The Struggle Between Old and New and the Manipulation of Human Hearts by the Hand of God

In the Historical Secret Realm, Wendy eyed the gentleman in a tailcoat sitting across from her with some apprehension.

At first glance, anyone would think this man was a gentle, polite, and approachable nobleman. But those who truly understood him would discover the unfathomable depths of his ruthlessness and cunning.

Miles Thatcher, a Sequence 0 Noble and Sequence 1 Jurist, was the Vice President of the Noble Council.

While there were no shortage of Sequence 3 Nobles in the World Government, the number of Nobles drastically decreased starting from Sequence 2. This was because one of the requirements for advancing to Sequence 2 Noble was possessing a Sequence 3 transcendent structure. To become a Sequence 0, the essential condition was mastering a Sequence 1 transcendent structure.

Combined with the unique nature of Jurists, Miles was hailed as one of the five deities in the World Government closest to becoming true gods. These five deities had all once faced true gods in direct confrontation and emerged unscathed.

Wendy couldn't fathom the World Government's intentions in sending Miles to mediate. Was it a warning to her, or did they have some other scheme in mind?

The Historical Secret Realm, like a meteor falling from the sky, descended from the starry expanse of the Eternal Continent toward the Ruins City.

All the remaining archaeologists had gathered quietly, prepared for what was to come.

When the Historical Secret Realm was still hundreds of miles above the Ruins City, the entire secret realm world opened a spatial rift like a giant beast, swallowing the Ruins City and the surrounding thousands of miles of land in one gulp.

Then, the space around the Historical Secret Realm twisted, and it vanished from the Eternal Continent, teleporting away.

Beneath the Historical Sequence Tree, the high-ranking officials of the Historians' Association were ready to receive the archaeologists one-on-one.

As soon as the Historical Secret Realm settled the Ruins City, Wendy immediately used her authority to transfer all the archaeologists beneath the Historical Sequence Tree.

Thousands of demigod archaeologists, each assigned to a demigod historian for reception.

"Hello, I'm Lacey Tate," introduced the bespectacled blonde beauty who approached Rosen.

"Arthur Lange, I'll be in your care," Rosen politely replied, using his fake identity.

Lacey led Rosen into her historical research room within the Historical Tree Hollow.

For the next six months, Rosen and Lacey engaged in mutual learning. He studied the unique knowledge system of archaeologists from Lacey, while she also learned from him about the archaeologists' exclusive knowledge system.

It was clear that the Historians' Association didn't intend to completely abolish the archaeologists but rather to fully assimilate them.

Once their mutual learning was nearly complete, Lacey began assisting Rosen in integrating transcendent essence into the Historical Sequence Tree. They stripped the spiritual essence belonging to the Archaeologist Sequence Tree from the transcendent essence and re-integrated it into the spiritual essence of the Historical Sequence Tree.

The entire process was not particularly difficult, and Lacey remained friendly throughout.

However, through the Veil of Mind and mind-reading, Rosen could sense Lacey's hidden disdain for him.

It was clear that accepting the archaeologists was merely for the sake of benefits. The lingering animosity between the two sides had not completely vanished, and there remained an underlying rift. If this rift could not be resolved in the future, internal strife within the Historians' Association would be inevitable.

However, this was not Rosen's concern. He had successfully obtained permission to access the historical archives stored within the Historical Secret Realm.

Of course, gaining access did not mean all historical records were open to him. To read documents with a "Weight Ten" classification, he had to either exchange them with newly discovered historical documents of "Weight One" value or complete tasks assigned by the Historians' Association to earn reading privileges. Within the association, nothing was free except for living quarters.

Time flew by, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.

During these two years, Rosen alternated between completing tasks and researching historical materials related to miracles. His efforts bore fruit—his journey here had not been in vain.

He had grown fond of this peaceful life: reading books, exploring the Ancient God True Realm when tired, and returning to his studies after leisurely excursions. No wonder the historians in the Historical Secret Realm were such recluses—this lifestyle was too comfortable.

