Chapter 72
Messiah might look gentle, but when it came to himself, he was brutal.
If not for the system’s enhancements to players’ bodies, that self-inflicted strike with the [Cross of Godslaying] would’ve killed an ordinary person instantly.
The weapon had its own side effects too, gnawing at Messiah’s very being—but he didn’t even flinch, twisting it deeper as if determined to pierce the god in his mind.
[Messiah, you’ll regret this.]
[A mere human dares defy a god?]
[You’ll be cursed!]
Messiah remained unmoved.
“If I can drag a god down with me, that’s perfect.” He plunged the cross deeper, silencing the divine whispers.
But the god wasn’t so easy to erase.
A piercing scream shattered their eardrums, splitting walls and ceiling, reducing furniture to dust as though an earthquake had struck.
It was the god’s counterattack.
[Host, activate a skill! You have to neutralize this!] urged #888.
Activate what?
I’ve regained my sanity—why would I burn skills like a reckless fool?
“System, I’m not who I was. You’d better drop that wasteful habit.” Lu Chuan refused.
Instead, he used healing tools, tending both himself and Messiah.
If it wasn’t instant death damage, they could endure it.
After all, they’d fought gods before—they’d built up resistance.
#888 could only watch helplessly as Lu Chuan and Messiah bled under the sonic assault, burning through healing items one after another.
Like some endless math problem—water pouring out as fast as it was being poured in—this was the Infinite World’s version of that cruel exercise.
Maybe the system couldn’t empathize with his former self either.
#888 suddenly found himself missing the Lu Chuan who had 80 sanity points.
At least when it came to valuing his own life, that version hadn’t been wrong.
No one knew how long it lasted—until dawn began to break, the shrieking finally stopped.
By then, both Lu Chuan and Messiah’s clothes had been completely burned away, their bodies covered with scars that had split open and healed over, crisscrossing everywhere.
The area around them had become a wasteland.
Messiah pulled out the [Cross of Godslaying], blood gushing out.
“He ran,” Messiah said calmly, as if he couldn’t feel pain at all.
Lu Chuan had no choice but to keep treating him, then pulled two fresh sets of clothes from his inventory and dressed them both.
Once he tidied up, Lu Chuan took out a scar-removing item and used it on them, erasing all traces of injury from their faces and bodies.
After all, beauty was a huge form of productivity—and economic value.
Lu Chuan had no intention of becoming some ugly wreck. If he got too hideous, no one would want to do business with him; people would keep their distance at first sight.
So appearance was something to take very seriously.
What rich person doesn’t invest in wellness?
“It’s fine. After all, he’s still a god, killing him outright was never realistic.” Lu Chuan had expected this outcome. He’d fired three shots point-blank at the [God of Omniscience] before and probably hadn’t managed to kill it—so there was no way this [God of Desire] would be any easier.
It was only because the god had left himself completely undefended against Messiah that he had been dealt such a heavy blow.
Lu Chuan wanted to comfort Messiah—after all, he had done extremely well.
But Messiah let out a low laugh.
At that moment, the game system was bombarding them with notifications:
[Detected: Player Messiah has severed ties with the deity]
[Congratulations to Player Messiah for completing the special achievement—Rebellion Against God]
[Due to the deity unilaterally dissolving the divine marriage, Player Messiah suffers no contract backlash]
At the same time, Lu Chuan, Cynthia, and even Shen Li—who had been dragged back tied up by Starry Shasha and Edith—heard the Main System’s prompt:
[Notice 1: Dungeon objective conditions are now more than halfway complete. Congratulations, players, for successfully breaking the divine marriage.]
[Notice 2: All Pro-God faction players have been eliminated. Team evaluation upgraded.]
In this divine challenge dungeon, the mission given to their Anti-God faction was to stop the god’s resurrection and destroy the divine marriage.
If Messiah’s strike had actually killed the god, they would have cleared both objectives at once and finished the dungeon.
Unfortunately, this god didn’t care much for Messiah. Faced with his sudden attack, it had decisively severed all ties with him, abandoning the divine marriage it had painstakingly established.
After all, it had never even possessed a body, never had any intimate contact with Messiah. The marriage was only for exploiting Messiah’s unique abilities.
With a god like that, its reaction in a life-or-death moment was obvious.
“So, he wasn’t as strong as I thought.” Hearing the system prompts, Messiah finally exhaled in relief, collapsing back onto the ruins and staring blankly at the sky. “When I faced him alone, it always felt impossible, like I’d never escape him, maybe even die in this dungeon. But in the end… he was just this much.”
“Not exactly. The main reason is that our team pulled their weight. Honestly, it’s just that we’re still young—our skills and experience haven’t reached their peak yet. Once we’re all top-ranked players, a mere [God of Desire] will be something we can solo.” Lu Chuan didn’t believe gods were easy opponents. At the end of the day, it was their competence that made it possible.
When doing dungeon runs, you can’t just admit the job turned out easier than expected. You had to say you worked harder than anyone, overcame greater obstacles, to make yourself look good.
“True.” Messiah smiled faintly at him. “Thanks for this time.”
“If you really want to thank me, don’t just say it.” Lu Chuan cut in. “Your Noah Guild probably isn’t short on money. But I am. If you’re serious, remember to transfer me funds when we’re back in reality. I don’t accept anything under seven digits.”
“Deal.”
“Nice. Next time you’ve got missions like this, you can call us.” Lu Chuan took the chance to pitch himself. “I’ve formed a team with Cynthia and the others. We’re planning to tackle dungeons together from now on. Of course, since some runs have player limits, we’ll split into smaller squads. With your body’s natural affinity for drawing gods’ attention, you’d be a perfect addition. Just pay a small initiation fee…”
“Brother Lu!”
