Chapter 382
by fanqienovelChapter 382: The Mysterious Rivalry of Living Saints
“Let me take a look…”
“How should I spend the remaining Chaos Energy…”
“Hmm…”
After yet another upgrade, Trilobite had “only” less than five hundred thousand Chaos Energy left.
Though upgrading the Deinosuchus to Machimosaurus earned him at least three hundred thousand points of Chaos Energy, the final payment hadn’t arrived yet.
Rather than hoarding it for some “ultimate move,” he might as well spend some happily now.
“Alright then, I’ll go all out for my spawn!”
“First…”
“My blonde young lady, the first paper young lady I drew—long time no see!”
Trilobite gently stroked his “number one spawn representative,” that female knight with the aura of a “blonde student council president.” He watched her roll her eyes and stick out her tongue, nodding appreciatively.
“Very nice.”
“Since you’re so charming, I’ll give you a…”
“Hmm…”
“You’re the one!”
【Tracheal System】!
The tracheal system meant drilling air holes along the Trilobite Mantis’s flanks and weaving inner tracheal tubes to deliver oxygen straight to every cell.
This setup worked perfectly for tiny creatures. Insects thrived because of it, becoming the most widespread lifeforms and the most varied group in the biological world.
*Swish…*
The sound of money draining away echoed.
The tracheal system cost Trilobite thirty thousand Chaos Energy points.
Truthfully, it was cheap.
So he could splurge more.
“Boosted the wing-flapping muscles.”
“Trimmed weight smartly, added some tweaks.”
“That burned another thirty thousand Chaos Energy points.”
“But worth it—now their Flying Capability got stronger!”
“Ah, right…”
“One more crucial bit.”
“Shouldn’t the mouthparts get an upgrade?”
“As my spawn, gulping things down whole isn’t fitting.”
Insects held a major edge over other early land creatures: they’d fused their front Limbs to the head, reshaping them into wildly complex mouthparts.
For example, piercing and chewing types, and so on.
Various mouthparts not only heightened the insects’ specialization but also greatly boosted their feeding efficiency.
By contrast, scorpions needed to tear prey apart bit by bit before swallowing.
"So, this is for you!"
Trilobite happily bought the 【Strong Chewing Mouthparts】 for the blonde Number One spawn sister.
"I’ve said it before—tree bandits must be wiped out anytime!"
"So, I’ll give you the mouthparts of longhorn beetle larvae!"
"It cost one hundred thousand units of Chaos Energy total, quite a bargain."
"Next, the white-haired young lady…"
"Hmm…"
After some thought, Trilobite decided to leverage the specialty of the "second spawn representative."
"Jumping spider."
"Strength lies in mobility."
"And then, the venomous fangs!"
"This upgrade is straightforward!"
【Articulated Hydraulic Muscles – Level Two】
【Biological Toxins – Belcher Sea Snake Equivalent】
【Sharp Piercing Venom Fangs – Level Two】
【Efficient Motor Center – Level Two】
"Here—the weapon for the weak to topple the strong."
"Naturally, the cost…"
Trilobite nodded, satisfied.
He took a moment to appreciate the white-haired, cold young lady’s "facial expressions" in the System.
"The contrast is amazing!"
—-
*Splash…*
In the bathroom, the showerhead sprayed a calming magical shower gel.
This magical liquid was specially prepared for Sulya and high-ranking officials to cool tempers and "lower blood pressure."
For living saints atop the power ladder, such amenities were essential.
After all, constant face-covering, high blood pressure, and bulging forehead veins were hardly sustainable.
Especially since they served as nodes for the "Soul Network"—forgetting to block thoughts and emotions might cause soul fluctuations, destabilizing the network and triggering serious social issues.
Besides, handling affairs for hours or a full day then showering away pent-up frustrations was truly beneficial.
However, the magical shower worked quickly for emotions like anger, irritability, and annoyance, but it didn’t have the same effect on other feelings.
