Is that a Wisp?

Zen Realm. There were signs of war everywhere as the natives were trying their best to heal the damages and recover from signs of war.

The Zen Realm was a tranquil place, one where the Laws were the clearest. The inhabitants of this realm had the least fighting spirit or nature to fight, so to speak. Thus, they were the most peaceful among the realms in the Greater Universe.

Of course, that also meant their abilities weren't attuned to battles. The majority of the Zen Realm Gods had abilities geared to healing and enlivening the region. Thanks to that, their realm also developed in this direction, becoming the abode for cultivation.

This had been true until a Mong Realm scout discovered the Zen Realm three hundred thousand years ago. Upon seeing how this place would prove beneficial for them, the Mong Realm invaded en masse, sparking a long series of wars.

The Zen Realm's inhabitants, innately peaceful in nature, really abhorred war, unwilling to fight. But they were forced to do so, resulting in a lot of deaths.

A land that was once filled with people calmly meditating to perceive the secrets of the Laws was now filled with rivers of blood, the region hollowed out with the plundering of all resources.

The Zen Realm was truly turned upside down.

They only had 15 Gods in the first place, a pitiful number. However, each one of them was damn strong. Shockingly, each of them was stronger than a Mong Realm God.

Unfortunately for them, though, their numbers proved pitiful against the Mong Realm army.

In terms of the number of Gods, the Mong Realm ranked first in the Greater Universe, having a whopping 686 Gods. Coming in second was the Garg Realm with 602 Gods.

The Dolk Realm had 304 Gods, the Lak Realm had 298 Gods, and the Fon Realm had 243 Gods.

As for the Kun Realm, they were at 221 Gods now. This was in sharp contrast to before Turia's birth, where their numbers were less than thirty.

Typically, when a Realm Spirit was birthed, a lot of Gods would come into being using that duration where breakthroughs were the easiest. After that, they would slowly accumulate their numbers.

This was why the realms with a Realm Spirit had more than 200 Gods. But for the Realms without one, they had Gods ranging between ten and forty.

So, it wasn't surprising that the Zen Realm only had fifteen Gods. But despite that, they resisted the Mong Realm's invasion.

After all, the Mong Realm at that time was focusing most of its strength on the Tilk Realm. So, the invasive army at the Zen Realm wasn't powerful enough to defeat them.

The Mong Realm had dispatched themselves into various realms, after all.

In the Zen Realm, they had occupied a corner of the realm, setting up a station despite the area being disadvantageous for them. After that, they constantly invaded deeper into the Zen Realm, raiding the cities one after another, pillaging all the resources of the place while turning the people into Blood Pills.

Until two years ago, this had been the case. But in preparation to invade the Kun Realm, the Mong Realm retracted its entire force, wishing to obtain the Tilk Realm no matter the cost.

Hence, after three hundred thousand years of nonstop war, there was finally peace in the Zen Realm for two years.

Unfortunately, it was only a short-lived peace, though, as this time, the Garg Realm came charging in.

Unlike the Mong Realm, they invaded in full force from the very beginning. The Mong Realm pillaged everything in their sight as it was in their nature.

On the other hand, the Garg Realm was different in its actions. They didn't just want the Zen Realm, but the people as well.

The Garg Realm Champion appeared before the Zen Realm Gods, smiling as he looked at their exhausted appearance, "All of you are pretty strong. However, you won't win against my Garg Realm."

"I'll give you a proposal." He smiled, stating, "Become my people, and I'll ensure the Mong Realm can never threaten you ever again."

"You want us to submit to your rule?" A Zen Realm God said in anger.

"Yes." The Garg Realm Champion nodded in response. "But in return, the Garg Realm would protect you. Also, by asking for you to submit, I didn't mean the Zen Realm."

"What?" The Zen Realm Gods were shocked, unable to understand what he was getting at.

"I only want you, the Zen Realm Gods, to submit to me." The Garg Realm Champion stated. "In extension, any future God your realm births would submit to our rule. In return, the rest of your populace would return to their lives from three hundred thousand years ago."

"What do you say?"

"Peace in exchange for our fealty…?" The leading Zen Realm God sighed, staring at the sky as he smiled wryly. "So this is what it all boils down to."

"You can be assured of one thing, though." The Garg Realm Champion stated in confidence. "I won't mistreat you."

"But if we submit to you, does that mean we'll have to also participate in your battles?" One of the Zen Realm Gods.

"If you don't wish to do so, then don't." The Garg Realm Champion said in response. "But in return, since the Garg Realm would guarantee your safety, the Zen Realm should pay us with resources."

"A tax…" The leading Zen Realm God muttered, gazing at the Garg Realm Champion as he asked, "And how much would this tax be?"

"Forty percent of the resources your realm produces," the Garg Realm Champion said in all seriousness.

It was like a rock was slammed into their minds as the Zen Realm Gods trembled at the price. If they paid a tax of forty percent, then there wouldn't be much left for their realm's development.

It would mean that the Zen Realm would never be able to escape the Garg Realm's grasp for eternity.

'In exchange for peace, we'll have to enact servitude for all eternity.' The leading Zen Realm God gritted his teeth. "Even when the Mong Realm invaded, the resources they stole didn't even amount to a tenth of a percent of my realm's production. And now, you're asking for forty percent?"

"Yep." The Garg Realm Champion only smiled in response.