The flying horse carriage slowly descended, finally coming to a steady stop before a palace suspended beneath Mount Olympus.
Its dome was inlaid with millions upon millions of alexandrites, each radiating multicolored brilliance in the sunlight, like a river of stars fallen to earth.
The steps were cast in gold. Black-armored guards stood on either side, holding long halberds wreathed in starfire. Pale golden spells flowed through the markings on their necks, brightening and dimming with their breaths.
This was the gods' curse and blessing.
The loyal were granted lasting fortune and longevity; the disloyal suffered tenfold sickness and pain.
"This is as far as I'll take you. You'll have to go the rest of the way yourself."
Hermes escorted her to the mountain gate. Li Jia nodded obediently in thanks. Perhaps he could not bear it, or perhaps, as one of the twelve chief gods, he already knew something.
He looked at her and whispered, "Don't choose red."
Before Li Jia could react, Hermes drove the flying horse carriage away.
Only after entering the mountain gate did Li Jia realize she was the last person on the shortlist to arrive.
"Lijia Vance."
"The tenth candidate."
Following customary procedure, the gate guard took the nameplate from Hermes and loudly announced her arrival.
The group's conversation abruptly fell silent for a moment, and every gaze turned toward the entrance. A champagne-colored skirt like moonlight came into view first. Her silver high heels stepped upon stardust with every stride, and the silver chain around her ankle chimed softly as she walked, like a duet of silver bells and starlight.
She was so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.
Li Jia joined the group with neither servility nor arrogance. She noticed amazement flash through the eyes of several older people.
A red-haired woman in the group covered her lips and chuckled. "Seeing the Vance Family's daughter truly surpasses anything one could hear about her. But what use is beauty? Everyone gathered here is just a useless person abandoned by their family."
"It is my honor to serve a divine lord."
Li Jia prayed with utmost devotion, ignoring her blatantly provocative words.
"Ignorant fool."
The red-haired woman felt as helpless as if she had punched cotton. Li Jia had deftly turned her anger back on her, leaving her full of fury with nowhere to vent it. She could only kick viciously at the pebbles beside her feet to release her displeasure.
Everyone knew that those sent here were people their families had spurned.
They had no value.
They had no use.
They could only come here to become the lowliest of slaves.
"Silence!"
A white-haired old man descended the steps and clapped his hands. Two female attendants carrying vessels came down beside him. Both wore veils that concealed their faces; the only striking feature was their hair color.
Dazzling gold and blue like the sea.
The old man cleared his throat and said, "Now that everyone is here, all of you standing here have been sent by your respective families. The divine realm has no need for the disloyal."
"This year's Night Banquet will differ from previous years. You will not need to attend the banquet to undergo selection. These five divine lords are all notoriously averse to trouble. There is only one selection task this year: pass through the Divine Mountain's Restriction alone."
"Each of you will swallow an Oath Ice Crystal. Those who do not submit absolutely cannot set even half a foot onto the Divine Mountain. The sights within the Divine Mountain are born of the divine lords' creation, and they are what you fear most in your hearts."
He paused after speaking.
"The selection of attendants and the choice of a divine lord have always been a reciprocal symbiosis."
Leaving behind those cryptic words, the old man turned and departed.
Following the rules, the ten candidates stood in a row. Beside Li Jia stood a girl much shorter than herself, with long, seaweed-like chestnut hair and large amber eyes that made her resemble an exquisitely crafted doll.
"What's your name? I'm Linai."
The doll spoke in a friendly manner. Realizing she was addressing her, Li Jia relaxed considerably at the well-meaning question and answered with a smile, "Lijia Vance. Just call me Li Jia."
"All right, Li Jia. Did you volunteer to come to the Divine Mountain to serve a divine lord, just like me?"
Having heard Li Jia's earlier response, Linai asked quietly.
Li Jia noticed the words "just like me."
Her eyelashes trembled involuntarily, and she concealed her emotions without betraying anything.
Had she come with a "purpose" too?
Back in the flying horse carriage, Li Jia had considered that, although her chances were only one in ten, surely no one would willingly become a slave to be trampled upon. Her chances of being selected had increased greatly.
"Then which divine lord do you most want to serve?"
"Or rather, which divine lord do you admire?"
Rather than answering Linai's question, Li Jia posed one of her own. A faint smile lingered on her lips, but something was quietly turning over in her eyes.
"Artemis."
"I want to remain by the goddess of the hunt's side for a long, long time."
Linai understood what she meant. A blush spread to the roots of her ears, and her voice was soft and full of sincerity.
Good.
She wasn't the one she wanted to conquer.
Li Jia withdrew her guarded gaze and returned to normal, saying lightly, "Linai, your wish will come true."
The two attendants walked up before them and slowly uncovered the vessels on their trays. Within lay five differently colored stones the size of broad beans, with four stones of each color.
"Different colors of Oath Ice Crystals correspond to different divine lords."
