"This guy really couldn't bear to part with it." Gru said disdainfully. The Space Ring holding the Divine Spark belonged to the Saint Realm expert named Qina.
Jie Ning sighed. "Just for one Divine Spark, so many Saint Realm experts who once stood high above the continent lost their lives in an instant."
Gru agreed. "Saint Realm experts have unlimited time. As long as they stay alive, there's always hope."
The others exchanged glances and couldn't help muttering inwardly, Do these two really think everyone is as gifted as they are?
Tossing the Divine Spark in his hand twice, Gru looked at Darut and asked, "Grandfather, this Divine Spark is for you."
With that, he tossed the Divine Spark to Darut.
Other than Jie Ning, everyone instantly looked at Darut with envy.
Darut chuckled and accepted it without ceremony. "Then I'll take it."
Jie Ning and Gru sat in the center, while the others sat around them on both sides.
Gru and Jie Ning exchanged their respective insights, while the others listened attentively.
As Jie Ning listened to Gru's understanding of flames, his own understanding of Fire Element magic improved considerably.
Originally, Jie Ning had planned to break through to godhood by studying the earth and fire elements.
His progress with the earth element had always been promising, and Jie Ning was confident that in a few more years, he would be able to break through to godhood through the earth element.
However, he had never expected his comprehension of the Life Law to overtake everything else so suddenly. Instead, he had become a god through the Life Law first.
As a result, his comprehension of Fire Profound Mysteries had been put aside. After all, Jie Ning's energy was limited. The Life Law and earth-element Mysteries already occupied all his attention. He could only barely manage because, in his comprehension, the two occasionally shared similarities and could promote each other's progress.
Now, after listening to Gru's explanation, Jie Ning finally gained a trace of insight into the fire element. While he could not say he had comprehended any Mysteries, he had at least found a path forward.
Of course, after hearing Jie Ning's explanation of life, Gru immediately said that he had found a new direction for his own comprehension.
"Though life is both fragile and resilient, powerful flames can burn away all life..."
After hearing Gru's thoughts, Jie Ning felt that Gru's comprehension sounded more like the Destruction Rule or the Death Rule.
Of course, that was impossible for Gru, since he had chosen to become a god with his main body.
Still, it was not strange. The Four Rules had always left many traces within the various Element Laws.
"Why didn't you choose External Godhood?" Jie Ning asked in surprise after hearing Gru say that he had become a god with his main body.
"Why would I choose External Godhood?" Gru retorted. "External Godhood requires splitting one's soul. That not only weakens one's strength, but also makes comprehending the laws more difficult."
"But it gives you another body," Jie Ning said, puzzled.
"What use is another body? With External Godhood, the main body is still only at the Saint Realm." Gru was deeply confused. In his view, another Saint Realm body could offer no help in battle and might even become a weakness.
"With a Doppelganger, even if something happens to one side, the other body can survive," Jie Ning explained.
Gru dismissed it. "I'm already a god. What could possibly happen to me?"
"God-level strength already stands at the peak of the continent. If something truly happened, a remaining Saint Realm main body wouldn't escape disaster either."
"But if I had a Doppelganger helping with things, it would indeed be convenient. One body could cultivate while the other went out to have fun." As he spoke, Gru began to regret his choice a little. Having a Doppelganger really did seem as though it could make life more comfortable.
Jie Ning fell silent for a moment before saying, "But then the Saint Realm main body can continue comprehending other laws. If the main body becomes a god, it cuts off the possibility of becoming a god through other laws."
Hearing this, Gru looked seriously at Jie Ning. "Jie Ning, you're a true genius. I believe you can accomplish what you're talking about."
"But for me, becoming a god through the fire element is already my limit. If I split my soul after choosing External Godhood, I wouldn't even have the confidence to go further in my comprehension of the Fire Element Law."
"Besides, even with only the fire element, I believe that as long as I can fully comprehend its mysteries, I can still stand at the peak."
Jie Ning had to admit that Gru made sense. It's true. After splitting my soul in two, the decrease in soul power made comprehending Mysteries noticeably more difficult.
Even though he knew that treasures such as Purple Crystals and Soul Golden Beads could nourish the soul, they were far too unrealistic for him at present.
