Hera's true body was not in the hall; only her divine soul remained.
None of the gods present dared plead for Poseidon. He had brought this troublesome predicament upon himself.
Even separated from her body, her divine soul's oppressive power was no weaker-if anything, it was stronger.
Fear surged through Zeus's heart. His breath caught, and he nearly lost his grip on the divine spear in his hand.
She had actually reached such a realm.
A god's divine power was determined by how diligently they fulfilled the duties of their divine office. The more completely they fulfilled them, the higher the limit of their divine power soared.
"Hera, she hasn't even set foot on the Divine Mountain herself. How can she count as your disciple?"
"You're taking her side for no reason at all."
"Your soul body can't be feeling good either. To go this far for a mere slave-you're a fool!"
Poseidon was furious and humiliated. His clothes had crumbled to powder, leaving him without a stitch on.
He was in a sorry state.
The venom carried by the silver snakes' sharp fangs seeped through his skin, sealing away all his divine power.
He was a god, immortal. All Hera was doing was humiliating him.
She had actually attacked him, a fellow divine lord, for a lowly slave.
"If you hadn't interfered, she would have been the first disciple to reach the realm of the divine hall."
"Win this competition, and she becomes mine."
"Why shouldn't I protect her?"
The woman's voice carried a bottomless fury, which she was barely holding in check.
"The punishment marks will disappear in three days."
"Conduct yourself accordingly."
With those cold parting words, the silver snakes receded like a tide, leaving the gods staring at one another.
Hera's divine residence was hidden in the Hot Spring Ravine, a remote, secluded mountain retreat. The divine lords chose their residences according to their own habits.
Poseidon, god of the sea, lived beneath it. Demeter, goddess of agriculture, had built her residence above the Polo Wheat Field. Every god had a residence best suited to them.
Hera liked peace and quiet and had always lived in the Hot Spring Ravine before marrying Zeus. Harsh, violent, and impartial seemed to be words reserved for her alone; mention this divine lord, and all anyone felt was fear.
Yet she was also the most reliable. She had her own way of dealing with people and handling affairs.
She decided for herself who was right and who was wrong. A few words would not make her favor or misunderstand anyone.
Though everyone feared her, no one had ever questioned her fairness in carrying out her divine duties.
The goddess of marriage would always stand firmly by women's side.
There were already enough people on the other side.
Hera needed to safeguard their dignity and rights.
A tall, slender figure appeared in the wooden corridor. She strode quickly toward the inner chamber, her soft blond hair falling across her cheeks and concealing her expression.
A girl was curled up in her arms.
Taut lines stood out on the divine lord's forearms as she held the girl. Her hands, with their prominent knuckles and bulging veins, betrayed her urgency.
She had just passed through the flower courtyard when she heard a broom sweeping up leaves with a "crunch, crunch."
"Your Majesty Hera."
"What happened to you? And where did she come from?!"
The maid, dressed in a pure white uniform, saw her arrive and set down her broom. Blinking her blue-gray eyes, she walked over, her dark tea-brown hair framing her startled face and a whole basketful of questions waiting to be asked.
"Poseidon used divine power on her."
"She's injured."
The divine lord summed up what had happened in a few concise words.
Winslow seemed accustomed to her cold manner and was not upset. She followed close behind Hera, unable to stop herself from chattering. "Is this a girl you picked up, Your Majesty?"
"She really is a beauty. Tsk, tsk, tsk, even the mighty sea god could bring himself to hurt someone so beautiful."
"Hahaha, then Doreen and I will have company from now on."
"This is such good news. I have to tell Doreen right away."
In the blink of an eye, she was gone, leaving as quickly as she had come.
The divine lord carried her into the inner chamber of the Deep Hall and laid her gently on the bed. Along the way, she had used her divine sense to check Li Jia's pulse. Nothing was seriously wrong; she was merely exhausted, and the string she had kept taut had snapped. She needed a good rest.
She reached out and removed the veil with her fingertips. As her whole face came into view in the inner chamber, one could not help but understand what it meant for a humble room to be graced by a radiant presence.
Her beauty was striking and alluring, with a deadly, aggressive edge. Hers was a face one could never forget, stunning at first sight and just as stunning at second glance.
Especially those red eyes, their outer corners tilted slightly upward, bold and domineering. A single glance was enough to draw someone into a whirlpool from which they could not escape.
Yet her nature was supremely cold. In the books where the other twelve divine lords had all left records of their lovers and even descendants, not a single word had been written about her.
Only a god without feelings could remain absolutely fair and impartial.
A god with feelings would have selfish desires.
This was her oath to the Divine Mountain.
Hera had probed her mind with her divine sense. She had read the life journals of all ten candidates, and Li Jia was described in just a few words: timid, weak, sensitive, and quiet.
She felt like a completely different person from the girl Hera had seen today.
As though someone else had moved into her body.
Could it be... soul parasitism?
After leaving its original body, a soul forcibly occupied another person's newly dead body and came back to life.
Hera had only seen this mentioned in ancient texts. Though rare, it was not entirely unheard of in the world.
The secret arts recorded in ancient texts all had some basis to them. If something existed, there was a reason for it.
Hera recalled the scene she had seen in Li Jia's memories, of her taking poisonous herbs and lying beneath the moon-hung tree.
Had someone forcibly taken over her body then?
Every choice she had made today seemed aimed at Hera.
"You really do make me curious..." The normally unsmiling divine lord's lips curled in a rare smile, one only she herself knew about.
