Picking Up Attributes From Today c1-406

by Panda Reunion, 团圆小熊猫

  Meng Lei’s eyes widened!

  That head that had popped out of the lake bore a great resemblance to a Fire Dragon. Was that fellow a pure-blooded Fire Dragon?

  However, as the behemoth emerged further and further from the lava lake, its massive body was also slowly revealed.

  A long, muscular body, fiery red tough scales, a body like a giant crocodile’s, and... Four tiny little legs!

  Meng Lei couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. So it wasn’t a Fire Dragon! If it had really been a Fire Dragon, then it wouldn’t be wise for him to hunt it down anymore.

  One could do anything they wanted in the Dragon God Empire except for one thing—slaughtering dragons was the only thing absolutely forbidden!

  One must pay a price if they wanted to be a brave dragon slayer!

  “Is that a Drake, Ol’ President?”

  “It’s just a Lava Dragondile.” Ol’ Amos scoffed. “It surprisingly has a bit of Fire Dragon blood in it, though. It’s just a shame that it’s too diluted, so it doesn’t count as a Drake.”

  “Good to hear that.”

  A smile appeared on Meng Lei’s lips right away.

  Colossal Dragons were highly protective of their own and brooked no bullying or humiliation of their offspring from others. They were also very prideful and rejected creatures whose bloodlines were thin and diluted.

  Evidently, Ol’ Amos rejected that Lava Dragondile very much. Of all things, it simply had to resemble a Fire Dragon. Who else was he going to reject, if not it?

  “Clara, you piece of trash! How dare you intrude on my territory!”

  Jimmy Frost’s—the Lava Dragondile’s—gaze swept coldly toward the Uni-Horned Rose Python, its eyes full of disdain and dissatisfaction.

  “Jimmy Frost, my old friend!”

  Although the Uni-Horned Rose Python was inwardly on tenterhooks, it managed to sound awfully friendly as it said, “I had some free time today, so I came over to visit you along the way.”

  “Friend? When you’re such a good-for-nothing?”

  The Lava Dragondile burst into raucous laughter as if it had just heard the funniest joke in the world. Its voice was like rolling thunder, the reverberations from it causing rocks to fall and roll off the mountain and lava to churn.

  When it was more or less done laughing, the smile finally disappeared from the Lava Dragondile’s visage, and it bared its fangs as it scoffed. “But if you offer up that life force-filled vitality core of yours, I can consider acknowledging you as a friend.”

  “Jimmy Frost!”

  After being repeatedly humiliated by the Lava Dragondile, the Uni-Horned Rose Python’s embarrassment couldn’t help but turn into anger. “Our territories are linked to each other’s, and we’re considered neighbors. Are you really going to be that unceremonious with me?”

  “Hahaha! Who do you think you are?” The Lava Dragondile sneered. “If it weren’t because you lucked out and was fortunate enough to be favored by the Tree of Life, do you think you could become a Saint Domain? In my eyes, you’ll always be nothing more than just a tiny little sixth-grade python!”

  “Jimmy Frost!”

  The Uni-Horned Rose Python was hopping mad, yet there was nothing it could do about the Lava Dragondile. What it had said was the truth for starters, and secondly, it wasn’t as if it could beat it in a fight.

  It couldn’t beat the Lava Dragondile at all!

  “How arrogant of you, my friend.”

  Meng Lei stepped forward at this point and gazed coldly at the Lava Dragondile.

  “Who are you?” asked the Lava Dragondile as it looked down on Meng Lei.

  “I’m the Uni-Horned Rose Python’s friend!” Meng Lei said dispassionately, “When you look down on my friend like that, you’re also looking down on me at the same time. If you don’t give me a satisfactory explanation today, I’m going to get mad!”

  “Get mad? Feh!” The Lava Dragondile burst into uproarious laughter as it scoffed. “Who do you think you are? How dare you hoot that much in front of me? Believe it or not, I can swallow you in one gulp!”

  “My friend, I treated you with only kind words and blindly gave way to you the whole time, yet you’re being so overbearing and acting in such a villainous manner. Left with no other alternative, I can only get mad now!”

