Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

The goddess of fortune's joint locks were so skillful they were almost outrageous. Under Lin Yi's gaze, the goddess of luck's head was twisted a full 180 degrees—of course, this was not a fatal wound for a deity, but the pain and humiliation were very real.

Lady Luck flailed wildly, uttering incomprehensible whimpers, before being struck on the side of the neck by a precise elbow strike from Goddess of Destiny. She collapsed limply to the ground, twitching twice like a stranded fish, before becoming completely still.

"Serves you right." The goddess of fate clapped her hands, elegantly straightening her slightly disheveled suit cuffs, as if she wasn't the one who had just brutally beaten her companion with joint locks.

She pushed up her glasses, and the gaze behind the lenses regained its rational scrutiny.

Xingye silently approached from behind Lin Yi, her pink pupils showing an unusual hesitation.

She lowered her voice and asked in a volume only the two of them could hear, "Teacher, who are these two people? They seem familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

Her words made Lin Yi glance at her slightly. Hoshino's perception was very sharp. As students who were reincarnated from fragments of their souls, they instinctively reacted to high-level beings of the same origin, even if their memories had long since disappeared.

"The goddess of fate, the goddess of luck." Lin Yi didn't hide anything, his voice as calm as if he were introducing two passing neighbors, "Two of the more active ones in the Void God System, although they don't seem very reliable."

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly in the church.

The members of the Justice Fulfillment Unit gripped their weapons tightly.

The disciplinary committee members of Gohena subconsciously exchanged glances, their vigilance not relaxing at all, but rather becoming even more tense.

The Abydos group of five reacted most directly—Nomiya opened his mouth, then closed it again, finally muttering, "God...?"

Ayane nearly dropped the terminal in her hand, but she caught it hastily, her eyes widening behind her glasses.

She had always thought that "gods" were just a concept in myths and legends, or a metaphor for some kind of powerful ability, and never imagined that they would appear in front of her in such a down-to-earth way.

Hoshino's reaction was the most complex. Her lazy expression completely disappeared, replaced by a complicated expression that mixed confusion, wariness, and a strange sense of familiarity.

Her hand rested on the shotgun's handle, but she didn't raise the muzzle. She simply stood there, her gaze fixed on the two goddesses, seemingly trying to pinpoint the source of that familiar feeling.

“Gods…” she repeated the word, her tone carrying an indescribable weight.

The goddess of fate had now fully regained her composed and capable demeanor.

She seemed unconcerned about the students' shocked reactions, her eyes sweeping over everyone present, her gaze lingering for a moment longer on students with particularly strong auras like Hoshino, Hina, and Tsurugi.

Her fingers moved subtly and imperceptibly at her side, creating ripples in the air—she was manipulating the threads of fate, trying to decipher the causes and origins behind these students.

However, the result made her frown slightly.

Too blurry.

The fates of these students are covered by layers of time's dust, like insects encased in amber, retaining their complete form but with weak connections to the causal network of the present world.

More importantly, their souls are essentially broken and reassembled. Even after a long period of repair and reincarnation, their core has become irreversibly different from their original divine form.

For Hoshino and the others, they are "themselves," members of the Abydos Countermeasures Committee, and students of Kivotos.

Memories of past lives and identities as deities have long been washed away in reincarnation, becoming "background data" at the deepest level of the soul that can no longer be actively accessed.

The goddess of fate withdrew her finger and sighed softly.

Time is the most ruthless sieve, capable of smoothing out even the marks of the gods.

Just then, Lady Luck, who had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead, suddenly moved.

She sprang up from the ground like an eel, her movements so fast they created a gust of wind, and in the next second she was already beside Lin Yi.

Before anyone could react, she skillfully hooked one arm around Lin Yi's neck, practically hanging on him, with her other hand on her hip, and her overly bright smile returned to her face.

