Chapter 18: Chapter 18
Jasmine stared around and couldn't help but mutter, "Creating something out of nothing... Just as I suspected."
Indeed, while a 10th-level Divine Master possessed immense power and could easily destroy entire planets, they could not create objects from nothing. Yuu's demonstration only strengthened Jasmine's belief that he must be a True God.
"Hmm..." Loki, on the other hand, seemed to have suddenly sobered up. Her eyes slightly open as she examined Yuu from head to toe.
Not even in Tenkai had she ever seen a god of creation, unless they were primordial gods like Gaia, of course. Still, she was more interested in what she had heard so far.
She leaned her body back slightly, looked at Yue, then turned her head to Jasmine and said with deliberation:
"Jasmine, right? I've heard about this 'cultivation' you've been talking about. What does it consist of? Do you plant seeds to become stronger?"
Jasmine averted her gaze from Yuu and looked at Loki with a disdainful expression, as if the goddess was a big clown with her face painted in pastel colors.
"Planting seeds to make me stronger? You..."
Although she wanted to eliminate the insolent woman immediately, Jasmine knew that she could do nothing in the face of such a powerful being. Besides, she would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about the strange energy Loki was using.
She also saw that Loki's face showed genuine confusion. Surely the goddess had asked the question out of simple curiosity. Despite feeling offended, Jasmine decided to answer:
"The art of cultivation goes against the will of Heaven. Cultivators basically absorb the energy of Heaven and Earth into their bodies to strengthen both flesh and spirit. Qi, or Profound Energy, is an omnipresent life force that, when accumulated, can prolong life and increase strength with each rank attained. The ultimate goal of every cultivator is to increase their Profound Energy until they become an immortal being."
Of course, there was much more to cultivation than what Jasmine had explained. However, she was too lazy to detail every aspect of this art to the goddess. Still, Jasmine explained it all while staring straight into Loki's eyes, as if to say, "Are you stupid? How can you not know some common sense?
But as expected, coming from a completely different world than Jasmine, Loki looked surprised. Was there really a method for mortals to increase their power by absorbing natural energy?
"Really? Where exactly are you from?"
Loki already suspected that no one in this room shared a similar place of origin. A clear example was how Jasmine had proclaimed herself a princess from a place she'd never heard of, but she still wanted to be sure.
"I've said it before, haven't I? From Realm of the Gods. My family controls the Star God Realm, one of the four Royal Rank Star Realms within the Eastern Divine Region."
Jasmine was quite specific about her place of origin. She was a princess of the Star God Realm, so she was naturally proud.
However, to Jasmine's disappointment, Loki showed no sign of surprise or inferiority. In the eyes of the arrogant princess, the goddess now looked ignorant.
"I see. That's how it works over there..." Loki nodded. Then, with a smile, she tapped the table with her palm and added: "Where I come from, the only way for children to overcome their mortal limitations is through the Falna."
Upon hearing this unfamiliar term, it was Jasmine's turn to be perplexed, not understanding what the redhead was referring to.
"Falna?"
Loki's smile widened as she noticed the confusion on the face of the insolent brat who had looked at her with such disdain only minutes before.
"You see, child... the Falna is a power that we gods bestow upon adventurers. It allows them to grow, to become stronger and more skilled with every monster they defeat in the dungeons. A god's blessing, so to speak."
Naturally, Jasmine was tempted to scoff at Loki's explanation. But upon reflection, it made a certain amount of sense. For example, although Loki was much weaker than she was, the princess could sense a very pure kind of energy in the goddess, one that seemed to transcend the divine.
'A divine energy...'
Perhaps this was what she needed to further increase her power, break the bottleneck, and enter the realm of the True God. And being no fool, Jasmine quickly realized that both she and Loki came from completely different places.
As if by unspoken agreement, the two women rested their gaze upon the figure on the throne. On his lap, the golden-haired girl seemed to be in a peaceful sleep.
But Yue was not asleep, for every now and then she opened her crimson eyes to look at the man holding her.
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