Chapter 980: If You Don

This new origin is strange; Ang couldn’t sense its “force” at all, like a clump of rainbow cotton—a chaotic origin with no destructive power?

Ang tried smashing it with chaotic force, but each impact made them stick together, like gray mud thrown into rainbow mud, kneaded and twisted into a single lump.

In the end, the rainbow “mud” floated to the surface, enveloping the chaotic force.

Negril couldn’t perceive this origin-level manipulation; he only saw Ang pinch his hands a few times, then stow them away, leaving him bewildered: “What new origin?”

Ang looked inside the room and said: “On her—new origin force.”

“New origin force? You’ve never seen it before? What’s its trait?” Negril asked in surprise.

Ang shook his head—he didn’t know either. The tiny bit he’d taken from Faradi had already mixed with the chaotic force; he needed to take another bit.

Just as he was about to return and take another touch, Anthony burst out in disarray, babbling: “Go go go, hurry up!” Then he hurried off.

What had happened? Even the old fraud was running away? This was rarer than origin force—Ang forgot to take another touch and followed Anthony in a sprint.

Faradi chased after them, calling warmly: “Come play again! Bring more people—I’ll wait for you!”

Anthony fled in panic, only slowing down once the crystal pillar was out of sight.

Negril, projected onto Ang, asked curiously: “What happened? Did she hit on you?”

Anthony, still shaken, said: “Worse than hitting on me—if I don’t run now, I’ll gain another wife.”

“What? Did you touch her? Did she latch onto you?” Negril exclaimed in shock. Could someone actually force a wife onto Anthony?

Anthony shook his head: “She’s probably the Goddess of Marriage. She’s trying to arrange a match for me—I can feel her influence.”

“Huh? The Goddess of Marriage? Does such a god exist?” Negril asked. The situation wasn’t as simple as he thought.

Anthony said: “I thought she was infatuated with the Master because he’s so handsome, so I flattered her at first sight to distract her. But she immediately asked, ‘Are you married?’ At that moment, I sensed something wrong—it wasn’t just a casual question, but a divine inquiry infused with divine power.”

“If I weren’t a fraud, I wouldn’t have sensed the power. You know how troublesome an inquiry is? It’s a divine technique used by believers to ask the god—gods cannot refuse to answer. So I said ‘No.’ Then she asked, ‘What kind do you like?’”

the·

“Of course I picked the most troublesome answer—I said I liked ‘someone visually pleasing, with good aura’—subjective criteria, all up to me. If I say I don’t like them, I don’t like them.”

“Then she instantly said she had a niece—beautiful, fair-skinned, long legs—and she gestured here, probably meaning ‘big bust.’ How did she know I like big busts? My old succubus was exactly like that.”

“Even weirder—I felt a tiny bit tempted. I couldn’t tell how the divine technique was affecting me, so I made an excuse: I had a few others at home who also needed matchmaking, and I’d bring them along. Then I ran.” Anthony poured out his tale, still shaken.

Negril stared, dumbfounded: “In just a few moments, you fought a divine war?”

“Yes, a divine war—I nearly lost. Just as strange as Lisa’s Gaze of Conception. I suspect she’s a priestess of the Marriage God, capable of forcibly pairing two beings.”

“Why isn’t Ang affected? Ang, do you feel anything?” Negril asked.

Ang shook his head: “She said, ‘Goddess of Dawn, priestess.’”

“Goddess of Dawn… presides over marriage?” Anthony mused.

“Ang says she also has a new origin force,” Negril added.

“Hss—” Anthony sucked in a breath, but his expression was excited, as if he’d found something fascinating. He rubbed his hands together: “Looks like I need to properly meet her—see what level her god is.”

“Huh? How? With such a weird divine technique, how do you handle it? Don’t end up bringing back a wife!” Negril said.

Anthony smiled: “Her divine technique doesn’t work on the Master—so there must be something that can ignore it. Didn’t I leave a tail?”

“I said I had a few others at home needing matchmaking. So I’ll bring a lich, a fallen-god rabbit, a construct, a eunuch, a stone woman, an elemental spirit, and ninety-six other genders—see how she matches them.”

Negril laughed and groaned: “You can do that? But this divine technique is insane—forcing marriage? How was that even defined?”

Anthony shrugged: “It’s normal. Divine techniques are just the manifestation of will. If you possess devout will and the power to manifest it, you can define corresponding techniques. For example, if you believed mastering a single knowledge point required plucking a hair, your followers would all be bald.”

“Pfft, why would I want a bunch of bald followers? If you lose a hair for every bit of knowledge, who’d believe you?” Negril laughed bitterly.

Anthony smiled but said nothing, just stared at it.

Negril snapped: “What did I say wrong again? Just tell me—I’m used to it.”

Negril had vast theoretical knowledge and spoke fluently on technical matters, but he often fell into dogmatism and failed in practice. Anthony’s current expression meant Negril had said something wrong again. After so many setbacks, he no longer cared.

Anthony said: “A sage once said: nothing gained for free is ever valued. Do you know why the Master insists on the principle of equivalent exchange? Not because he needs those things—but because only when the other pays a price does your gift gain value.”

Ang scratched his head. Is that why? So that’s why I’ve always stuck to equivalent exchange? I get it.

Anthony pretended not to notice and continued: “Your faith spreads so poorly because you give everything for free. When someone prays, you project instantly—it’s too easy. Your knowledge seems worthless. Do you know why Red Star is so fervent in spreading your faith?”

“Because he’s paid too much. He poured in too much time and energy. If your knowledge is cheap, what value is his sacrifice? So he spent his entire life spreading your knowledge, making the entire Starry Sky chant your name—making him the brightest among the stars.”

“If you required one hair lost for every knowledge point mastered, every believer would cherish your knowledge. They’d go bald—and grow stronger. They’d become the most knowledgeable bald ones in the Void.”

“They’d eagerly tell others: ‘We went bald because we learned knowledge—not because we’re weak.’ If others doubt it, they’ll make them test the power of knowledge yourself. Your name will be sung for ten thousand generations.” Anthony solemnly raised his hands.

Negril suddenly understood. He’d sensed all this before but hadn’t known where the problem lay. Now, Anthony’s words made it clear.

“I know what to do now. Fine, go ahead—start the divine war. By the way, if it were Lisa’s Gaze of Conception, how would you handle it?” Negril asked.

“Easy. Gather a few hundred postmenopausal women and swarm her—scratch her face off.” Anthony said, turning to leave.

Ang suddenly said: “Find, new, Dawn origin.”