Chapter 1026: Chapter 1026: God? What a Miserable Job… “In your era, how many Divine Races were there in the Void?” Bingdis suddenly looked at Xiao Xue and asked very seriously. Xiao Xue had originally just come along to join in the fun, because the causal lines were broken in front of her, she didn’t really participate in everyone’s discussions: it was meaningless and could potentially mislead others. So from the start, she was focused on making faces at the little crows in the ecological environment bay. When Bingdis suddenly asked her a question, the girl was momentarily unresponsive. It was only after the question was repeated that she replied, “Oh, oh, how many Divine Races? By that time, not many people mentioned such terms. From what I remember, people around me would mention ‘Dragon God this’ or ‘Dark God that’, ‘Light God so-and-so’, very rarely did anyone talk about a ‘Divine Race’s so-and-so’ anymore.” “I guessed as much,” Bingdis sighed, “The Xyrin Apostles have already ascended to become complete Gods after the Void catastrophe. Not only have their powers reached the level of Gods, but they also possess all the divine traits, such as information disturbance power, the symbolic significance between words and actions, and the ability to interact with followers. If the Xyrin Apostles had evolved to such an extent after the Void catastrophe, then you would naturally get used to not adding a ‘God’ title to specific people when mentioning the Star Domain, because you yourselves are now part of the Gods!” Bingdis’s analysis became more and more astonishing, and by this time, no one dared to interrupt her. Although this girl’s usual personality was annoying, her knowledge was incredibly profound. She had an in-depth understanding of the history of the Star Domain Divine Realm and had her own interpretations of the various information disturbances and the essence of divine powers in the Void. Now, only she could analyze and uncover things unseen by others in the current situation, while we could only listen attentively. After thinking for a moment, she gave us an analogy: “It’s like humans referring to different people on Earth, you would say ‘British so-and-so’, ‘American so-and-so’, but I believe no one would say ‘Human so-and-so’. Xiao Xue may have grown up in such an environment and did not perceive the meanings behind these terms, but we should be able to hear it clearly. After she was born, everyone had stopped seeing the ‘Divine Race’ as a separate race. By then, the Xyrin Apostles would at most call someone ‘Light Goddess Bingdis’, but no longer ‘Bingdis from the Divine Race’.” Bingdis got up to pour herself a glass of water, and Sandora took the opportunity to express her opinion: “The Xyrin Apostles were once referred to as the unofficial Divine Race or the Third Divine Race. Such terminology itself implies that the Xyrin Apostles were not True Gods. Yet, in terms of sheer power, the Xyrin Apostles are not weaker than the Gods, so the significant reason they are not considered True Gods is that our race lacks the ‘symbolic’ power of the Star Domain Divine Race.” “Symbolic” power is a very abstract noun; it does not explain very well, but a more understandable interpretation is that the True Gods of the Star Domain have the ability to transform their ‘actions’ into ‘symbols’ that can produce tangible influence during daily activities. Mortals, upon reenacting these ‘actions’ or becoming associated with them, can facilitate certain phenomena. The actions undertaken by mortals in this process are usually called ‘rituals’ or ‘sacrifices,’ and the phenomena they facilitate are termed ‘miracles’. Dingdang likes to eat lollipops, and her preference can produce symbolic power; when the followers of the Life Goddess Sect offer tributes, they would first present various honeys, which can truly produce miraculous powers: after offering the honeys, Dingdang’s followers would receive blessings of recovery, strength, longevity, etc., depending on their devotion, while during this process, Dingdang did nothing, and what took effect was her ‘symbolic’ power.” True Gods possess such symbolic power, but equally powerful Xyrin Apostles do not, which is a crucial reason why the Xyrin Apostles of the Old Empire were always referred to as the ‘unofficial’ Divine Race: the distinction is not about who is more powerful. “The essence of symbolic power is a form of information disturbance and the ability to extend this information disturbance onto other mundane things,” Bingdis looked into my eyes, “Unlike the principle of information disturbance in Void Creatures, Void Creatures are themselves the source points of all information. To use an analogy you are familiar with, a Void Creature is an energy source, when this energy source fluctuates, it causes all systems to follow suit, whereas the reason the Gods produce information disturbances or symbolic powers is because we are the focal points of vast information entanglements, equivalent to magnets in the world. A magnet passing over a magnetic field inevitably disrupts the original field. Two types of information disturbances have a relationship of inheritance; our Star Domain Gods can become focal points of various information because we were created by the Father God, much like the flow of electrical energy from a power source passing through a coil to generate a magnetic field—this example should be very familiar on Earth, and that’s how it is, Father God is the power source, we are the coil. Before, the Xyrin Apostles did not possess symbolic power because they evolved from within the world towards higher levels; they lacked the crucial link to becoming information disturbance sources, which is the Void Injection. In this situation, if they wish to become ‘Gods’ who can be worshiped and empower their followers with tangible strength through faith, the only way is to master the Void Power. The Old Empire faltered at this final step. But now… if I am not mistaken, the Xyrin Apostles have finally waited for