Not to mention that Purple Crystals were a natural treasure of Hell, Jie Ning even suspected that, even if he went to Hell, in this era he might not be able to obtain a single Purple Crystal anywhere other than near the Purple Crystal Mountain Range.
As for Soul Golden Beads, setting aside their inhumane raw materials, they were the exclusive privilege of gods who had comprehended the Death Rule. A god who had chosen External Godhood and possessed a weakened soul would simply be a heaven-sent gift to powerful gods of the Death System.
After thinking for a while, Jie Ning suddenly felt fortunate that he had comprehended the Life Law.
Luckily, the first law through which I became a god was the Life Law. Life is best at nourishment. My soul can slowly grow stronger through the nourishment of Life Force. I really stumbled into a fortunate outcome.
At last, Jie Ning admitted to Gru, "Indeed, for people like us, the drawbacks of External Godhood are considerable."
Gru thought Jie Ning had been discouraged by him and hurriedly comforted him. "Don't worry. With your talent, even if your soul has been divided, I believe you can still grow into a powerful God-level expert."
For a moment, Jie Ning did not know whether to laugh or cry. He agreed that ordinary people were better suited to becoming gods with their main bodies, but that did not mean he thought External Godhood had no future.
Just then, Darut suddenly said, "Then why not choose External Godhood first, and then have the main body refine another Divine Spark?"
Gru's previously cheerful mood instantly vanished. That actually makes sense.
"Both bodies would be God-level, so then..." Darut wanted to continue.
Bang! Darut was sent flying once again.
After talking for a while, Jie Ning returned to Tieling Town.
Since everyone was fine, he needed to go back and properly digest the insights he had gained after becoming a god.
Several years had already passed since the day Jie Ning became a god.
It was said that Gru and Duke Darut later made a trip to the imperial capital. After that, the Korur Empire gained the titles of God of Fire and God of Life.
Later, Jie Ning's grandfather Dale was suddenly appointed the new Life Duke, while his father Chris was promoted to Earl.
This stunned countless people, but everyone who knew the inside story understood that the changes in those two men's titles were because the God of Life—Jie Ning—stood behind them.
As the parties involved, the two naturally understood this perfectly well.
When the imperial envoy discussed with Dale where his ducal territory should be established, Dale specifically sought Jie Ning's opinion.
The Korur Empire was quite generous. Other than the area near the imperial capital and the territories of several major dukes, the Empire stated that any location could be chosen as the new duke's territory.
After considering it, Jie Ning chose the Death Desert, which he had once visited.
Though many people did not understand, that did not stop the former Death Desert from officially being renamed Life Duke's Territory.
Some of the first people to receive the news found Jie Ning's decision strange. In private, many even believed it was Jie Ning's compromise with the Empire's God of War.
However, the miracle that followed silenced them all.
Under Jie Ning's full exertion of the Life Law, the Death Desert rapidly regained its vitality. In fact, the present Death Desert—no, Life Duke's Territory—could be considered some of the finest land on the entire Bana Continent.
Of course, behind this miracle was a somewhat exhausted Jie Ning.
Life Duke's Territory, Hall of Life—Jie Ning's current residence was a structure expanded from the place where he and Arannis had once lived in the Death Desert.
Watching Jie Ning sit cross-legged in the courtyard, Arannis's thoughts suddenly returned to the past.
Arannis still remembered that after Jie Ning used his divine power at full strength to restore vitality to the entire desert, he had been staggering on his feet.
She had been terribly frightened at the time, only to learn later that Jie Ning had overextended himself and drained his divine power, leaving his body weak.
Thinking of how Jie Ning had clearly been so weak then, yet still put on a tough front, Arannis could not help smiling.
Noticing the movement behind him, Jie Ning, who had been examining the growth of the Life Grass, turned back helplessly. "Lannie, what are you thinking about again?"
"I definitely wasn't reminiscing about a weak God of Life." Arannis smiled playfully.
Arannis was now thirty years old. The passing years had shed some of her original childishness, replacing it with a mature charm.
Jie Ning's heart stirred. Using his Divine Domain, he pulled Arannis into his embrace. "Then today, I'll show you what a valiant God of Life is."
The two vanished from the courtyard.
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