As the Divinity sank into Li Ge's soul, wisps of energy were drawn in.
All kinds of radiation in the surrounding space, heat, the faint wind energy carried by moving air, the spiritual energy emanating from the antique shop next door...
Li Ge felt his body gradually growing stronger, and the stabbing pain in his head faded bit by bit.
After testing himself and finding nothing wrong, Li Ge slowly stood up and walked straight to the window. An increasingly dense source of energy drew him toward it. He yanked open the curtains, and the sunset's lingering rays spilled over him. A sense of fullness gradually replaced his physical weakness.
Li Ge's Divinity kept extracting this precious energy, washing through his body bit by bit and taking a crucial step along his path to transcendence.
"Hahahaha!"
"World, here I come!"
At that moment, Li Ge felt strength filling his entire body, and a surge of heroic ambition rose in his heart.
"Beep beep!"
A honk interrupted his chuuni behavior.
He looked toward the courtyard entrance, where a car was slowly pulling in and heading toward the garage.
Li Ge knew it was probably his parents returning home from work.
Although interacting with his parents in this life had felt somewhat awkward at first, he had only awakened his memories from before birth, after all. The sixteen years they had spent living together were real. After a week, there was nothing left to feel awkward about.
"Tap tap tap tap!"
Before long, Li Ge heard footsteps coming upstairs, heading straight toward his room.
"Sweetheart, are you in there?"
"I'm coming in!"
"Click!"
The doorknob turned, and a tall figure slipped straight inside.
She wore a well-fitted black women's suit, her dazzling long blonde hair tied into a high ponytail. With beautiful blue eyes, a straight nose, fiery red lips, and fair skin, she looked to be in her thirties-a classic Western beauty.
She was Li Ge's mother in this life, Alice Li.
Alice's gaze lingered on Li Ge's easel for a moment, a trace of curiosity flashing in her eyes before she turned her attention to his face.
She strode over to Li Ge, wrapped her arms around his head, and gently stroked his hair as though petting a cat.
"Sigh!"
Li Ge sighed helplessly, pulled free with a little effort, and took a few steps back to put some distance between himself and Alice.
"Mom, I'm not a little kid anymore. Could you stop stroking my head like that?"
"Oh, our little artist is a little man now, too. He doesn't even like Mommy doting on him anymore!"
Alice's face was full of smiles, and she showed no particular reaction to Li Ge's movements.
Li Ge looked helpless. There was nothing he could do about this mother of his. He wondered whether his troublemaker soul had somehow influenced things, giving him a mother who loved teasing him so much in this life.
"All right, little artist. You seem to have been in a good mood lately. You're even in the mood to paint those pictures full of childlike whimsy."
As Alice spoke, she glanced at the painting of blocks on the easel, her tone teasing.
Li Ge remained perfectly calm, not the slightest bit embarrassed by her teasing.
"All right! All right! Little man, you're no fun at all. You're nowhere near as fun as you were when you were little."
Despite Alice's words, the smile on her face did not diminish in the slightest.
"Come on. Let's see what feast your dad is preparing."
As she spoke, a trace of anticipation unconsciously appeared on Alice's face.
Seeing Alice's expression, Li Ge could not help wondering whether his dad had won his mother's heart back then by first winning over her stomach with his considerable cooking skills.
His dad really was a good cook, though. Even if he fell short of a star chef's standards, he was more than qualified to open a restaurant.
Li Ge and Alice went downstairs one after the other and headed toward the dining table.
In the open kitchen directly opposite the dining table, Li Ge's dad, Li Chuang, was busy cooking.
He was tall and muscular, with thick, long black hair tied into the same ponytail as Li Ge's. His masculine, handsome face was clean-shaven. At a glance, he was a handsome older man.
Dressed in gray trousers and a white shirt with its sleeves rolled up to reveal strong arms, he was cutting several red tomatoes on the chopping board.
"Honey, Xiao Ge, you're just in time. Let's have tomato and egg noodles tonight. Tasty and simple."
"Just wait a little longer. They'll be ready soon."
The moment Alice saw the tomatoes Li Chuang was cutting, anticipation had already filled her face. His words only made her look even more eager for the food.
Li Ge was speechless. Looking at Alice's eager expression, he felt he had underestimated just how much his mother loved eating.
But thinking of his dad's cooking reminded him how delicious tomato and egg noodles were, and he could not help looking forward to them a little himself.
"Xiao Ge, come get your noodles."
Li Chuang called out to Li Ge while already carrying a bowl of noodles toward the table himself, setting it straight down in front of Alice.
"Honey, give them a taste. See if my cooking's improved. Careful, they're hot!"
"Thank you, darling. Your cooking is even better than before!"
Li Ge remained perfectly calm at the sight of his parents showing off their affection. There was nothing for it. They did this every day, and he had gotten used to it by now.
Holding his bowl, he slowly slurped his noodles.
Mm! Not bad. He really has improved.
Before long, Li Ge finished a bowl and went straight to the kitchen to serve himself another.
Come to think of it, should I add an ability to my Divinity that lets me survive on absorbed energy alone?
Speaking of which, should I add an environmental adaptation ability, too? Ideally, one that lets me survive even in outer space.
Hmm! No, wait. I'm going to become a new dimensional demon god. The rules within the Divinity are with me, so I should have a digitized body!
I don't need to add all these miscellaneous abilities at all!
As Li Ge listened to his parents' lovey-dovey chatter, his mind wandered, considering what other abilities he needed to add to his Divinity.
But from the looks of it, I don't need to add anything extra for now. Once I have enough energy in the future, won't I be able to add whatever ability I want whenever I want?
Dinner ended amid this combination of dog food and wandering thoughts.
After helping clean up the kitchen, Li Ge headed straight upstairs, no longer wanting to be a third wheel between his parents.
"Xiao Ge, don't forget to get up early tomorrow morning. You still have school."
"That's right, little artist. Would you like Mommy to ask your school for a few more days off?"
Li Chuang's and Alice's words reached him one after the other, carrying concern as well as reminders.
"No need. There's nothing wrong with me anymore. I can go back to school as usual starting tomorrow."
Warmth filled Li Ge's heart as he declined Alice's offer to request more leave.
Come to think of it, my school seems to be called Midtown High School. It's a very famous school in the Marvel Universe, one that has produced numerous superheroes and supervillains.
My deskmate is famous, too. Looks like school life won't be boring from now on.