  Meng Lei snorted coldly and shouted, “Ten Thousand Swords Return Home!”

  Buzz, buzz!

  Dazzling golden light abruptly burst forth from all around Meng Lei. At his call, all the Metal Elements within a few kilometers converged to form swords that circled around him.

  “That’s...”

  The Lava Dragondile was straight up blinded by the golden light all around it and ended up reacting half a beat too slow.

  “Ha!”

  Meng Lei’s voice was cold and aloof as he declared, “You damned villain! Today, I shall play the part of the main character in a novel and take out a demon like you! And get rid of evil for the people!”

  Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

  Densely packed golden swords turned to point toward the Lava Dragondile. Then, all of them pierced through the air and shot toward it.

  Their sheer numbers practically covered the sky and the earth. Their momentum was so strong that even great heroes wouldn’t be any match for them.

  “Aaahhhh!”

  Amid peculiar-sounding splurts, shrill cries rose and fell in succession.

  Whoosh!

  The glint of the swords faded, and the golden light vanished.

  The Uni-Horned Rose Python hurriedly looked over, upon which a shiver then went through its whole body, and a bone-chilling iciness welled up in its heart. Was that really the Lava Dragondile?

  That was clearly just a goddamn pile of minced meat! Even if it had been kicked into an unrecognizable state, surely it wouldn’t have ended up in this sorry state?

  “Ding! 1 Lava Dragondile killed. 11.5 billion gold coins gained!”

  Chapter 165: Fruit of The Divine Tree, Deification By Religious Faith

  “Sir, you’re simply too impressive! My feelings of admiration toward you are endless and eternal, like the gushing rivers. They are like the overflowing Yellow River, beyond control once the floodgates open—”

  “Cut the crap. Just drive properly.”

  “Drive?”

  “...”

  Meng Lei was rendered speechless. Then, he asked, “Judging from what that old crocodile said just now, prior to becoming a Saint Domain, you were just a Sixth-Grade Magical Beast?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  The Uni-Horned Rose Python didn’t dare to keep any secrets from him. It explained, “Ten years ago, I was indeed a Sixth-Grade Rose Python. But because I was lucky enough to get a Tree of Life fruit, I was able to become a Saint Domain Magical Beast.

  “I had initially thought that after I became a Saint Domain Magical Beast, I’d be able to become buddies with those old-timer Saint Domain Magical Beasts high up above. Who’d have thought that those guys would still look down on me—”

  Meng Lei interrupted Clara’s unceasing torrent of words and asked, “Are you saying that you used only a short ten years to advance from a tiny little Sixth-Grade Magical Beast into a Saint Domain?”

  “Yes, sir!” The Uni-Horned Rose Python didn’t quite understand. It asked, “Is there an issue with that?”

  Ten years!

  It had taken only ten years for a Sixth-Grade Magical Beast to become a Saint Domain!

  Wasn’t that totally an issue?

  It wasn’t just Meng Lei who was shocked; even Ol’ Amos was astonished by its words. At once, he emerged from the spatial ring and urged him. “Hurry! Meng Lei, ask the python what the Tree of Life is!”

  Meng Lei took a deep breath, and then he posed the question to the Uni-Horned Rose Python.

  A look of idolization surfaced in Clara’s eyes at once. An expression akin to those of fanatics in relation to the deity they worshiped and believed in also came over its countenan
ce.

  “The Tree of Life is the divine tree on this continent. It’s also the spiritual belief of all living things on this continent. Be it plants or animals, everyone and everything worships and believes deeply in the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life protects us eternally!”

  “Is the Tree of Life that great?” Meng Lei’s eyes flashed as he asked, “What’s the Tree of Life fruit?”

  “The Tree of Life bears fruits once every hundred years. Each time it does, it only bears a total of nine fruits. When the fruits ripen, the Tree of Life will send these nine fruits to various corners of the continent for the living things here to consume.”

