Chapter Ten: I Am God

“Uh… now that you put it that way, I feel a little better…” Lan Tian rubbed his nose, gladly accepting Bai’s praise of his own species. “By the way, Bai, since the Battle Deity threw you and the Crimson Gold Armor together, and you landed in my house, where’s the Crimson Gold Armor now?”

Suddenly, Lan Tian recalled the gilded war armor radiating divine might in the earlier vision. His heart blazed with excitement. The wondrous equipment called the Crimson Gold Armor could serve as a spacecraft and also envelop the body as battle armor—a truly peerless treasure!

“If only I could get my hands on it… heh heh…” Lan Tian’s thoughts nearly had him drooling at the mouth.

“It should also be on Earth, but I don’t know its exact location,” Bai answered with a helpless shrug.

“Wait… How can you not know where it is?” Lan Tian was at first delighted to hear that the armor was on Earth, but Bai’s next words stopped his celebration short. He hurriedly pressed for details.

“Because that explosion left me severely damaged. Only my most basic functions remain. I can’t scan a wide area at all—how could I possibly know where the Crimson Gold Armor landed?” Bai said this as if it were obvious.

“No way. You seem pretty impressive to me! Nothing about you looks damaged at all,” Lan Tian eyed Bai suspiciously, unconvinced.

“If even you could tell, what kind of intelligent lifeform would I be?” Bai shot back with biting sarcasm.

“Bai… Are you implying that you just insulted me?” Being looked down on by a broken computer nearly made Lan Tian cough up blood in frustration. Still, for the sake of his bright future, he had to ask, “With Earth’s technology, is it possible to repair you?”

“If you want me fully restored, I’ll need a vast amount of cosmic energy to nurture my core. So, whenever you reach the Starlight level, you’ll be able to find the Crimson Gold Armor,” Bai replied unexpectedly.

“Alright, so when will I reach this so-called Starlight level?” Lan Tian responded without a second thought, simply taking Bai’s words at face value. It was only after he spoke that his eyes went wide and round, staring at Bai in utter shock. He stammered, “Bai… Are you saying… you’re going to teach me? Teach me how to become like the Battle Deity? Pass on the Battle Deity’s legacy… to me?”

“What else?” Bai remained as calm as ever.

Facing this intelligent being, Lan Tian felt he had to outdo Bai in composure—or else he’d never earn any respect. So, before the overwhelming surprise, he forced himself to appear calm, took a deep breath, and asked, “Why me? There are billions of people on Earth. I thought, even if you wanted to pass on the legacy, you’d search for a more suitable heir…”

To be honest, after witnessing the Battle Deity’s divine might, he couldn’t help but yearn for that power. Still, Lan Tian truly hadn’t expected Bai to actually choose him.

“There’s no particular reason—just that you were the first one I met, just that my master tossed me into your house, just that… well, you’ve had some pretty rotten luck lately, and I felt like helping you. That’s all,” Bai replied with a strange look.

…

“Bai! You can read my thoughts, but you’ve read my memories too?!” Lan Tian was briefly stunned by Bai’s words, then realized with a jolt that Bai must have shamefully peered into the memory of being dumped by Li Mei. Indignation and embarrassment flooded him—he wanted nothing more than to grab a hammer and smash Bai a few hundred times.

“Haha, don’t blame me. Before I promised not to read your thoughts at random, I’d already scanned your mind,” Bai laughed heartily. “Besides, do you really think that on a planet with only a few billion people, some genius for cultivation would just show up? Everyone’s talent is more or less the same—there’s no such thing as most or least suitable. At best, there’s mediocre and more mediocre.”

“And I never said my master’s legacy could only go to one person. For now, just be a registered disciple and practice. If I find a more suitable heir in the future, I’ll pass it on then.”

…

“Is that really okay?” Lan Tian was miserable. This broken computer had looked down on him twice now—and this time, every person on Earth had been insulted along with him…

“Just say whether you’ll be the registered disciple or not,” Bai said with a faint smile.

“Of course I will! I’m not stupid enough to refuse!” Lan Tian ground his teeth.

“There. Why waste so many words? Such a waste of my time,” Bai muttered with a slight pout.

Lan Tian: …

“My energy reserves are low and I’m a bit tired today. I need to rest. I’ll teach you the basics of cultivation tomorrow.” Just as Lan Tian was about to give Bai a lesson in manners, Bai spoke first.

“No rush on the cultivation. I’m not ready myself. Today’s been exhausting. By the way, how do you replenish your energy? With all the resources and energy on Earth, do you really need this cosmic energy you mentioned?” Lan Tian’s eyes lit up at the thought. “How about I charge you with electricity—will that work?”

“If it’s just for replenishment, it doesn’t have to be cosmic energy. Any energy will do. But electricity? You mean the 220V power you use daily?” Bai looked disdainful. “If I were struck by a bolt of lightning, maybe I could get a little energy. But as for that 220V current, if I recharged even a little, your whole city would lose power.”

“Want me to try a little, just for fun?”

“No, don’t! I can’t afford it!” Lan Tian waved his hands in horror. If Bai’s words were true, the electric bill would bankrupt him several times over…

“How lacking in ambition. You’re about to become a star-level cultivator—what’s money to you?” Bai shook his head, the picture of disappointed expectation.

“Easy for you to say. I’m still an ordinary person. Where am I supposed to get money to pay your electric bills…” Lan Tian muttered. This broken computer really didn’t know the meaning of hardship.

“You say that, but what does it make me, a super-intelligent lifeform?” Bai smiled mysteriously. “Even though I’m down to my basic functions, when it comes to your planet’s data streams—what you call the internet—”

“I am a god.”

“This little stream of data dares to call itself a network. Ridiculous.”

Bai muttered to himself. He didn’t notice Lan Tian’s face rapidly flush, his mouth agape in amazement, eyes burning as he looked at Bai.

“Wait, give me a moment to calm down…” Lan Tian stammered. “You mean…”

“Yes, exactly what you’re thinking.” Bai nodded, his demeanor wise and venerable.

Lan Tian swore he had never found Bai so adorable as at this moment!

Even when Bai said he would pass on the Battle Deity’s legacy, Lan Tian had only felt excitement—his heart still harbored doubts about his own talent and whether he could really cultivate, given that this was an alien heritage that might not suit him.

Even if he could, he never thought he’d become strong overnight; he knew it would take a long journey.

But now, if he hadn’t misunderstood, Bai’s meaning could not be clearer.

That is, on the internet, Bai could easily deceive everyone—run rampant, do whatever he pleased, utterly unstoppable!

Lan Tian felt that words like “deceive the world,” “run rampant,” “lawless”—far from being derogatory, were the highest form of praise imaginable!