that crucial link. Chen, your existence will elevate the entire race after many years.” No one spoke for a while; it seemed everyone was processing Bingdis’s astonishing prediction. Only Sandora spoke thoughtfully, “I still don’t quite get it. Ah Jun’s information disturbance capability has been there from the beginning. Qianqian and the others have obtained pseudo-divine powers because of it; why didn’t you think then that he could transform the Xyrin Apostles into true Gods? Now a crow mutated, and it became an omen instead?” “This is the ‘inheritance relationship’ I mentioned earlier,” Bingdis explained seriously, “The Father God possesses information disturbance power, and then he created the Gods, who ‘inherited’ a weaker grade of information disturbance power from him, making them capable of being worshiped. To see if the Xyrin Apostles can become true Gods, the key lies in whether ordinary members among them can also inherit this power. Before, I could only verify that Qianqian and the rest grew stronger due to Chen’s influence, which in no way confirmed that they inherited any symbolic power. Only when Chen can make something influenced by him also affect the next tier can I be certain he is on the verge of becoming a mature Void Creature like the Father God and King Huron. What underwent mutation this time was a crow—think about it, among the things Chen contacts in his courtyard every day, crows wouldn’t even be considered top priority. They merely remained in Chen’s line of sight, so why didn’t the flowers and plants mutate? Why didn’t the tables and chairs mutate? Why didn’t the utensils Chen usually uses mutate…” I casually spoke, “Because they didn’t have time to mutate before being eaten by Sandora.” Everyone: “…” “Hey, could you mind your jokes with the setting?” Bingdis glared at me unpleasantly. I quickly shrunk my neck, “Carry on, continue.” “There are quite a few things in contact with Chen, most more intimately than those two crows, yet the first mutation occurred in a family of crows, why so?” Bingdis looked around us, suddenly lowering her voice, “Because Anwina who looks after them, is a crow. Uh, or at least she has already regarded herself as a crow.” “Therefore, the information disturbance power exhibited an inheritance phenomenon, and Anwina became the second disturbance source capable of affecting the surrounding environment?” Sandora frowned, “Why doesn’t this seem right?” Bingdis gestured with her hand, “She’s not that strong yet; in this process, the one truly generating the information disturbance is still Chen, Anwina just acted as a catalyst causing the event’s trajectory to shift, but even as a catalyst, it serves as the starting point for becoming the next information disturbance source. Where do you feel something’s not right here?” Qianqian spoke her mind, “We were the first to get mixed up with Jun, why isn’t the first disturbance source us?” I slapped my forehead: This girl is getting more creative with her vocabulary, what does getting ‘mixed up’ with someone mean… But indeed, what she said was a concern of ours: if anyone were most influenced by me, it would obviously be Qianqian and my sister, even Sandora comes after Pandora. However, current circumstances indicate Anwina is the first to show potential for spreading information disturbances: she hasn’t undergone much mutation herself, but the family of crows she interacts with was preferentially selected for promotion. Am I usually that intimate with Anwina? “This might relate to some subjective inclination of Chen’s… quite difficult to explain.” Bingdis’s one sentence almost cast me into an abyss of despair, Sandora squinted her eyes immediately, “Oh, Ah Jun even spares not the birds and ghosts now, huh?” Fortunately, Bingdis knew to backtrack a bit, “That’s not what I meant; I’m saying, Chen, did you ever entertain thoughts of promoting Anwina, or think of her developing divinity?” I pondered for a long time, somewhat uncertainly saying, “I frequently refer to her as the Maid God, does that count?” Bingdis was taken aback, nodded with difficulty, “Damn, it probably does…” The entire family gawked. “No way! Does that work?” Even Sandora couldn’t help but discompose a bit, the situation so unscientific that it left the always scientific Queen baffled. She grabbed my hand and started shaking it, “Ah Jun, why don’t you try influencing me then.” I stared at Sandora’s eyes for a long time, then awkwardly turned my head: “Forget it, if I really succeed, your portrait will only be enshrined in every household’s kitchen at that time…” I actually thought of the word ‘food’ after five minutes! “This can’t be rushed. For Void Creatures to mature, it takes quite a long time. Father God didn’t create the Divine Realm in just one or two years,” Bingdis stretched lazily, seemingly unwilling to waste her breath on this topic, “In short, only one thing is certain: as Chen gradually matures, he will spread the ability of information disturbance to everyone around him through the spiritual connection network. The first to achieve a collective race ascension should be the Xyrin Apostles, followed by your vassal races. Once Chen finds a way to control his own power, he can precisely determine the ascension level for each race just like Father God—as in the Divine Realm, aside from the Four Major God Systems, we actually have other gods, like the Fire Element God, the Wind and Thunder God, the Water God, the God of Music and such. These minor god systems also have positions in the Pantheon, and as for the origin of some of them, you absolutely can’t imagine: the Fire God arose from the flame Father God created when he first showed the Dark Goddess the barbecue skills he learned from the mortal realm. The Wind God’s birth came from a sneeze of the Dark Goddess, and Water God Wendy was created by the Dragon God…” Qianqian perked up immediately: “The Dragon God created the Water God? Why?” Bingdis shrugged: “The god most skilled in spreading ‘water’ in the Divine Realm created