Li Tianming's explanation made Qin Siyang fall into deep thought.
These words, if they hadn't come from Li Tianming, he would definitely have suspected the other party of having ulterior motives.
But the one saying this was Li Tianming.
It was Professor Li, a renowned figure in the safe zone. It was Old Li, with whom he had faced life-and-death situations multiple times.
Moreover, he could verify these words with Zhao Longfei and others.
It couldn't be fake.
The two paths laid before him immediately made him feel troubled.
Right now, he was thriving by hunting down gods.
Most importantly, he needed to hunt powerful gods and devour their flesh and blood to enhance his own strength.
If he embarked on the Path of the Believer, his power against gods would greatly diminish.
He might never be able to kill a powerful god again.
He would be stuck at the entry-level of the Sequence for a lifetime.
However...
If he remained at Sequence Level 5, it would be meaningless.
His enhanced physical strength would only increase the utility of his [Violence] skill.
Both [God Mimicry] and [Banquet Domain] would become ineffective.
Qin Siyang pondered for a while and suddenly thought of something, "Old Li, then can I stay at Sequence Level 5 for a while? When my strength is strong enough, when I can still effortlessly kill gods even while being suppressed by them, then I'll open the Path of the Believer?"
"You little rascal, you figured out a solution right away," Li Tianming smiled and gave Qin Siyang a thumbs-up.
Qin Siyang scratched his head and laughed sheepishly, "I just thought about it a little."
"Yeah, you thought about it a little."
"Huh?"
"If your method worked, do you think anyone would still remain at Sequence Level 5?"
"..."
Li Tianming shook his head, "The moment you open the Path of the Believer, all the strength and accumulation you built at Sequence Level 5 will be completely erased."
"Even if you've built a towering skyscraper at Sequence Level 5, the moment the Path of the Believer opens, it will collapse instantly, leaving nothing behind."
"In other words, stepping onto the Path of the Believer means you'll be at your weakest and most powerless against the gods."
Qin Siyang felt suffocated upon hearing this.
Then, he suddenly recalled something, "Wait, Old Li."
"You said that opening the Path of the Believer means being suppressed by gods. But I remember when a group of principals and deans came to Area 14121, they slaughtered many gods."
"Then how did they do it?"
Li Tianming replied indifferently, "I said that stepping onto the Path of the Believer, at the very moment you ascend to Sequence Level 6, is when you are at your weakest against the gods."
"But once you reach the late stages of Sequence Level 6, or even Sequence Level 7, won't you be able to exert more strength and fight gods again?"
Qin Siyang's body stiffened upon hearing this.
"Level 7... Those principals and deans, are they really that strong?"
Li Tianming glanced at the people in the hall swaying to the music, showing an expression of boredom and disdain.
"I already told you before."
"The most powerful Sequence holders are the researchers in universities and research institutes."
"The apocalypse has only been here for ten years, and the Sequence awakening has only been five years. Most principals and deans are still fighting on the frontlines of research."
"Their high Sequence levels and formidable strength are only natural."
"Of course, there are exceptions. Some are not researchers, yet their personal strength is still terrifyingly high."
Then, he looked at Qin Siyang, who was deep in thought.
"Have you made up your mind? Of course, there's no rush. You can take your time thinking about it."
But Qin Siyang nodded, "I've decided."
"Oh? Which one did you choose?"
"I'm going to make preparations and then open the path to godhood."
"It's the Path of the Believer. Damn, everyone else becomes a god's follower, but you want to kick gods aside and become one yourself?"
"Same difference."
Li Tianming was too lazy to correct him and simply asked, "Why?"
Qin Siyang replied, "For the most basic reason, my own safety."
"More dangerous than the gods are the people inside the safe zone."
"The day Sun Yaru tried to assassinate me was actually incredibly dangerous. If I hadn't been cautious, my head would've been snapped off."
"And today's situation was the same."
"Today?", Li Tianming raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Wasn't today handled quite well? You used one-tenth of the Crimson Crystal to save Hua Weicai's life and even threatened Hua Chengliang, establishing your authority."
Qin Siyang shook his head.
"Not enough."
"Not enough?"
"Relying on others to kill for me isn't a long-term solution."
"In life, you'll encounter countless troubles. In the end, you have to rely on yourself."
Qin Siyang's words made Li Tianming fall silent for a moment.
After a while, he said slowly, "That does sound like something you'd say."
"You've always hated relying on others."
"Old Li, tell me more about the Path of the Believer."
"Alright."
"Once you open the Path of the Believer, you can advance from Sequence Level 5 to Sequence Level 6."
"To open this path, you must complete a divine ritual."
"A divine ritual?"
"Yes. As the name suggests, it's a ceremony of worship and reverence for the gods."
"In this ritual, you need to prepare a hundred small divine shell fragments and two medium divine shell fragments as offerings."
"That's it? Doesn't sound too hard."
"Let me finish."
"Oh, okay."
"The small divine shell fragments must each have a score of at least five points, and all fragments must have equal scores."
"The medium divine shell fragments have no score requirements, but they do have specific conditions. The two medium fragments must come from opposing existences."
"Opposing existences?"
"Exactly. For example, one fragment comes from an immovable Stone Mountain Beast, while the other comes from a lightning-fast Thunder Snow Wolf. One is still, the other is in constant motion—they are opposites."
"Another example: one fragment comes from a sharp-eyed Skeleton Fly, while the other comes from a blind Giant Scorpion. This, too, is an opposition."
Qin Siyang's eyes flickered with understanding, and he nodded, "Oh, then an Ice Crystal Moth, which releases ultra-low-temperature blizzards, and a Lava Crocodile, which spews ultra-high-temperature magma, would also be opposites."
"Correct."
Qin Siyang felt a surge of joy.
'Got it—the most crucial offerings are settled.'
As for the hundred small divine shell fragments, he could just go hunt a bunch of Long-legged Worms or Iron-Helmed Flea Rats on another day.
Easy.
But then, Li Tianming added, "The pair you just mentioned is too hard to find. Countless people have tried hunting them for their divine ritual offerings and all failed. They had to settle for other gods instead."
"Huh? Why? If everyone knows they're hard to kill, wouldn't they just pick an easier pair?"
Li Tianming waved his hand dismissively.
"It's not that simple."
"You think all medium divine shell fragments are the same? There's a lot more to it."
"The offerings for the Path of the Believer are ranked by quality as well."
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