*Tick-tock…*
Water droplets slid down her flushed, fair skin, glided over her cool white hair, and flowed along her graceful curves, dripping onto the floor.
“Um… cough, cough…”
“My brain… feels like it’s burning…”
“Guh… hey…”
The Third Living Saint, Loseta, leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
She couldn’t control her expression at all.
Her facial muscles stopped working under the huge stimulation and collapsed completely.
She couldn’t even focus her eyes or pull back her tongue, so she didn’t drool like a child with low intelligence.
“Fortunately…”
Fortunately, her muscles had started to recover a bit, at least enough so she wasn’t collapsed on the ground, unwilling to move a finger like before.
“Thanks to…”
“Being in the bathroom.”
“But…”
Loseta didn’t think much about it and didn’t believe the Giant God had strange interests.
She thought her poor state was only because her soul was too weak to bear the divine grace.
“Mercy… oh, great Giant God!”
Although there hadn’t been any gods in Valaharl besides the Will of the World for a long time, she had heard Sulya talk about those “Order Gods.”
They protected the Crystal Walls and guarded the whole world, but they mostly saw the world as their own property, treating mortals as their personal “objects.”
When they gave divine grace, the gods never thought about how much mortals could endure; many mortals had their brains burned out during the process; those who survived often lost their ability to think, becoming empty but “sacred” shells.
Only a few mortals with strong souls could survive.
But the survivors didn’t want to remember receiving divine grace.
It was too painful!
It felt like suffering every torture imaginable, with almost every cell screaming in pain.
In contrast, the Giant God was much kinder.
“The process of receiving divine grace was not only painless but rather…”
“Pleasure?”
As a Valaharl person, Loseta was quiet and didn’t know many words; she didn’t know how to describe that feeling, but she felt “pleasure” was the closest word.
If she had to describe it better, it was probably…
“Overwhelming pleasure.”
Just as Loseta started to search for words to describe the lingering “aftertaste” from both the past and present…
"Buzz——!"
Her "avatar" suddenly trembled.
"Lo…se…ta… *cough*… Loseta…"
"Guh… *cough*…"
That was Sulya’s voice.
But judging by her slurred, stumbling speech…
She too must have been "overwhelmed by pleasure" earlier.
The two living saints shared an awkward yet understanding silence, waiting for their facial muscles to regain control.
…
"Lady Sulya, did you also receive divine grace moments ago?"
Loseta’s voice gradually steadied as the lingering effects subsided.
"Yes."
Sulya admitted freely.
There was no shame in this—the Giant God’s grace was a blessing, an honor for living saints.
The four living saints even harbored a competitive streak about it.
A rather peculiar competition…
"Ah…"
"Just now, I truly thought death was near. Couldn’t control my expression at all—so many muscles went rigid."
"Had I not sensed the divine grace approaching and dashed to the washroom, it would’ve been mortifying."
Loseta remarked nonchalantly.
"Is that so?"
"Same here."
"But mine happened four times."
"Lay sprawled on the floor."
"Couldn’t even twitch my pinky."
Sulya’s voice held a hint of rivalry.
"Oh?"
"Apologies, I forgot to mention—mine was five times. Back-to-back. Nearly felt like soaring through air."
"Somehow ended up flashing a victory sign."
Then Loseta countered…
"Really?"
"My mistake."
"Got it wrong."
"Mine was six times…"
…
Their pointless bickering escalated until both saints noticed their words growing increasingly absurd.
"*Cough*…"
"Let’s discuss serious matters."
Sulya steered the conversation back first.
"I believe the Giant God granted us new power for good reason."
"Perhaps we should devise a new battle plan!"
"This time, my informant within the Fantasy Tree of Subspace sent word—we must strike proactively!"
"Additionally, my Soul Network just linked with new allies."
"They possess unique capabilities."
"With their support in this operation, success becomes far more attainable!"