Chapter 329: Ch 329 : Soul Link

“From this moment on, you are under the protection of Master Cosmos.”

Shenlong, the Green Serpentine Dragon, spoke these words with a radiant smile.

To those who didn’t knew what he did, it looked like a smile of benevolence. To those who knew the nature of power, it was the smile of a conqueror who had just planted his flag.

The eighty Elders of the Council sat in stunned silence. The pressure of the Green Dragon aura still lingered in the air, pressing against their chests like a physical weight.

However, skepticism is a weed that grows deep in the hearts of the old.

“But…” a rasping voice broke the silence.

It was Elder Tesser, a being of living crystal and the oldest among them. His facets shimmered with unease.

“We are just a tiny speck of dust living in the outer corner of this multiverse,” he argued, his voice vibrating through the stone table. “We possess only eighty Demigods. If you decide to convert this entire multiverse… I do not think you alone would be enough to conquer it, even if we join forces, we still wouldn’t be able to conquer this entire multiverse.”

“The Heavy Axe group that neighbours us, they have nearly 150 demigods, and as we move towards the centre, the number and quality of the demigods increases exponentially”

“They would have attacked us long ago if not for the constant harassment from the demon realm”

It was a valid point, they knew that they were weak compared to the other DemiGods in their multiverse.

They also knew that Shenlong is strong and have a backing of a God, as they could feel a faint connection between them and a very strong entity that was currently in another multiverse after their first prayer.

But since their God was in another multiverse, and since he was busy…. Conquering the entire multiverse seemed impossible with just a dragon.

Shenlong chuckled, the sound deep and resonant. He uncrossed his legs and leaned back, looking at them like a teacher observing slow students.

“My, my,” Shenlong shook his head, his emerald hair swaying. “You gentlemen were so easy to intimidate that I actually forgot the most important part of the pitch.”

He paused, his reptilian eyes gleaming.

“I forgot to tell you about the Benefits.”

The word hung in the air like a lure.

Benefits.

Every Demigod in the room leaned forward instinctively. Their ears twitched uncontrollably.

This was the universal language of the wise and the greedy. Faith was rarely free. In the ancient texts, worshipping a God of Blacksmithing granted better craftsmanship. Worshipping a God of Harvest brought rain. It was a transaction.

But Shenlong spoke of ’Cosmos’, a name that implied everything. If the God was supreme, surely the benefits were equally transcendent.

“Benefits?” the Dwarf Elder muttered, stroking his beard greedily. “What kind of benefits? Increased mana regeneration? Extended lifespan for mortals? Craftsmanship? Stronger firepower?”

From Shenlong’s confident tone, they suspected it wasn’t just one or two perks. It felt like he was offering the keys to the kingdom.

“Since you have already accepted Master Cosmos as your God,” Shenlong said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, building the suspense until the air was thick with it. “You are qualified to receive all the benefits associated with it.”

’Tell us already!’ the eighty Elders screamed internally, their curiosity burning hotter than their fear.

“The first benefit,” Shenlong announced, raising a finger, “is connection to The System.”

He didn’t explain further and simply acted.

A single, microscopic particle detached itself from Shenlong’s body. It was invisible to the naked eye, a particle of Thea, the system created by God Cosmos.

It floated to the center of the round table.

Then, it activated.

WHOOSH.

There was no sound, only a sudden, violent vacuum.

The atmospheric mana in the room was ripped toward the center.

“What is-”

Elder Tesser gasped, clutching his chest.

It wasn’t just the air. The mana inside their bodies was being pulled.

The particle began to replicate.

1 became 2.

2 became 4.

4 became 16.

It was a geometric explosion. A fractal of light blooming in the center of the room.

32… 64… 128…

With every duplication, the suction force doubled. The torches on the walls were extinguished as the fire essence was consumed. The magical barriers protecting the hall shattered like glass.

The Demigods fell to their knees. They felt their cores trembling, their mana being siphoned away by this growing light.

“I… I can’t breathe!” the Dwarf Elder wheezed, his face turning purple.

The mass of particles grew dense, forming a silhouette of a woman.

“Oops,” a melodious, apologetic voice echoed from the light.

The silhouette solidified into Thea. She looked around at the gasping, dying Demigods with innocent curiosity.

“I think I overdid it,” Thea whispered to herself. “Replicating in a lower-density mana world requires more intake than I calculated. Should I manifest some mana using Master’s Faith?”