But tranquility never lasts. Recently, Rosen sensed that something was about to happen. A casual observation revealed the cause.

The archaeologists permitted into the Historical Secret Realm were almost exclusively demigods. Those below demigod status could not qualify without exceptional achievements.

With so many new demigods needing resources for sustenance and cultivation, competition had grown fierce. Though tasks to earn reading privileges were abundant, those offering cultivation resources were scarce.

Originally, the resources of the Historical Secret Realm were shared among the Historians' Association's thousands of demigod historians. Now, with an additional thousand demigods and no proportional increase in resource production, coupled with humanity's innate tendency to exclude outsiders, the initial honeymoon period between the old and new factions had faded. Conflicts began to simmer.

Rosen had no desire to get involved, but he was naturally seen as part of the newcomer faction. His time to quietly study was running out.

A violent clash between the old and new factions was inevitable. The newcomers would surely lose, but the old guard would not emerge unscathed. The conflict would leave both sides wounded, forcing them to retreat only when the losses became unbearable.

The seeds of discord had been sown. The Historical Secret Realm would not know peace for many years to come.

This was likely why the World Government had disbanded the Archaeological Research Institute so readily. With Qínong's disappearance, they had lost a key pawn to restrain the Historians' Association. If they couldn't weaken it externally, they would destabilize it from within.

Rosen even suspected that agents from both the old and new factions had been bribed by the World Government, secretly fanning the flames. Otherwise, how could tensions escalate so rapidly in just two years? After all, how could a shortage of cultivation resources become unbearable in such a short time?

Historical Tree Hollow

Wendy glared at Miles, who sat sipping tea across from her, her teeth clenched in frustration.

Now she understood Miles' so-called "mediation." The intensifying conflict between the old and new factions was undoubtedly his doing, a covert scheme to sow discord within the Historical Secret Realm and shatter its unity.

Miles aimed to weaken the Historical Secret Realm from within while positioning himself to suppress the conflict at a critical moment, preventing the realm from being pushed to openly defy the World Government. The World Government's domineering, underhanded tactics hadn't changed at all.

Watching Wendy leave in anger, Miles could only smile bitterly.

This woman was not to be trifled with, and it seemed he was in for a rough time.

Sure enough, within a few days, all sorts of dark secrets about Miles were dug up and spread everywhere. The once highly respected and well-regarded Miles had, in the blink of an eye, become infamous.

When Miles learned of this, he showed no trace of anger.

Because long before he set his plans in motion, he had already anticipated this outcome.

Who doesn't have some unsavory past in their life? Usually, such things fade away with time, but historians have a way of unearthing every dark secret.

The secrets held by the Historians' Association likely surpassed even those of the World Government. If the Historians' Association were ever driven to ally with the alien true gods, it could deliver a devastating blow to the World Government.

Years ago, when the World Government had schemed to kill the previous president of the Historians' Association, it nearly caused the Historical Secret Realm to break away from the World Government. In the end, they had to pay an enormous price to calm the situation. The greatest value of the Archaeological Research Institute wasn't archaeology—it was to serve as a pressure valve for the Historians' Association.

Now that Qínong was gone, the target for the Historians' Association's hostility had disappeared.

The World Government had no choice but to take a risk. First, they allowed the Historical Secret Realm to absorb the Archaeological Research Institute as a sweetener, then delivered a slap by sowing internal division. They had carefully calculated the limits of Wendy's tolerance, but unfortunately, her fury was now entirely directed at him.

However, the World Government had compensated him for this. It was the perfect opportunity to retreat to the shadows and focus on his plans to become a true god.

But before that, he still had to complete the tasks assigned by the Noble Council.

With Wendy's methods and the Historians' Association's deep reserves, once the troublemakers among the old and new factions emerged, she would undoubtedly root them out immediately. She would then pacify the remaining members of both factions, taking the opportunity to win over hearts on both sides.

But once conflict arises, hatred follows. Once the seeds of hatred are sown, they can linger for thousands of years.

Even if they don't sprout immediately, as long as the seeds are planted, they will eventually break through the soil.

