Ye Wen glanced at the woman a short distance in front of him. To be honest, her appearance was indistinguishable from the angels of the Celestial race, but he had heard that ordinary angels were sexless, whereas Valkyries were exclusively beautiful women. Perhaps that was the only difference?

"But... what's with the infant in her arms?"

Tilting his head to observe for a while, Ye Wen couldn't quite grasp the situation before him. If this Valkyrie had come to drive out their group of intruders, what was the meaning of bringing a child along?

Fortunately, the Valkyrie opposite him wasn't burdened by so many thoughts and spoke immediately: "This is not a place you should have come. Go back, proceeding further will only bring you misfortune!"

Regrettably, her good intentions received no reply. The seemingly young Valkyrie sighed. Perhaps she believed these few individuals were no different from those she had encountered before—all arriving at this land where the gods fell with the hope of 'possibly finding the legacy of the gods.' Yet, they gained nothing but the loss of their own lives in this vast snowy expanse.

Every time she appeared, she would counsel these people to leave, but not a single one was willing to heed her words. Some had even attempted to attack her—though those individuals usually met grim ends.

However, the reaction from this group was somewhat peculiar. They appeared overly calm when facing her, especially the two figures cloaked entirely in black, who exuded a dangerous aura that made even her tremble with apprehension.

"Who are these two? Are they from another divine race?"

Warily, the Valkyrie regretted bringing the child out. She had initially assumed they were just a group of ordinary adventurers who had trespassed.

"There are some matters I wish to discuss with you... but first, I must confirm if you are the last Valkyrie!"

Ye Wen's voice emerged from the cloak, carrying an exceptionally ethereal quality. Though standing right before her, the sound seemed to emanate from a great distance.

This illusion caused the Valkyrie's expression to shift, as she realized what it implied. Just as she began to doubt if her caution had misled her, Ye Wen's voice returned.

"Is speaking to us through a mere phantom a slight disrespect? Perhaps we should truly meet before we converse properly."

It turned out the Valkyrie was employing an ability akin to creating a mirror clone. After repeatedly advising adventurers to leave to no avail, and even facing malice, she had abandoned appearing in person, opting instead for this magical counsel—if they refused, destroying the clone was a minor loss, after which she could choose to punish them or simply ignore them.

Unexpectedly, this strange man had seen through her magic, even locating her true self via the clone and projecting his voice directly to her. Possessing such power... her suspicion that these two figures concealed beneath cloaks belonged to a certain divine race intensified.

"Who are you?"

The Valkyrie opposite her displayed caution, her hand instinctively moving toward the sword hanging at her waist, even as she clutched the infant.

Kratos, on the other hand, was oblivious to these proceedings. Upon seeing the beautiful woman, they stood frozen, gazing at her—Kratos had not heard Ye Wen's words—and then the woman became instantly guarded, showing signs of preparing to fight.

Utterly confused, Kratos remained silent, nor did he immediately move to assist the man who had granted him such great power. He, too, was intensely curious about the identity of the man he was following.

The longer he stayed with the man, the more mysterious Ye Wen seemed to Kratos. Ye Wen rarely appeared fatigued, and despite Kratos consuming vast amounts of food, the man often ate nothing at all, drinking very little water.

A normal person in such a state of sustenance would have collapsed long ago, yet this man remained unaffected. Sometimes, Kratos harbored the suspicion that this man was not human at all, but a powerful entity, perhaps an emissary from the Underworld—certainly not a benevolent one.

"In short, I am someone who means you no harm... perhaps in a certain sense, a friend!"

Ye Wen's reply did little to ease the Valkyrie's wariness; the statement was too vague to inspire trust. Moreover, for the nearly extinct Aesir, the concept of 'friendship' was nonexistent.

Fortunately, Ye Wen understood that a single phrase would not suffice to reassure the Valkyrie, so he continued: "I hope you still remember the young man you named Thor..."

"Thor?"

The Valkyrie shuddered violently, and her gaze suddenly softened, a faint blush rising on her cheeks—Ye Wen and Zhang Ling both noticed this concurrently and thought, "Something's up!" Ye Wen then keenly observed that the Valkyrie's eyes flickered toward the child in her arms for a mere fraction of a second.

That single glance struck Ye Wen like a bolt of peerless lightning, leaving him stunned into silence: "Good heavens, was that kid that savage? Not only did he get on board, but he left an indelible mark?"

