The dragon drooped its head as it heard her words and muttered,
"Oh, is that so? How boring. Nowadays, all the kings from other realms are nothing compared to me. As for the void creatures, they're a breeze to handle. It seems your magic is almost unnecessary!"
Ava Gray continued,
"Do you even care to learn? And stop obsessing over how to slay gods. The fundamental difference between deities and beings like you is that gods possess divine power. With divine power, you can never threaten us. But if you manage to reach the seventh tier, you'll begin to tap into the power of laws. Once you acquire that, you might even be able to damage some of the weaker gods—or even kill a few divine servants. However, even if you master the power of laws, by then my strength will far exceed yours; you simply won't be able to hurt me."
Still wearing an air of indifference, the dragon grumbled,
"Oh, so you mean that while we're training, you're exploiting us? For such an important matter, you just casually spout it out—is that really okay?"
"Exploiting? No—it's symbiosis. Do you understand?" Ava Gray snapped.
Her frustration was palpable; if she intended to exploit, she could have forcibly sacrificed every living creature on the continent and harvested tens of thousands of divine power crystals herself—if it weren't for the fact that such mass sacrifice demands sufficient faith...
No, think about it: there are over a hundred thousand beings in the Divine Kingdom. Even if each one harbored just 1% of its own faith, that would amount to over a hundred thousand crystals per day. Damn it—those "life elimination cards" sell for ten crystals apiece. Why don't you simply rob them? Ugh, what a bunch of rebellious brats! I should have, no matter the cost, secured even a single Life Seed back then.
Seeing Ava Gray's dejected expression, the dragon merely turned its head away. It wasn't clear to him what the other gods were like, but he was certain they wouldn't resemble his own deity. The very word "god" had been indelibly etched into his mind from birth; it was as if it were the law of the Divine Kingdom itself—a kingdom that continuously reinforced the notion that it was carved out by gods and that its inhabitants were their subjects.
In short, he deeply resented that idea. He'd struggled desperately to survive, and in the beginning, he had no desire to acknowledge this so-called deity. Even if gods were to die and the Divine Kingdom collapse, what would it matter? In such a wretched world, it might even be better if everything fell apart sooner.
Yet later, after witnessing this deity preach to all the races and impart her teachings without any pretentious arrogance, he gradually changed his mind. Deep down, he knew her aim was merely to prevent this world from perishing—to stave off death. And in truth, she was effecting tangible change; she taught them countless skills, and the world slowly advanced step by step.
From that moment on, the beings of this world gradually accepted her. They came to understand that this one, despite her bluster, was a deity with a soft heart. Unlike the lofty aphorisms engraved in every soul, she lacked the cold detachment of a transcendent creator—instead, she was a hardworking, if occasionally petty, child.
Perhaps it was this frequently roguish little being who, step by step, led all the races from the barren chaos at the world's birth to the establishment of civilization.
She offered a slight smile and fell silent.
At that very moment, the disheartened Ava Gray had yet to realize that it was precisely the changes she had been forced to make that had prevented these muddled beings from succumbing to darkness—and that had spurred them into participating in worship. Moreover, her ignorance of other gods' ways had made these beings, emerging from the wild, accept her—even those from the Dark Realm.
That, too, was the reason she had managed to survive all these years. If she hadn't striven to save this world, the various races might have preferred the collapse of the Divine Kingdom over its preservation.
But that is a story for another time. For now, Ava Gray was deep in her studies of magic, aiming to refine her craft until it perfectly suited the dragons.
Gazing at Ava Gray, drenched in sweat and fiddling with a stone, the Dragon King asked puzzledly,
"What are you doing? Are you planning to teach us how to inscribe characters?"
"Step aside!" she retorted sharply. "This is called Bloodline Witchcraft—a spell I struggled to learn from another divine realm. In ancient witch clans, they used special magic to enhance their strength. When perfected, this spell can multiply one's physical prowess many times over. And its entry barrier is low—although it consumes a lot of vital energy, it suits your dragon race perfectly."
The Dragon King frowned and inquired,
"How did you think that we, who can't even write a single character, would be able to learn witchcraft?"
Ava Gray sighed helplessly, "Brother, Bloodline Witchcraft doesn't necessarily require written incantations—the most important element is blood! Witch clans often use the blood of other creatures to empower their magic. They hunt them down, fashion altars from their blood, and inscribe their bodies with witch runes. Then, through the proper techniques, they can gain several times their usual physical strength and even acquire some abilities of the prey. Many gods with witchcraft subordinates even purchase additional beings for their blood materials. After my modifications, I've turned it into an alternative secret art for dragons—drawing on aspects of other dragon magics. I guarantee it works!"
The Dragon King nodded in satisfaction,
"Not bad—truly, you never fail! Scouring countless sources just to find the best secret technique. Tell me, can you procure some top-quality blood materials?"
Ava Gray chuckled softly, "Right now, the most acclaimed blood material in the entire Divine Realm is dragon blood. Dragon subordinates have been hyped to exorbitant prices. Why not go all out and sell yourself? Then I'd have enough funds to secure forests and lakes for you, so that your descendants can enjoy prosperity in the future, right?"
At these words, the Dragon King shuddered and quickly shook his head,
"No, no—I'm not ready to die yet! As the saying goes, 'Each generation has its own fortune.' Without offspring, I get to enjoy my own wealth; those outrageous riches would be wasted on those brats!"
Ava Gray shot him a dismissive look and said,
"Don't worry—I'm not going to sell you. Such underhanded deals aren't worth it."
The Dragon King smiled wryly, thinking, "This little miss is sharp-tongued yet soft-hearted." He then asked casually,
"But why is that?"
"Because Bloodline Witchcraft inherits one ability from its prey—imagine if, by accident, you passed on your own intellect! Then they'd come back asking for a refund. What would I do?"The Dragon King fell silent.
"Moreover, you must understand: for a being as old and unsightly as you, trained personally by a deity, it's absurd that after all this time not one among your kind can master magic. Meanwhile, even the demons by the volcano next door have learned to 'greenify' themselves, while your clan seems to be utterly bereft of magical talent. Other dragon clans showcase their magic in tidy packages, but you all just snap at everything—the quality is too poor, and your products simply don't sell."
The Dragon King muttered,
"You're a pretty little thing, but you sure do have a big mouth…"