Quadruple split.

Chapter 2651 An Open and Frank Scheme
"..."

After a long while, Yu Chen broke the silence with a subtle expression: "How much did you just hear?"

"Unfortunately, I heard almost everything."

Delia gave Yu Chen a smile that showed no apology and explained in a gentle tone, “Although we, as gods, cannot hear many voices, you, as our followers, can act as our eyes and ears in most cases. Of course, this may sound a bit impolite, but for truly devout believers, being watched by the gods is a great honor.”

"I see."

Although she wasn't a true believer like most players, Yu Chen still nodded understandingly. After all, based on her experiences in the City of Light over such a long time, Delia's words were not only not exaggerated, but even somewhat understated.

After all, for those 'true believers,' being glanced at by the object of their faith is an honor worth exchanging their lives for. This is the power of faith and religion—a spiritual force that can make the weak fearless and fill the unfortunate with hope.

However, compared to the overly materialistic world outside the game, the gods in the Realm of Innocence are obviously much more active, and their power also exists in this world in ways other than 'spiritual pillars'.

For example, followers of the Dawn Goddess can say "Let there be light" on behalf of their god, and then receive light when needed.

However, for many players, being constantly noticed by certain deities with independent thoughts is not a good thing, because compared to the seemingly boundless waters where you give me strength and I pray to you, it is more like a transaction of faith where one hand pays and the other delivers. They actually value their privacy more.

Being constantly watched by a living being with an intelligence level comparable to one's own, with every move exposed to its gaze, is something that players are highly likely to resist.

However, so far, among the countless players in the [Innocent Realm], only three have become God-Chosen: Gavin, Ramorok, and Chen Wangyu.

The relationships between the first two individuals and their respective deities were quite complex, and the intricacies involved went far beyond what could be explained by the mere mention of "spying," so they were of absolutely no reference value whatsoever.

Although Yu Chen is a unique case in the entire history of the [Innocent Realm], being favored by both the Goddess of Dawn, Pacosi, and the Goddess of Darkness, Delia, she is still considered a normal person, so her reaction to this matter is relatively normal.

Simply put, it was a bit awkward, and I wasn't very happy.

“I understand what you’re thinking, darling, but that’s how the world is. You can gain something and then have to pay a price.”

Delia smiled slightly and said calmly, "Sometimes, even if you don't want those special treatments, such as becoming my or Paksi's chosen one, fate will still force you to become the Dawn Saintess and the Dark Saintess, and you will pay a price after receiving the corresponding benefits and perks."

Yu Chen pursed her lips and nodded slightly, saying, "I understand, and I am well aware that this opportunity is enviable even among my fellow people from other worlds, so I have no intention of being hypocritical after getting a good deal."

"Hehe, that depends on everyone's definition of 'cheap'."

Delia raised an eyebrow slightly and said softly, "For example, in my opinion, although you were chosen by both me and that small-breasted, brainless woman, Pacosi, you only benefited from the Dawn Cult. You became the Dawn Saintess, received abundant resources and environment, and were well protected by the Holy Church Alliance. From the start, you enjoyed treatment that countless otherworldly beings could only dream of, but..."

Yu Chen blinked: "But?"

"But you are also my beloved."

Delia narrowed her eyes and said softly, "Neither the Dark Night Cult nor I myself have done anything for you in the past year, which is... very unfair."

Yu Chen: (⊙.⊙;)
To be fair, while Delia's words did make some sense, there was a major problem: she seemed to be acting entirely from Yu Chen's personal perspective, trying to... gain some benefits for herself.

To put it simply, this goes beyond the logic of "unsolicited kindness must be for ulterior motives."

To put it simply, there's definitely something fishy going on here.

In short, Yu Chen was a little stunned after hearing this. After the initial shock, she became alert and shrank back, saying awkwardly, "I'm actually quite content, um, quite content."

"Is it?"