Ye Wen, who hadn't paid close attention before, now glanced into the Valkyrie's arms. The exquisitely delicate little one indeed had black hair, while the mother, the Valkyrie, possessed radiant golden locks. Therefore, it could be inferred that the child’s father had black hair—though the child's eyes were a beautiful blue, Yuwentuo himself had one red and one blue eye, so these blue eyes were not entirely unexpected.

"But, calculating by age, Tuo'er should have left her almost ten years ago. How is the child so small?" However, upon reflection, divine beings and humans surely couldn't be the same; Athena sprang fully formed from Zeus's head, so variations were normal.

What astounded him was that Yuwentuo, in his mere human body, had managed to 'handle' a goddess (though the Valkyrie was a lower-tier deity, she was still divine). Truly a display of masculine prowess!

If this were the case, he and the Valkyrie before him were practically family. Ye Wen offered a silent, wry smile, then stated his identity plainly: "Thor is now called Yuwentuo, and he is currently my disciple, cultivating under my tutelage!"

"Disciple?" The Valkyrie looked confused, pondering for a while before comprehension dawned: "Are you an Eastern cultivator?"

Compared to Mount Olympus and the Celestial race, the Aesir were much further removed from the Eastern Heavenly Court. Furthermore, the Aesir had long since perished, leaving the Valkyrie with almost zero knowledge of the East. Had it not been for the partial divine memory she inherited from the fallen Gods' Graveyard, she might not have even known of the Eastern Heavenly Court's existence.

Initially, Yuwentuo's appearance as an East Asian human had puzzled the Valkyrie for quite some time, as she had never seen one before.

"Exactly!"

Ye Wen raised his hand and slightly lifted the hood that had concealed his head. Kratos behind him saw nothing, but the Valkyrie opposite could clearly see, in that fleeting moment, the profound, night-sky-like darkness that had shrouded his mind suddenly recede, revealing an Eastern visage bearing a resemblance to Yuwentuo—though the actual differences were significant, only a few features were similar.

The Valkyrie finally let down some of her guard. With a thought, her clone beckoned to Ye Wen: "Since that is the case, then follow me!"

Though anxious to inquire about Thor's current condition, she knew the current environment was unsuitable for discussion. It wouldn't be too late to talk after leading them to a proper setting. After all, she had waited nearly ten years; what was a little longer?

To her joy, Thor had indeed found a way to strengthen himself after leaving this place. Although she knew little about Eastern cultivators, her inherited memories suggested that Eastern cultivators were a group who mastered the art of making ordinary people as immensely powerful as gods or Buddhas. Rumor had it they were once mere mortals who, through this strange ability, ultimately became terrifyingly potent beings.

If Thor had encountered Eastern cultivators, it meant he had hope of shedding his mortal status, allowing them to finally be together.

Seeing the Valkyrie flying ahead, her demeanor tinged with elation, Ye Wen immediately understood: his young disciple hadn't needed to bother with any schemes; this woman had already been completely won over by that fool. Her wish to drive him away was only because she hoped he would become stronger, for only then could they truly be together!

After all, the Valkyrie had tried all the methods she knew, but none could lift Yuwentuo from his mortal state. Thus, he had to venture out. At that time, she had to be resolute and absolutely not yield to sentimentality. Perhaps for this very reason, Yuwentuo believed this woman didn't like him?

"What an idiot!"

He had thought that since Yuwentuo had lived over twenty years before arriving in this world, he wouldn't be so obtuse as to miss something so obvious. But today, Ye Wen realized that his young disciple's outward age had decreased, and perhaps his emotional maturity had regressed to a similar level—how could he have missed something so blatant?

Of course, it was possible he had noticed but simply never shown it, so Ye Wen remained unaware.

"Regardless, the current situation no longer necessitates this family remaining separated for long!"

The Valkyrie's clone stopped before an unremarkable mountain face and pointed toward a cave hidden behind a large boulder: "Enter from here, and just keep walking until you are deep inside the tunnel!"

With that, she vanished. Ye Wen knew the Valkyrie had dispelled her spell and was quietly awaiting his arrival. However, there were some matters he didn't intend to share with everyone, so he turned to Zhang Ling and Kratos, instructing them: "The two of you, stay back. I have tasks for you to perform!"

"Huh?"

Ye Wen's words surprised not only Kratos but also Zhang Ling.

Ye Wen flipped his hand, and a massive iron coffer dropped onto the snow. Upon impact, the box erupted with a fierce majesty, pushing the wind and snow back a full zhang, creating a relatively quiet space.

