Qi Ye flapped his wings, directly activating the Free Contract trait.

Eight mysterious ripples flew from the tips of his wings, merging directly into the bodies of the eight Divine Venerables.

Almost at the same moment, the bodies of the eight Divine Venerables trembled in unison, and an interface they had never seen before appeared in their minds.

【Contractor Panel has been opened】

The eight Divine Venerables quickly browsed the detailed panel information that appeared in their minds, their expressions rapidly shifting from initial astonishment to extreme shock.

As top powerhouses of various nations who had encountered countless forms of knowledge and Legacies, they knew exactly what this ability to directly open a new growth path for others and grant a rule-based panel meant.

This was almost like forcibly opening a door to broader possibilities outside their existing Profession system, which was limited by the blue star will!

One Divine Venerable lowered his voice and said in surprise, "This... this is impossible. Under the otherworld rules, it's impossible to have another growth path."

Moreover, this contract had no terms or restrictions at all; the only limitation was that the Lord of Spirits could withdraw the contract at any time if he wished.

At that time, the Contractors would lose all the power they had gained after the contract.

"A new path of growth..."

The Divine Venerable of the Yue Nation's voice trembled, almost unable to believe everything he sensed.

No, is this an ability that Life Authority should have?

It doesn't seem like it.

The four foreign Divine Venerables turned their heads almost simultaneously to look at Chong Ming, their eyes exchanging looks as if trying to figure out what was going on.

And whether the Xia Nation Divine Venerable, who was closest to the Lord of Spirits, had known about this all along.

However, those four Xia Nation Divine Venerables were equally shocked.

Even Chong Ming, who knew Qi Ye possessed the Freedom Authority and had the strongest mental resilience toward such things, had waves of shock crashing in his heart at this moment.

He had guessed that the Lord of Spirits might give something in return, but he never expected it to be in this form!

"Can Freedom Authority really reach this level? Even Qi Yang, the Human Divine Venerable couldn't develop it to this extent."

Chong Ming murmured to himself, his gaze toward Qi Ye filled with deeper awe and wonder.

Without needing anyone else's recognition or acceptance, he had forcibly shoved a Contractor Panel onto each of them; this had already broken through the rules of the Otherworld.

If the Lord of Spirits could contract with everyone on the Blue Star...

A terrifying and bold idea surfaced in Chong Ming's mind, but he ultimately didn't voice it.

The Lord of Spirits hadn't done so, surely because he had his own considerations.

Qi Ye took in the reactions of the eight Divine Venerables.

His eyes still showed no emotional fluctuations as he spoke calmly:

"Kill monsters, gain experience, and you can rank up, while obtaining Skills just like an Adventurer. It's that simple."

"Remember, keep this a secret. You may leave now. The Sacred Lake will always welcome you."

"Good, good!"

"Many thanks to the Lord of Spirits!"

The Divine Venerables immediately snapped out of their immense joy and solemnly bowed to Qi Ye, their attitudes even more respectful than when they arrived.

After saying their goodbyes, the seven Divine Venerables didn't linger. With racing hearts, they were guided by Green Bean to quickly leave the core of the Sacred Lake and return to the Blue Star through the teleportation gate.

Inside the small wooden cabin, silence returned, leaving only Chong Ming and Qi Ye.

After Chong Ming explained the potential locations of the deep sea aura clusters to Qi Ye one by one, he fell into a brief silence.

They looked at the lake surface outside the window and didn't speak for a while.

The former man and bird had now swapped their strength and status.

Chong Ming recalled when he first met the Lord of Spirits on the Alien Demon Battlefield; the other party was only at the eighth-rank level then and still needed to rely on his Animal Followers to fight alongside him.

And yet, how much time had passed since then? He had actually achieved Ascension to Godhood already, which filled Chong Ming with a myriad of emotions.

Chong Ming opened his mouth and finally asked the question he had been holding back.

"Lord of Spirits, can your contract be applied to everyone?"

Qi Ye nodded slightly: "It can."

That one nonchalant word directly stated just how broken the Free Contract trait was.

Although using the Free Contract trait over a long distance would consume Divine Power, based on Qi Ye's previous tests and his amount of Divine Power, making all humans worldwide into Contractors was merely a matter of time.

Qi Ye continued, "But now is not the time. It's dangerous."

At the same time he contracted with the eight human Divine Venerables,

Qi Ye felt a faint sense of pressure surging from the air in all directions.

He had only felt this familiar pressure when he stared at the Rule Guardians in the The Void.

This was the gaze of the otherworld rules.

Every Alien God lived under the otherworld rules; even someone as powerful as the Purgatory God had to bow before most otherworld rules.

Now that Qi Ye had been recognized by the otherworld rules and become a God of Life, he still had to act within the permitted scope of the Otherworld.

Even with the protection of the rule orb, he still couldn't completely shield himself from the Otherworld's gaze.

Even now, that sense of pressure had not disappeared, lingering on Qi Ye's shoulders.

If he were to sign Free Contracts with all humans on Blue Star in one go, it would be an outright falling out with the otherworld rules.

Faintly, Qi Ye had already realized that this Freedom Authority, which had spanned his entire life as a bird, was actually growing and upgrading just like the Life Authority.

The effect of the upgrade was reflected in the Beast Leader Profession itself.

Although the Beast Leader Profession had already reached its limit,

but the Freedom Authority itself had not reached its limit at all.

Intuition told Qi Ye:

What exactly would happen next could only be known after he continued to grow from a Mid-tier God to a High God, or even a Powerful God.

But ultimately, the Freedom Authority would surely have an irreconcilable conflict with the otherworld rules.

"I understand."

Chong Ming nodded and stopped speaking, his eyes, which had been unusually dazed, regaining their firmness.

"Lord of Spirits, we in the Xia Nation will always stand by your side."

"I believe that as news of your successful Ascension to Godhood spreads, more and more countries will take your side."

Qi Ye nodded silently without speaking.

Chong Ming also left the Sacred Lake soon after.

The news of the Lord of Spirits' Ascension to Godhood spread out from the Firefly Forest and quickly reached the Blue Star.

Through television, newspapers, online platforms, word of mouth, and the dissemination by the animals and battle pets who had joined the Sacred Lake,

this news spread extremely fast, reaching the entire world within three days.

From the snowy fields of cold Siberia in the north to hot Africa in the south, where black tribes were hunting monsters with spears, everyone heard the tale of an Alien God allied with the Xia Nation Alliance who had successfully achieved Ascension to Godhood.

Anyone who had any knowledge of the Lord of Spirits was in disbelief.

"The Lord of Spirits? He hadn't achieved Ascension to Godhood before? For real?"

"Which Lord of Spirits? Is it the Lord of Spirits from the Sacred Lake?"

"Nonsense! Who else could it be?!"

"Is the news reliable?"

"It's true. I was right there. The scene was too terrifying; it was like a battle of the gods, fighting until even the Dao was obliterated."