Delia looked at Yu Chen with a half-smile and said softly, "I thought you would be upset about not being able to go north to find your sweetheart, but it seems I misunderstood."

Yu Chen: o(￣ヘ￣o＃)
Clearly, although she didn't utter a single word of rebuttal, the fact that her face instantly became conflicted, with a hint of displeasure hidden between her brows, was enough to prove that Delia hadn't misunderstood anything.

"Let me be blunt, darling."

Delia looked at Yu Chen calmly and said softly, "Although you are indeed my and Paksi's favorite, and although your talent is outstanding, and it won't be long before you take that 'half-step' to glimpse the scenery behind the [Epic] gate, the difficulty for you to break through from high-level to epic will probably be several times or even dozens of times that of others."

"!!"

Yu Chen was immediately taken aback. The reason was simple: as a player who had been with the game since its launch, her social circle was filled with high-level players and NPCs. Born into a privileged position in Rome from the very beginning, she was well aware of how difficult it was for a normal person to break through from a high-level to an epic rank. Yet, under these circumstances, Delia bluntly stated that her breakthrough to epic rank would be several times, even dozens of times, more difficult than others—

To be honest, this is no different from directly declaring that Yu Chen will be stuck at the half-step epic level for the rest of his life.

To be honest, Yu Chen never thought she was that great. Although her healing skills were at the level of a professional player, and she was always ranked at the top of the overall strength rankings because of her status as a God's Favored One and a Saintess, she could still accept the fact that she was not able to break through to the Epic level without any complaints or entanglements.

But! There's a very strange detail here!

That is, in general, all those who are unable to break through to the epic rank will basically be stuck at the peak of the high rank for their entire lives and unable to make any progress. However, anyone who can step into the half-step epic rank, with one foot in the threshold, will generally be able to advance to the epic rank after a period of accumulation, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

This period of settling down may be long or short, but in any case, it will not be dozens of times more difficult than for an ordinary person to advance to the Epic rank.

That is to say-

"The problem isn't that you lack talent, Wang Yu. On the contrary, although you're not a monster like Luca Tefiro, who can force even a god to back down even when threatening them head-on, you're actually not that much worse than Xia Lian Zhuye and Margaret Yazhi."

Delia smiled slightly, her eyes lowered, and said, "It's just that due to some unexpected events, your potential can easily be locked in."

"……Um?"

Upon hearing this and recalling what the other party had just said, Yu Chen, who was always very familiar with her situation, immediately realized what was going on and asked in surprise, "Could it be because I am both the goddess and... uh, you, the goddess's favorite?"

"Unfortunately, that's how it is."

Although she said she felt regret, Delia, who didn't seem to feel any regret at all, nodded happily and said in a light tone, "The so-called divine favor is actually a two-way selection. In other words, it's not just a process where we gods take a liking to someone and make them our favorite. In fact, the prerequisite for us to make someone a divine favorite is that 'that person must be a suitable candidate for the corresponding god.'"

Yu Chen looked at Delia with some confusion, finally realizing that the other woman had hit a blind spot in her knowledge. Of course, this wasn't just her blind spot; it could be said that the vast majority of clergy were unaware that the so-called 'divine favor' had such an inner layer.

"In this world, whether they are from other worlds or locals, the probability of having both faith and being a suitable candidate for the corresponding deity is actually very low. Take the Dawn Cult for example, there may only be ten suitable candidates in the whole world right now, but the only people who believe in the Dawn Cult are Xia Lian, Tom and you."

Delia sighed, her expression somewhat resentful, and said, "As for the Dark Cult, apart from you... if Margaret hadn't messed up her soul back then, I wouldn't have been able to find even a single suitable candidate."

Yu Chen scratched his head and said in a soft voice, "I don't think I've ever joined the Dark Night Cult."

"You are an exception, child."

Delia looked at Yu Chen with gentle eyes and smiled, "Dawn and darkness are also special cases. Just like I snatched Margaret back then, and Paksi snatched you more than half a year ago. Because the nature of their divine powers is too similar, those who are suited for Dawn also have a high probability of being suited for Darkness, and vice versa."