The Elders stared at her in horror.

In less than three seconds, she had drained half the mana from their entire planet. If she hadn’t stopped, they would be dried husks on the floor.

They realized then that this ’System’ wasn’t a tool. It was a monster. A monster that ate worlds just to say hello.

“Don’t disturb Master over such a trivial thing, Thea,” Shenlong interrupted.

He stood up, his presence suddenly expanding to fill the void left by Thea’s arrival. He didn’t look angry; he looked disappointed, like a big brother cleaning up a mess.

“Let me handle it,” Shenlong said.

He cleared his throat. He didn’t chant a spell. He didn’t weave a rune.

He simply spoke a single word of Authority.

“Recover.”

The word was heavy. It didn’t sound like a request; it sounded like an order given to the laws of physics themselves.

BOOM.

The ground beneath the palace trembled.

Deep within the planet’s crust, the dormant mana viens woke up.

A rich, blinding Golden Energy, the essence of Hope harvested from the hope of the lifeforms, flooded into the earth. It was warm, vibrant, and infinitely potent.

The mana veins of the world, which had been dried out by Thea, were suddenly injected with high-octane energy.

ZING.

The air in the hall shimmered.

The mana didn’t just return; it exploded. The density of magical energy in the room skyrocketed. It went from a vacuum to a high-pressure ocean in a millisecond.

The withered plants in the corner of the room bloomed instantly. The cracks in the stone table sealed themselves. The Demigods felt their cores refill and overflow, their old injuries healing in real-time.

It was a miracle. A planetary-scale miracle performed with a single word.

Shenlong raised his hand, stopping the influx before the pressure crushed the Elders.

“That should be enough,” Shenlong noted casually. “Any more, and the mortals won’t be able to adapt.”

“Gasp!”

The eighty Demigods sucked in deep breaths of the super-charged air. They looked at their hands, feeling younger, stronger.

They looked at Shenlong with wide, terrified eyes.

They realized two things:

The woman, Thea, could kill them by accident.

The man, Shenlong, could resurrect their world on a whim.

“Thank you, Brother Shen,” Thea said, bowing slightly, her form now stable and glowing softly.

“It is nothing, Thea,” Shenlong replied with a polite nod. “You should quickly link with them. Give them Demigod-Level Access.”

Thea nodded. She turned her starlight gaze toward the Council of Elders.

“Greetings, everyone,” she said, her voice sounding like wind chimes. “My name is Thea. I am the System created by Master Cosmos to manage his Domain.”

She waved her hand.

DING. DING. DING.

Eighty distinct chimes rang out.

In front of each Elder, a translucent blue holographic screen materialized.

“What sorcery is this?” Elder Tesser whispered, reaching out to touch the light. His hand passed through it, but the text remained crisp.

He read the contents.

[Name: Tesser of the Crystalline Spire]

[Race: Geo-Sentient]

[Rank: Demigod]

[Talent: Resonance of the Earth (A-Grade), Gravity Control (S-Grade)]

[Hidden Injury: Core Fracture (34% healed)]

[Secret: Betrayed the previous Council Head 400 years ago.]

Tesser’s face went pale. His internal light flickered.

“This… This…”

He looked around. The other Elders were equally horrified. The screen didn’t just show their stats. It showed their Truth.

It listed their talents. It listed the exact nature of their cultivation bottlenecks. It listed sins they had buried in deep graves centuries ago.

“How?” the Dwarf Elder stammered, reading a line about his illegitimate son. “I never told anyone…”

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Thea said cheerfully, ignoring their existential dread. “The System can optimize your training, predict enemy movements, facilitate instant communication, and even allow you to purchase Divine Items using Merit Points… And many more features.”

She floated higher, looking down at them like a goddess of judgment.

“But to access these features… you must establish a Soul Link with me.”

She extended her hand, the blue light reflecting in their wide eyes.

“So,” Thea asked, her smile innocent yet terrifying. “Do you accept?”

The Elders looked at Shenlong, the Dragon of Miracles.

They looked at Thea, the All-Knowing Eye.

They looked at the screens that held their darkest secrets.

They realized they didn’t really have a choice. But for the first time… they also realized they didn’t want one. The power on display was worth the submission.

“We…” Elder Tesser swallowed hard, bowing his head. “We accept.”

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