  With much gratitude, the Uni-Horned Rose Python said, “If you’re lucky enough, you’ll be able to get one. After consuming the fruit, one will gain great power within an extremely short amount of time—just like me.”

  “A single fruit has allowed you to take only ten years to become a Saint Domain Magical Beast. That fruit’s effect...”

  Meng Lei found this incredible. He asked, “Ol’ President, have you heard of a fruit like that before?”

  “Not at all!”

  Ol’ Amos took a breath and said, “In Heaven’s Vault Continent, there are also many treasures that can help people to break through their limits and boost their strength, but none of them can compare to an amazing fruit like that.

  “That thing is practically even crazier than a Laws of Nature Origin Crystal!”

  “Indeed it is!”

  Meng Lei nodded heavily. Laws of Nature Origin Crystals contained nature laws within them and could aid a ninth-grade expert in opening the door to laws of nature and helping them attain the Saint Domain realm. However, this was limited to only ninth-grade experts and was ineffective for those below.

  However, this was evidently not the case for the fruit.

  A Sixth-Grade Magical Beast had become a Saint Domain in ten years.

  What was that?

  A huge tonic supplement for mass-manufacturing Saint Domains, that’s what it was!

  How could Laws of Nature Origin Crystal match up to it?

  “I must find it! I must find that divine tree!”

  Meng Lei’s eyes were blazing bright with a spectacular outburst of light. “If we can take it for ourselves and sit and wait for the divine tree fruits to come rolling in, we’ll strike gold!”

  One divine tree fruit = One Saint Domain!

  Just how much was the divine tree worth?

  What was the big deal about having a mine?

  What was the big deal about having one’s house demolished and relocated[1]?

  What was the big deal about having a villa in 2nd Ring Road[2]?

  Compared to the divine tree, they didn’t amount to anything at all!

  However, Ol’ Amos’ countenance was grave, and there was a complex look in his eyes as he said, ‘We’ll have to look for it for sure, but I’m afraid we can’t hold ourselves against it.”

  “Can’t hold ourselves against it?”

  Meng Lei was rather puzzled.

  Ol’ Amos asked slowly, “Do you remember a certain sentence that the Uni-Horned Rose Python said just now?”

  “Which?”

  Ol’ Amos replied slowly, “That all living things on this continent, whether plants or animals, worship and believe deeply in the Tree of Life.”

  “Yes, I know that. What about it?”

  Meng Lei was even more puzzled now.

  “You once asked me in the past how one can become a deity, right?” Ol’ Amos didn’t answer his question. Instead, he asked, “My answer was that laws of nature maketh the deity, right?”

  “Yes!” Meng Lei nodded. “You once said that deities were also known as the controllers of the laws of nature. If one can fully comprehend a type of laws of nature, they’ll be able to become a deity.”

  “Deification by comprehending the laws of nature is only one of the methods available.” Ol’ Amos said slowly, “In truth, that’s not the only route to deification. There’s also another very common method that’s the easiest to achieve, yet also the hardest.”

  Meng Lei was taken aback. A very common method that was the easiest to achieve, yet also the hardest? What kind of method was that? Why was it so self-contradictory?

  “Ol’ President, the method you speak of is?” Meng Lei was terribly curious.

  “Deification by religious faith,” Ol’ Amos answered.

  “Deification by religious faith?” Meng Lei perked up.

  “As long as you have enough believers worshipping and devoutly believing in you, you don’t even need to do anything, and you can become a deity. Even if you’re just lazing about and doing nothing every day, you can still become one nonetheless!”

  A smiling Ol’ Amos explained, “That’s what deification by religious faith is! What do you think? Isn’t it simple?”

  Meng Lei was rendered speechless. “One can become a deity without even doing anything? Isn’t that taking the matter a little too lightly?”

  “Thus, deification by religious faith is very simple to achieve. Compared to comprehending the laws of nature, it’s practically cheating.”

  Then, Ol’ Amos changed the course of the conversation and lamented, “It’s just a pity that it’s not easy to gain enough believers. In fact... It’s extremely difficult!

  “Take Heaven’s Vault Continent, for example.