So, his next task was to plant some seeds of hatred that even Wendy would find difficult to detect.

Miles opened the folder in his hands, scanning the profiles of the archaeologists listed within.

"Arthur Lange, a research-oriented talent, dislikes trouble and buries himself in historical materials…" Miles muttered to himself. "Someone like this is perfect. A person who dislikes trouble but ends up entangled in it—the flower of hatred that grows from such a life would surely be beautiful. This one can be listed as a candidate."

...

Rosen, as usual, prepared to continue his research after accepting a task.

But today, something was clearly off. The historical materials he wanted to access had all been checked out by others ahead of him.

Until those materials were returned, he was effectively stuck with nothing to do.

If it had been a coincidence, it might have been tolerable. But when Rosen used his God-Hunting Eye to observe the historians who had borrowed the materials, he immediately realized that none of them had actually read the documents. So why had they used their access privileges to check them out?

There was only one answer: these historians were all targeting him.

"The tree may desire tranquility, but the wind will not cease."

Rosen suppressed the killing intent rising within him.

Despite keeping such a low profile, he had still been targeted and bullied.

Since that was the case, he decided to go all out.

Rosen directly approached the vice president and applied to leave the Historical Secret Realm to conduct historical research outside. Leaving the Historical Secret Realm was easy, though returning was difficult. After all, the Historical Secret Realm wasn't a prison, so his application was approved on the spot. That very day, he was transported through a special teleportation array across the endless void to the legendary Old Continent.

To many, it seemed Rosen was simply leaving to avoid the turmoil.

Not everyone enjoyed conflict, and quite a few others had left for similar reasons.

Everyone thought Rosen had left, but what they didn't know was that while he had indeed left, it was only his divine avatar. His true self remained hidden in the Secret Study, still within the Historical Secret Realm. From there, he planned to turn the entire Historical Secret Realm upside down.

...

Dimitri Betty, a former archaeologist of Sequence 2.

As one of the absolute higher-ups among the archaeologists, he had been busy for over half a month and finally had the chance to return to the Historical Tree Hollow for some rest.

Inside the Historical Tree Hollow were individual apartments, their walls made from the heartwood of the Historical Sequence Tree. Living in these apartments allowed one to better grasp the authority of history. Aside from the endless historical materials, these private apartments were the greatest benefit of the Historical Secret Realm.

Dimitri entered his study, planning to organize his recent findings before resting.

But the moment he sat down, he was shocked to see a piece of paper on the desk in front of him.

It hadn't been there a moment ago—it had appeared the instant he sat down.

The private apartment was supposed to be absolutely secure. Without the proper key, even the association president would have to force their way in. Yet, someone had managed to silently deliver a piece of paper right before his eyes?

With a mix of apprehension and anger, Dimitri read the contents of the paper. The more he read, the darker and angrier his expression became.

According to the note, the old faction was planning to eliminate him.

The specific methods, the individuals involved, and even the mastermind behind it were all clearly laid out. He didn't dare gamble on whether this was true or not. After some consideration, he began contacting other former archaeologists to discuss countermeasures.

...

Months passed quickly, and the situation in the Historical Secret Realm grew increasingly tense.

The reason was simple: the old faction had always far outnumbered and outpowered the newcomers.

This was supposed to be a conflict where both sides suffered, but the newcomers were expected to bear the brunt of the losses.

Wendy didn't intervene. Since the conflict was unavoidable, she naturally sided with the old faction. Of course, she couldn't abandon the newcomers entirely. Once the troublemakers were gone and the rest had settled down, that would be her opportunity to pacify and win over hearts.

Naturally, not everyone would fall for that. Some would harbor resentment and bide their time.

The World Government's open scheme was something she couldn't stop. All she could do was strive to maintain a balance in the future.

However, Wendy soon noticed that the old faction, which had initially held the upper hand, was now suffering repeated defeats.

The newcomers seemed to possess some kind of foresight, always perfectly evading the old faction's suppression and schemes, then turning the tables and making the old faction suffer losses. Despite the vast difference in strength and numbers, the newcomers were now dominating the old faction.

