Thanos didn't want to be a villain.

"Taibai, I remember that the Southern Heavenly Gate is guarded by the Four Heavenly Kings, right?" Di'e asked after entering the Southern Heavenly Gate, following behind Taibai Jinxing.

He was very curious about what the Four Heavenly Kings of this world looked like.

Venus, still smiling, replied, "Although the Heavenly King is not on duty at the South Heavenly Gate today, and the four marshals Ma, Zhao, Wen, and Guan are at the gate, I seem to remember that it is the Heavenly King of Growth who is inspecting the four gates today."

"If you wish to meet the Heavenly Kings, there is no need to rush. You originally intended to come here to cultivate and receive guidance from the Great Heavenly Venerable and the Moral Heavenly Venerable. Sooner or later, you will also meet the other immortals."

"Alright." Dio didn't care; he was just curious about what these gods looked like.

The three of them soon arrived at the location of the Great Celestial Venerable.

The Great Heavenly Venerable, also known as the Jade Emperor, was the "Old Man of Heaven" in the mouths of ordinary people in ancient times. It is also the origin of the title "God" borrowed by Western Christianity when it came to China to spread its doctrines.

When Dio first saw the Jade Emperor, perhaps because he was in the world of American comics, even though he was wearing the emperor's crown, he couldn't hide his sharp aura. Apart from his identity as an emperor, the Great Celestial Venerable gave Dio the feeling of a general who had been through countless battles.

And that height was so great that even Dio had to look up at him.

Although he appeared stern and even somewhat serious, the Great Celestial Venerable spoke very gently.

The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves for a while.

After the meal, a maid escorted Hela to her room, but the Jade Emperor asked Di'e to stay.

The Jade Emperor looked at Dio and said, "The strongest being of the Eternal Race, I think you should know why we sent you to Earth."

Dio nodded. Of course he knew that as a member of the Eternals in this universe, he was a life form born on Earth and was naturally a guardian of Earth.

Even though Dio himself was not born on Earth.

When Dio demonstrated his immense potential and power, the gods of Earth saw an ally with whom they could unite against the Celestials.

Especially after learning that there was a celestial being's offspring deep within the Earth's core, this urgent feeling stirred the minds of the Earth's gods.

Among all the gods on Earth, only the Eastern Chinese gods were most capable and experienced in nurturing their successors. Therefore, after some discussion, it was decided that the Chinese gods would teach and enhance Dio's strength.

"The Celestial Gods are exceptionally domineering and incredibly powerful, but even if they elevate the concept of maintaining peace to the scale of the entire universe, it would still be a terrible disaster for all living beings in the universe." The Jade Emperor paced slowly with his hands behind his back.

“In the past, the gods of each realm fought their own battles. Even when the Celestials descended upon Earth, we did the same. It wasn’t until each of us suffered losses at the hands of the Celestials that we sent Odin to test the waters first. Who would have thought that even the combined power of the strongest among the gods would be so vulnerable against the Celestials?”

Then the Jade Emperor said in a serious tone: "Only then did we realize that we needed allies. The reason why our combined strength was not enough was simply because we had too few of them. If we could cultivate or discover more talents to join us, then the Heavenly Gods would not be as invincible as we imagined."

"So we spent over 100,000 years searching for allies, but without success, until you appeared."

"I'm telling you this so that we don't train you to go head-to-head with the Celestials. Although there are still conflicts and suspicions among the gods, we all know that no single god can resist the Celestials." The Jade Emperor looked down at Di'e with a serious expression.

Dio suddenly realized something and asked in surprise, "So, the legend in the universe about a certain gathering place of gods, where those gods allowed dimensional invasions and rebellions among their subordinates without sending a large army to suppress them, is actually Earth?"

"What's the purpose? Is it for training troops?"

The Jade Emperor did not deny it.

“It is a very difficult process to cultivate a powerful warrior from scratch, and it is difficult to form a fighting force. But just like Asgard recruits heroic spirits, we also recruit famous and powerful generals from the mortal world to our cause, hoping that they can become our future help.” After a short silence, the Jade Emperor explained.

“The Li family, who assisted King Wu of Zhou in overthrowing the Shang dynasty, were deified for their merits. Erlang of Guankou was also deified for his meritorious service in controlling the floods, which brought blessings to generations. Famous ministers and generals of various dynasties who possessed unparalleled wisdom and courage could also be deified.”

"How about that? Doesn't it sound like someone who's desperate for anything?" The Jade Emperor chuckled self-deprecatingly at the end.

Dio didn't know what to say.

He actually heard a hint of sorrow in the Jade Emperor's voice.

However, it seems that this is why the gods recommended him to come here for cultivation and training.

When Dio first joined the Earth's divine family, the gods wanted to cultivate his strength so that he could join the ranks of the "Father God" as soon as possible and increase the voice of the Earth's gods in the City of Omnipotence.

The people whom the Jade Emperor mentioned earlier who were granted titles of godhood mostly became among the most powerful fighting forces in the divine race within a thousand years.

Even in the entire universe, its strength is top-notch!

For example, the heroes nurtured by Athena in Greece were almost all of Zeus's bloodline, with a very high degree of directional influence, and with the exception of one or two, most of them were not qualified to become a member of the gods.

Even the heroic warriors of Asgard are mostly cannon fodder.

As for the other gods, they either have a very high degree of directional focus, like the Greeks, or they lack the strength to cultivate them.

A side-by-side comparison reveals that the only option left is for the Chinese divine race to cultivate them.

"Alright, the welcome dinner is over. Take a rest and get familiar with the surroundings. Tomorrow we will arrange for you to go to the Tushita Palace to see Laozi."

After a moment of silence, the Jade Emperor seemed to be sighing over something, then waved his hand, ordering the heavenly guards to send Di'e away.

Upon arriving at his lodgings, Dio felt as if he had returned to his old home from his previous life.

The house was the same as my old home in the countryside in my previous life: a single-story house with blue bricks and red tiles, surrounded by a small courtyard.

Hela, having changed into a Taoist robe, looked at herself in the mirror with a bored expression.

Upon seeing Dio arrive, he exclaimed, "The clothes here are so comfortable! You should try them on!"

Dio smiled at the sight and put on the long robe that had been prepared, but because his hair was too short, he looked a little strange.

However, the clothes are indeed comfortable to wear.

"The clothes look like they fit perfectly." A voice came from the doorway.

Dio and Hela turned around and looked in the direction of the sound.

They saw a child, who looked no more than ten years old, standing with his arms crossed, looking at them with an arrogant expression.

Seeing Dio and the other turn around, the child pointed to the door behind him with his thumb: "I just came in since the door wasn't closed. You won't mind, will you?"

As she spoke, a ferocious and terrifying smile appeared on her cute little face!