Ch. 301 Changes in the Divine Connection

After his power island formed with the primary Divine Sun Power and a portion of the Divine Thunder Power, Russell's Ocean of Divine Power, which had been binding him, finally released its hold on him.

Without the inexplicable restraint of the Ocean of Divine Power, Russell's thoughts took him to his own power island, which was floating within the Ocean of Divine Power.

Standing on the beach of his power island, he carefully examined it.

Then, he started wandering around his own power island.

His current power island wasn't particularly large, but it had everything a normal island should have. It had beaches, forests, rivers, mountains, and more, all formed from condensed divine power.

Except for living creatures, it looked no different from islands in the real world.

After a stroll around the power island, Russell arrived at the mountaintop located at the center of the island.

Then, he sat cross-legged at the summit.

The formation of the power island only proved that he had awakened his own divine power; it didn't mean he had completely mastered the Divine Sun Power.

According to the power books of Asgard and Vanaheimr, after the formation of a power island, the island's owner needed to promptly complete the first power enhancement on the island. Only then would the newly formed power island actively absorb energy from the Ocean of Divine Power, continuously expanding itself until it became a vast landmass, resembling a continent.

In fact, by that time, the power island would no longer be a mere island but a true divine continent.

Although Russell's current power island wasn't very small in size, there was still a considerable distance to the divine continent.

After sitting down at the mountain peak, Russell began manipulating his power island, allowing it to absorb the Divine Sun Power and Divine Thunder Power he needed from the Ocean of Divine Power.

To prevent fundamental changes in his awakened power, Russell kept the ratio of Divine Sun Power to Divine Thunder Power at about seven to three.

Time passed bit by bit.

When the power island had noticeably expanded, roughly by about one-tenth of its original size, Russell completed his first power enhancement.

Once the power island had expanded for the first time, even without his control, it would continue absorbing power from the Ocean of Divine Power and growing on its own.

If his lifespan were long enough, even without his intervention, his power island could grow into a divine continent.

Of course, allowing the power island to grow into a divine continent would take thousands of years at least.

Russell didn't believe his lifespan was that long.

After completing his first power enhancement, as the power island instinctively absorbed divine power, Russell, sitting at the highest peak of the island, slowly opened his eyes.

Then, with a thought, he began to return his consciousness to the real world.

...

In the training hall.

Russell, who didn't know how long he had been floating in the air, opened his eyes again.

When his consciousness returned to his body, the first thing he felt was a strong sense of hunger.

Although he didn't know how long he had been floating in the Ocean of Divine Power, one thing he was certain of was that it hadn't been a short time.

After acquiring the Kryptonian physiology, his requirements for food and water had decreased to an astonishing degree.

Although he hadn't conducted specific tests, he guessed that his Kryptonian physiology could sustain him for at least two to three months without eating or drinking.

However, now he felt the strongest hunger he had ever experienced in his life.

The indescribable intensity of the hunger made him furrow his brows involuntarily.

After suppressing the irritability and anger arising from the intense hunger within him, he returned from his cross-legged floating position to a standing posture on both feet.

Then, he headed towards the large doors of the training hall.

At the same time, he observed what should have been a magnificent training hall.

Hmm...

He wondered if it was because he instinctively emitted an astonishingly high temperature during the awakening of his Divine Sun Powers, but all the metallic items inside the training hall had melted into puddles, resembling cooled "molten iron."

Not only that, he also noticed that the temperature inside the training hall seemed to have increased significantly since he first entered. The walls and floor of the training hall had developed a web-like pattern of cracks due to prolonged exposure to high temperatures.

Looking at this somewhat dilapidated training hall that had been "abused," Russell finally understood why Odin had arranged the training hall for him.

During the awakening of divine powers, some inevitable destruction would occur.

The type of destruction depended on the nature of the awakened divine power.

Because he had awakened Divine Sun Powers this time, the training hall had suffered from scorching heat like that of the sun.

Although it was merely extreme heat and not actual flames, once the temperature reached a certain point, the effects were no different from real flames.

Russell briefly glanced at the current state of the training hall and decided not to dwell on it. He proceeded straight to the doors of the training hall.

Just as he was about to push open the metal doors that had been closed for who knows how long, he furrowed his brows again.

Although the five-meter-tall double doors made of metal hadn't melted like other metallic items inside the training hall, they had clearly been eroded by high temperatures for a long time.

The double metal doors were stuck together.

Hmm...

Russell sighed helplessly upon realizing this.

Then, he exerted force with his right hand.

Although the metal doors were sturdy, they couldn't withstand his immense strength.

With a loud "boom," the metal doors connected to the surrounding walls flew out entirely.

It wasn't until they collided with the opposite wall of the training hall that the massive metal doors finally came to a halt, falling onto the corridor with a resounding crash.

After rudely pushing open the metal doors, Russell was just about to head to the dining hall for a good meal when Thor and Loki's figures appeared in front of him.

"You finally came out!" Thor exclaimed with emotion.

"How long have I been inside?" Russell asked Thor while suppressing the intense hunger within him.

"Counting today, you've been inside for a total of one hundred eighty-nine days!"

One hundred eighty-nine days?

Russell was momentarily stunned upon hearing Thor's answer.

He knew he had spent a considerable amount of time inside the training hall, but he hadn't expected to have been inside for a full six months.

This...

