Embryonic Godhead

Qian Xunji walked up to Zhu Yan and pressed both hands heavily onto her shoulders, his gaze sharp:

"I want you to study this history until you know it inside out. I want you to become an assassin who can do more than slit an enemy's throat with her claws,

but a player who can see, at a glance, every filthy scheme hidden in an enemy's heart!"

"Never use your meaningless sympathy to judge this world. Open these history books and you'll discover that mercy is the most expensive—and the deadliest—luxury in it!"

Six-year-old Zhu Yan held the weighty Chronicles of the Continent. Qian Xunji's brutal lesson overturned everything she had believed as a child, sending stormy waves surging through her heart.

She did not feel afraid, as an ordinary six-year-old would have. Instead, fueled by her hatred of the Star Luo Imperial Family, a fire both wild and calculating blazed in her eyes.

She nodded firmly, her voice cold and resolute:

"Teacher, Yan'er understands. From today on, I won't trust anyone except you and Big Sister. I'll carve this history into my mind. I'll never let the foolish mistakes of the past happen to me!"

Looking at Zhu Yan, whose thinking had been thoroughly tempered, who had transformed from an innocent kitten into a cold-blooded young wolf, Qian Xunji's mouth finally curved upward in a satisfied villain's smile.

"Good. Read here. You're not allowed out until you've finished the first ten volumes."

Qian Xunji turned and left the Supreme Library, entrusting its vast treasury of knowledge to his future assassin.

"Yan'er... I hope you don't let me down...

Otherwise...

As your teacher, I'll have no choice but to kill you... no matter how much it hurts." Qian Xunji glanced back once, then left alone.

After leaving Zhu Yan in the Supreme Library to be battered by the continent's history, Qian Xunji returned to his private study in the Pope Hall with his hands clasped behind his back, in high spirits.

"My disciple's studying hard. I can't sit idle either. Time to take stock of my recent spoils."

Qian Xunji settled comfortably against the broad velvet chair and summoned the long-neglected System Mall in his mind.

Over the past month, the General Theory of Martial Souls had spread like wildfire across the continent. With the Divine Body Battalion steadily adding Body Martial Soul prodigies to its ranks, and the battle at Jialing Pass raising Spirit Hall's prestige to its peak, his system account had become a printing press, raking in points at a terrifying rate every day.

"System, show me my current Subversion Point balance."

[Data tally complete. Host's remaining Subversion Points: 317,590]

"Over three hundred and seventeen thousand..."

Looking at that glittering number, Qian Xunji could not help smacking his lips. A grin like a newly rich man's spread across his face. This was by far the richest he had been since crossing into this world.

And when a man had money, his ambitions naturally swelled with it.

Ordinary Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings and Spirit Bones no longer held much appeal for him. His sights were set on the prize at the heart of it all—a Divine Throne!

"System, open the Divine-Level Section. Let me see what you've got."

[Divine-Level Section filtered for you]

Qian Xunji's gaze swept across the screen and quickly locked onto a treasure radiating nine-colored divine light.

[Flawless-Grade Self-Created Godhead Prototype]

Product description: No need to inherit any existing Divine Throne in the Divine Realm or bow to those hypocritical God Kings. Upon fusion, the host was guaranteed to form a perfect Godhead governed by his own laws, with limitless potential to rise beyond a God King!

Price: 10,000,000 Subversion Points.

"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands... ten million?!"

That string of zeros instantly crushed Qian Xunji's excitement.

"System, why the hell don't you just rob me? I put on that whole show and worked my ass off for three hundred thousand points, and you're charging ten million for one Godhead?"

[Host, a flawless Godhead is contraband that breaks the laws of the universe. Ten million Subversion Points is already a fire-sale price. If you cannot afford it, please work harder instead of raging over your own inadequacy]

"..." The system's retort left Qian Xunji speechless.

Ten million was indeed too far away. By the time he saved that much, Tang San would probably have grandchildren.

"Got a cheaper alternative? Something with better value?" Qian Xunji gritted his teeth and kept scrolling.

After passing a pile of rubbish such as clues to Third-Class Deity inheritances and damaged Godheads of Second-Level Deities, Qian Xunji's gaze finally stopped on an item giving off a dim, chaotic glow.

[Grade-less Evolvable Godhead Prototype]

Product description: A blank Godhead Seed untouched by any law, with no initial grade. The heights it could ultimately reach depended entirely on the host's own strength and the power of faith he gathered,

or... the Subversion Points he poured directly into paid upgrades.

Price: 250,000 Subversion Points.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand? Evolvable? It can be upgraded with faith or by spending points?"

Qian Xunji's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh.

"So it's a Godhead I can raise! I'm the Pope of Spirit Hall, and after the General Theory of Martial Souls came out, what commoner Soul Master on the continent wouldn't worship me as a living Buddha?

The one thing I'm not short of now is the power of faith! Later on, I can pour Subversion Points into it too. This was practically made for me!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Qian Xunji waved a hand like a man with money to burn. "I'll take it!"

[Ding! 250,000 Subversion Points deducted. Host's current balance: 67,590]

[Congratulations, host. You have obtained the Grade-less Evolvable Godhead Prototype. Fuse with it now?]

"Fuse it immediately!"

Qian Xunji drew a deep breath and closed his eyes.

In an instant, a profound chaotic energy appeared from nowhere in his Sea of Consciousness.

There was no earth-shaking phenomenon, nor any terrifying pressure that destroyed the Pope Hall. The Godhead Seed obediently merged into the essence of Qian Xunji's soul, which embodied the Twelve-Winged Original Sin Fallen Angel.

One month later...

[Godhead fusion complete]

[System is assessing the Godhead's initial grade based on the host's current Soul Power Level, physical strength, and the power of faith he currently commands across the continent...]

[Assessment complete! Current Godhead grade: Second-Level Deity]

[Begin the God Trial? Once begun, the system will generate a God Trial exclusive to you. After passing every trial, the host can immediately ascend to godhood and form a Second-Level Divine Throne]

"A Second-Level God?"

Qian Xunji slowly opened his eyes. At the system's assessment, his excitement collapsed into a scornful sneer.

"I'm the Pope of Spirit Hall. I have a twelve-winged Mutated Martial Soul above God Level and five red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings beneath my feet. And now you're telling me that after I work myself to the bone on a God Trial, all I get is to become a Second-Level God?"

"A Second-Level God can't even get a seat at the Divine Realm's core meetings. I'd still have to bow and scrape before gods like Asura and the Sea God.

If I started the trials for a mere Second-Level Divine Throne, wouldn't I be a complete idiot?"