Chapter 1491
Chapter 1491 - 1487: Meeting Gift
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"It’s here..."
The wind and clouds in the sky were as usual; the cabbage-color sky dotted with bits of white clouds, the sea breeze carried the familiar scent of salt, and there was the faint smell of blood.
A world-scale war is not something that happens overnight; from planning to deployment to shifting industrial focal points to personnel dispatch to high-level probing to mutual ignition... every step is methodically advancing.
World wars are often decades of conflict buildup, more than a decade of war-prelude arrangements, and several years of war preparations... but this time, for the world it might be a world-scale war, yet for the undistinguished first superpower of Earth, the Eastern Country, it was just a large-scale conflict, a wide-ranging strategic probe and a rehearsal.
Months of time passed, along with dispatch of various war forces, the war had naturally escalated entirely.
"...Is this the Sea God’s winter demise?"
That day, the ancient Sea God arrived in Its new world.
The moment It was embedded in this world, it seemed as if nothing had changed, but existences of Lu Ping’an’s caliber could vaguely sense the distortion of the World Rules.
He couldn’t help but recall the intelligence he had obtained before; how mortal... at least life forms that were once mortal, plotted to seize ownership of the world.
To become the Avatar of rules, the Avatar of the World’s Reason... the so-called "Personification of the World’s Reason" embedded within the world, became the new operating rules and judgment mechanism and naturally obtained ownership of the world.
"Aren’t they afraid of provoking the Awakening of the World Consciousness?"
"Heh, it’s for this reason, precisely, that he is brought here. To be exact, for the winter demise, this is also a great feast."
Lu Ping’an didn’t pry further; as long as Big Cat and Lord Xiuyi confirmed there were no issues, he would just follow suit.
But at this moment, he had some new understanding...
"Contamination and rules won’t disappear; they only move from one place to another. Just as our world is targeted by Exotic Realm Invaders, for the sake of Self-Destruction, we too set our sights on this world. Curse and Decree-level professionals crave stronger opportunities and better equipment; those of Rule-level and above await ’rules,’ ’Rule,’ and the opportunity for Ascension. Higher-level beings covet the very source of this world."
Involuntarily, Lu Ping’an remembered the entity that devoured moons; his group wasn’t fundamentally different from them.
"Isn’t that the way of life forms? Don’t you eat?"
But in Big Cat’s eyes, this was a matter of course, merely a different method of "Feeding."
Perhaps, this was the origin of her Path, her understanding of the road to growth.
"No, we are different. Compared to the only Sun, I prefer a cluster of stars..."
Lu Ping’an too was "Feeding," but what he fed on more were the profits of trade, the "tax" generated by individuals engaging in transactions; when others appreciated in value, Lu Ping’an could also obtain his own "cut."
"...I somewhat understand why I’ve been ’smooth sailing.’"
Among many paths of Evolution, for most superiors and the world itself, Lu Ping’an was a rare "beneficial insect," and he would naturally receive favor from fate and tolerance from those higher up.
Lu Ping’an shook his head; "beneficial insects" were not just himself alone; it was Deities who could provide the world with rules, Order, and the World’s Reason that were the most welcomed beneficial insects. Evil Gods, like Big Cat who devoured everything, were the pests everyone detested and dogs barked at.
"Respected Sea God of winter demise, I am Lu Ping’an, your humble Believer, please bestow upon me what I deserve..."
Utterly blasphemous words were spoken before a modest makeshift altar; the next moment, Lu Ping’an felt he had gained the attention of some being... Eh, there was no sensation, completely different from when he was first targeted by the World Consciousness.
Perhaps the winter demise was indeed powerful, but for Lu Ping’an now, it wasn’t an existence beyond his scope of understanding.
His eyes faintly gazed upon the vast and majestic figure among the stars.
It was It, and also Its Divine Kingdom, the lower half a silver dolphin, surrounded by clouds singing Holy Songs, within the infinite singing and ice and snow, the Storm phantom enveloped by the ice and snow whirlwind was the so-called Deity.
"Lu Ping’an..."
The awakened young man looked down and realized he had unconsciously blasphemed by touching the crude God Statue and had re-edited it.
The original God Statue resembled Poseidon, with a clear division between the fish tail and human body, but after Lu Ping’an’s correction, it was much more "detailed."
𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
This was not just a simple correction, but "portraying a God," Lu Ping’an was using his own eyes to "observe" and "anchor" the Deity.
"Thank you...."
A deep voice echoed in Lu Ping’an’s ear, and the next moment, the system provided a notification.
[Sea God Poseidon thanks you for your ’observation’ and has granted a reward, please claim it.]
[The Divine Grace Gift Pack includes the following seven Divine Graces...]
Lu Ping’an was somewhat surprised; he didn’t think he had done anything to merit thanks.
"You have... for gods, ’being observed by another high-dimensional existence’ is of great importance; it’s like being a point of anchorage, solidifying Its Order, preventing Its corruption."
Big Cat was a bit envious, those eyes, those unforeseeable Eyes of Truth, were something she wouldn’t even dare to dream of.
Generally speaking, such "observation" would significantly drain the observer, but Lu Ping’an had easily succeeded in observing and even inscribed it into a God Statue, creating a "record" without any depletion.
Perhaps this simple God Statue would also become a new Holy Item for the Sea God, and might even become the template for a new set of Holy Images.
For Poseidon, this was like receiving a grand gift upon just arriving in this world; naturally, It was overjoyed.
"Is that so..."
Lu Ping’an didn’t dwell on it; he was just checking his "return gift."
This was to be expected; the Sea God here was not for sightseeing, of course, It would offer the local warriors a series of "Divine Gifts" and "Career Paths."
This was one part of the grand warfare strategy, Lu Ping’an and his party were just waiting for it.
Under normal circumstances, acquiring Divine Grace also had exclusive paths, requiring a series of rituals and offerings, quite cumbersome and troublesome.
But a "High level" individual like Lu Ping’an naturally had a fast track.
The "Prayer" he had just recited was the agreed upon passphrase, skipping over a series of procedures, automatically activating the highest level of gifting.
But upon really checking the system’s "Gift Pack" on the Panel, Lu Ping’an was still quite surprised.
"Poseidon’s Oceanic Blessing (Lower Gold)? This is outrageous; it’s actually a Rule-level Divine Grace?!"
Receiving a Divine Blessing was expected; without the support of a Deity, the land Races couldn’t overcome the oceanic Life forms.
But usually, Divine Blessings of this level were simply meant to be functional; low-level ones like Black Iron or Brass were sufficient.
However, the reward for Lu Ping’an was not so straightforward.
[Would you like to begin the Divine Gift Profession, Oceanic Lost Soul (Lower Silver)...] It seems that this Big Shot was very satisfied with the meeting gift from Lu Ping’an.
— End of Chapter 1491 —