  “There’s the Beast People Empire in the north, the Dragon God Empire in the east, the Fairy Empire in the south, and the Titan Empire in the west.

  “Yet all four great empires have their own gods that they believe in. Even though there are trillions of living things in Heaven’s Vault Continent, do you think it’s possible to snatch believers from the four great empires?”

  Meng Lei gave a wry smile in response—that was something totally impossible, alright? Or at least, that was currently the case.

  “Therefore, deification by religious faith is also a method as difficult as nailing jelly to the wall—because it’s totally impossible for you to find a sufficient number of believers to provide enough religious faith for you to become a deity.”

  Ol’ Amos shook his head lightly and went on. “As a result, the only thing all living things in Heaven’s Vault Continent can do is to properly comprehend the laws of nature and go down the route of deification by comprehending laws of nature.”

  Meng Lei asked, “Ol’ President, you’ve mentioned just now that deification by religious faith is also a very common method. What do you mean by that?”

  “In Heaven’s Vault Continent, deification by religious faith is indeed very tough, but this may not be the case for other existential planes.” Ol’ Amos explained with a smile, “You probably don’t know this yet, but in the vast and boundless universe exist countless planes of existence. The Heaven’s Vault Continent is only a very ordinary material plane among them all!”

  “Huh?” Meng Lei pretended to be astonished.

  “...”

  Ol’ Amos explained at great length before he finally said, “Existential planes are much like bubbles. New planes are constantly being born, and old planes are constantly dying out every moment.

  “In those newly-born planes, neither deities nor experts exist. The living things there live the life of savages and are primitive and backward.

  “The living things that those planes birth are innocent and ignorant. They harbor great respect for the heavens and are fearful of nature. Therefore, they easily hold religious faith toward certain supernatural phenomena or inexplicable things and incidents.

  “For example, they may worship a powerful person, a snake, a ball of fire, a rock, and so on.

  “That’s the earliest form of religious faith—primitive worship!”

  Meng Lei murmured to himself, “Primitive worship?”

  “To primeval lifeforms, the act of primitive worship doesn’t mean much. It’s nothing more than just pure faith. However, to the subjects of worship, it’s something incredibly extra
ordinary!

  “Because... Primitive worship can allow them to... Become deities!”

  [1] Referring to the huge compensation payment from the relocation

  [2] A district located in the heart of Beijing, where land is very expensive

  Chapter 166: The Threat of A Half-Deity, The Multi-Armed Behemoth

  Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  “Primitive worship produces religious faith, while faith itself creates a god. That’s exactly what deification by religious faith is.”

  With a sigh, Ol’ Amos went on. “In the vast and boundless universe, new planes are constantly being born, and old planes are dying out every moment.

  “As a result, primitive worship is taking place every moment. In fact, Heaven’s Vault Continent has also experienced something similar during its early stages. It has also created a fair number of deities because of that.

  “It’s just a shame that as civilization prospered, the religious faith resources in Heaven’s Vault Continent were subsequently split among several parties right down to the very last bit. Thus, it’s no longer a fertile land with regard to deification by religious faith now.”

  “I see!” Meng Lei nodded. “So, what you’re worried about is that the Tree of Life has also deified because of the religious faith that the living things on this continent holds in it, Ol’ President?”

  “It likely hasn’t reached the point of deification yet.” Ol’ Amos shook his head lightly. “It has been more than 10,000 years since deities were last born in Heaven’s Vault Continent. The Tree of Life likely hasn’t deified yet!”

  “Then what are you so worried about?” Meng Lei’s brows furrowed slightly in confusion.

  “It may not have deified yet, but a half-deity status is not out of the question.” Ol’ Amos’ countenance turned grave as he said, “Although a half-deity isn’t an actual deity, they are still very powerful all the same.

  “In the event that the Tree of Life has attained half-deification thanks to its endless source of faith, will you be able to fight against it?”

  “That’s...”

  Meng Lei was at a loss for words. A half-deity was an existence that was infinitely more powerful than even a limits-level Saint Domain. How would he possibly be a match for it?