Ashen Dragon

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty Cassius."

Under the slightly terrified gaze of the Chaotic Evil Eye, Cassius grinned, his dragon face displaying what he thought was a gentle smile: "Look—do you think I resemble a god, or a dragon?"

"..."

The Chaotic Evil Eye widened its massive eye, gazing innocently at the Red Dragon.

After a long silence, it carefully gauged the other's thoughts and cautiously said, "Your Majesty Cassius, you... are the most unique existence I have ever seen.

Although you have not acquired a Divine Status, the divinity and Divine Power within you far exceed those of ordinary demigods. You possess multiple statuses and exceptionally high essence strength—these traits, I have only seen in those ancient beings."

"On top of the inherent traits of giant dragons... Your strength already surpasses many Divine Incarnations and demigods."

Cassius nodded slightly, his facial expression unreadable, and merely continued to ask, "Then how should I ascend to godhood?"

The Chaotic Evil Eye extended a tentacle, covered with eye sockets, and chuckled mysteriously, its voice chaotic and hoarse: "Your Majesty Cassius, as far as I know, there are three primary paths through which mortals can ascend to divinity.

The first method is to obtain Primordial Divinity, which is birthed from the Laws of the world and aligns with the divine positions emerging from cosmic changes. However... after countless ages, these primordial divine sparks have long been plundered by ancient gods."

These Primordial Divinities seem exceptionally elusive, almost impossible to acquire.

But Cassius stroked his chin thoughtfully. Since players bring change to the world, could they impact its laws and create corresponding divine positions?

For instance, the God of Star Fall, the God of Biology, even the God of Steam and Machinery, or the God of Gunpowder and Cannon...

If the players exert a sufficiently significant influence on the world—being the Controllers of most players, the master of the Ashen Empire, and the creator of Fianso Continent's industrial system—Cassius stood as the strongest contender for these divine positions.

The Chaotic Evil Eye extended a second tentacle and continued, "The second method is to receive the blessing of a powerful god and become their sub-god. For example, the Death Triad—they were once the fortunate ones..."

At this, the Chaotic Evil Eye suddenly shifted its tone, becoming somewhat agitated: "Your Majesty Cassius, if you can lead me to find the Beastman God, with their generosity, they would surely offer you a divine position.

In that case, you could become the Dragonized Beastman God, enjoying unparalleled honor and status within the Beastman God System, sharing immortality with us! Just imagine, it would be simply..."

As it reached this point, the Chaotic Evil Eye abruptly fell silent, instinctively retracting its tentacle.

"Evnis, do you think I'm a fool?"

—Cassius fixed him with an icy stare, silver-white Flowing Flame spilling from his lips as if he were about to release a fire strong enough to dispel all chaos.

"O-Of course not, you are the cleverest Red Dragon I have ever seen."

The Chaotic Evil Eye trembled as it extended a third tentacle, the sockets on it filled with jagged teeth, constantly opening and closing, oozing viscous black liquid.

"By the way, Your Majesty Cassius, I've discovered that your body contains an ample accumulation of Divine Power—even remnants of a god's divinity. Perhaps you can use this divinity to ignite the Divine Spark and become a true..."

Cassius's anger turned to sardonic laughter, his gaze growing colder, the pale golden pupils radiating palpable killing intent: "Evnis, this is your last chance..."

Raging flames poured forth, engulfing the Chaotic Evil Eye as the Red Dragon's voice turned into a furious roar: "Deceive me one more time, and I will obliterate your will completely! Reduce you to a mindless immortal essence!"

The Chaotic Evil Eye writhed within the flames, frantically begging for mercy, wailing, "No! Your Majesty Cassius, I was wrong! I dare not deceive you again!"

Cassius coldly observed the struggling Chaotic Evil Eye within the flames but did not immediately retract the Order Fire.

Dealing with such ancient beings meant one could never let their guard down—any carelessness could lead to being schemed upon, and everything the Chaotic Evil Eye exhibited might well be a facade.

Having experienced the deception of the Vengeful Demon, the current Red Dragon, though still hungry for power, was much more cautious and now tempered his greed with vigilance.

Why was Cassius certain the Chaotic Evil Eye was lying to him?

The reason was simple: he knew too well the source of his own divinity—it originated from the troublesome "Karyx Heart," which had caused him immense trouble and driven him into madness multiple times.

That power was so deranged that even someone as mighty as Cassius could be corrupted by it, temporarily losing his senses.

It wasn't until killing Gelrazax and acquiring the Order Fire's essence that Cassius dared to indulge in the use of Chaos Flame freely.

If simply using that power could result in such profound effects, what would happen if he ignited Divine Fire with the lingering divinity of Karyx to ascend to immortality? He could already foresee the consequences.

Cassius let out a chilling laugh and asked, "Evnis, if I truly followed your suggestion, what do you think would happen?"

"Your Majesty Cassius, I was wrong, I truly dare not!" The Chaotic Evil Eye avoided answering directly, continuing to wail.

Seeing its reaction, the Red Dragon intensified the flames, the silver-white tongues of fire piercing into the Chaotic Evil Eye's core, corroding its immortal essence.