Leaf Zhi came to the Liangfeng Plain originally intending to experiment with a Forbidden Demon.
As a result, he happened to run into two overly cautious Church of Light cultivators.
Both minor accomplices died on the spot, and Leaf Zhi was also blasted half to death by the backlash from the magic recognition.
That’s how the Guangqiu seized the opportunity.
While Leaf Zhi was seriously injured, it almost succeeded in forming a One-way Contract with him.
Fortunately, Leaf Zhi regained consciousness in time.
He simultaneously engaged in conversation with Guangqiu to stall for time and, in the process, reversed the contract target within the formation.
One of the Godly Traits is that a God cannot be commanded.
According to Leaf Zhi’s understanding of Gods, Guangqiu should have been forced to self-destruct, waiting for the next Resurrection Ritual.
He was fully aware that he would suffer some minor injuries as a result.
Well, okay, maybe the injuries weren’t that minor.
But it was still much better than having a God lurking inside his body, ready to possess him at any moment!
Unexpectedly…
The contract reversal actually succeeded?!
Leaf Zhi closed his eyes and felt the information transmitted through the contract.
Originally, due to the “Light God Inheritance System”—such a common name—and the constant aura of light magic radiating from Guangqiu, Leaf Zhi guessed the other party was the soon-to-be-resurrected Light God.
Unfortunately.
Leaf Zhi guessed wrong!
Guangqiu wasn’t the Light God, but the Divinity Fragment of Aurel Lucian, the Light God!
It had only accidentally awakened its own consciousness.
A Divinity Fragment is not the God itself and does not possess the indomitable Godly Trait.
Leaf Zhi opened his eyes, expression complicated.
The weight in his heart lightened by eighty percent.
“I told you, the old thing only died six hundred years ago. How could a dignified Old God revive so easily?”
On the Aeltia Continent, Gods are divided into New Gods and Old Gods.
Old Gods are innate Gods born under the world’s laws.
New Gods are mortals who become Gods through cultivation.
It’s far harder for the former to come back to life than the latter.
Just the required Faith Power is an astronomical figure, definitely not something that can be achieved in six hundred years.
Even if the Church of Light, under the Light God, is the number one Church in Aeltia.
Leaf Zhi played with the Guangqiu in his hand with interest.
“But a Divinity Fragment can also give birth to consciousness? That’s not much better than the old thing flipping a coffin lid……”
But on the Aeltia Continent, where countless races and magical creatures abound, having one more Divinity Fragment species is reasonable…right?
Regardless of the process, the outcome ultimately favored Leaf Zhi.
From the contract, Leaf Zhi learned many things.
As a Divinity Fragment of the Light God that had gained self-awareness, Guangqiu existed based on divine power.
Yet it was not recognized by the world’s laws as a God and did not possess the Authority of a God.
When the divine power within it was depleted, that would be the day its consciousness faced annihilation.
Worse yet, after gaining consciousness, it could no longer receive Faith Power from the previous Light God’s followers.
Without Faith Power, there was no divine strength.
To preserve its own little life, the Divinity Fragment could only seek out a magical being with the potential to ascend to Godhood.
A Mage Marshal combined with the Divinity Fragment, Authority, and divine power of the Light God—wouldn’t that be recognized as the Light God?
Naturally, it could continue to collect divine power, maintaining the Divinity Fragment’s consciousness.
Guangqiu had been searching the Aeltia Continent all along.
Round and round.
And found itself on Leaf Zhi.
Guangqiu quivered in Leaf Zhi’s hand.
“You, you’re actually…a Demigod?”
Freely entering and leaving the Spirit Sea is something only a Demigod-level Mage Marshal can do!
When it found Leaf Zhi, the other party had already been half-killed by the backlash from the Forbidden Demon, his cultivation nearly gone.
Guangqiu originally thought the other party was just a powerful black magic user on the run.
Who knew he was so strong, already with one foot in Godhood!
