The greater the cost, the greater the power it brought. That held true everywhere, especially since Carl had chosen physical attacks, which let her make the most of her body's capabilities.
As far as Carl knew, there was no distinction between Mages and warriors after becoming deities. That was because they all used the power of Mysteries. If there was any difference, it was that warriors who became deities preferred close combat, while Mages who became deities preferred ranged attacks. But given the speed of God Level experts, close combat and ranged combat were practically the same.
After all, a distance of ten thousand miles was beyond the reach of ordinary people in a lifetime. For God Level experts, though, it took only a few breaths.
"The changes to my body not only give me a certain level of strength at the Saint Realm, but may give me an even greater advantage after I become a deity."
Carl's understanding of God Level experts was still purely theoretical, but she had a solid grasp of how her own strength had changed.
Understanding the Mysteries of the Laws meant reaching the Peak Saint Realm. Each of the different Laws was divided into different Mysteries, which could generally be classified by power as Low-level Mysteries, Mid-level Mysteries, or High-level Mysteries. There were enormous differences between them, which meant that the gap between Peak Saint Realm experts could be even greater than the gap between a Level 1 Warrior and a Saint Realm expert.
"Wind Element is one of the basic Elemental Mysteries. Those who become deities by relying on the Elemental Laws are generally among the weakest Low-level Deities. The same principle applies at the Saint Realm."
Carl's thoughts stirred. There weren't many Saint Realm experts on the Yulan Continent, but there weren't that few, either. After years of accumulation, there were dozens of them. At least, that was what the Plane Overseer had told her, and someone with Hodan's status had no reason to lie to her.
Among those dozens of Saint Realm experts, quite a few had reached the Peak Saint Realm. After all, given the endless passage of time, it wasn't impossible to comprehend a Mystery eventually.
Still, Carl felt fairly at ease about the current state of affairs on the Yulan Continent. After all, among the Low-level Deities remaining in the Material Plane, the High Priest had become a deity on her own, while the War God O'Brien had refined a Godhead. As for the other Saint Realm experts, those with high aptitude had probably already become deities, while those lacking in talent had mostly comprehended Low-level Mysteries.
The Mysteries were divided into three levels, and the more powerful they were, the harder they were to comprehend. Unless they were top-tier geniuses, Saint Realm experts generally comprehended only Low-level Mysteries. It wasn't that they didn't want to comprehend higher-level ones; they simply couldn't understand them. The only exception was when a Mystery was displayed with great clarity.
At that thought, Carl's mind suddenly stirred.
Perhaps such a place didn't exist elsewhere, but she knew of one on the Yulan Continent.
It was the cultivation ground of a certain mighty being. Carl didn't dare think any further. At least until she became a deity, there were many things she had to avoid.
But Carl also knew that this place could make Mid-level Elemental Affinity comparable to super-grade affinity—a hundredfold difference. What if she went there after improving her own aptitude?
At this thought, Carl's gaze immediately fell on the Mall in her system.
[Name: Aptitude Enhancement Card] [Level: Saint Realm] [Price: 3,000,000] [Effect: Raises the user's primary aptitude to the Saint Realm level. If that aptitude has already reached the Saint Realm level, it will be raised by one level.]
The Saint Realm Aptitude Enhancement Card cost thirty times as much as the Level 9 Aptitude Enhancement Card, which cost 100,000 points. Was it worth it?
Of course it was.
Without reaching the Saint Realm, one's lifespan was only five hundred years. Upon reaching the Saint Realm, one's lifespan became practically eternal.
Without the slightest hesitation, Carl looked at her points, which were still more than half full, and bought an Aptitude Enhancement Card. As soon as she used it on herself, her mind instantly cleared. Things she had struggled to understand suddenly became crystal clear.
"What aptitude did I just improve?"
Everyone had many kinds of aptitude. Cooking and cleaning counted as aptitudes, too. But this was a Saint Realm Aptitude Enhancement Card, so it had to improve an aptitude related to cultivation. Carl had used these cards several times before and knew exactly how they worked.
After sensing the changes for a while, Carl realized she had probably improved an aptitude related to either her soul or the elements. But she could roughly guess which one.
Wind Element Affinity.
There weren't many aptitudes that could help with cultivation. In general, they could be divided into physical aptitude, soul aptitude, and elemental aptitude.
Carl had already raised her physical aptitude to the Saint Realm level by purchasing Physique Growth, which had cost tens of millions of points. And this aptitude would continue to improve as she cultivated Physique Growth.
Physical aptitude brought not only a strong physique, but also talent for cultivating Battle Qi. After all, those who were strong and healthy had an advantage over ordinary people when training as warriors.
As for soul aptitude, Carl hadn't yet become a deity, so her soul hadn't begun transforming toward a divine one. So far, her soul aptitude had only manifested as Mental Power.
As for elemental aptitude, after reaching the level of a Level 7 Warrior, Carl had bought a set of testing tools. Just as she'd expected, she had only Low-level Affinity for Water and Wind, and her Mental Power aptitude wasn't particularly strong. So she had given up on becoming a Mage.
After all, what did the Mental Power boost she'd gained from being a transmigrator amount to, compared with the tenfold increase Mages got?
There was no need to mention her physical aptitude. As for elemental aptitude, Carl had only two low-grade affinities. But she had bought a Wind Seed, and now she had comprehended the Mystery of Wind Element. Her aptitude must have improved at least a little. That slight increase had already made her stand out, so this time, the Aptitude Enhancement Card had naturally improved her Wind Element Affinity.
Sensing the new thoughts she had about Wind Element, Carl didn't linger. She went straight to the utility room in her residence, where a small magic array was set up.
"Aptitude Testing Stone."
Carl quickly set down several magic crystals. Looking at the now-activated crystals, she reached out with her right hand.
The moment her hand touched the transparent crystal, the dim stone burst into a brilliant, pale-green glow.
"What grade is this again?"
Carl flipped through some books about elemental affinity and quickly found the answer.
"It's actually super-grade Elemental Affinity."
"Judging by how far the light from this test reached, I've only just crossed the threshold for super-grade Wind Element Affinity. But it still counts as a super-grade aptitude, right?"
Carl was overjoyed. This would make a huge difference to her.
After all, at the later stages of cultivation, it wasn't enough just to know. One had to truly understand and be able to use it at any moment.
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