Soon after, an overwhelming sense of weakness welled up within Locke's soul.
It was the weakness that came from forcibly splitting his soul.
Although his soul, after being tempered by the Laws of Heaven and Earth, was now ten times stronger than it had been at the Saint level—
its quality had increased, but its quantity had decreased.
To fully recover, he would need at least a thousand years.
This was the price that had to be paid for external godhood.
External godhood granted an extra life—so why did so many still choose internal godhood?
The reason was simple.
With internal godhood, the moment one became a god, one was already at their absolute peak, with no fear of ambushes.
External godhood, on the other hand, only appeared to grant an extra life. Because the soul was violently split, it inevitably entered a weakened state.
At such a moment, if one were ambushed by an enemy, their strength would no longer be at its peak. Even with an extra life, it would still not be enough to survive.
After reaching the Divine level, Locke's soul affinity with the Water Laws rose significantly once more.
In particular, the Water Element Profound Mystery and the Ice Sharpness Profound Mystery, both of which he had already comprehended—
after immersing himself in cultivation for only a short while, Locke felt inspiration continuously bubbling up within his mind, steadily deepening his understanding of these two Profound Mysteries.
At the same time, the fusion between Profound Mysteries—which had previously slowed due to the complete comprehension of the Fog Illusion Profound Mystery—rapidly recovered.
Moreover, the fusion speed was now several times faster than it had been at the Saint level.
However…
Before long, Locke exited his cultivation state.
With his current soul strength, he simply could not support long periods of secluded cultivation.
The consumption of soul power was far too great.
If he wished to rapidly increase his cultivation speed, the best method was to fully restore his soul.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Locke's expression shifted.
Soul power radiated outward from his divine spark. In an instant, everything within the range of his divine sense was clearly perceived.
Before he could even savor the strange sensations brought by divine sense, Locke gathered his scattered perception and extended it even farther.
He sensed it.
Raising his head, Locke looked into the distance.
Within his perception, a streak of light was racing rapidly toward his position.
There was no need to guess who it was.
On the Enzo Territory Plane, there was only one Light-element god.
The Light Pope of the Radiant Temple.
Sensing Locke's divine sense, the Light Pope halted midair.
"This one bears no ill will," the Light Pope said calmly while standing in the void. "I have merely come to congratulate Your Excellency on your ascension."
Divine sense was a sensory system separate from the five physical senses, exclusive to gods. Wherever divine sense extended, everything was perceived as clearly as if seen with one's own eyes or heard with one's own ears.
In fact, due to its nature, divine sense was even sharper than the five senses.
The Light Pope speaking within Locke's divine sense range was no different from speaking directly into his ear.
"Is that so?"
Locke let out a soft chuckle.
He had only just become a Demigod, and the Light Pope had already rushed over to "offer congratulations."
To others, this might seem like goodwill.
But Locke did not sense the slightest trace of goodwill within the Light Pope's soul.
On the contrary, the emotions emanating from it—though not outright hostile—were clearly calculating.
In Locke's view, the Light Pope's true purpose in coming was to confirm his condition.
With a thought, a streak of blue light shot out from Locke's true body, flying at extreme speed toward the Light Pope's location.
"Hmm?"
With the Laws of Heaven and Earth having withdrawn, Celes naturally knew that Locke had successfully reached the Divine level.
When Celes' divine sense spread across Locke Territory, he immediately noticed Locke's divine clone flying toward the Light Temple.
Extending his perception further, Celes quickly located the Light Pope as well.
"Hmph."
Letting out a cold snort, Celes immediately saw through the Light Pope's intentions.
However, since Locke had chosen to send his divine clone to meet him, Celes did not interfere.
After so many years of interaction, Celes understood Locke fairly well.
Locke never did anything he wasn't confident about.
Since Locke had chosen to meet the Light Pope alone, it was clear that he believed the Light Pope posed no real threat.
"Then let me see," Celes murmured, "what kind of surprise a newly ascended god like you can bring me."
Whoosh—
A god's speed far surpassed that of a Saint.
What once took Locke a full week to fly to—the Light Temple—now took only a little over ten minutes.
"Grand Duke Locke of the Frostsnow Empire greets His Holiness the Light Pope."
Arriving before the Light Pope, Locke clasped his hands slightly in greeting.
"Grand Duke Locke? So it was you!"
Hearing Locke's introduction, the Light Pope suddenly understood.
He vaguely recalled that this Grand Duke Locke was the victor of the most recent war between the Frostsnow Empire and the Light Temple.
That war hadn't even ended three hundred years ago, had it?
If Locke had participated in that war, then he must have reached the Saint level no more than ten years before or after it.
A Demigod at a mere three hundred years of age—
Such talent, even on the Divine Planes or the Supreme Planes, would rival the geniuses of great clans or even divine beasts.
The Light Pope carefully examined Locke, attempting to glean more information.
Unbeknownst to him, this action caused a faint curve to appear at the corner of Locke's lips.
Locke had been wondering how to arrange a "friendly spar" with the Light Pope to test his strength after reaching the Divine level.
Now, thanks to the Light Pope's lingering Saint-level mindset, Locke wouldn't even need to find an excuse.
"Is this how the Light Temple's Pope behaves?" Locke's expression turned icy as he questioned coldly.
"We are both gods. Out of respect for your age, I address you as 'Your Holiness'—yet you treat me with such disregard?"
"What?"
Locke's accusation caught the Light Pope off guard.
However, his purpose in coming had been to measure Locke from the start.
This decision would affect the future direction of the Light Temple.
If Locke's grasp of the Laws was mediocre, there would be no need to change the Light Temple's policies.
But if Locke's strength exceeded expectations—
then the Light Temple would need to adjust its future course based on Locke's attitude toward it.
(End of Chapter)
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