Chapter 689 - 688: Plan Changes, Goddess of Wisdom
"Be more confident, drop the ’seemingly’."
Li Jing shifted his gaze away.
Receiving his response, Abigail felt slightly startled.
She sensed a hint of God Power being projected towards her.
But this God Power was very weak.
It just happened to be in the interval where she could barely capture it, making it seem as though its source was both present and absent in her perception, so she could not make an accurate judgment.
Without a doubt, Li Jing was far more powerful than she was.
The stronger one is, the more fuzzy their perception of weaker forces.
This doesn’t mean that their senses become duller as they get stronger, but rather it’s the result of their senses becoming more acute.
As power increases.
The senses of the strong become more subtle.
Many fluctuations that could not be previously detected will become noticeable.
Like.
The life force within ordinary people, etc...
More and more slight fluctuations can be detected, which for the strong gradually becomes a form of interference, making it difficult for them to identify what they need to pay attention to amidst countless weak fluctuations.
In simple terms, there are too many perceptible elements in the sensory world, making it difficult to truly distinguish in detail.
Especially when the distance is too far.
Even she could not grasp it, yet Li Jing made a precise judgment.
How did he manage that?
While baffled by this, Abigail’s expression darkened slightly.
"So it seems, we have already been noticed..."
Before she could finish speaking, Li Jing gestured dismissively.
"It has nothing to do with you. The one who is coming after me, was someone I encountered in the east."
?
Abigail expressed a question mark.
Li Jing had encountered this person in the east?
That would make sense then.
Individual Power.
No matter the strength or nature, it’s like an ID card.
Unique.
To some extent, it carries individual characteristics.
Assuming that Li Jing had met the person before and remembered the characteristics of their Power.
His accurate judgment based on vague perceptions would not be surprising.
The question is...
This person is capable of wielding God Power.
That’s fine for Blue Star.
But this is Earth!
Controlling God Power and having Faith Power in one’s body are two different things.
No matter how weak, God Power is still God Power.
It’s not something that can be simply wielded.
A contender who can properly wield God Power, without a doubt, is a rare existence on Earth.
Not to mention.
Abigail had been wandering around the west for several days and the encounters with individuals possessing Faith Power could be counted on one hand. She had not sensed God Power at all.
She couldn’t find such existence in the west.
How did Li Jing encounter them in the east?
Just as she was puzzled, someone looked at the fallen priests and tourists in the bookstore, contemplating for a second, his lips curling into a smile.
"Abigail, we are going to change our plan."
With that, he went on.
"You go back to the Supreme God Domain now, I will stay on Earth and act alone. I am giving you seven days to suppress the Ancestor God Council and take control of the entire Supreme God Clan, then mobilize for a campaign within three days."
???
Abigail.
What does Li Jing mean by this...
Asking her to return alone is one thing.
But he wants her to suppress the Ancestor God Council in seven days?
Does she look capable of that!?
Before she could recover from her surprise.
A white-haired lolita girl holding a mace, a pink-haired girl wearing a mask, a lady in white carrying a guzheng, and an adorable girl-child all appeared by Li Jing’s side.
"The four of them will assist you in sweeping all obstacles from the Ancestor God Council."
Li Jing stated indifferently.
Abigail instinctively gazed at the four, her expression changing slightly afterwards.
As the Ancestor God of Death.
She was extremely sensitive to life forces.
These four were clearly not living beings.
But they possessed unique modes of existence.
The Spirit Weapons unique to the Eastern System?
Abigail had her suspicions, but the more she studied them, the stranger they seemed.
As a veteran Ancestor God.
She had seen her fair share of artifact spirits from the Eastern System.
However, there was no doubt that these four were completely different from those she had encountered in the past.
Not to mention.
Looking at them now, there was not a single one among the four that she could see through, even the child who looked no older than three...
What was extremely subtle was.
For some reason, she felt as if she were facing Li Jing himself when she looked at the four.
Swallowing hard, Abigail turned her gaze towards someone.
"With the assistance of these four, sweeping away the obstacles thrown up by the Ancestor God Council is certainly possible, but without your Supreme Godhood, I fear..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Li Jing intervened.