Yu Chen tilted her head and thought for a moment, then hesitated and said, "Well, actually, I've wanted to ask you two for a while now, what exactly is going on with you two..."

"As for Luke Tefiro."

Delia abruptly interrupted Yu Chen, clearly changing the subject: "He is an exception among exceptions. No matter which sect he joins, he will be a suitable candidate for the corresponding deity, an unquestionable chosen one of the gods."

Yu Chen considerately refrained from pressing further, simply nodding obediently and saying, "I see."

"Let's get down to business."

Noticing the other party's thoughtfulness, Delia breathed a sigh of relief and said in a gentler tone than before, "Although there are indeed some unpleasant connections between the power of dawn and the power of darkness, in terms of divine magic systems, the Dawn Cult and the Dark Cult are completely different. If we consider these two systems as two models that each carry half of your power, then by now, your Dawn divine magic system has become infinitely close to perfection, but your Dark divine magic system is a crude and unorthodox approach."

Seemingly gradually realizing what the other person was trying to say, Yu Chen said, "...Oh, okay."

"Although there won't be any problems in the early stages, as long as your level of control over the dark divine power doesn't improve, like right now, where you can't even utter a single dark holy word, you are destined to never achieve an epic."

Delia, who had never intended to hide anything from the beginning, smiled slyly and said softly, "So if you want to become strong enough that those people will allow you to go see your sweetheart, you must systematically study dark magic. Only in this way can you break through to the epic level as soon as possible."

Yu Chen: "..."

Without a doubt, this was a blatant conspiracy, a perfect reason for Yu Chen to temporarily set aside his hopes and diligently study the Dark Night Divine Arts.

Delia doesn't have a habit of lying, but it was precisely this frank and honest statement that plunged Yu Chen, who had just been stirred up by Xia Lian's thoughts, into a deep dilemma.

To be fair, as a player, she is different from most of the Dawn Cult NPCs. She doesn't have much hostility towards the Night Cult and the Goddess of Darkness. In addition, Xia Lian and Ambrose are open to her, so she can even practice dark magic in the core of the Dawn Cult.

According to Delia, this kind of unguided and unsystematic practice is obviously ineffective, but if Yu Chen were to go to the Dark Night Cult to find someone to teach her... she couldn't bring herself to do something that would seriously hurt the feelings of her fellow members of the Dawn Cult.

Admittedly, she believed that the Goddess of Darkness meant her no harm, but she also believed that the Dark Cult, which had an extremely hostile relationship with the Dawn Cult, would spread the news that "the Dawn Saintess Chen Wangyu has abandoned the light and joined the darkness to become the Dark Saintess" as soon as she arrived, thereby damaging the reputation of the Dawn Cult.

Yu Chen would never do something so ungrateful and repaying kindness with enmity.

So after a brief moment of thought, she cautiously asked, "Then... can you teach me?"

"No."

The goddess of darkness's answer was simple, clear, straightforward, and direct.

"Woo!"

Yu Chen pouted, sighed helplessly, and gave a wry smile that said, "I knew it."

"However, just because I can't teach you doesn't mean I can't find someone who can."

"but I……"

"Don't worry, child, I don't plan for you to study in the location of the Dark Cult. The atmosphere there is too gloomy. Although I like it very much, I have to admit that it is not suitable for you."

"Eh?"

“Margaret, my other saint, your blessed predecessor, a girl a hundred times more reliable than Xia Lian Zhuye, you can learn everything you want from her.”

"Saint Margaret?"

“That’s right, she lives in the City of Light, so…”

"Wait a moment!"

"Ok?"

"You just asked where Saint Margaret lived?"

"The City of Light."

"The City of Light?"

"Ah."

"How long have you been staying?"

"I've forgotten the exact time, but it should have been almost ten years ago."

"???"

Chapter 2642: The End

(End of this chapter)