Hera sat beside the bed, watching the sleeping figure breathe steadily. She studied her face, even inspecting the tiny mole behind her ear, wanting to see exactly how this person differed from the original Li Jia.
"Then let me see exactly what you are."
Human or ghost, god or demon, the Wandering Soul Technique would reveal the answer. If she was not the original owner, the one possessing her would surely suffer divine punishment-reduced to ashes and vanishing like a bubble.
"Don't be nervous. Relax... little girl."
After all, she was someone who had dared to choose Hera alone and had pushed through pain to overcome her fear, so Hera spoke to her patiently.
Unless she could uncover her origins, Hera's wariness would not allow her to keep the girl by her side.
The woman's voice was like a spell, piercing through layers of dreams and stimulating Li Jia's cerebral cortex, making her jolt.
"Master! Master! Wake up! Wake up!"
The electronic voice was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan. If Li Jia did not regain consciousness soon, it was prepared to shock her awake.
The noisy crackling of electricity sounded incessantly by her ear. At last, Li Jia slowly opened her eyes, her brows tightly knitted, seemingly reluctant to leave her sweet dream.
In her dream, she had just bought a DQ matcha and almond ice cream but hadn't gotten a bite before the system woke her. Still annoyed, she pouted (?-?)
The system was beside itself with anxiety. She only relented after it promised to compensate her with ten scoops of ice cream when she returned.
"The target has already begun to suspect that you aren't the original female lead, Master. She's going to use the Wandering Soul Technique to search your soul. If you aren't the original female lead, your soul will be destroyed, Master, and my mission will fail too."
"If I fail this time, I'll have to be sent back for remaking. Boo-hoo-hoo Ｔ▽Ｔ. Being sent back for remaking at my age is so embarrassing. More importantly, Master, you'll cease to exist too, so I had to wake you. I'm about to help you evade the Wandering Soul Technique's search."
"Helping you escape this disaster will consume a huge amount of my power, Master. I'll go into deep sleep for a while. In the days ahead, you'll have to carry out theconquest yourself."
"Remember! While I'm gone, don't do anything suicidal, Master. Just wait patiently for me to come back and help you with the strategy!"
Before Li Jia could recover from her confusion, the system went "click." A few seconds of crackling followed, and it shut down instantly.
"How could this be?"
Surprise flashed through Hera's eyes. "How could they be the same person?"
The girl before her and the one she had seen in her memories seemed like two different people, however Hera looked at their personalities, behavior, and ways of handling things.
Yet the Wandering Soul Technique showed that they were the same person. There was no second person in her soul.
Hera rubbed her forehead. She could not figure out how someone's personality could change so drastically overnight.
Looking at the sleeping girl, the divine lord raised a hand and stroked her cheek with her fingertips as its pallor gradually gave way to a rosy color. Her index finger brushed lightly past the girl's lips.
Pondering, rubbing.
Her small cherry lips looked very appetizing.
Her throat bobbed quietly. The deep, cold look in her red eyes was gone, replaced by a trace of desire and a hidden surge of emotion.
She chuckled softly twice. "Then stay by my side."
Hera removed the pinky ring from her left hand and placed it in her palm. She bit her right middle finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the ring. The ruby greedily absorbed the blood, while she watched in silence until it had taken in every drop, as though she felt no pain.
Soon, an identical ring appeared in her palm. Hera picked up Li Jia's slender left hand and made a light cut, letting a bead of blood fall onto her ring.
She slipped the ring onto Li Jia's middle finger. It adjusted to fit the wearer's finger, settling firmly around the knuckle.
Their souls and bodies were linked.
The Master-Servant Contract was complete.
From then on, whenever Li Jia suffered ten parts of pain, Hera would bear nine of them for her.
She shared her divine power with her.
Protecting her to the greatest extent possible.
Everyone on the Divine Mountain knew of this method, but no one had ever used it. No one wanted or was willing to stake their divine power for someone unrelated to them.
Hera was the first.
She did not know why she had done it either. Perhaps it was because Li Jia was her first disciple, or perhaps because she was her only disciple. Looking after her was only natural.
Li Jia did not know how long she had slept. The moment she opened her eyes, she stretched out her arms and yawned widely, almost out of habit. Her elbow touched something soft, and she shuddered in alarm.
Where am I?
She met an exceptionally beautiful face, their eyes locking. There was a hint of amusement in those red eyes.
"You're awake? Are you feeling unwell?"
Her voice was slightly cool. Looking at her, Li Jia somehow recalled the scene of Hera touching her body when they first met, and her face reddened.
"Divine Lord, I'm awake. I don't feel unwell at all. I've got a great appetite, and I'm in tip-top shape."
Li Jia quickly slipped into her role. She licked the corners of her dry lips, which had inexplicably begun to peel.
"Gurgle, gurgle~"
Li Jia's stomach growled despite her best efforts. She scratched her head sheepishly. "I slept too long, and now I'm hungry."
Hera seemed amused by her. "I was inconsiderate," she said, a little apologetically. "Gods don't need to eat and don't feel hungry. I'll have someone bring you some food now."
As Hera spoke and prepared to leave the inner chamber, Li Jia noticed the ring on her middle finger. She remembered that Hera had one too. Unable to make sense of it, she called out to her, "Divine Lord, may I ask how this ring came to be on my hand?"
"This is the Master-Servant Contract. You passed the test and became my only disciple."
"With this ring on,"
The powerful, coldly commanding divine lord leaned against the doorway. Her words were merely a warning, an order that left no room for negotiation:
"Leave me, and you will die."