Little White had only been a Demigod for a few years. The divine power he had absorbed so far was probably not even enough to recover from injuries to his divine body.
It could be said that a demigod who had just finished refining a divine spark was at their weakest point.
At such a time, even a foe of the same level could easily defeat them if their divine power was insufficient.
Shaking his head, Locke did not dwell on the matter.
With him nearby, Little White's safety would not be an issue.
From this sudden enlightenment, Locke estimated that his seclusion had definitely lasted more than ten years.
Since he hadn't been disturbed due to an expired lease, it was obvious that Little White had already renewed the rent.
Although this was something a "pet" should naturally do, Locke still remembered this gesture in his heart.
Perhaps, when he obtained a wind-element God level divine spark in the future, it wouldn't be impossible to reward Little White with one.
After all, a God level divine spark was only worth a bit over ten thousand inkstones.
With nearly five hundred million inkstones in his possession, such a sum was hardly worth mentioning.
With a wave of his hand, Locke opened the door to the cultivation room.
"Lord Locke, you're out of seclusion?"
Hearing the door open, joy flashed across Little White's face.
But the next instant, he froze.
His identity was Lord Locke's pet.
Now, after refining a divine spark and becoming a god—capable of assuming human form—he wasn't sure whether he could still be considered Lord Locke's "pet" in this state.
Panic rose in his heart. Little White instantly reverted to a red-eyed rabbit barely over ten centimeters tall, hopping in front of Locke and staring up at him timidly with his crimson eyes.
"Smack!"
It had to be said—small creatures were very good at stirring human sympathy.
Although Locke's current strength meant he was no longer weak even among Highgods, he had never stopped thinking of himself as human.
But the moment he tried to overlap this adorable little creature with the teenage boy from before, whatever fondness he felt instantly shattered.
He slapped his forehead and waved his hand at Little White.
"Alright, Little White."
"In front of me, you should keep your human form from now on."
"Since you've already become a demigod, I can no longer treat you as a 'pet.'"
"Tell me—what are your plans now?"
After Little White returned to his human form, Locke led him into the courtyard and asked directly.
"If you want to stay in Rockpeak City, I'll give you a sum of inkstones. This courtyard will also remain yours until the lease expires…"
"If you're willing to follow me, I'll—"
Before Locke could finish, Little White had already knelt down in front of him.
"Lord Locke, I know exactly what I'm worth."
"Without you, I'd just be an ordinary Saint-level magical beast in Hell. One day I might get eaten by another Saint beast, or captured and brought into a city to be cooked into a dish."
"I know that, with my abilities, I'm not qualified to follow by your side."
"The fact that you're still willing to let me stay with you is already an immense kindness. How could I dare ask for anything more?"
"Heh…"
Little White's response made Locke shake his head.
"You're quite sharp, aren't you."
"Alright then—I won't talk about giving you any special treatment."
"But Little White, I'll make this clear in advance. If you follow me, your future role may be to supply divine power to a metal lifeform I purchase. Can you accept that?"
"Supply divine power?"
Hearing this, Little White felt his heart ease.
Having something to do and having nothing to do were two completely different things.
The former meant he was useful—someone under Lord Locke who could provide value and wouldn't be casually discarded.
The latter meant that if Lord Locke became displeased one day, he could be abandoned at any moment.
But supplying divine power to a metal lifeform…
He had only been a Demigod for a few years, and the amount of divine power he had accumulated wasn't much.
If he couldn't keep up with the metal lifeform's consumption, would he become useless to Lord Locke?
As if seeing through Little White's worries, Locke patted him on the head.
"Relax. I can't afford a metal lifeform yet."
"But with my current wealth, I should be able to gather enough inkstones within a thousand years."
"So Little White—you'll need to work hard as well."
"Yes, Lord Locke."
Hearing that he still had a thousand years to stockpile divine power, Little White finally let out a sigh of relief.
With a thousand years, as long as he worked hard, he should be able to accumulate enough divine power to operate a metal lifeform for quite some time.
"Then let's go, Little White."
"Yes, Lord Locke!"
As they pushed open the courtyard gate, several gazes swept over Locke and Little White.
"Oh? Interesting."
The courtyards along this street were all properties rented out by the Rockpeak City Lord to those temporarily residing in the city.
The gods walking along this street were mostly unaffiliated rogue cultivators.
From those glances just now, Locke had clearly sensed undisguised malice.
"So… I've been marked as prey?"
In an instant, Locke understood.
Since arriving in Rockpeak City, aside from visiting the Violetjade Castle to make purchases, he had spent all his time cultivating in the rented courtyard.
Under such circumstances, the source of those watching him was obvious.
What surprised Locke was that someone had actually waited on him for over ten years.
And that was only because he came out early.
Locke was certain that even if he had rented the courtyard for another hundred or two hundred years, those people would still be waiting.
After all, for gods in Hell, time was often measured in tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years.
Based on what he had purchased, they could roughly infer his wealth. Trading a few hundred or thousand years of patience for everything he owned was an extremely profitable deal.
Locke led Little White out of the city, and that malicious presence followed behind him without the slightest attempt at concealment.
Clearly, the being tailing him must possess other divine clones.
Otherwise, they would have already gone to inform their backing forces.
Not followed so brazenly, convinced they hadn't been discovered.
To that being's surprise, after leaving the city, Locke and Little White didn't fly away at high speed.
Instead, Little White transformed into a massive red-eyed rabbit over four meters tall, carried Locke on his back, and plunged straight into the forest…
…
(End of Chapter)
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