Seeing Synk arrive just in time, Ocain and Roni still looked at her with disdain. How could a study of this level possibly yield results in just half an hour?
Unless she had somehow obtained an experimental subject that could directly communicate with Imaginary Energy, but how could that be possible?
As far as they knew, the only being who could communicate with Imaginary Energy was the War God Artosh, and he had just died in battle. Although they didn't know what Synk had been doing, the fact that she was still preparing meant she couldn't possibly have any noteworthy results.
Faced with their amused gazes, Synk, shedding her previous anxiety, confidently presented her research.
"Lord Su Mo, after my research, I have successfully found a method to communicate with Imaginary Energy using the divine essence. The key lies in the divine essence's own Imaginary Space vibration characteristics."
She said the same words as Roni's research results.
Hearing this, Roni sneered. He knew she couldn't have copied him; this must be her own conclusion. But it didn't matter. Synk had only found the theoretical possibility, while he had successfully put it into practice. Their achievements were not on the same level.
As expected.
"Roni has already successfully verified this method," Su Mo said. "Do you have any other findings?"
The impartial One God was clearly not satisfied with this result.
Just as he and Ocain were about to celebrate, Synk smiled confidently and spoke again.
"Yes! Through actual testing, I discovered that the structure capable of communicating with Imaginary Energy is not strongly correlated with the divine essence. That is to say, even individuals without a divine essence can master Imaginary Energy!"
"What? Even non-gods can master it?!"
At these words, Ocain and Roni were dumbfounded. Having been completely focused on the divine essence, they had truly not considered this possibility.
In their minds, the only one who could master Imaginary Energy was the War God Artosh, so they had subconsciously treated it as an advanced power for gods, never thinking that ordinary life could possibly master it.
Success by the divine essence, failure by the divine essence. Their own perspective had limited their vision.
"Mm." Hearing this conclusion, Su Mo glanced at March 7th and nodded slightly.
Noticing his gaze, the pink-haired girl stuck out her tongue in embarrassment. She had only been helping Synk, and she didn't know it was part of a competition. She hoped Su Mo wouldn't mind her interference with the fairness of it.
"Anything else?" Su Mo continued to ask.
"…There is one last result." Seeing Su Mo's expression, Synk realized her last-minute cramming had been seen through, and she became a little flustered.
"I also discovered that different frequencies of mental fluctuations correspond to different frequencies of Imaginary Energy. Different divine essences can communicate with different types of Imaginary Energy. This frequency itself can influence a living being's mental inclination, even affecting its evolution like a divine blessing. It's highly likely that the War God's ascension to the strongest is related to this."
The previous conclusions were all results deduced from the existence of March 7th. For Roni and Ocain, these results might be shocking, but for Su Mo, there was no technical substance to them; it was merely reverse engineering.
Even the proposal that Imaginary Energy had multiple frequencies was just a conceptual description of the Paths from the Star Rail world.
The final result, however, was different. It truly showcased Synk's divine-tier talent.
Life can obtain power, and power can also influence life itself.
Obtaining Imaginary Energy brought not only an increase in power, but also a leap in the level of life. And a leap in the level of life would also affect the being's own cognition.
Just as the worldview of an immortal would inevitably be different from that of a human, evolution was often accompanied by change.
This was probably the reason why Artosh was so out of place with the other Old Deus.
According to the situation in the Star Rail world, Imaginary Energy was indeed related to the behavioral principles of life. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they influenced each other.
"A good deduction." Su Mo nodded, acknowledging Synk's research. This was a topic he was currently quite interested in.
The Paths of the Star Rail world—in what way did they regulate Imaginary Energy and the existence of the Aeons?
"My apologies, Lord Su Mo. We have failed to meet your expectations. We have lost!"
Even though Su Mo had not yet given his verdict, Roni still took the initiative to step forward and admit defeat.
As a researcher, he understood the gap between them. Although he had a slight advantage in practice due to his intuition, in theoretical construction, he had lost to Synk by a large margin.
"Hmph! Mere moles! It is your honor to be defeated by me!" Seeing the two of them looking dejected, Synk immediately became smug. "If you're willing to kneel down and beg for mercy, I might be magnanimous and let you Dwarfs be rats for a hundred years less!"
Seeing her arrogant display, March 7th was dumbfounded, wondering if she had helped the wrong person. Where had that meek and beautiful blonde girl from before gone?
"Damn it!" Faced with the humiliation from his Elven enemy, Roni clenched his fists and lowered his head, unable to refute. Ocain could only swallow his anger. For a moment, their positions were reversed.
Soon, Su Mo spoke, interrupting the atmosphere.
"Since there were no rules against seeking outside help beforehand, Synk, your actions do not count as cheating."
"This competition is your victory."
Hearing this, the two Dwarf gods' eyes widened, finally understanding where they had lost. This woman actually found an experimental subject who could use Imaginary Energy?
They froze for a moment, then immediately turned their gazes to March 7th, making the pink-haired girl flinch and subconsciously take a few steps closer to Su Mo. She didn't want to be a test subject again.