He kicked the side of the box, revealing a pair of broad single-handed blades. Long iron chains were attached to the ends of the hilts. As soon as Zhang Ling saw the weapons, she recognized them and immediately glanced toward Kratos beside her.

"The Blades of Chaos. This is the gift I promised to give you!"

Kratos stared blankly at the pair of weapons radiating an inner light, constantly showcasing their extraordinary nature. His heart grew intensely agitated; he could clearly feel his heart pounding fiercely and his blood boiling within his body.

"As for the chains bound behind them, they are actually a separate pair of weapons called the Chains of Olympus. Do not be fooled by the fact that they only wrap around your forearm a few times; the actual length of these chains surpasses imagination. Linking them to the Blades of Chaos means you can instantly extend your attack range to a degree that will break your enemies."

He pointed to the weapons inside the box and spoke words that sounded like heavenly music to the visibly excited Kratos: "Take off the Nebula Clasp you are wearing and try these weapons!"

Kratos had been waiting for these words. The moment Ye Wen finished speaking, the tall young man shed all his cumbersome gear, unclasped the Nebula Clasp wrapped around his arms, and skillfully wound the Chains of Olympus around his forearms. He then gripped the twin blades in his hands, feeling a strange connection as if their bloodlines were linked. He could even sense the blades emitting a faint hum, seemingly expressing their joy.

"These twin blades..."

Ye Wen was slightly surprised by the strange phenomenon emanating from the blades but did not show it, merely stating calmly, "It seems your weapon is quite pleased with you as its master!"

Holding the twin blades and with the Chains of Olympus wrapped around his arms, Kratos now bore a striking resemblance to the original God of War, differing only in his tattoos and ashen-gray skin. However, Ye Wen was not in a hurry; besides, the current Kratos was merely a nascent form that required tempering.

"One year has passed, and you are no longer the frail person you once were. Now, you are qualified to use your power to do the things you wish to do!"

Kratos paused, a fraction of the joy from receiving the new weapons dissipating. But immediately afterward, the intense hatred that had been suppressed deep in his heart erupted, and as if responding to him, the Blades of Chaos blazed with an even more brilliant light, faintly appearing shrouded in a layer of flame.

"You mean..."

"Yes, you can leave now and go do what you must... and leaving this snowy plain alone will be my final test arranged for you!"

There were few enemies on the snowfield, but in a way, the entire plain was Kratos's adversary. He needed to learn how to survive in the harshest environment. If he could manage that, he wouldn't lose his life even on the battlefield—combined with his current combat power, which far surpassed that of ordinary men, he would be invincible in the mortal realm.

Kratos looked toward the distant blizzard, vast expanses of white stretching endlessly. He had experienced the terror of this snowfield when he first arrived and was absolutely certain he could never survive in this wretched place alone. But now, with the aid of the Blades of Chaos and the Chains of Olympus...

He nodded, offered Ye Wen a respectful salute—a Western-style single-knee bow—said nothing more, and took nothing with him. With only the Blades of Chaos and the Chains of Olympus, he walked into the raging snowstorm without looking back.

"Damn it, what a real man! I only told you to go back by yourself; I didn't say you shouldn't take food and water!"

Ye Wen was quite astonished by Kratos's decisive departure. He looked speechlessly at the pile of luggage left behind—after a series of wriggles, Garfield the cat painfully clawed his way out of the heap, then leaped up, baring his teeth and searching for the culprit who had buried him alive.

"Meow?"

Not seeing the silhouette of that person, Garfield was quite confused. Zhang Ling picked him up from the side: "He's gone. You probably won't see him for a while!"

Ye Wen said no more, instead turning and walking into the mountain cave. As for Kratos's situation, it was temporarily on hold. Ye Wen intended for the young man to gain more experience on the battlefield, perhaps checking in a few years later to see what fruit he would eventually bear.

Of course, he had his reasons for giving Kratos those weapons here. An individual leaving this forgotten land where the Aesir fell, even bearing treasures, would be presumed to have found the legacy of the gods, and no one would suspect anyone else.

This was also why Ye Wen hadn't left the Nebula Clasp with Kratos—if such armor, equipped with a weapon tied to an inherent 'Cosmo,' were carried by Kratos, Athena might suspect Ye Wen himself. Then, Kratos, this carefully selected and suitable seed, might be destroyed by Athena.

Therefore... Ye Wen had made this arrangement, bringing Kratos here specifically so that he would have a legitimate reason to carry those weapons.

As for what came next, he needed to inquire about Mjolnir first... Oh, and about that child. If it truly was Yuwentuo's son, by seniority, he would be his own grandson!