the Water God, any questions?” I was instantly Spartafied beyond redemption! “Xyrin Main God System, Kepulu Secondary God, Azeroth Secondary God, Vedis Secondary God… It looks like a future that truly captivates people,” Sandora smiled, her face glowing with great interest, “Ah Jun, look, you’ve suddenly become quite remarkable.” I thought for a moment and looked at Bingdis very seriously: “You are a god, so from your experience, if the entire Xyrin Apostle race ascends to become True Gods, what changes would there be? I mean… benefits, like the Xyrin Apostles becoming stronger, or solving the chicken-and-egg problem, for instance…” Bingdis paused for a moment, then mumbled while touching her chin: “That’s true, now what gods can do, you guys can pretty much do too. So if you become gods… controlling the world might be a bit easier than before? Or, when installing the world OS, you could decompress quickly, perhaps…” She spoke for half a day, only to conclude with things that the Xyrin Apostles can already do. In the end, she was at a loss, shrugging: “The only advantage is that you guys can become scammers in the future, and then many believers will build you great and old temples, but none of you will get to live in them…” “What? Turns out being a god is just , boring…” Lin Xue shook her head disappointedly and walked away. My sister also shrugged: “Is that all? The changes are not as significant as a single equipment upgrade. I’m going back to cook.” Sandora hurriedly caught up with my sister: “Oh, then I’ll go back to have a meal.” Qianqian smacked her lips: “Just having a big house, huh? That’s nothing much; my current house is big enough…” So, the group of us almost simultaneously lost interest, turned around, and left, leaving Bingdis staring in amazement, finally hopping on her feet and shouting: “Hey! What’s with your reaction! So what if you become gods! You should feel some sense of glory, right! Isn’t it at least an advanced title, hey! Explain to me why you guys look so begrudging as if it’s only a single pay rise!” Follow current novels on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱 I comfortingly patted the shoulder of the female hooligan: “Forget it, forget it, you know full well our family’s temperament. And to be honest, I really don’t think being a True God is a good job; the daily work of a World Management God is like property management…” That’s the truth. As I further understand the divine positions of Star Domain Gods, their various powers become very clear to me now. Gods, as beings, never really govern anything because nothing can bring them benefits. Believers cannot provide gods with power, nor can worlds offer resources to the Divine Realm. Loyalty from a billion mortal worlds is just a number to them. True Gods can completely transcend any world because they themselves are both law and concept. Everything they need comes from their own will. World Management Gods are the ones among the Star Domain Gods who communicate the most with the Lower Realm, and their “management” of the mortal world is more akin to volunteer labor. Patch up the universe’s breaches, clear common bugs, guide traffic among the stars, and occasionally clean up for the believers… Without the accumulated spirit of a living Lei Feng over billions of years, who would take these thankless jobs? At times, I feel that if it weren’t for pursuing the Abyss, these immortals would probably prefer living idly in the Divine Realm until the end of time—if an end exists, anyway, I’d certainly do that. And if the Xyrin Apostle really ascend to become True Gods under my influence, I’m not really sure if they’d engage in equally mundane tasks. Currently, the Xyrin Empire already operates similarly to the Gods in terms of behavior, excluding research materials, we don’t need resources from any world now: those resources are for the vassal races, and we don’t require living space either: all imperial facilities are built within the Other Space we created ourselves (This is completely a remake of those gods’ temples with vast internal space). Whether it’s the New Empire or the Old Empire, expanding territory is merely to eliminate the Abyss and other chaotic enemies, not to strive for survival environments—thinking about it, I suddenly feel that if there was no Abyss in the Void, would those often hot-blooded Imperial Soldiers be bored to death…? Soon, experts at the research institute found that they could no longer provide further explanations for the mutated three crows: technological devices could effortlessly scan every basic particle in the crows’ bodies and elucidate the principles of various abilities of the future Crow God. However, their research came to a halt at this point: the specific process of mutation was an inexplicable mystery involving knowledge of the void, and the miraculous results from various information entanglements. Perhaps only Father God could make sense of it: of course, maybe I could understand it many years from now. The next morning, the three crows were sent back to their home, and the crow’s nest in the yard became lively once again. To celebrate the three mutated creatures passing their health checks and embracing a new life, Anwina even organized a small party for them: she personally cooked two dishes for the crows! That ghost maid probably already considers herself one of their kin… As for the crow fledgling… alright, now I’m embarrassed to call it a fledgling; that little guy grows too fast, doubling in size in just forty-eight hours! Let’s call it Little Crow. I personally placed a seal on Little Crow, temporarily suppressing its dangerous energy control ability to prevent the little guy from accidentally frying its parents or flying out and triggering a city-wide blaze. No w I’m starting to ponder the next question: If the Xyrin Apostle smoothly becomes gods in the future, what about the plight of the Fallen Apostles? (To be continued. If you work, feel free to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)