Chapter 697: The Time to Ascend to Godhood

Wind Wall Forest, underground factory of the magic ring.

The number of semi-finished magic ring machines belonging to the half-vampire Vanessa has increased to five, and each of these five machines is connected to two conveyor belts.

Under the neon light strips on the wall proclaiming "Overtime is Glorious," the blanks of magic rings are conveyed one by one to the Moon Shadow of Miss Lu Ka.

Under the sickly lights, the Moon Shadows hang their heads, and on their indistinct faces, there seems to be a trace of resentment.

"Detected: passive slacking!"

A shrill, emotionless magical voice suddenly exploded.

One Moon Shadow jolted violently; before it could beg for mercy, a magic stone above its head released a bolt of lightning, crackling and popping as it shocked the creature into trembling.

The clacking of the conveyor belt, the crackle of lightning, the dull, despairing roar of machinery.

Rod stood at the door, his mouth opening in shock.

"Congratulations, Master, you are now a terrifying slave master exploiting workers!" Tally laughed.

"."

Rod, speechless, walked to the small partition on the left of the door.

He went in without knocking.

No one was there.

The faint scent of negative energy, the unremarkable decoration, and the cluttered instruments on the experimental table told Rod that this was the personal studio of the zombie Selena.

The magic rings passing through her hands were even more advanced, more exquisite, and even accepted custom orders.

"Rare... Selena is actually not at her post."

Rod closed the door properly and strode casually to the partition on the right of the door.

A completely different, elegant, and warm atmosphere rushed to meet him.

Soft, healthy white lighting, cushioned chairs with colorful brocade, classics arranged by color gradient on the corner bookshelf, four moonlight mosses hanging beside the desk, and a cup of coffee placed on a "self-adjusting temperature" magic stone.

Even more unbearable was...

The cute handwritten words "Overtime is Harmful to Health" were pasted on the wall.

Vanessa, the half-vampire on the cushioned chair, glanced at Rod, then quickly lowered her head.

Her blood-red long hair and black ribbons were braided together into a plait, hanging over her left shoulder.

Her decadent and gorgeous face still carried a sickly pallor; now wearing a pair of rimless glasses, it added even more of a scholarly, elegant air.

A stack of exercise books with names written crookedly on the covers was pulled out from the desk.

The pen tip slid quickly.

Turn page, slide, turn page, slide.

She is the substitute teacher for the Mis-Cast Bodies, currently grading homework.

Rod leaned against the doorframe, smiling bitterly: "How long have those guys outside not rested?"

"Three days? A week? I forgot, you said I could use it freely."

Tally corrected dissatisfiedly: "It's Rod."

"Roz."

"Can I beat her up, Master?"

Rod smiled, pinched Tally's slightly cool earlobe; the succubus was very pleased, her little face obediently rubbing back and forth.

"Where are Miss Lu Ka and Selena?"

"That doll fainted from exhaustion; Selena is taking her to rest. Hmm, how many times have I explained this problem, and yet someone still gets it wrong?"

"She can faint too?"

"The underground space cannot be illuminated by moonlight, so the domain power she receives will also drop significantly; even a deity has limits."

"Just don't break her on me."

"Feeling protective?"

"I just feel that the words 'Overtime is Glorious' aren't stimulating enough for these shadows. How about trying this: for every 100 extra rings completed, reward 5 minutes of rest time, which can be accumulated but resets daily. Punishment sets the floor, reward raises the ceiling; let's grab both ends."

Tally beside him froze, looking blankly at her master.

Vanessa thought for a moment and felt it made some sense.

It's just... is 5 minutes a bit too much?

"I will definitely do my utmost to handle the commission between us; you don't need to watch. I am confident that the ring production will double by the end of the month."

Rod waved his hand and didn't mention that he actually came to find Miss Lu Ka.

At this moment, the zombie Selena and the doll Miss Lu Ka walked slowly from the rest area.

Selena remained aloof; as she passed, she merely glanced at Rod.

Rod smiled, ruffled her hair, then leaned close to Miss Lu Ka.

The pale pupil in her left eye was filled with bloodshot veins and thick fatigue; her hands hung limp, her back hunched, looking extremely aged.

Miss Lu Ka looked at Rod with disgust, possessing a faint aura of death.

"What do you want?"

Rod didn't mind and asked directly: "Are you sure you obtained the divine spark in the First Era?"

"Nonsense."

"Explain specifically."

"I forgot which star sector; inside a large dungeon core destroyed by a spiritual energy storm, a collapse occurred, and the divine spark was born accordingly. I passed by, picked it up, and then became a god."

"Just that simple?"

"What else?"

The little brat is quite deserving of a beating.

Vanessa stopped writing, not lifting her head: "This guy's lying to you."

"You know nothing. A vampire with big tits like you is a disgrace—don't you know how much faith your people once gave me?"

Lately, Lu Ka had adopted a slacker mindset: if she couldn't resist, she'd just lash out.

"Look, Rochelle, this guy's lying again—where were vampires in the First Epoch?"

Vanessa frowned, hunching her back and pulling her chest in slightly.

Tally pouted again, correcting: "It's Rod."

"Alright, Rolo."

Lu Ka froze slightly, mouth half-open, wanting to retort but unable to speak.

"Damn! Those bastards must've altered my memories!"

Rod had also ordered Lu Ka not to lie, and at this weakened state, the Moon Goddess had no power to resist.

Vanessa snorted, expressing her disdain and mockery toward Lu Ka.

She herself was also part of the memory chaos.

But clearly, she felt no sympathy.

"I think you're not just confused—you're too stupid to grasp basic logic. The Astral Space is an emotional projection of the Reality Dimension; the more desire, the stronger the astral aether. How could the population of the First Epoch, tens of thousands of years ago, have generated an astral storm?"

"Or one powerful enough to destroy the Labyrinth Plane? Since records began, only the storms of the past six months have reached that level."

Lu Ka stared coldly at the Young Lady.

"Rod, I request a one-on-one duel with her."

Yet the man, who always loved chaos, remained utterly still.

His pale-white pupils widened—he stood frozen, face filled with disbelief.

Crack—

The underground factory's lights flickered.

The Reality Dimension and the Astral Space untouched by the Divine Ascension Authority.

The cosmic corpse-kin, the Sandkin, who possessed a race-god yet never ascended.

The essence of a divine spark is the accidental release of primordial cosmic energy during the birth or destruction of a Labyrinth Plane.

The First Epoch, tens of thousands of years ago, was far too early to generate the emotional projections that sparked astral storms.

The Moon Goddess Lu Ka, who slept for tens of thousands of years, may once have possessed the faith power of vampires.

Rod's expression stiffened.

Put together, all this pointed to an unbelievable conclusion.

—The evil god of the First Epoch may not have ascended during the First Epoch.

But during the current Fourth Epoch—or later.

(End of Chapter)