"Athena's is wood-colored, Apollo's is gold, Demeter's is green, Artemis's is blue, and Hera's is red."
"You may choose the same divine lord, but the divine lords will not choose you. Make your own decisions."
The blue-haired attendant's voice was gentle, like spring's mildest breeze, clear and pure, murmuring like flowing water.
"All right, you may begin choosing. Those who are not loyal and willing cannot pass the Divine Mountain's Restriction."
The blonde attendant spoke next. Unlike the blue-haired attendant's gentleness, her voice was low and magnetic, carrying an innate ability to make others submit, spreading a sense of temptation and control through the body.
"Master, the conquest target has appeared!"
The AI's electronic voice sounded in Li Jia's mind. Li Jia froze for a few seconds. If you talk to me now, won't they hear you?
The system burst into tears again. Of all the conquerors it had guided, this was the best master. She cared about the system. It felt absolutely wonderful, ovo.
"No, Master. Only you can hear my voice. You don't need to speak either. I can sense what you want to express."
Good. I don't want to be treated as a monster and put on a spit to roast.
"..."
The humble system: My sincere feelings were wasted. ＞∧＜
You just said the conquest target had appeared.
Where is she now?
"Please wait, Master. The conquest target has appeared. Synchronizing with the original novel now."
A flood of information poured into her mind: her golden hair cascaded down like molten golden silk, reflecting a sheen of interwoven gold leaf in the sunlight. Those red eyes were her most captivating feature. Deep within her pupils burned dark red flames, like solidified lava, or rubies steeped in blood.
Blonde hair, red eyes.
That was the useful information Li Jia obtained.
"Your turn."
A slender figure suddenly appeared within arm's reach, enveloping the girl entirely. Li Jia froze in place.
The powerful pressure brought Li Jia to the verge of suffocation.
When had she appeared?
The heat of the woman's breaths lingered at the tip of her nose. She nearly cried out, forcibly holding back her fear.
No, she couldn't fall here.
She had yet to choose her own ending.
She refused to accept it.
She couldn't die.
Li Jia gathered her thoughts and immediately slipped into her role. There was no time now to give her fear any breathing room.
She raised her head with a smile and looked straight into those red eyes. Swallowing softly, she parted her lips, but no words came out.
"It's your turn."
Heat seared the tip of her nose again.
This time, Li Jia's gaze fell on the blonde attendant's vessel. The red stones, which no one had chosen, sat alone in the far-right corner, just like her.
The stones looked as though they had congealed from blood. Fine, winding cracks covered their surfaces, as if scarlet liquid might seep out at any moment and stain her entire hand.
The other four colors were far gentler and more peaceful.
Li Jia lowered her eyes, hiding the deliberation within them. Hermes's warning, the conquest system's prompt-all the clues intertwined into a dense web.
She was no fool.
Without hesitation, Li Jia picked up a red stone with her fingertips, as though lifting an ambitiously beating heart.
When the red-haired woman saw Li Jia choose a red stone, her lips curled into a mocking smile. "You reckless fool. Do you think you can withstand Hera's wrath? Your ignorance truly astonishes me, Vance."
Of the ten people, only Li Jia had chosen a red stone.
Only then did Li Jia's heart settle back into place. At the same time, she felt fortunate that this divine lord's infamy had spread so far that no one dared have anything to do with her.
Excellent. No one would compete with her.
She had successfully taken the first small step in her conquest mission.
"To be chosen by a divine lord would be an honor I could scarcely hope to attain in this lifetime."
Li Jia gazed intently at the veiled woman before her, speaking each word with utmost sincerity.
She had to learn to demonstrate her loyalty.
Cast a long line to catch a big fish.
"Interesting."
The blonde attendant took in her every movement. Bending down, she slowly pressed warm, damp fingers to Li Jia's cheek, stroking along it to her lips, chin, neck, and finally her collarbone.
A pinky ring adorned the outermost finger of her left hand. Crafted from silver and platinum, its band was entwined with rose vines whose tips cradled a pigeon-blood-red gemstone. The ring followed the intimate curve of her touch, scraping against Li Jia's skin.
Her lightly calloused fingertips felt like a snake's scales, making Li Jia shudder.
Li Jia's heart was already in utter turmoil. Just what game was this unapproachable divine lord playing?
She could not figure it out.
Her body trembled uncontrollably. Fear of the unknown left her unable to maintain her outward composure any longer.
By the time she came back to her senses, the blonde attendant had already moved in front of Linai.
Smiling, Linai picked up a blue stone, a light of anticipation reflected in her amber eyes. "I hope the goddess of the hunt will like my devotion."
Once the final candidate had made their choice, the candidates swallowed their stones according to the rules.
In an instant, bone-piercing cold spread throughout their bodies, while Li Jia felt as though a fire had ignited in her chest.
At the same time, five-colored halos lit up at the Divine Mountain's entrance behind the palace, and a stairway woven from thorns and starlight emerged.