"If anyone questions you, defeat them. You’ll need to serve as my stand-in sooner or later, and the Supreme God Clan should get used to recognising the person, not just the godhood."
After saying this, Li Jing waved his hand.
"Alright, don’t hesitate. You just go ahead and do it, they will be your backup."
During this, he opened a rift leading to the Supreme God Domain with the Power of his Supreme Godhood and added,
"Remember to familiarize yourself with the scriptures and documents in your spare time. The first battle facing the Supreme God Clan will be against the X Divine System. I, along with my Power, will not participate in this battle. You will lead the Supreme God Clan, and show me whether you’re up to the task. I don’t want the Supreme God Clan resorting to brute forcing their way to victory with ’God Life’ like always. So, you need to learn to improvise, on this premise, the more you understand your opponent, the more advantageous it will be."
Before his words had even fully left his lips, Li Jing stepped forward and disappeared.
"..."
Abigail.
Li Jing just left, and he even left her with a difficult task at the end.
Avoiding the traditional way the Supreme God Clan fights wars by simply flooding their enemies with God Life... Isn’t that making things difficult for her?
The Supreme God Clan had always fought wars in this way since its inception.
Li Jing is asking her to learn to adapt.
Isn’t he supposed to give her a bit more time?
She lamented inwardly, Abigail cast her gaze on the four Spirit Weapons ─ Wuming and the rest, who were all looking at her, and silently composed herself.
Li Jing’s words.
He had made it very clear.
The battle against the X Divine System would be his "test" for her.
Whether she could get what she wanted at Li Jing’s side depended on how she endeavored.
She lifted her right hand to her left shoulder, Abigail bowed slightly.
"I am Abigail, the Ancestor God of Death, I appreciate your assistance in this journey, and for the Master’s sake, let’s take control of the Supreme God Clan."
Wuming, holding the mace, nodded silently.
Snow Sound and Smoke Eye both responded with indifferent smiles.
Linglong however, impatiently rolled up her sleeves, brimming with excitement.
"Stop dilly-dallying, let’s dive right in! I’ve never brawled with an Ancestor God before. I want to take on ten at once!"
Abigail grinned.
Ten?
That’s a huge undertaking...
Regardless, she didn’t doubt that the gutsy Linglong was capable of it.
In fact, she reckoned.
...that ten probably wouldn’t be enough to satisfy this impetuous young girl’s appetite for battle...
Inhaling deeply, Abigail stepped into the rift in space that Li Jing had just butchered his way through.
Seeing this, Spirit Weapon Wuming and the others followed suit.
...
Meanwhile.
Far from the Vatican, the Holy Land of the Holy See, Li Jing emerged from the space rift in a gloomy alleyway tucked away in a street corner.
Deep in the alleyway.
A suspicious-looking girl swaddled in a black robe was standing silent and still, patiently waiting.
Upon seeing Li Jing break through space, the girl looked up.
A small, unsettlingly plain face was revealed from under her sable hood.
Confronting Li Jing, she retained her composure, her lips curling into a playful smile, as if she could see through everything. Light flickered in the depths of her golden eyes.
Meeting the girl’s gaze, Li Jing returned a slight smile.
"My apologies for making you wait."
"It’s not a big deal."
The girl responded calmly, then examined Li Jing up and down.
"I’m curious. Are you a mysterious strong player from the East, or an alien god who came to Earth with an ulterior agenda?"
Collecting her question, Li Jing simply shrugged.
"A bit of both actually."
Saying this, he nonchalantly summoned a stool and took a seat.
"I take it you didn’t command my attention simply to ascertain my identity?"
"If it were just for that, I wouldn’t have risked exposing my Avatar."
The girl responded with a light chuckle.
"The Spiritual Qi of Earth has been depleted for many years, the environmental conditions growing more dire. The loss of faith on the surface, makes it extremely difficult for native gods like me to descend, doesn’t it?"
Hearing the girl vocalize such a sentiment, Li Jing arched an eyebrow.
The Star Cloud Heavenly Path obligated him to assimilate the Nine Great Divine Fields, to ward off the Nine Great God Races from leveraging any opportunity to play their mischief and engage in shenanigans.