Before he could finish his sales pitch, Starry Shasha’s excited voice cut in.
Tch. Terrible timing.
Lu Chuan looked slightly helpless.
Starry Shasha and Edith dragged Shen Li over.
Cynthia and Lilus also gathered.
“We saw the ground shaking over here, so we waited outside. Now that it’s quiet, we came in.” Cynthia glanced around. “The system says we’ve finished half the mission, but it seems the god still has a chance at revival. We need to find and destroy that last possibility.”
“Yeah. The god ran, and even severed his divine marriage with Messiah, probably worried we’d use it to track him.” Lu Chuan casually explained the situation. “He doesn’t even have a real body, and with the dungeon’s restrictions, his power is limited.”
This was a divine challenge dungeon—not a real mission to kill a god outright. Reaching this stage was already impressive.
If they actually had to kill a complete god, Shen Li wouldn’t be struggling for ranking—he’d already be top-tier.
“Wake up. Stop pretending.” Lu Chuan walked over to the “unconscious” Shen Li and kicked his leg. “Old Shen, did you know? Every time you fake passing out, your body curls up. Who faints in that posture?”
The supposedly unconscious Shen Li opened his eyes, glaring daggers at Lu Chuan.
“Heh, just kidding.” Lu Chuan whistled. “How would I know what you look like when you fake it? I just bluffed you a little, and you broke cover. Old Shen, with an ability like yours, it’s no wonder you’re stuck below the Master Rankings.”
“I’m just not as cunning as you.” Shen Li hadn’t fully reverted, his eyes still full of wariness toward Lu Chuan.
“Brother Lu, Captain Shen still doesn’t seem back to normal.” Starry Shasha said anxiously. “What should we do?”
“Hmm. Cynthia, tell me—if the [God of Desire] still has any chance left to revive, I’d say Shen Li’s the only option.” Lu Chuan thought it over. “The god never had a real church, all its followers were wiped out by the rest of us. Its descent ritual was destroyed, its allied players all died. The only thing left is the power it left in Shen Li, enough to make him hate us and eventually take over his body.”
“I agree.” Cynthia nodded.
“Wait, sis, don’t get swayed by him!” Lilus burst out. “He wanted to kill Shen Li back when his sanity was high, and now he still does.” He turned to Lu Chuan. “If you’re taking money, then do your job properly.”
“I never said I’d kill Shen Li.” Lu Chuan gave him a baffled look. “Didn’t expect you to be so loyal to your teammate.”
“Lilus is good to the friends he acknowledges,” Cynthia explained. “But only in this sanity state. If his sanity rises or drops too fast, don’t trust a word he says.”
That was something the Resurrection Guild had only confirmed after long testing on the siblings.
“Sis, why are you telling him everything? If he reverts to that awful self, he’ll skin us alive and sell us piece by piece.” Lilus clearly resented Cynthia giving Lu Chuan so much attention.
Lu Chuan was simply too eye-catching.
Whenever everyone gathered, he was the one who stole the spotlight.
Was that reasonable?
Among them, his sister was the smartest, Messiah the most handsome, Lilus himself the strongest fighter—Lu Chuan at most was just the greediest.
And yet, everyone’s attention always drifted back to Lu Chuan.
“Actually, I’m curious. I know sanity is important, but I didn’t realize just how much it affects a person.” Lu Chuan mused. It had to be a core setting of the Main God System behind this cruel game, maybe even more important than they realized.
“You’re all listening to him? He just wants to take everything from me—he’s scheming to swallow Star Guild whole! And it’s not just Star Guild, he’s plotting against other guilds too. Don’t be fooled!” Shen Li struggled madly against his bindings.
Lu Chuan crouched down, resting his chin in his hand as he looked at him.
“Old Shen, Old Shen… I hear you’ve been saving up both a dowry and bride price for yourself?”
“None of your damn business!”
“The vice-guildmaster said if a female player agrees to marry Captain Shen, the bride price fund can serve as betrothal money. If a strong female player wants him to marry into her guild, then the dowry goes to her instead. As long as someone takes Captain Shen, either fund is fine. Oh, and the vice-guildmaster also said men are acceptable too—since with your current ability development, kids aren’t really an option anymore.” Starry Shasha exposed everything without hesitation.
“True.” Lu Chuan squinted at Shen Li with a smile. “You’ve been in the Star Guild for so long and you’re still just a squad captain. You’re not much at management, can’t ease the vice-guildmaster’s burden. As a player, even though you’ve pushed your abilities to the limit, you’re still a ways off from the Master Ranking. To put it bluntly, your talent’s lacking. And even in making money, you can’t out-earn others. Every day you nag and ramble like some old housewife…”
“Shut up!” Shen Li couldn’t stand hearing Lu Chuan’s words that cut straight to the heart.
“I hit the mark, that’s why you’re angry.” Lu Chuan looked at him smugly. “What a pity, Old Shen. Why don’t you just kill yourself in this dungeon? That way Shasha and I can clear it smoothly. Who knows, once you, the filler ‘master,’ fall off the ranking, maybe it’ll be my turn to fill the slot? And then, I’ll definitely do better than you. The Star Guild will be mine. I’ll even tell everyone you died possessed by a god, play up your tragic last moments…”
Shen Li thrashed harder, like he wanted to claw Lu Chuan’s face apart.
“If you don’t want to die, and don’t want everything I just said to come true, then behave.” Lu Chuan’s expression turned cold. “You’re Shen Li. Just the leftover power of some so-called God of Desire—do you really think that can defeat you?”
“You’re the core of this Divine Challenge dungeon. Does the Master Ranking need a god’s puppet? Think carefully about what you’re supposed to be.”
