Twenty years passed.
By Iberon's standards, twenty years were but a brief moment in a history that had stretched across millions of years, yet they were enough to bring about tremendous changes throughout the Upper Continent.
During those years, the wave of awakening that had begun after the end of the long period of isolation continued.
One after another, ancient seals began to shatter.
More Immortal Kings awakened from their slumber, followed by Immortal Emperors who had vanished from the world countless ages ago.
But the greatest change came with the awakening of the Transcendents.
Existences who had surpassed the realm of the Immortal Emperors began to appear throughout the Upper Continent, bringing with them a power that had disappeared from the world since the ancient ages.
With the return of these beings, the twelve Super Races began to recover their strength at an even faster pace.
The ancient bloodlines reclaimed their legacies.
Sects that had vanished for thousands of years returned.
Ancient cities were rebuilt.
The racial empires reclaimed their former territories, while ancient blessed lands and resources began to emerge as the immortal energy throughout the world grew stronger.
The younger generation also underwent tremendous changes.
Cultivation became faster.
More powerful talents began to emerge.
And some bloodlines that had declined for thousands of years began to reveal their potential once again.
But the return of ancient power did not mean the return of an age of peace.
On the contrary.
The stronger the empires became, the greater their desire for expansion.
Conflicts over territory and resources became increasingly frequent.
Border battles erupted between the various races.
Some empires seized territories, only to lose them in later battles.
Yet none of the Super Races was willing to wage an all-out war.
With more Immortal Kings, Immortal Emperors, and Transcendents awakening, everyone understood the enormous price that any large-scale war would demand.
There was no alliance between them.
Nor was there trust.
Each race acted in its own interests, and every empire sought to secure the future of its people.
But continuing to fight over every piece of land on the Upper Continent was no longer a practical option.
Thus, the supreme powers of each race began redrawing the boundaries of their respective spheres of influence.
It was not an agreement founded on friendship, but the direct result of the balance of power.
Each race obtained the lands over which it could enforce its control.
Humanity seized vast stretches of plains, mountains, and regions rich in immortal energy.
The dragons took control of enormous mountain ranges and territories that had been associated with their bloodlines since ancient times.
The elves reclaimed vast primordial forests.
The dark elves seized extensive territories beneath the surface.
The demons took control of lands rich in dark energy and dangerous ancient regions.
The Divine Clan seized heavenly territories and sacred regions.
The phoenixes reclaimed volcanic lands and regions rich in fire energy.
The giants returned to the vast mountains and plains suited to their bodies and bloodlines.
The merfolk extended their influence across seas, oceans, and ancient aquatic territories.
The dwarves seized mountain regions rich in rare minerals and ores.
The qilin reclaimed sacred lands and ancient plains associated with their bloodlines.
As for the beasts, their territories were divided among numerous powerful empires and bloodlines, which controlled vast stretches of wilderness.
The vampires, in turn, returned to the lands that had once been under their control in ancient times and reclaimed a number of their former territories.
Over time, the new borders stabilized.
The division was not equal.
The stronger races acquired larger territories, while the weaker powers were forced to make concessions.
But in the end, most of the known Upper Continent came under the control of the twelve Super Races.
And a new era began.
An era in which the racial empires regained some of their former grandeur.
Cities flourished once again.
The number of powerful cultivators increased.
More and more ancient beings continued to awaken from their slumber.
It seemed as though Iberon itself was gradually recovering the strength it had lost throughout the ages.
But...
In the center of the Upper Continent, one region remained outside the division.
It was not a barren land.
Nor was it poor in resources.
It was not a region without value.
Quite the opposite.
It was one of the richest regions in the Upper Continent.
An enormous mountain range stretched across a vast expanse at the heart of the continent, its depths containing rare minerals, Immortal Veins, dense immortal energy, and countless ancient treasures whose true number was unknown to the world.
Yet that region was not included within the territory of any of the twelve Super Races.
Not because they did not desire it.
Not because it lacked value.
And not because no one had discovered its riches.
But for a reason far simpler than that.
It was already owned.
Since ancient times, that mountain range had been the private domain of a single being.
A Great One whose strength had reached a level that made even the mightiest beings of that era think twice before attempting to take his domain from him.
And so, that region remained outside the borders of every empire.
It was not an abandoned land.
Nor was it a land without an owner.
It was simply a land that already had a master.
And the name of that mountain range was...
The Mountains Where Gods Fell.