Aiden reached the hall’s entrance at last. He looked up. Up close, the place looked nothing like what he saw from afar. That grand, sacred energy was gone. What remained was ruin and rot. Most of the building had caved in. Arched frames were shattered, and broken window columns stuck out at ugly angles. Piles of cracked stone lay buried in weeds. The whole place reeked of mold and decay. Hard to imagine this wreck once honored an old divine. Only one thing stayed whole. A pure white statue stood tall at the very back, nearly ten feet high. Aiden walked toward it with a cautious step. In all the wreckage, this one thing stayed untouched. Its divine glow poured out like it owned the place. "State your purpose, intruder." A heavy mechanical voice rang out from above.Aiden stopped walking. The statue towering over him looked even brighter than before. He answered coolly, "I came to explore the ruins of this temple." A harsh grinding sound rolled through the air. The statue started to move. Its blurry face slowly turned to face him, eyes locked straight ahead. "I see. You seek my blessing to awaken your potential." Awaken potential? The thought clicked in his head. After the Holy Dragon's Blessing, both his classes had spiked in power. So this could be another way to trigger second class advancement? Steven had been right. Advancing Fortune God and Divine Beastmaster really did require a push from an old divine. Before he could think more, the voice returned. Cold. Icy. "Then kneel, intruder. "Offer praise. Swear loyalty. Bow down."In return— "I will bless you. I will shield you." Silence fell. The air grew heavy. Kneel? Aiden’s stare turned sharp. He never believed in the old divine. Not before. Not now. If advancing his class meant kneeling to some faceless statue with no soul, then forget it. He would rather walk away right now. Besides— Steven’s theory wasn’t fact. Divine classes like Fortune God and Divine Beastmaster shouldn’t have to grovel to anything. Not even to some dusty old divine. When he used the parchment to advance last time, the last three orbs were already the threshold of divinity. That meant Divine Beastmaster should at least be on par with an old divine.And Fortune God? Easily just as strong. Especially now that he had the Holy Dragon's Blessing. Both classes had grown even stronger. "What are you waiting for, intruder? "To kneel before the mighty god of fire and forge, Hephaestus, is the highest honor you’ll ever receive! "Show your loyalty! "Kneel!" Aiden said nothing. The statue didn’t wait. A burst of red light exploded from its body. The shockwave blasted out in all directions. -1000 -1000 The heat slammed into him. His shield points plummeted on impact. "Oh hell no! "You think I’m letting some overgrown lawn ornament boss me around?!"Aiden’s fuse snapped. Old divine? Don’t care. If it breathes, I can fight it. If it doesn’t, I’ll fight harder! That’s how this works! he thought. He reached for the Ravager Horn of the Destroyer hanging on his chest. Before he could even activate it, the beast space opened on its own. Gray shot out like a cannonball and charged the statue with a deafening roar. A massive shockwave cracked through the hall. -188040 Dragon’s Breath lit up the statue. Damage numbers shot sky-high as Gray whipped past, trailing speed shadows in the air. Then came the claws. -17500 A second quake followed as Gray slammed down. Over 200 thousand in total damage hit before the statue shattered. It burst apart, scattering white debris everywhere.Gray landed hard and stayed still. His stare burned into the spot where the statue used to stand. He looked like he hated it. Aiden narrowed his eyes. He’d never seen Gray act like that. Even against the Rogue, even while bleeding out, Gray had stayed sharp and aggressive. This was different. Now he looked like he wanted to grind the statue’s bones to powder. Aiden kept alert and gave the command. "Gray. Back up." He already knew dragonkind hated the old divine. Even old books wrote about it. That feud wasn’t some rumor. According to history, in the ancient era, dragonkind once went to war with the old divine. The grudge had never faded. But Gray hadn’t grown up with dragonkind. And Aiden had never taught him any of that.