The old faction was already discontent. In their eyes, they had been living peacefully in the Historical Secret Realm—why should a group of former enemies come to steal their resources?

If the newcomers had been willing to submit and share a portion, it might have been tolerable.

But now, the situation had flipped entirely. The newcomers were trampling over the old faction, humiliating them openly.

When soft tactics and underhanded schemes failed, the only option left was to resort to brute force.

Thus, what had been a covert game of suppression and manipulation turned into open confrontation.

In an instant, the newcomers, who had seemed to hold the advantage, were completely overwhelmed by the old faction.

In an instant, the newcomers, who had seemed to hold the advantage, were completely overwhelmed by the old faction. But to the newcomers, this was nothing but the old faction's inability to accept defeat and their decision to overturn the table. After all, this silent war had been started by the old faction. Now that they were losing, they resorted to brute force. If the newcomers surrendered now, they would forever be trampled underfoot by the old guard.

While the old faction held absolute superiority in numbers and overall strength, the newcomers, united and defiant, were not easy to bully.

What began with bloodshed quickly escalated to fatalities.

At this point, the most stunned was Miles.

He had only intended to plant seeds of hatred, not for them to bloom and bear fruit so soon. If this continued, the Historical Secret Realm would drown in rivers of blood. If pushed to desperation, the World Government might sacrifice him to the Historians' Association to quell the outrage.

The problem lay in the newcomers' recent "divine assistance." Though Miles had noticed days ago that someone was secretly aiding them, he hadn't anticipated the situation deteriorating so rapidly. Weren't these demigods, old and new, supposed to value their lives? Why were they acting like honey badgers—defiant and reckless, treating life and death as trivial?

Under normal circumstances, open conflict should have erupted only after prolonged, unbearable tension. How had the old faction resorted to lethal measures after just a few days of being suppressed by the newcomers?

Miles could no longer sit idle. He began rushing around, desperately trying to mediate.

Meanwhile, Rosen, hidden in the Secret Study, finally took notice of this sudden intervention by Miles.

Rosen set down a painting in his hands—a portrait of an elder. It had been created using divine pigments forged from wrath and hatred, channeled through the Hand of God. The painting subtly amplified anger and resentment.

What might have started as harsh words or minor scuffles now escalated to bloodshed under his influence. Once blood was spilled, conflict intensified, and casualties followed naturally. He hadn't even needed to intervene further.

Now Rosen understood why some alien deities were sealed rather than slain. Take the Seven Deadly Sins Demon Gods, for example—mere Sequence 0 abyssal fiends. The World Government could easily kill them, but doing so risked birthing a true god embodying the Seven Deadly Sins. Such a deity would pose a far greater threat to civilization than ordinary true gods.

Depending on the laws they governed, some true gods were immensely powerful in combat, while others were weaker. Yet strength did not always correlate with danger. The Plague God, one of the weakest among true gods, could devastate a civilization's middle and lower tiers during war, crippling its foundational embers and weakening its patron deities.

To capture the Plague God alive, the World Government had once sacrificed two true gods. Though they were later resurrected, the cost had been staggering.

As days passed, Miles' attempts to mediate failed, and the Historical Secret Realm descended further into chaos.

Wendy, too, grew restless, scrambling to stabilize morale. But her efforts bore little fruit. Then, one day, a catastrophic conflict erupted.

Historical archives were destroyed, over a hundred demigods perished, and countless others were injured. A furious Wendy nearly severed ties with the World Government. Miles, deemed incompetent, became Rosen's scapegoat.

When a true god of the World Government intervened, they detected anomalies within the Historical Secret Realm. Only then did Wendy and Miles realize someone had secretly incited the internal war.

But it was too late. The true god could only confirm external manipulation, not identify the culprit. Miles was forced to shoulder all blame, while the World Government offered massive reparations to the Historical Secret Realm.

Freed from the Hand of God's influence, the demigods calmed down upon learning they'd been manipulated. But the seeds of hatred had taken root, and the rift between the Historians' Association and the World Government deepened.

(End of Chapter)