chapter 147

Were there really gods in this world?

Patelocke hadn’t expected Su Chen to ask such a question and was immediately taken aback.

After a moment’s pause, he replied, “The Arcana Kingdom once went through a frenzied period trying to answer this exact question.”

“And their answer?”

“We eventually concluded that the Forerunners were ‘gods.’”

“The Forerunners were gods?” Su Chen repeated questioningly.

The Forerunners were supposedly the first creatures to ever appear on the Primordial Continent. And because they were born from the will of the Heavens, they were incredibly powerful.

They were also the first to disappear.

After the Forerunners came the Origin Beasts and the Desolate Beasts, who had reigned over the continent for a long period of time.

And now, five different races were fighting with each other for sole dominion over this continent.

Thus, it wasn’t too great of a stretch to call the Forerunners gods.

However, that still left a few questions unanswered.

As Su Chen’s consciousness crystal made rapid calculations, Su Chen said, “I have a few suspicions.”

“Speak.”

“The Forerunners existed in a time period that was too far in the past. Even if they disappeared, it would most likely be due to a lack of Origin Energy. Where could they have possibly gone into hibernation to still be alive? That’s my first question. Also, during the Forerunners’ rule, even Origin Beasts didn’t dare lift their heads, let alone the five Intelligent Races. We don’t even know if the Intelligent Races were around back then. So why would these gods visit the Intelligent Races, and why would one of them become the goddess of the Harpies? That’s my second question. And my third question is, what is the benefit of being a god anyways?”

Patelocke methodically replied, “The Arcana Kingdom also discussed all of these questions before. We thought of countless possibilities and made many different conjectures. Actually, I personally came up with a hypothesis that can answer all of your questions quite well.”

“Oh? Tell me about it.”

“Let’s assume that the Forerunners are in fact gods. It follows then that the only reason they would become the god of an Intelligent Race is most likely because it gives them some kind of benefit.”

“What kind of benefit?”

“Didn’t you ask me how they could survive to this day?”

Su Chen was stunned. “You’re saying that……”

“I’m not saying anything,” Patelocke interrupted. “I don’t know the answer, and I have no idea why gods would become so weak as to need the faith of commoners to survive. But if the Forerunners really are gods, then any suspicions are actually answers. When you string all of these questions together, then even the most impossible possibility can become the most likely one.”

“Then why don’t humans have their own gods?” Su Chen asked.

“The Harpies have a god because their god answered them. The humans have no god because no god bothered to pay any attention to the humans,” Patelocke replied straightforwardly.

When Su Chen heard this, he fell deep into thought.

But for some reason, he suddenly remembered the old beggar that had swapped out his eyes.

After a moment’s thought, Su Chen said, “Perhaps they did pay attention to humans, but the humans merely never noticed.”

“Never noticed?” This time, Patelocke was the one who was confused. “What do you mean?”

Su Chen shook his head. “I can’t really explain either. But when I was trying to steal the Divine Feather, I felt a tangible threat wash over me — the power of a god. That kind of power is impossible to describe or resist. What do you think happened afterwards?”

“What happened?”

“I smashed the statue of the deity apart with my fist.”

Patelocke was having trouble keeping up with Su Chen’s train of thought, so he was completely clueless as to what point Su Chen was trying to make.

Thankfully, he didn’t need to ask anything. Su Chen continued to say, “We aren’t gods, so we can’t guess at what they think or what they want. But I can confirm two things. First, I personally witnessed and sensed divine power myself. Second, they are somehow limited when they act.”

“Gods are limited……” Patelocke muttered.

“What can limit a god?” He didn’t understand.

“I don’t know.” Su Chen shook his head. “Perhaps an even stronger god, like a god-king, or something else. Or maybe…… Method Power? The Will of the Heavens?”

Su Chen didn’t know the answer.

However, he did know that the world in front of him was incredibly vast, far more than he had ever imagined.

This realization made him very excited.

As he continued to climb higher and higher, he was consequently able to see further and further. The fundamental truths of the world had also become clearer as a result.

This didn’t make him afraid, but rather excited.

This was the attitude of a true scientist.

Those who liked to rely on others would create a god to worship even if no god existed.

Those who liked to challenge others would try and research gods even if they did exist.

Su Chen obviously fell into the latter group.

Whether this world had gods or not wasn’t actually that important. No matter how powerful they were, no ambitious person would bow down and worship a god.

So what if you were a god?

I have my own life and my own decisions to make.

Su Chen was exactly this kind of person. The only reason he was even interested in gods in the first place was because he wanted to figure out how to close the distance or even surpass them.

Patelocke had no idea about the “blasphemous” thoughts running through Su Chen’s mind as he continued to seriously explain, “Your words make sense. Gods would only go into hibernation if they absolutely had to do so. Just because they are strong doesn’t necessarily mean that we need to fear them. The world will only belong to the Intelligent Races from now on.”

“That’s right!” Su Chen agreed with conviction.

The two of them could at least agreed on that subject.

After finishing their discussion on the gods, Patelocke continued to talk about the armor.

“The Sky Armor was a divine Origin Tool used by the Mother Goddess. It is incredibly powerful, and it unleashes an incredible amount of pressure as soon as it is equipped. Only its recognized owner won’t be affected by it. That is one of the unique attributes of a divine tool. You can’t feel that kind of sensation from the item just yet, which is why I believe that it’s incomplete.”

Su Chen chuckled. “I also have another reason why it’s an incomplete item.”

“Why do you think so?”

“If it were complete, then Serene Dream Lotus Crown would have been wearing it.”

