Although Chen Ming had always known that divine positions were a double-edged sword, after thinking more deeply about it, he developed some additional thoughts about them.
He figured that while he could use a divine position to raise his potential in the future, he absolutely couldn't let the divine position limit his growth. Until he fully understood the situation, he decided he should be ready to immediately pass the divine position to someone else after ascending and gaining power through it.
The God of Arrogance never would have imagined that Chen Ming, who hadn't even become a god yet, was already thinking about how to pass on his divine position like those cunning old-timers. If he knew, it would be hard to say whether he'd mock Chen Ming for overthinking things before becoming a god or for being so impatient, skipping a few centuries' worth of detours (in godly time).
After leaving the Trial Grounds of the Divine Trial through the two light cocoons in his spiritual sea, Chen Ming was accompanied by the God of Arrogance.
Looking at the God of Arrogance, who was casually eating a piece of fruit, Chen Ming felt a headache coming on, unsure how to deal with this big figure from the divine realm.
The God of Arrogance could see that Chen Ming wasn't quite accustomed to his presence, but he didn't care. He took another bite of the fruit and calmly said:
"It's normal for you to feel uneasy around me. After all, I am a god, and to me, you're quite unfamiliar as well. Honestly, I'm not familiar with you either. But I'll tell you the truth: the main reason I came to the lower realm this time is on the orders of the Supreme God to ensure your safety and prevent that one from targeting you."
"With the connection between us, as long as we're on the same continent, I can reach you within a minute. If you leave this continent, I'll only be able to vaguely sense your direction. This isn't a technical limitation but rather a restriction on my divine power—my spiritual strength is limited to sensing a single continent."
"If you're not comfortable with me around, I don't mind not staying by your side. I've been working overtime in the divine realm for several centuries without a break—fighting and killing without a single vacation. Although the environment here in the Douluo world isn't that great, I can still wander around a bit."
"Once I hand over the divine artifact entrusted to me by the God of Forging, which holds the divine trial, to someone you want to test, I'll go do my own thing. If you encounter danger, just call for me directly."
"If you want me to stay by your side or somewhere specific, just let me know. I don't mind staying. But let me be clear: I hate those scheming, cowardly types who overthink everything. If you have anything to say, say it directly. Whether I agree or not is another matter, but I despise being manipulated."
"Got it?" The God of Arrogance looked at Chen Ming, uncharacteristically saying a lot from the heart.
If it were any other god's successor, the God of Arrogance wouldn't even bother to look at them, let alone tolerate being arranged by a mortal.
But since Chen Ming happened to be someone chosen by his two Supreme Gods, he'd endure it for now.
"Senior God of Arrogance, I once found remnants of the fallen Medusa God on the Douluo Continent. Part of her power I transformed into the current sinful aspect of my divine position, while the serpentine portion I modified and gave to an elder. That elder is now also on the path to godhood."
"Although I think my talent is decent, my understanding of the divine realm is still quite limited. May I ask if you, Senior God of Arrogance, could guide my elder on how to continue advancing his divine position?"
"Medusa God? It's been a long time since I've heard that name." Upon hearing this familiar name, the God of Arrogance's face showed a rare trace of nostalgia.
"To be honest, back in the day, there were quite a few third-level gods in the divine realm, but the Medusa God was one of the few who left an impression on me. She became a god as a divine beast and then used her talents to create the Sin and Serpentine aspects of her divine position. Her talent could be considered decent, but she didn't have much room to grow."
"In the divine realm, there's an Evil God King, and the domain of sin is almost monopolized by us, the Seven Deadly Sins. Later, your world produced a Rakshasa. Ultimately, during the time of the Medusa God, things were tough for her. The domain of sin was controlled by us, and as a serpent god, she was naturally suppressed by the dragon gods. In that era, most serpent-like beings aimed to transform into dragons. Serpents were considered a subordinate branch of the dragon lineage."
The God of Arrogance shrugged as he spoke.
"So, while her talent was decent, her potential was capped. Among third-level gods, her strength was just average."
"I remember that, later on, the Medusa God tried an unconventional path to advance her divine position. She gained abilities related to sin to compete for more faith against the other Original Sin Gods. This caused quite a stir in the divine realm back then—many gods found it unusual."
"However, as a third-level god, even with countering abilities, she could only do so much. At most, she could rival a second-level god, but it didn't amount to much."
"Before she could fully develop, well… she died." The God of Arrogance avoided mentioning the era of the Dragon God and glossed over the details.
"The Sin aspect of her divine position is fine, but the serpent god aspect has limited potential. As a species god, she's inherently restrained by dragon gods, and her limits are modest. At best, she could rise to the level of a second-level god. Normally, being a third-level god is already pretty good."
"I didn't expect there to still be remnants of the Medusa God on this Douluo Continent. That's intriguing. Although I'm not particularly familiar with serpent-like species gods, I don't mind teaching your elder a thing or two."
"Anything else? If not, let's move on."
"Senior, may I ask your name? I can't keep calling you Senior God of Arrogance in front of others, especially ordinary people on the Douluo Continent. It'd be good to have a proper name to use."
"You make a fair point, but I've long since forgotten my true name. For many years, the gods of the divine realm have simply called me Arrogance. Let me think… You can call me Senior Ao Tian."
In truth, the God of Arrogance hadn't forgotten his name before becoming a god, but since it wasn't exactly dignified, he chose to skip over it and gave himself the name Ao Tian instead.
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that dragons were somewhat taboo in the divine realm and that the Douluo Continent had deep ties to dragons, the God of Arrogance would've loved to call himself Long Ao Tian.
With just "Ao Tian," he felt it was still missing something.
PS: Long means Dragon.