And even possessed means to deceive Gods, even reverse a Divine Contract!
Had it known, no matter how difficult, it would’ve avoided the only chosen candidate for the Light God it found in years!
Leaf Zhi heard this and glanced at Guangqiu.
“Nonsense, I’m seven hundred years old. Isn’t it normal to have some power?”
Guangqiu was silenced again.
It felt something was off about the other’s words but couldn’t quite place it.
It was as if it was being tricked.
Leaf Zhi ignored its reaction.
He had reversed the One-way Contract, and all of Guangqiu’s abilities were now at his disposal.
Guangqiu had wanted to control him, but now the tables were turned, and it was experiencing the consequences of its own contract!
To be honest, the contract was pretty useful.
With a thought, Leaf Zhi activated a glowing blue screen that appeared before the incarnation in his Spirit Sea.
[Name: Leaf Zhi (Zhi·Mephist Kalen·Leaf)]
[Race: Undead]
[……]
Leaf Zhi felt his heart settle.
The Divinity Fragment also possessed basic Godly disguise abilities.
It could disguise itself as the revered appearance of a God in the hearts of believers.
Leaf Zhi didn’t regard the System as a God, but his obsession with the System was strong enough to influence the Divinity Fragment’s transformation.
More than enough to act as the System itself.
Guangqiu sensed the divine power draining uncontrollably from its body.
Though not much, the sensation of losing control was terrifying!
Its voice turned panicked.
“What did you do to me?!”
A tinge of bitterness hid within its tone.
Leaf Zhi responded calmly.
“Didn’t you say you were a System? Now your dream has come true—happy?”
Then, under Guangqiu’s increasingly fearful gaze, Leaf Zhi slowly commented:
“Your contract is quite handy, well thought-out on all sides. Even more binding than a slave contract!”
“Now, all the divine power and Authority you possess belong to me. By the way, this includes the portion of divine strength maintaining your own consciousness!”
In other words—
As long as Leaf Zhi wished, he could erase Guangqiu’s consciousness at any time!
As a Demigod-level Mage Marshal, holding a Light God Divinity Fragment, all he needed was to fool a few Church of Light followers to ascend to Godhood.
And that would mean directly taking one of the thirteen Old God positions!
At that point, he wouldn’t need Guangqiu as an intermediary to channel the power of the Divinity Fragment.
However, Leaf Zhi didn’t intend to do so for now.
Guangqiu suddenly shivered, shrinking in Leaf Zhi’s palm.
Even its glow dimmed.
At first, it only wanted to find someone to help it ascend, so it had meticulously prepared the One-way Contract as a backup.
Now, it had become a tool to threaten itself?!
Guangqiu was at a loss.
Leaf Zhi looked at the new panel that appeared.
[Name: Leaf Zhi]
[Race: Undead]
[Level: 21 (Intermediate Mage Marshal) / 159 (Demigod)]
[Skills: Soul Perception, Myriad Transformations, Multiple Avatars (0/10)]
[Authority: Life Resurrection, Life Purification]
[Divine Power: 99]
[Followers: None]
[Special Item: ?Different-Dimensional Net Spirit?, Divine Contract (Reversed)]
[Status: Seriously Injured, Fractured, Weak, Frostbite, Burned, Poisoned, Spirit Sea Disordered, …… ]
[Summary: Dying Undead]
The contents made Leaf Zhi click his tongue in admiration.
As expected of something generated by Godly Traits, it analyzed his physical condition with alarming precision.
After becoming Undead, he had lost more than half of his senses.
If it weren’t listed, he wouldn’t have realized just how long the list of injuries was.
Indeed, System panels were useful things.
At the very least, it was a decent body diagnostic tool.
Skipping over the injuries in bold red, Leaf Zhi immediately noticed a string of seemingly garbled information.
“Special Item, Different-Dimensional…Net Spirit?”
Leaf Zhi carefully identified a few recognizable characters, then understood.
“What is this thing?”