Synk was a little flustered but also relieved. As long as it wasn't cheating. Since she was the victor, she had the right to properly humiliate the losers.
Just as she was calculating this in her heart, Su Mo spoke again.
"However, I must remind you that you have another task after this. The stakes of that task are also the dignity of your race."
"If you can keep winning, you naturally don't need to consider the loser's feelings. But if you lose, you had better consider now how to minimize your losses."
At these words, Synk's expression immediately stiffened. If she was too arrogant this time, and the other side won next time, wouldn't the Elves' fate be even worse? As the second Forest God, she would also lose all face.
But if she gave up her revenge this time, what would she do if the other side retaliated next time?
After thinking it over, there seemed to be only one optimal decision: to reserve the power of this command and use it as a deterrent. This way, no matter who won or lost, the other side wouldn't dare to be too presumptuous.
Realizing this, Synk looked up at Su Mo and instantly understood her Master God's meaning. Does he want all the races to live in peace after the great war?
"My Lord God, I understand." Synk bowed her head deeply.
Don't misunderstand. She didn't actually want to live in peace with the Dwarfs. She just wanted to win multiple competitions and then legally and justifiably trample over the entire Dwarf race.
A race that was not qualified to be compared with her, no matter how oppressed, the Master God probably wouldn't care, right?
Roni and Ocain also quickly realized this. "Thank you for your benevolence, Lord Su Mo!" They immediately bowed in gratitude.
At the same time, they also understood that if they kept losing to Synk and lost their value, even the One God might not be willing to continue helping them. So, they absolutely could not lose the next task!
For a moment, the fighting spirit of both sides was ignited once again.
After the two parties had left the temple, Su Mo put down the two research reports in his hand and turned his gaze to the pink-haired girl. "Miss March 7th."
"Here!" March 7th immediately tensed up and answered, her index fingers tapping against each other in front of her chest as she confessed without being asked, "L-Lord Su Mo, don't be angry! I didn't mean to disrupt their fair competition! It has nothing to do with me, I don't know anything!"
Seeing her evasive gaze and desperate explanation, Su Mo shook his head. "No need to be nervous. Since I didn't warn you beforehand, I naturally won't blame you."
"On the contrary, for being rashly pulled into an experiment by my retainer, you should be compensated."
As he spoke, Su Mo condensed his divine power, materializing a translucent, colorful bracelet in his palm, and had Jibril hand it to March 7th.
"This is a blessing from the Moon Goddess Artemis. It will grant you unparalleled archery skills and also amplify your power."
"Compensation? You're too kind! How can I… wow, it's so beautiful!" Hearing this, March 7th immediately relaxed, her face full of embarrassment as she tried to refuse.
But after seeing the bracelet, her eyes immediately shone with a strange light, and the words of refusal somehow wouldn't come out.
This crystal-like bracelet was not only beautifully styled, but its color was also exactly the same as her eyes. It was simply too beautiful. It was a gift that any girl would find hard to refuse.
Seeing her mesmerized expression, Su Mo smiled faintly. "It's just an ordinary local specialty. No need to be polite, just accept it."
"An ordinary local specialty? Y-You're exaggerating!" After happily putting on the bracelet and feeling the amplification in her body, March 7th suddenly felt it was a bit too much.
Th-Th-This level of enhancement is even better than the Interastral Peace Corporation's light cones that are worth over a billion, right? Is a gift of this level something you can give to a normal friend?
But she had already accepted it. It didn't seem right to refuse now. But if she wanted to give a gift in return, selling herself probably wouldn't be enough. What should she do… go back and ask Himeko?
Receiving such a precious gift for the first time, March 7th's head was starting to smoke.
Before she could decide whether to accept it, Su Mo continued.
"In the future, if you encounter danger, this bracelet can also help you block several attacks. However, if you encounter an enemy you can't deal with at all, it's best to ask the group for help."
For Su Mo, an ordinary divine blessing was as cheap as cabbage, but the world March 7th was in was a treasure trove of a different kind.
So, it was necessary to build a good relationship with this pink-haired girl. If he wasn't mistaken, she should be needing help soon.
"It can also block danger? How amazing!" March 7th's single-track mind was immediately diverted by Su Mo, her gaze on the bracelet growing fonder.
"But, asking the group for help seems unnecessary. It doesn't seem like there's much danger on the Astral Express. Although they're not as strong as you, Lord Su Mo, most bad guys can't beat Himeko and Mr. Yang. You don't have to worry, Lord Su Mo!"
Recalling her two reliable seniors, although they didn't have Su Mo's star-busting, world-creating feats, they were still quite famous powerhouses in the Star Rail world. As long as they didn't run into an Emanator, they could basically walk all over the place.
"If that's the case, then that's for the best." Su Mo nodded noncommittally.
Himeko and Welt Yang were indeed strong, second only to the Emanators.
Unfortunately, most of the crises they would encounter later would be Emanator-level. Being caught up in a conspiracy to kill an Aeon, they would have no shortage of crisis moments, for example, in the not-too-distant future.