"Is that so?"
Kong Tai nodded, indicating understanding.
He himself felt this way; ever since appearing on this planet, he had always felt that the world rejected him, as if it didn't welcome him. Now it seemed the planet clearly considered him a kindred spirit.
Having a kindred spirit constantly inside one's body, no matter who it was, would surely feel uncomfortable, right?
After all, it wasn't as if...
He was overthinking it, overthinking it.
"Then what about the division of strength?"
Kong Tai continued to ask, "There must be some classification of strength, right?"
"There indeed is," Hua Duo glanced deeply at Kong Tai and continued to explain, "Our strength is essentially growth. We, as a type of life, have a juvenile stage, an adolescent stage, a mature stage, and an adult stage."
Hua hesitated for a moment, then said again, "Of course, there is also an elder stage, followed by the reincarnation stage. The reincarnation stage is a tribulation, and I don't know what that is. In my memory, only this name exists. It is said that only by passing through true reincarnation can one become an eternal being, possessing a life that can be called eternal."
"This is also the goal of countless gods in their continuous growth."
"Eternity..."
Hua Duo's words were laced with a captivating magic, causing A Hua and the others to quicken their breaths.
They had heard so much today.
Even their lifetime would be shaken.
However, these words held no real meaning for Kong Tai. Eternity was merely a concept. As long as life existed, it could not escape reincarnation.
Even gods had to endure the tribulation of reincarnation to achieve a life comparable to eternity.
And even then, it was only comparable, not true eternity.
Compared to mortals, to live a peaceful life for about a hundred years would be considered happiness enough.
For gods, a mortal's entire life was but a brief nap.
To mortals, a god's life would likely be considered eternal.
But gods also had their limits. In the endless years, they would decay, changing with the world, with the stars, with the universe.
Perhaps to speak of true eternity, one would have to reach the level of the eye's owner.
"Then what level are you at now?" Kong Tai asked. "And what level am I at?"
"Me..." Hua Duo paused, then said, "I have just passed the juvenile stage and am in the adolescent stage."
"So you're not an adult yet?"
Hearing this, Kong Tai showed a look of realization. No wonder Hua Duo's voice sounded so young, even immature; it turned out she was truly not an adult.
"Mm! Not an adult," Hua Duo swayed, seeing no reason to hide it.
"As for you, hmm..."
"How is it?"
"Should be, should be, haven't entered the juvenile stage yet!"
"Haven't entered the juvenile stage?" Kong Tai froze in place. "That means I'm not even considered an infant."
"Mm!" Hua Duo swayed. "You could say that."
After a moment of hesitation, Hua Duo questioned, "It's strange, though. While I can't see through you, I can sense your aura. Your aura should belong to an unborn infant right now, so how can you be walking in the world? And by your appearance, you're almost an adult?"
"Uh..."
Kong Tai was somewhat speechless.
So his past dozen years were lived in vain; he was still an unborn infant.
Faced with Hua Duo's words, Kong Tai could only shrug helplessly.
If he had to explain, it was likely because he was not a being like Hua Duo at all. His body was from his previous life on Earth, a fact he was absolutely certain of. However, while the body was the same, the energy within, the genetic makeup, and the life level were likely completely different.
"Never mind that, let's talk about you!"
Kong Tai shook his head and looked at Hua Duo, asking curiously, "Since you summoned us here, tell us, why did you summon us? What do you want us to do?"
"And who are you?"
"Why have you been staying here all along?"
The moment he entered this space, Kong Tai had been wondering. Such a peculiar space; without a special passage or a key, even with incredible luck, it would be impossible to enter. Yet, they had entered as if guided.
Now, it seemed, they had been discovered by this entity from the moment they entered the raging sea outside, and had been silently guided here.
Was it the kindred spirit aura on him, or the aura of the monster formed from Quinn, whom Gu Yina had slain with her sword, that guided them? He didn't know.
"Me?"
Hua Duo swayed, tilting her flower head as if a person were raising their chin, and declared proudly, "I am a god of this planet... one of them."
"One of them?"
Yi Sheng, who had been silent until now, looked up with a shocked tone and asked, "There's more than one 'god' in our world?"
From the previous conversation between Kong Tai and Hua Duo, he had been listening as if to a myth. No, this was indeed a myth. Now, hearing from this self-proclaimed god that there were other beings like Hua Duo in this world, he was somewhat taken aback.
After all, from Hua Duo's words, he could vaguely infer that these beings might have incredibly long lifespans, so long that they might have existed since the beginning of this world.
Even though she was only in the so-called adolescent stage and not yet an adult within her species, it couldn't be ignored that the being before him was an incredibly terrifying ancient entity.
She surpassed the true peak of this world.
Her strength was indeed formidable, at least within this world. But only he knew that at his level, any further improvement was practically impossible.
This was likely the shackles of life's origin in this world, as Hua Duo had mentioned, hindering him.
"Mm!" Hua Duo swayed. "I am indeed just one of them, and even one of the weaker gods."
Gu Yina looked at Hua Duo curiously and asked, "Then what about the other gods?"
"Dead."
"Dead..."
Everyone was shocked, their faces filled with astonishment.
"If you are so powerful, who could possibly kill you?"
Yi Sheng continued to ask.
Before Hua Duo could answer, Kong Tai, who had been deep in thought, suddenly looked up and said to Hua Duo, "Is it related to that energy that turns people into monsters that we encountered?"
"Mm!" Hua Duo nodded, then said, "In ancient times, there were many gods. I was just the weakest and youngest among them. Perhaps it was because I was too weak that I managed to cling to life until now."
"Some of us were born when this planet took shape, but... in a war that swept across our entire star system, all of them either died in battle or disappeared."
"I don't know if they are truly all dead or if they are hiding somewhere healing. But before I fell into slumber, I felt no divine aura from any other gods in the outside world."
At this moment, Hua Duo, who had been calm, even somewhat indifferent, showed a rare expression of sadness.