"Oh dear, I've been recognized!" she said with a grin, showing no sign of the disheveled state she had just been in after being beaten up. "But since we're all acquaintances, it'll be easier to talk to you!"

This position inevitably buried Lin Yi's profile in a soft, warm touch—the goddess of fortune's cool floral sundress was not exactly conservative to begin with, and now it created a double impact on both the visual and tactile senses.

The scent, carrying the aroma of sunshine and honey, wafts into your nostrils.

Objectively speaking, the feel is indeed amazing; the figure of Lady Luck is enough to make most women feel ashamed.

But Lin Yi was completely unmoved at this moment, and even had a slight urge to shove this crazy woman back to the ground.

He knew this guy's true nature all too well—beneath that pretty face and perfect physique lay a chaotic, mischievous prankster who talked a lot of nonsense and would sell out his teammates (including himself) without a shred of conscience to achieve his goals.

Her behavior at that moment was less about intimacy and more about an instinctive attempt to disrupt the other person's judgment with physical contact.

Lin Yi turned his head expressionlessly, used a precise elbow to push Lady Luck away slightly, and then looked at her with dead fish eyes.

"Let's get down to business."

His tone was so calm that it didn't waver at all, as if he hadn't been the one "attacked" just now.

Lady Luck wasn't annoyed by being pushed away. She let go of his hand and patted Lin Yi on the shoulder instead, acting like they were good buddies.

She cleared her throat, a calculating glint in her smile.

"Hey Lin Yi, let's talk about something." She blinked, her golden pupils gleaming. "That 'divine bone' you just got, it's probably useless to you for now, right? After all, you're not a god-type, so it's just a high-grade material to you, but for us..."

She dragged out her words, not finishing them, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. Sure enough, this guy's target was the divine bone that had been extracted from "Color," which was exactly what he had expected.

The growth system of the gods is not a secret in the void.

The system's strengths and limitations are equally prominent.

The core of a deity's power consists of three parts: divine blood, divine bones, and divine soul.

Divine blood is the carrier of power, the foundation for gods to accumulate energy and perform divine arts on a daily basis.

The growth of the vast majority of gods is achieved by absorbing the power of faith, devouring the origin of the world, or plundering other energies over a long period of time to temper their divine blood. This is a relatively conventional but extremely slow process.

The divine bones and divine soul are the key to the qualitative change.

The divine bone is the skeletal framework of the deity's "manifestation of rules," which determines how much divinity the deity can bear and how deeply it can interfere with the rules.

A single high-quality divine bone is enough to allow a mid-level deity to break through a bottleneck and advance to a higher rank.

The spirit is the "essence of existence" of the deity, and is the core of consciousness, memory, and authority.

A complete soul is almost impossible to acquire through later life; it can usually only undergo a transformation during advancement or under certain extreme circumstances.

This is why it is common for gods to hunt each other in the void.

A complete set of divine remains—especially one containing divine bones and soul—is worth enough to drive any god mad.

However, gods are few in number, and most live in seclusion or reside in their own divine kingdoms. Even for professional "god hunters," finding a suitable target is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The divine bone before them, detached from the body of "Color," was of such high quality that it was visible to the naked eye. The regular luster flowing on its surface even made the two goddesses feel a sense of unease.

It originated from an existence devoured by "color." After being eroded by "color" and violently purified by Little Red Riding Hood, although its structure underwent a transformation, the divine essence and fragments of rules it contained remain priceless treasures.

For orthodox deities like the goddess of fortune and destiny, this divine bone is an extremely potent tonic, and may even bring about a new transformation in their authority.

Lin Yi did not answer immediately.

But a direct transaction? That would be too cheap for them.

He looked at the goddess of fortune, then glanced at the goddess of destiny beside him who remained silent but whose gaze was also focused on him, and slowly asked, "What price are you willing to pay?"

Lady Luck's eyes lit up, and she immediately began counting on her fingers: "Lucky blessing! I can bestow upon you a year of super good luck! You'll find magical artifacts when you go out, and encounter benefactors in dire straits! How about that?"

