Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 274 A Gift from the Stars

Once you take this final step, you'll have everything.

With this in mind, the god of wisdom began his work.

That foolish giant serpent, though it had thwarted his plans twice, was not really an obstacle—simply because such naturally enormous beasts might not be common on a single planet, but across the entire galaxy, there were far too many of them.

These types of behemoths often share a common trait: they are usually worshipped as native gods by the weak natives because of their immense power. Some of these behemoths even develop their own sects and become true deities. Of course, there are exceptions, such as some races that call themselves dragons and are accustomed to living in groups. However, most behemoths have a strong sense of territory, which means they are more accustomed to fighting alone.

A behemoth and a group of believers—this is a fairly common organizational pattern in the Star Sea, and the emergence of this organizational pattern often means a second commonality.

That is, these giant beasts had a limited level of civilization.

After all, the only civilizations these behemoths can access are the natives under their command. The so-called civilizations of these natives are extensions of the behemoths themselves, so the behemoths naturally have no interest in such things—after all, the source of these so-called civilizations is the behemoths themselves; in other words, the behemoths themselves possess these civilizations.

Since it already exists, there is no need to ask for more. After all, even if you get it, it may not bring any progress. No progress means stagnation, and stagnation leads to foolishness.

Yes, their level of civilization is limited, or at least that's a relatively civilized way of putting it. Stupidity is the common trait of these behemoths.

However, this does not mean that the giants do not want civilization.

Civilization, or rather progress, is something no one can resist, not even the naturally powerful giants. If it could make them stronger and more ferocious, they would not refuse. This means that giants also have a thirst for knowledge, but they are too stupid to express their needs properly.

Just like that giant snake.

The giant serpent had once prayed to him, but he hadn't responded then. Now, however, it seems he might be able to give the giant serpent a proper response.

He will let that giant snake experience what true knowledge is.

What is the next step up the ladder?

"Oh! Here we come!"

Just as the God of Wisdom was waiting, the giant serpent's prayer crossed the sea of ​​stars and entered his consciousness.

Everything went so smoothly; I got exactly what I wanted.

What would you like to ask?

Feeling the giant serpent's prayer, this time, the god of wisdom responded.

And there was a hint of joy in the giant serpent's prayer.

Clearly, this was the joy of hearing that he could learn knowledge. It seems that this giant snake is also eager to learn—this couldn't be better for him, as this is exactly the kind of eager-to-learn heart he wants.

However, what the god of wisdom hadn't expected was that the giant serpent's first instinct wasn't to seek knowledge.

"Brother, what do you call me?"

"...?"

The god of wisdom paused for a moment, then decided to ignore the remark for now.

It's normal to be a little foolish, the god of wisdom comforted himself, and in a way, it was even a good thing, since the more foolish the beast was, the easier it was to be guided.

Just like now. "What do you want to ask?"

"I want to know how to become stronger!"

The giant serpent's prayer conveyed this message.

Okay, that's the best question. The way to get stronger is almost the most common question among all races in the Star Sea—after all, no one would not want to improve, and even the strong will always encounter those who are stronger.

However, if you want to become stronger, then it's easy.

In fact, this is the easiest scenario. Right now, all he needs to do is add a little something to his method of becoming stronger, making the giant snake and the natives kill each other, and he can then gain the natives' faith and get everything he wants.

"It went too smoothly, it really went too smoothly."

Even the god of wisdom was somewhat dazed; everything was going so smoothly that it seemed almost unreal.

But immediately, the god of wisdom realized that things should have developed this way.

He, who traversed the starry sea, was only dealing with a native giant serpent. It would be absurd if he needed to use any other methods for this—the two were not even in the same league, and the giant serpent's current behavior was perfectly reasonable.

So, as a senior and wise person, the God of Wisdom decided to give this junior some necessary guidance.

"To become stronger, you need to eat more."

After a moment's thought, the god of wisdom gave his answer.

Yes, that's the simplest and most primitive answer. It sounds perfectly fine, but in reality, the more the giant serpent eats, the less the local natives will eat. Food on a planet is always limited. Once they start pursuing these limited resources, even if the natives are originally subordinate to the giant serpent, conflict between the two sides is inevitable.

Of course, the god of wisdom didn't just say to eat more; he gave detailed reasons for eating more.

"The body determines the shape of the soul, the soul gives birth to the power of consciousness, and consciousness drives the body forward... This also means that all the strengthening must eventually return to the body itself."

The whole logic sounds perfectly reasonable, but this seemingly flawless logic is actually just a smokescreen—its real purpose is to distract the giant snake and prevent it from thinking about the consequences of eating too much.

Once the giant serpent starts to grow stronger, it won't stop, which means that food on this planet will inevitably become scarce. When that happens, he can respond to the prayers of the local natives and, in the guise of a savior, annihilate the giant serpent.

"It really is... simple."

The god of wisdom thought so.

Of all the arrangements for that wild planet, this was undoubtedly the simplest part, so simple that it seemed he had accomplished everything without doing anything.

Just like now, he doesn't even need to deliberately give any information; he can already sense that the giant snake has believed him.

The giant serpent had already believed his words and even decided to take the initiative to do so. He could feel that firm will and burning fighting spirit.

"Yes, that's it, the more determined the better."

The god of wisdom couldn't help but laugh; he felt he had already seen victory.

(End of this chapter)