"Lady Ereshkigal, so the purpose of our cultivation is, on one hand, to master techniques, and on the other, to purify our bloodline and trace the world's primordial power, right?"
"And for now, Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold are the ranks that define the stages of evolution from low to high?"
Lin Xian briefly summarized the main points on a clay tablet and handed it to his teacher for review.
Such an intelligent beast, and one so good at learning, greatly surprised the Underworld Goddess.
Ereshkigal nodded approvingly in encouragement.
"Then what would happen if an ordinary adult human awakened their bloodline power and advanced to Gold?"
To gain a deeper understanding of the gaps between different ranks, Lin Xian continued asking questions.
"Purifying the bloodline and wielding divine power brings a qualitative leap!"
Ereshkigal paused, then gave Lin Xian a more detailed explanation.
"In ancient times, King of Kings Marduk led the gods in defeating Tiamat, the great calamity. He forged her enormous corpse into heaven and earth, as well as the stars, thunder, and rain of this world."
"To thank Marduk, the gods built Babylon and temples for him."
"And to repay the gods, 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, and the newborn humans learned much wisdom and many techniques from the gods."
"Moreover, these species born from Kingu's flesh and blood inherited his power. They possessed long lives, could read Cuneiform Divine Script, and use magic freely."
"Thus, humans of the Golden Age were beings extremely close to gods."
By bloodline, wasn't Kingu the brother of the Gods of Babylon?
Then humans born from his flesh and blood were essentially descendants of gods by birth.
According to what Ereshkigal had said, human advancement meant tracing one's origins.
During this process, power originating from the gods would gradually awaken.
The bloodline inherited from the gods would continuously be purified.
At that thought, Lin Xian flicked out his tongue. After a moment of hesitation, he finally raised his writing board.
"What lies above the Gold rank?"
Ereshkigal froze slightly. Her lips pressed together, and a frown slowly formed between her brows.
"Demigods!"
"The Gold rank is the process of continuously awakening divine power and purifying the bloodline. Once the divine blood in a human body exceeds half its composition, they become demigods."
"These beings are actually transforming into another species. They possess power similar to that of gods, but lack authority they can command and the corresponding divine status."
Then if one possessed authority and divine status...
Lin Xian suppressed his instinct to keep asking and hid the subtle emotions stirring within him.
In truth, the Fate Tablet that charted the Mesopotamian world did not contain four eras, but five!
Before the Golden Age, there had been the Age of Gods!
Therefore, demigods were the transition from Gold to gods.
Humans had been born from divine flesh and blood. If they traced themselves back to their origins, then as long as the conditions were sufficient, they could naturally ascend into gods as well.
But there were only so many divine positions. The more times authority was divided, the weaker the power held in one's hands became.
Whether human or beast, the path to becoming a god had basically been blocked off.
The easiest way to become a god was to kill a lesser god, dig out his divinity, and replace him.
Of course, such an idea was utterly rebellious within Sumer's rigidly hierarchical relationship between gods and humans.
It was only natural that King of Kings Marduk had deliberately concealed this information to preserve stability.
And not only that. To eliminate future trouble and prevent the multiplying humans of the Golden Age from challenging divine authority, the gods of Ancient Babylon had done plenty of inhumane things.
Enlil, one of the Triad of Gods and the lord of atmosphere and spirit, had unleashed the Great Flood on the grounds that he hated humanity's noise. It scoured the earth and exterminated most threatening humans and other living beings.
More coincidentally, King of Kings Marduk had ultimately replaced Enlil's divine position. In some texts, the two were even described as one and the same being.
If there was no shady business involved, Lin Xian wouldn't believe it for a second.
Throughout history, changes in divine authority had always been bloody.
The Gods of Babylon had all committed acts like killing their fathers and mothers. What psychological burden would they have in wiping out humans, creations meant to please them?
This was merely a threat to the gods' status, and they had already cleansed the land with a flood.
What he intended to do, however, was welcome back Tiamat and overthrow the authority of the gods!
If he were caught, a Bronze-rank nobody like him would not simply be boiled into snake soup. He might end up going through all eighteen cooking methods: frying, deep-frying, steaming, boiling, and more.
Just thinking about it made Lin Xian shudder. The scales along his back stood on end.
Stay hidden! He absolutely had to stay hidden! Anyone stubborn enough to charge ahead was an idiot!
Having made up his mind, the ancient snake immediately stuffed his treacherous ambitions into The Black Room and locked them away. For the time being, he would not let his imagination run wild.
Still, before the lesson ended, he needed to clarify the strength of certain targets.
"Lady Ereshkigal, what rank does Bull of Heaven Gurra belong to?"
"Very strong! Main god level!"
A trace of apprehension appeared on Ereshkigal's face. Then she realized she had not previously explained the standards of strength she was discussing, so she added an explanation.
Gods were born at different times, and their strength varied.
To prevent wars between gods from occurring too frequently, there were also major gods with clearly defined responsibilities, such as water, harvest, and death, who oversaw coordination and rule.
These powers, which often supported the framework of an entire pantheon, were known as main gods.
And the one currently governing all gods was King of Kings Marduk.
At present, both Earth Goddess Ereshkigal and Sky Goddess Ishtar were main god level.
But what Lin Xian had not expected was that Gugalanna, that bull, was also such a monster.
No wonder his owner had been so wary of Ishtar when she brought along the Bull of Heaven.
Yet as one mystery was solved, a new confusion welled up in Lin Xian's heart. He could not help raising his head and voicing his question.
"Lady Ereshkigal, I don't quite understand. Why was the legendary main god-level Bull of Heaven killed by Gilgamesh and Enkidu working together?"
"That Heroic King was one-third human and two-thirds god. By that calculation, he was only a demigod. Even with Enkidu added in, the gap should have been far too great!"
Thinking back to when Gilgamesh had slaughtered the Bull of Heaven rampaging through Mesopotamia and threatened Ishtar, the Underworld Goddess's lips curled slightly.
Then his owner cast a leisurely glance at the ceiling of the underworld and answered with a touch of schadenfreude.
"First, that was only Gugalanna's downgraded projection. It was also suppressed by the Rules and could only display a portion of its strength. Besides, the Bull of Heaven's divinity is still alive."
"Second, Ishtar underestimated Gilgamesh far too much."
"How could the Wedge of Heaven chosen by the gods be so simple?"
"He is indeed a demigod, but he fully possesses the potential to become a god!"
"If Gilgamesh truly ascends and returns to the side where the gods reside, he could at least advance to main god level!"
"Perhaps even..."
At that point, Ereshkigal hurriedly fell silent. Her face turned slightly pale, as though she had touched upon some taboo.
A dark gleam flickered in Lin Xian's vertical pupils as he looked up overhead.
There could only be one king.
Whether among humans or among gods.
Besides, Lin Xian recalled a joke from his previous life that perfectly described Gilgamesh's current state.
Some people scored a hundred because the test was only worth a hundred points.
At that moment, his owner cautiously looked left and right. After waiting for quite some time and confirming that nothing unusual had happened, she patted her chest and slowly let out a sigh of relief.
Then, maintaining her composure and pretending nothing had happened, the goddess stretched as she rose to her feet. She casually picked up the Golden-Red Spear and prepared to head out.
Judging by the direction, he guessed his owner was planning to head toward Uruk again to dig tunnels, plotting to someday drag Gilgamesh's entire kingdom into the underworld.
What kind of grudge did you have against Uruk? Was this really necessary?
Watching Ereshkigal's departing figure as she went off to dig another pit, Lin Xian could neither laugh nor cry.
Before you continue