Lin Yi said expressionlessly, "I don't remember the 'good luck' you gave me last time lasting very long."

Lady Luck choked for a moment, then chuckled dryly, "W-unexpected! That time it was just a fluctuation in probability! This time I guarantee—"

"Change to another one," Lin Yi interrupted her.

The goddess of fortune scratched her head and proposed a few more options: the coordinates of a lost divine kingdom, a few artifacts she "collected" (the goddess of fate coldly added that those were all "borrowed" from others and never returned), and even her own "personal services" (which Lin Yi completely ignored).

The Goddess of Fate finally couldn't stand it any longer. She stepped forward, adjusted her glasses, and calmly said, "We do indeed need that divine bone. The fragments of rules contained within it are crucial for us to perfect our own authority. In exchange, we can offer the following conditions."

Her voice was steady and clear, carrying the rationality characteristic of a negotiator:
"First, I and Lady Luck will each provide one 'oracle-level' assistance. We can intervene in your fate or grant you a blessing of good fortune for someone you designate, and the effect can be agreed upon in advance."

"Second, grant us partial access to our intelligence network in the void."

“Third,” she paused, her gaze sweeping over the students behind Lin Yi, then back to the chaotic commotion of Kiwatos faintly emanating from outside the church, “we can provide official endorsement for ‘Kiwatos.’ In the Void God Council, we can issue a report classifying this ‘Color Invasion Incident’ as an external threat, which can prevent certain forces from using this as an excuse to intervene in this world.”

The first two conditions were fairly standard, but the third condition slightly moved Lin Yi.

The goddess of fate made a clever move; she saw that Lin Yi was paying attention to the Giwotos training ground, so she offered a bargaining chip of corresponding value.

An official report from a legitimate deity can indeed mitigate the potential chain reaction that Kivotos' exposure to the Void's vision might trigger.

But Lin Yi wanted more than just that.

He paused for a moment, then suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question: "If I wanted to fuse a fragment of my soul with some kind of 'immortal body' to create an individual that simultaneously possesses complete consciousness, growth potential, and physical indestructibility, is it technically feasible?"

When this question was posed, both goddesses were stunned.

Lady Luck blinked, and the smile on her face gradually faded, replaced by an expression that mixed shock and amusement.

The lenses of the goddess of fate seemed to reflect light, and she squinted slightly, scrutinizing Lin Yi as if she were seeing him for the first time.

"You..." Lady Luck licked her lips, her voice filled with disbelief, "You want to merge the soul fragments of these students, Kivotos, with those 'Shadow Soldiers' you control? To create an undead army with self-awareness?"

Lin Yi did not deny it.

The Goddess of Fate took a deep breath and slowly said, "Technically, it's feasible. Soul fragments are inherently malleable, and your Shadow Soldier's body is essentially a highly energetic entity. As long as a suitable 'container framework' and 'fusion medium' are found, it's not difficult to make the two combine stably. The Seed of Reincarnation itself has the function of harmonizing souls and can serve as the core controller for the fusion ritual."

She changed the subject, her tone becoming serious: "But the problem lies beyond that. Mr. Lin Yi, have you considered what this means?"

Lady Luck chimed in, her tone exaggerated yet sharp: "This means you'll have to simultaneously provide the growth resources for hundreds of thousands of 'quasi-god units'! Every fragment of a divine soul needs divine nourishment to continue repairing and growing! Even if these students are all incomplete divine souls, requiring far less than complete gods, the sheer number still demands a tremendous amount of resources..."

She stretched out her finger and drew a huge circle in the air, then suddenly burst open her palm: "Enough to drain the entire essence of dozens of worlds! Even a top-tier pantheon would suffer a major blow to maintain such an army!"

The church was completely silent.

Although Hoshino and the others didn't quite understand the technical terms, they did understand words like "hundreds of thousands," "hollowing out the world," and "major damage."