Before he could say anything, Thor continued, "Let's go to the dining hall; you must be hungry."

With that, Thor led Russell towards the dining hall.

"Do you know I was coming out today?" Russell asked as they walked towards the dining hall.

"Father foresaw that you would come out today, so he asked me to wait here for you and prepare food in advance," Thor replied with a smile.

"Well then, thank His Majesty in advance!"

Perhaps others couldn't accurately predict when he would come out, but Odin clearly could.

If Odin's foresight ability ranked second in Asgard, no one dared to claim the first place.

Not long after, Russell followed Thor into the dining hall.

As soon as he entered the dining hall, he sat down at a table.

Then, he began to enjoy the steaming royal cuisine on the table without concerning himself with dining etiquette.

In fact, he completely disregarded any dining etiquette at the moment.

The intense hunger that had been suppressed within him couldn't be controlled any longer upon entering the dining hall.

Russell devoured his food, while Thor sat next to him, quietly drinking.

As for Loki, he sat farther away from Russell, watching with a serious expression as Russell ate heartily.

Throughout Russell's meal, neither Thor nor Loki spoke.

It wasn't until he had finished the royal feast, which could easily satisfy more than a dozen strong men, that Thor finally spoke casually, "What powers do your Divine Sun Powers grant you?"

Russell looked up at Thor, picked up the glass of wine on the table, and downed it.

Then, he said slowly, "Divinity, light, and purification."

He didn't reveal all the abilities granted by his Divine Sun Powers to Thor, only selecting the most important three.

Although he had added many abilities to his Divine Sun Powers, at the moment, these three were the primary ones.

As for powers like justice, contracts, order, summer, and daylight, he couldn't yet fully control them.

He had just awakened his Divine Sun Powers and couldn't develop all the abilities so quickly.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and his divine island couldn't become a divine continent overnight.

"What about your Lightning powers, assimilated or disappeared?" Thor continued to ask.

"They've assimilated, but I will primarily focus on my Divine Sun Powers in the future, with Divine Thunder Powers only constituting a small part."

It was unavoidable.

When one awakened multiple powers, they had to choose one as their main power.

Balancing development was impossible.

"As long as they haven't disappeared!"

Upon learning that Russell's Divine Thunder Powers hadn't completely disappeared, Thor showed a relieved expression.

As the God of Thunder, he naturally favored Divine Thunder Powers.

While Russell possessing Divine Thunder Powers might compete with him for the same abilities, it wasn't entirely a bad thing for him.

At the very least, in the future, when he wanted to discuss Divine Thunder Powers with someone, he would have one more option besides communicating with Odin, as he had done before.

"By the way, there's something I need to tell you: your organization, the Justice League, has run into some issues."

"Some issues?" Russell turned to Thor, giving him a meaningful look, indicating that he should continue.

"Don't worry too much; it's not something particularly serious. Your Justice League has been officially defined by the United States government as a terrorist organization."

A terrorist organization?

I've only been away from Earth for half a year, and the Justice League has already been labeled a terrorist organization?

"What exactly happened?"

Although Russell had done some villainous things in the past, it was still unexpected that the United States government would dare to label the Justice League a terrorist organization.

The United States government and military were nowhere near the Justice League's level of power.

Even if he and Diana didn't intervene, just Godzilla and Grendel alone would give them a headache.

"Your actions on Earth have been dug up, such as your previous identity as a Mad Traveler in the New York underground world and your current position as the leader of the terrorist organization, HYDRA."

Thor calmly explained.

To him, this wasn't a particularly serious matter.

"What led to the Justice League being labeled a terrorist organization was not clear."

While Russell had indeed done some things that only supervillains would do in the past, it didn't mean that the United States government would dare to label the Justice League as a terrorist organization.

The Government and military didn't have the power to contend with the Justice League.

Even if he and Diana didn't take action, just Godzilla and Grendel alone would give them a headache.

"Well, I understand."

Russell said calmly, as if he didn't care about this matter at all.

"Are you full? If you are, His Majesty has something to discuss with you."

Thor continued.

"Now?"

"Yes, now!"

Although Russell didn't know what Odin wanted to talk to him about, he had no objections.

A few minutes later.

Having eaten his fill, he followed Thor to Odin's study.

Just as Thor intended to stay and listen in, Odin wasted no time in instructing him to leave the study.

Seeing Thor being dismissed from the study, Russell furrowed his brow slightly.

Odin didn't waste any time and, after a brief appraisal, began to speak about the matter at hand.

...

Over an hour later, after his conversation with Odin, Russell left the study with a calm expression.

Closing the study door, he turned to Thor, who had been waiting outside, and said, "I'm going back to Earth. If you need any help, feel free to come to Earth anytime."

With that, he took out a golden energy crystal imbued with Divine Sun Power from his pocket.

The crystal had an intricate magic array on its surface.

"I'm leaving this communication crystal with you. Just crush it, and I'll be able to sense it. Before the spell dissipates, say what you want to convey, and I'll hear it immediately."

"Additionally, this communication crystal can help me locate you successfully and reach you in the shortest amount of time."

This communication crystal, containing Divine Sun Power and engraved with a communication magic array, had been hastily crafted by him in the study. Leaving it with Thor was part of the discussion he had with Odin.

"Why are you giving me a communication crystal?"

Thor asked, puzzled.

"Just as a precaution. I also hope you won't have the chance to use it," Russell replied calmly.