“……” Patelocke was speechless.

What a simple reason. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

Fine, I don’t want to talk with you anymore anyways, Patelocke thought as he sulked to himself.

Even though the Sky Armor wasn’t complete, it was still an incomplete divine tool. Since it had been made for a woman to wear, then he might as well take it back with him and give it to……

Damn, who should he give it to?

Su Chen found himself at an impasse.

More women meant more problems. He wasn’t worried of being too poor, but rather of being too rich!

Well, he would figure it out after he returned.

The fourth item was a crystal, inside of which was a sealed bug.

The crystal was also an incredibly high-quality one, so it was obvious that the bug inside was no ordinary bug.

Even Patelocke didn’t recognize it, so Su Chen could only put it away temporarily.

The last item was a scroll, which exuded a strong aura of divine power.

Su Chen immediately knew what it was even without Patelocke saying anything.

“Divine Power Scroll? A scroll made from the skin of a god?” Su Chen was stunned.

The Divine Power Scroll was no secret item. The Mother Goddess Sect had openly admitted to its existence.

Apparently, the Mother Goddess had left behind some of her skin for the first Sect Master the first time she appeared. It, along with the seven Divine Feathers, had become a part of the Mother Goddess Sect’s inheritance.

It was incredibly simple to use the scroll. Any Arcana Technique placed onto the scroll and then unleashed would be imbued with divine power, causing its might to greatly increase.

Even a First-Ring Arcana Technique, when unleashed through a divine scroll, would be at the power of a Fifth-Ring Arcana Technique.

High-tiered Arcana Techniques wouldn’t experience that much of an increase, but they would at least go up by a single Ring.

A Tenth-Ring Arcana Technique could reach the might of a legendary Arcana Technique when unleashed through this scroll.

However, the Divine Power Scroll could only hold one Arcana Technique at a time. After every usage, a new Arcana Technique Pattern would need to be inscribed on it.

Inscribing techniques on the scroll was much more complicated than normal, since you would only be able to use the technique once in battle.

Strictly speaking, the Divine Power Scroll wasn’t actually all that practical.

Perhaps low-tiered Arcana Masters would find it more useful. If two First-Ring Arcana Masters were fighting and one of them suddenly unleashed a Fifth-Ring Arcana Technique, the battle would become a one-sided slaughterfest.

But for a battle between powerful individuals, unless the battle was balanced on a knife’s edge, most times it wasn’t even as useful as a vial of strength-boosting medicine.

The Divine Power Scroll’s symbolic meaning was far greater than its practical meaning.

For this reason, the scroll was often paraded around but rarely used. That was why it had been stored away.

Even in Su Chen’s hands, there would be no exception. He already had the Lifesource Candles, which were much easier to use than the Divine Power Scroll and would allow him to temporarily power up in battle. Of course, he only had two left now, but he still monopolized the method for countering the three great curses. He could just go and ask the Gu Clan for some more the next time he visited Gu Qingluo. Getting another hundred might be out of the question, but one or two every so often would probably be fine.

As such, the Divine Power Scroll also fell under the category of being a spoil of war that Su Chen would never really use. Well, it did have one pretty important use — it would aid Su Chen in his research of divine power.

Unlike the Divine Feathers, the Divine Power Scroll could be exposed to the environment for as long as one wanted. The divine power inside was well-contained and wouldn’t leak out automatically, making it much easier and valuable to research.

This was the benefit of being able to research extensively. In Su Chen’s hands, items would become much more valuable than in anyone else’s.

The storeroom also had a number of good items, but they were far inferior to the divine items, so Su Chen wasn’t really interested in any of them.

The rare treasures in Jade Clearmist’s and Fate’s Hands’ treasure stores, as well as the Mother Goddess Sect’s storeroom, had probably never felt this neglected before in the past.

The countless number of high-quality Origin Tools were piled high in Su Chen’s Origin Rings like trash, and rare medicinal ingredients were completely ignored.

In terms of wealth, Su Chen definitely stood at the very peak of this world.

However, Su Chen still wasn’t satisfied.

He even began to make designs on Sky Country’s imperial treasury.

“The Desolate Beast is on its way and is about to wreak havoc on Sky City. Thus, more opportunities will arise soon. I wonder what His Majesty Eternal Night might leave for me?” Su Chen chuckled as he rubbed his chin greedily.

“I recommend you to forget about trying to rob Sky Country’s imperial treasury. Serene Dream Lotus Crown has probably already realized that the Mother Goddess Sect has been robbed, and thus, Eternal Night will also know very soon. What would you do if you were the emperor of this country?”

“I would place even more guards for the imperial treasury and wait for the thief to come and take it,” Su Chen replied. “And……”

He turned around to glance at Vast Sky Peak. “They haven’t started to fight yet, and Serene Dream Lotus Crown still hasn’t returned yet. It seems that it’d be better if I bypass that direction for now.”

“You mean……” Patelocke asked.

“They’ve allied together.”

“How can that be possible?” Patelocke was stunned. “Kelesda is the most wanted criminal in Sky Country.”

“That title probably belongs to me now,” Su Chen replied with a bitter smile.

Since no fight had broken out, it was only natural that Su Chen had managed to guess what had happened.

Su Chen wasn’t unhappy that he was being used. Actually, he felt a trace of excitement.

A difficult opponent made things interesting.

The desire to do battle burned brightly in his heart.

He said, “My opponent seems to be problematic, but that’s not a bad thing. No matter how powerful my opponent is, I will turn the Harpies upside down. This will be my contribution to the human race!”