Chapter 8: A New Teacher

Ava Gray wore an expression of deep dejection. She might not have known everything, but she had heard that the faster a devotee's strength advances, the lower their innate talent becomes. With her pace, wouldn't that make her rather… dim-witted?

Well, she thought—after all, the random divine decrees she scribbled managed to spawn life, and that in itself was no small feat. How could that possibly be compared with the lavish resources of the wealthy elite?

What Ava Gray didn't know was that the path she was treading was that of the primordial era—without decree cards or Divine Kingdom protection—the very route taken by the oldest generation of gods. Risking one's life as a bet on advancement, with a void incursion every seven days, is extraordinarily rare even in those early days.

Yet, unbeknownst to others, in Chloe Star's eyes, Ava Gray was the very embodiment of a top-tier noble family. Even though Chloe herself belonged to one of the finest houses of the Yanhuang Empire, she could never match Ava Gray's astonishing pace of divine domain advancement. Could it be that, beyond the elite families, there were even hidden noble clans? Just how extraordinary must Big Sis Ava's innate talent and background be?

Chloe Star's eyes lit up with admiration—as if sparkling with stardust—as she gazed at Ava Gray. "Big Sis Ava is simply too strong!" she thought silently. Even though she carried millions of divine power crystals and her followers were of the most elite race, she couldn't help but feel that the gap between noble bloodlines was as vast as the difference between gods and dogs.

These thoughts stayed locked inside her; if Ava Gray ever learned of them, Chloe was sure she'd have to offer a respectful greeting.

After a moment, Chloe Star realized that Ava Gray's method of nurturing her domain simply wasn't suited for her. Ava Gray's resource management was almost obsessive—while someone like Chloe, blessed with endless resources, found such advice utterly useless.After a brief pause, Chloe Star asked,

"Forget it, Big Sis Ava. Would you mind telling me about the races of your devotees? If it's too sensitive, you don't have to answer."

Ava Gray frowned slightly. In truth, she was curious about the makeup of her followers too—after all, the races of one's devotees could reveal much about a family's status. For instance, Chloe's own people were pure-blood elves, endowed with exceptional natural talent and archery mastery—perfect for a Forest Divine Kingdom. Besides, they even sometimes employed tree-people as support to compensate for front-line weaknesses.

Many deities choose one or two types of devotees as their subjects; if the population is too diverse, conflicts arise easily. A balanced mix of all six races, like what I maintain, is exceedingly rare.

After a long moment of thought, Ava Gray replied slowly,

"My devotees are rather ordinary—nothing special, so there's really no need to ask further."

At that, Chloe Star pouted, "But Big Sis Ava, don't you have any dragons among your devotees? What kinds? Which breed?"

Ava Gray fell silent for a moment. It was true she did have dragon devotees—but those creatures were hardly worthy of the title "devotees"; they were just a bunch of unruly miscreants. Gods give birth to life through divine decrees and then use rituals and faith to bolster themselves. Devotee quality is graded into nine levels—Gray, White, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, Orange, Red, and Multicolored.

It's said that even a mixed-blood dragon should be at least blue quality; and ideally, dragons should be naturally adept at elemental magic. Among her unruly lot, they barely reached green quality.Sighing inwardly, Ava Gray mused, "Well, high-grade devotees are simply beyond my reach. All the divine decrees or Life Seeds that can produce gold-grade subjects are tightly controlled. Even pure-blood elves like yours are at least purple quality—only a few ever reach gold."In a measured tone, she added,

"Yes, I do have dragons, but their bloodlines are rather mediocre—just a bunch of unruly brats. Let's not dwell on it."

Chloe Star fell silent at these words, her expression clouded with uncertainty. Didn't it sound as if Big Sis Ava looked down on dragons? After all, a Void Tree can only grow if infused with the aura of dragons—and its quality must be at least gold. That means Big Sis Ava must have gold-grade dragon devotees. If even those fail to impress, one can hardly imagine how formidable her higher-tier subjects must be.

With a smile, Chloe Star edged closer. Even though the academy forbids discussing one's background, certain student activities allow for such exchange—a key opportunity for the major families to network. A figure like Big Sis Ava—low-key yet calm, warm-hearted yet resolute, diligent in her studies—was hard not to notice.

The two eventually made their way into the classroom. Without delay, Ava Gray pulled out her notebook. In divine education, the fundamentals require only a cursory glance, but the key is in understanding the operational rules. Only by combining these rules correctly can one produce the corresponding divine decrees, which in turn yield desired effects in the Divine Kingdom. It was precisely by mastering these rules that Ava Gray had managed to endure this far. Every lesson, therefore, demanded absolute focus.

However, when class time arrived, the teacher was not the familiar one. As the classroom door opened, a striking, handsome white-haired man strode in.He announced,

"Hello, everyone! Due to a recent reassignment, your regular teacher has been transferred. I, Lucian Star, will be teaching you from here on out."

A murmur rippled through the room. Ava Gray frowned; if she remembered correctly, the previous teacher had carried a trace of void energy—likely an old injury from void exploration. Could this reassignment mean that the void was overwhelming? The void is so terrifying, isn't it? Why did she seem unaffected? After all, familiar void beings visited weekly, and her own devotees would sing praises of the void before battles.

Oh well—when you can't even afford to feed your offspring, you might as well let void creatures do it for you. Ava Gray had resigned herself to a bit of chaos—but this reassignment also piqued her curiosity. This world, it seemed, was not as tranquil as she once imagined.

After a short pause, the new teacher continued,

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Lucian Star, and my current divine rank is that of a Divine Lord. I look forward to your guidance in the days ahead."

At the sound of that familiar surname, Ava Gray paused and glanced sideways at Chloe Star. Chloe's face shifted subtly; it was clear that this man was somehow connected to her as well.

Lucian Star pressed on,

"Now, let's begin our first project. First, I need to know how many of you have advanced to the third tier. Could you please raise your hands?"

In response, a total of three students raised their hands: a quiet girl in the front row, a lazy-looking boy at the back, and Ava Gray, sitting stoically in the middle.As murmurs spread among the students, Lucian Star scanned the room with a critical eye before finally fixing his gaze on Ava Gray.