The Master of Pit Digging, Ereshkigal

"Lady Ereshkigal, so you mean the purpose of our cultivation is twofold: one to master techniques, and the other to purify our bloodlines and trace back to the origin of the world's power?"

"And for now, Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold are the ranks, from lowest to highest, defining the stages of evolution?"

Lin Xian briefly summarized the general content on the clay tablet and handed it to his teacher for review.

This demon beast, so intelligent and adept at learning, greatly surprised the Underworld Goddess.

For this reason, Ereshkigal nodded with satisfaction, as a sign of encouragement.

"Then, what happens if a normal adult human awakens their bloodline power and advances to Gold?"

To gain a deeper understanding of the gap between different tiers, Lin Xian continued to ask.

"Purify the bloodline and use divine power, resulting in a qualitative leap!"

Ereshkigal paused, then gave Lin Xian a more detailed explanation.

"In ancient times, the King of Kings Marduk, along with the gods, defeated the great disaster Tiamat and forged heaven and earth, as well as the world's stars and rains, from its colossal corpse."

"To thank Marduk, the gods built Babylon and temples for him."

"And in return for the gods' gratitude, Marduk used the flesh and blood of Tiamat's son, Kingu, to create humans who would serve the gods."

"During the Golden Age, humans and gods lived together. The newly created humans learned much wisdom and skills from the gods."

"Furthermore, these beings born from Kingu's flesh and blood inherited his power, possessed long lifespans, could read Cuneiform Divine Script, and wielded magic at will."

"Therefore, humans in the Golden Age were extremely close to being divine beings."

By blood relation, wouldn't Kingu be the brother of the Babylonian gods?

Then, humans born from his flesh and blood would be equivalent to innate divine descendants.

According to Ereshkigal, human advancement was about tracing their origins.

In this process, the power originating from the gods would be gradually awakened.

The bloodline inherited from the gods would be continuously purified.

Thinking this, Lin Xian flicked his tongue. After a moment of hesitation, he finally raised his writing board.

"What is above the Gold tier?"

Ereshkigal was slightly stunned, her lips pursed, and her brow furrowed.

"Demigod!"

"The Gold rank is the process of continuously awakening divine power and purifying bloodlines. When the divine blood within a person's body exceeds half, they become a Demigod."

"These beings are actually transforming into another species. They possess powers similar to gods, but lack the authority and corresponding status to wield them."

What if they had authority and status...

Lin Xian suppressed the instinct to ask further, hiding his subtle emotions.

In fact, the Fate Tablet that planned the Mesopotamian world did not have four eras, but five!

Before the Golden Age, there was the Age of Gods!

Therefore, Demigods were the transition from Gold to divine beings.

Humans, born from the flesh and blood of gods, if they traced back to their origin, could naturally ascend to godhood if the conditions were met.

But there were only so many Divine Seats, and the more authority was divided, the weaker the power held.

The space for humans and beasts to ascend to godhood was basically blocked.

The most convenient way to become a god was to kill a low-level deity, extract its Divine Spark, and take its place.

However, such an idea was simply rebellious in the context of the clearly stratified human-god relationship of Sumer.

It was inevitable that the King of Kings Marduk would deliberately hide this information to maintain stability.

Not only that, but to eliminate future troubles and prevent these prosperous humans of the Golden Age from challenging the gods' authority, the gods of ancient Babylon did not do anything good.

Enlil, the Lord of Air and Spirit and one of the Triad of Gods, citing his dislike for human noise, unleashed the Great Flood to wash over the land, wiping out most of the threatening humans and other creatures.

Coincidentally, the King of Kings Marduk eventually replaced Enlil's Divine Seat, and in some texts, the two are presented as a single entity.

If there wasn't something fishy going on here, Lin Xian wouldn't believe it at all.

Throughout history, the succession of divine authority was bloody.

The gods of ancient Babylon committed acts of patricide and matricide; what psychological burden would they have in killing humans, their creations meant to please them?

This was merely a threat to their divine status, and they were wiped out by a flood.

And what he intended to do was to welcome back Tiamat and overthrow the authority of the gods!

If caught, a small fry like him, who was only at the Bronze level, wouldn't just be stewed into snake soup. He might be fried, deep-fried, steamed, boiled, subjected to all eighteen methods of cooking.

Thinking about it, Lin Xian shivered, his scales bristling.

Stay low-key! Must stay low-key! Anyone who butts heads is a fool!

Having made up his mind, the Ancient Snake immediately locked away his rebellious intentions in the mental black box and decided not to overthink things for the time being.

However, before the lesson ended, he needed to clarify the strength of some targets.

"Lady Ereshkigal, what rank does the Bull of Heaven Gurra belong to?"

"Very strong! Sovereign-class!"

Ereshkigal revealed a trace of apprehension, then realizing she hadn't explained the power level she was discussing, she decided to elaborate.

Gods were born at different times and varied in strength.

To prevent frequent wars between gods, there were also great deities with clear responsibilities like water, harvest, and death, who helped coordinate and govern.

These were the so-called Sovereigns, the powers that often supported the framework of a Divine Pantheon.

And the one who oversaw all the gods was currently the King of Kings Marduk.

Currently, Ereshkigal, the Earth Goddess, and Ishtar, the Sky Goddess, were both at the Sovereign level.

But what Lin Xian hadn't expected was that the bull, Gurra, was also so monstrous.

No wonder his master was so wary of Ishtar, who brought the Bull of Heaven with her.

However, as one mystery was solved, new confusion welled up in Lin Xian's mind, and he couldn't help but tilt his head up and ask.

"Lady Ereshkigal, I don't quite understand. Why was the Bull of Heaven, a legendary Sovereign-class being, killed by the combined efforts of Gilgamesh and Enkidu?"

"That Heroic King was one-third human and two-thirds divine, making him a Demigod. Even with Enkidu, the gap seems too large!"

The Underworld Goddess recalled the time Gilgamesh slew the Bull of Heaven rampaging through Mesopotamia and threatened Ishtar, a faint smile curving her lips.

Then, his master glanced at the dome of the underworld with a hint of schadenfreude as she replied.

"Firstly, that was merely a degraded projection of Gurra, suppressed by rules. It could only unleash a fraction of its power, and the Divine Spark of the Bull of Heaven was still alive."

"Secondly, Ishtar underestimated Gilgamesh."

"How could the Wedge of Heaven, chosen by the gods, be so simple?"

"He is a Demigod, true, but he possesses the complete qualifications to become a god!"

"If Gilgamesh were to truly ascend and return to the side of the gods, he could at least advance to Sovereign!"

"Even..."

At this point, Ereshkigal hastily shut her mouth, her face paling as if she had touched upon some taboo.

A faint light flickered in Lin Xian's vertical pupils as he looked up at the ceiling.

There was only one King, after all.

Whether from the human side or the divine side.

Additionally, Lin Xian remembered a meme from his previous life that perfectly described Gilgamesh's current state.

Some people get a perfect score because the test paper only has 100 points available.

At this moment, his master cautiously looked around, and after waiting for a long time, confirming that nothing unusual had happened, she patted her chest and slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, maintaining her composure, the goddess stretched as if nothing had happened, picked up her golden-red spear, and prepared to leave.

Judging by her direction, he guessed his master was once again planning to go dig holes in the Uruk region, plotting to drag Gilgamesh's entire kingdom into the underworld.

What grudge or enmity do you have with Uruk to this extent?

Watching Ereshkigal's retreating back as she went to dig pits, Lin Xian couldn't help but laugh and cry.