Li Jing didn’t overthink it.
He had assumed that deities wouldn’t be capable of descending and walking among the common folk in his Star Nebula Great World, Earth included.
Reality, however, betrayed his naivety.
He was dealing with one such case already.
That wasn’t even the worst part. She had the gall to set off a self-destruction right before his eyes.
What to do?
Put her out of her misery?
Having given it some thought, Li Jing decided to hear her out.
He figured that if there was one avatar present, there necessarily must be others lurking on Earth, or elsewhere.
As for the God Envoys.
If avatars exist, one more, one less God Envoy walking amongst the people would hardly make a difference.
Seeing Li Jing attentively waiting to hear her proposal, the girl paid him the refined respect of curtseying, a customary gesture of the women from the Western court.
"Foreign God of great strength, I bear no ill will towards you, my purpose here is to propose a partnership."
"Partnership?"
Li Jing blinked, asking,
"On what basis have you concluded that I would be willing to partner with you?"
Saying this, he chuckled with delight.
"As far as I can remember, my body was invaded by a part of your consciousness in the East. Although this encounter doesn’t exactly make us enemies, we can’t exactly be considered allies either."
"That was merely a misunderstanding."
The girl chuckled.
"Had I known of your incredible strength, I would never had dared to show any form of disrespect. But as it happens, you made the first move, attacking my consciousness that had taken so much effort to hide in the East. As a result you happened to...".
Before the girl could finish her speech, Li Jing motioned her to stop with a raise of his hand.
?
The girl.
"I’m here, not to listen to your sophistry."
Li Jing said nonchalantly.
"..."
The girl.
"Before discussing a potential partnership, wouldn’t it be proper to disclose your actual identity?"
Li Jing cocked his head, asking,
"Or are you too apprehensive to share your true identity?"
Not waiting for the girl to respond, Li Jing rose to his feet.
Seeing this, a wave of unease spread across the girl’s previously calm visage. She took an almost imperceptible half-step back.
Noticing her apprehension, Li Jing burst into laughter.
"Relax, we have an old saying in the East that goes ’don’t go hitting people who come in peace,’ given that you’ve sought me out to propose a partnership, I probably won’t take out your avatar without uttering a word."
While talking, he released the stool with a wave of his hand.
"That being said, permit me to point out the obvious. If you’re scared to share your true identity, then cajoling any further would be a waste of time. I am extremely busy and have a great many matters to attend to. I can’t afford to hang around here engaged in a pointless back-and-forth."
Hearing the man’s statement, the girl’s brows furrowed as she revealed a trace of hesitation, but she quickly composed herself and responded.
"The reason for withholding my true identity was due to some personal reservations. But, since this is of importance to you, I am willing to disclose it. However, I would like for you to divulge where you hail from in return."
Before the sound of her voice could fade, Li Jing responded,
"I come from a God Civilization in another spatial plane. I am, for the moment at least, the figurehead of that civilization."
Li Jing’s unexpectedly straightforward response surprised the girl somewhat.
Especially when he mentioned he’s from another spatial plane.
After a brief silence, the young girl with ruby lips muttered.
"My name is Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom."
Athena?
Li Jing raised an eyebrow.
"Hellenistic god race?"
?
Athena threw him a puzzled look.
Even though she was relatively well-known on Earth, Li Jing, a being from another spatial plane, shouldn’t have known instantly who she truly was?
It’s conceivable that he probably had conducted some prior investigations into the native god races of Earth.
However, how many native gods does Earth have?
Again, she discreetly retreated half a step. Athena’s countenance slowly shifted to a more serious tone.
"You... who are you...?"
Before she could finish speaking, Li Jing moved instantly to her side.
!!!
Athena.
Before she could react, Li Jing caught hold of her wrist, smiling cheerfully at her.
"You’re merely a physical vessel here. It seems a bit unfair to me. To discuss a partnership, I feel it’s best done face-to-face."
Saying this, he tore a rift in space with a wave of his hand.
???
Athena.
She could distinctly feel that on the other side of this sudden space rift, lay her "homeland," the Hellenistic Divine Domain.
End of Chapter
