The piercing laughter tore through the serious atmosphere in the room, startling everyone who was trying to absorb divine power and sense the energy.

Everyone looked over in confusion, and sure enough, the source of that unpleasant laughter was "Sin."

And what did he just say?

The pink mask was full of mockery. Jealousy, the pinnacle of evil, seemed to have finally bared its fangs at this moment, releasing its malice.

"Hah, you didn't actually believe it, did you?"

"You really think you have a chance? You think that just because you're facing the same god, you know their characteristics in advance, and you can snatch and absorb a bit of their energy, you have a chance to replace them?"

"What a joke! What does that have to do with you people! I was just casually messing with you. That kind of thing should be left to me."

"If you really want to try, you'll almost certainly die, hehehe..."

After hearing him finish this spiel, everyone finally understood. His "you didn't actually believe it, did you" wasn't referring to the method of absorbing divine power being fake.

Rather, it seemed he never believed these people had any possibility of defeating a god and seizing their divine power.

But in reality, from the very beginning, they never thought they had the ability to defeat a god and replace them. This entire viewpoint had been proposed by "Sin" from start to finish.

He proposes the idea himself, then publicly tells everyone the method to increase their strength, then negates it himself and mocks everyone?

Is this guy actually insane? Something wrong with his brain?

However, looking at the way he was speaking now, everyone still felt an inexplicable discomfort in their hearts.

"Hey..." Xie Antong beside him couldn't help but speak up, somewhat bewildered.

She didn't quite understand Lu Ce's purpose in saying these things at this moment. It seemed like mockery for the sake of mockery.

However, based on her past judgment, Lu Ce's actions usually had a purpose.

In that moment of hesitation, Xie Antong noticed that he seemed to have made eye contact with her, causing her to freeze for a second.

"I suggest you all consider more realistic possibilities. For example, let me see if They can still recruit Divine Messengers or something right now. Maybe you can keep your life that way..."

"This kind of thing with only theoretical possibility... you're all still too weak."

"What are you talking about?!" Xie Antong was the first to interrupt him. What Jealousy was saying had become a bit excessive by this point.

Coupled with that earlier eye contact, Xie Antong seemed to sense something. She teleported instantly, appearing right in front of Lu Ce.

"Sorry."

With that, she grabbed his shoulder, and with a Heartward Drift, they vanished from the spot, their destination unknown.

A few seconds later, she returned. This ability of Xie Antong's was incredibly convenient right now, drawing everyone's attention.

Is her strength that high already now? It was like she just threw "Sin" out.

"Ahem..." Clearing her throat somewhat awkwardly, Xie Antong addressed everyone upon her return:

"Sorry, everyone. Regarding the specific method of absorbing divine power, he has already explained it very clearly. I can guarantee this method is feasible."

"Regardless, everyone, improve your strength before your next game begins."

"As for what he just said, don't mind it. He's already insane. Consider it a reminder that coming into contact with divine power can affect a person's spirit..."

......

[Have you already gone insane? If so, I suggest you enter dormancy immediately. Stop coming out every day and causing trouble!]

[What did you do in the last game? Since when have you been so unstinting with your help towards players!?]

[You've affected our entire overall plan.]

......

While meetings were being held deep underground on distant Blue Star, a "meeting" was also taking place within the gods' Giant's Palace.

On both sides of the mottled giant stone table, clusters of light shimmered. Over time, the Arbitrator had crafted this place to be quite advanced and imbued with a sense of mystery.

But at this moment, this exceptionally sophisticated place was embroiled in a quarrel that was utterly unbecoming of gods.

The Arbitrator was currently at the center, quietly lowering his head to reduce his presence. He felt a bit fortunate.

Originally, he wasn't sure how to face the gods. But now, it seemed the gods' firepower was all focused on [Pleasure], not paying excessive attention to him.

On the other side, [Pleasure] was, of course, not to be outdone, opening his mouth to mock:

[Just rules within the game. I was just playing normally.]

[Don't come here shamelessly barking just because you each lost to humans.]

Excellent, why don't you just start fighting right now? I definitely won't stop you this time!

The Arbitrator thought to himself, viewing the conflict before him with a sense of schadenfreude.

At this moment, he recalled a conversation he had with "Sin" some time ago.

Two individuals, each with their own hidden agendas and no sincerity whatsoever about cooperation, had previously engaged in a long, shadowy conspiracy.

During that conversation, the Arbitrator had been utterly shocked, expressing that this "Sin" was truly too wicked. Why would humanity let such a thing out?

Although both knew the other wouldn't sincerely cooperate, "Sin," that top-tier scoundrel hard to find even among all humanity, had still opened a new world's door for the Arbitrator.

Learning good is hard, but learning bad is a slippery slope. Taking advantage of [Pleasure] absorbing the firepower, the Arbitrator "reviewed" in his mind.

"Sin" had said that no matter what kind of interrogation any god had for him, his response should focus on "moral blackmail."

Simply put, if a god questions you, you should drag in the interests of all the gods, always placing yourself on the side of the "majority."

[...And also! Arbitrator, what happened this time? How did you actually cause Knowledge's disintegration?!]

Amidst the gods' quarrel, the topic somehow shifted onto the Arbitrator at some point.

The Arbitrator froze for a moment, then immediately spoke up:

"I had already considered every possible method at the time, but it was no use. If I were to protect Him, then the overall stability of the game's rules would be compromised. I couldn't guarantee the interests of the majority of you."

The other party was immediately taken aback, feeling this response wasn't quite in the Arbitrator's usual style.

But what he said also made it difficult for Him to refute. At that moment, He wanted to curse but couldn't find the words.

Seeing Him stuck like that, the Arbitrator's heart stirred.

Tsk... learned something truly useful...