Lin Yi's expression remained calm. He looked at the two goddesses and slowly said, "So, what are the technical difficulties of the fusion itself?"

The goddess of fate stared at him for a few seconds, making sure he was serious, before saying in a deep voice, "There are three difficulties."

"First, compatibility. The divine nature of the soul fragments and the shadow nature of the shadow body are in natural conflict. You need a 'mediator' to reconcile the two, and this medium must have both extremely high energy compatibility and soul affinity. In the void, there are no more than ten materials that meet the requirements, and each one is extremely rare."

"Second, preservation of consciousness. The fusion process will impact the fragments of the soul, potentially leading to memory loss, personality changes, or even loss of consciousness. You need a soul surgery plan that is refined to the molecular level, as well as a sufficiently strong stabilizing field to maintain the continuity of consciousness. This requires a master to perform."

"Third, the contractual framework. With hundreds of thousands of independent individuals, you need a unified contractual system that cannot be easily broken to ensure control."

Every time she said something, Lady Luck nodded vigorously beside her, her face saying, "See? I told you this was insane."

But after listening, Lin Yi simply nodded and then asked a more specific question: "If I use the 'Seed of Reincarnation' as the control core, the 'Power of the Abyss' as the catalyst and contract basis for forced fusion, and you provide the compatibility medium, what is the success rate?"

This time, even the goddess of fate looked astonished.

She remained silent for a long time, so long that the sound of the flames burning outside the church became clear.

Finally, she spoke slowly, her voice filled with an almost admiring astonishment: "Theoretically, the success rate is forty to sixty percent. But that's on the condition that you can solve the resource supply problem."

Lady Luck whispered beside him, "Also, don't let the other divine systems in the void mistake you for a madman who's mass-producing forbidden life forms and launch a joint attack. Hundreds of thousands of undead units with divine potential—these things are a strategic threat no matter where they are."

Lin Yi got the answer he wanted. He stopped talking about it and looked at the Goddess of Fortune again: "I can give you the Divine Bone. The exchange conditions are the three conditions the Lady of Fate mentioned, plus one more: I need you to provide the technical framework for 'Soul-Energy Body Fusion' and at least three compatible media."

The goddess of fortune and the goddess of destiny exchanged a glance, and the latter nodded slightly.

"Deal." Lady Luck stretched out her hand, her smile returning. "But Lin Yi, I have to remind you, even if you do manage to build that legion, if you can't afford to support it... they might turn around and exploit you as a resource."

Lin Yi held her hand and said calmly, "That's my problem."

Agreement reached.

The goddess of fate immediately took out a pocket watch inlaid with fine gears from her bosom. She opened the watch cover and traced intricate patterns on the dial with her fingers. A golden line of fate extended from the dial, briefly connecting with Lin Yi's cause and effect.

Lady Luck then took out a small golden cube that looked like a die but had different symbols engraved on each face. She tossed it gently, and the cube spun a few times in the air before hovering in front of Lin Yi, casting a gentle golden halo over it.

Two divine blessings descended silently. Although invisible, Lin Yi could sense that a certain "agreement" had been established.

The Goddess of Fate then took out a semi-transparent crystal and handed it to Lin Yi: "This is the temporary access key for our intelligence network, valid for one hundred years. The method of use is to activate it with mental power."

Finally, the handover of information regarding the Divine Bone and the Compatibility Medium was agreed to take place after leaving Kiwatos.

The two goddesses need time to prepare the necessary information. After everything is completed, Lin Yi will need to hand over the divine bone to them.

The transaction was complete, and Lady Luck returned to her carefree self, leaning close to Hoshino and curiously examining the halo above her head, muttering, "To be able to reincarnate so completely even after being shattered like this, Eustina's system is really something."

Hoshino took a slightly uneasy half-step back, but didn't show any obvious hostility—that familiar feeling from the depths of his soul was still there. (End of Chapter)