorbing the next Vein.
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Before he even had time to fully read the first Quest, William's vision was filled with another Quest immediately afterwards.
———
Optional System Quest: The Host may choose to absorb Greater and Superior Veins to further increase reputation with the World and greatly increase Potential Points rewards. Additionally, the Host must bear the consequences of his actions and defend the World from the resulting Beast Tides when absorbing the World Cores.
Note: The Host's actions will be met with resistance from the Heavens. Regardless of success or failure, the Host will be regarded as an enemy of certain members of the Heavens.
Greater Veins Absorbed: 9/135
Superior Veins Absorbed: 0/27
Continents Destroyed: 0/4
Difficulty: Apocalyptic
Rewards: 2,500,000 Potential Points, +250 Reputation with the World Efretta, 1 Random Celestial Talent
Penalties: For every Continent destroyed, lose 500,000 Potential Points and 50 Reputation with the World Efretta. If all four Continents are destroyed, all rewards will be lost, and the Host will be placed in eternal purgatory.
Time Limit: 10 years
Quest will begin after absorbing the next Greater or Superior Vein.
———