"Grandpa Beirut, you already know?" Bei Bei immediately darted over.
Beirut laughed heartily as he held Bei Bei, nodding. "I manage this Tomb of Gods on behalf of the lofty High Gods. Naturally, I know everything that happens within." Beirut cast a meaningful glance at Lin Lei.
Lin Lei's mind began to clear.
Perhaps...
Those three godheads had been placed there by Beirut. If it had been Oliveria who stormed the eleventh floor and succeeded, the godheads might have been of the 'Light, Darkness, Destruction' attributes instead.
Of course, these were merely Lin Lei's speculations.
"Lin Lei." Beirut looked at Lin Lei with a faint smile. "I trust you've gained a vague understanding of the Divine Realm by now, and have touched the threshold of godhood."
Lin Lei nodded, though inwardly he thought, "So Beirut knows everything that's happened in the Tomb of Gods. This Beirut... must be the High God's 'butler,' specifically tasked with managing this place." Lin Lei understood. The Tomb of Gods was nothing more than a little game to the High Gods — they merely needed to assign a subordinate to manage it. But even the subordinate a High God casually assigned was an existence that Lin Lei and the others could only look up to.
"If my prediction is correct, within ten years, you should be able to reach the Divine Realm," Beirut said.
Lin Lei's Profound Insight of Speed encompassed both the realms of 'fast' and 'slow.' If Lin Lei fully comprehended the Profound Insight of Speed — that is, fully grasped both realms and fused them into one — he would reach the level of a middle-stage god.
"Ten years?" Lin Lei murmured, nodding slightly.
This pace was about what he had imagined.
Desly, Faen, and the other powerhouses nearby stared at Lin Lei in shock. They had all understood what Beirut meant — Lin Lei would reach the Divine Realm without relying on a godhead, through his own comprehension alone, within ten years. After all, even if Lin Lei had been cultivating since birth, it had been barely fifty-odd years. Adding another ten years made it just over sixty years. Over sixty years to reach the Divine Realm on his own!
"However, don't let your guard down, Lin Lei. This young man Oliveria has perhaps even greater potential than you." Beirut turned to look at Oliveria with a faint smile.
At these words, Desly, Tulier, and the other powerhouses were somewhat stunned. Lin Lei being strong was one thing — after all, his performance in the Tomb of Gods... Lin Lei's strength surpassed theirs, and he had obtained a godhead on the eleventh floor by himself. They had accepted that. But this Oliveria...
Lin Lei was also somewhat surprised.
"Lord Beirut." Oliveria bowed respectfully.
Beirut nodded with a smile. "You've been quite lucky. The fusion of Light and Darkness, yet your soul remains indestructible... I have traveled to many planes, and a case like yours is truly rare, truly rare! I almost envy your constitution."
Oliveria's expression shifted slightly. Although Beirut hadn't stated it outright, Oliveria could tell — Beirut knew his secret!
"Can this Beirut actually observe my soul?" Oliveria was somewhat shocked. He didn't know just how powerful Beirut was. Beirut could easily examine other people's memories without them noticing in the slightest — detecting Oliveria's soul was nothing at all.
Lin Lei also looked at Oliveria.
"This Oliveria — back when he encountered the Evil Eye King and fell under its attack, even I was helpless against it. But Oliveria was able to break through the Evil Eye King's technique." Bei Bei had later told Lin Lei about the scene. At the time, the Evil Eye King had also been astonished by Oliveria's soul.
"At your rate of progress, if my estimate is correct — at worst fifty years, at best ten — you too will reach the Divine Realm," Beirut said calmly.
"No wonder Oliveria had the confidence to say he'd challenge me after a few more years of cultivation." Lin Lei felt a flicker of anticipation. When Oliveria had said that before, Lin Lei — having comprehended the Profound Insight of Speed — hadn't paid it much mind. He had merely agreed out of politeness. Now, Lin Lei felt some anticipation.
Desly, Faen, Rosalyn, and the other powerhouses felt their hearts clench painfully.
The gap!
They had been cultivating for thousands of years, yet compared to Lin Lei and Oliveria, the gap was enormous.
"Lord Beirut, when do you think we might reach the Divine Realm?" Desly asked respectfully. Rosalyn, Tulier... even the two Six-eyed Golden Lion brothers and the Black-armored Giant Scorpion gazed at Beirut eagerly, wanting to hear his assessment. With Beirut's strength, judging the realm of a Saint was a trivial matter.
"You?" Beirut glanced at them casually. "You reaching the Divine Realm, well... at the quickest, a day or two..."
Tulier, Desly, and the others' eyes lit up.
"At the slowest, hundreds of millions of years." Beirut's next sentence left Tulier and the others completely dumbfounded. Their longing for godhood was beyond question — thousands of years of pursuit, yet they had never succeeded.
Beirut shook his head and laughed. "You little ones... geniuses do exist. Lin Lei and Oliveria — both of them qualify as geniuses, and the Profound Insights they cultivate are superior to yours." His tone carried the air of a lecture. And Desly, Faen, and the other powerhouses who had cultivated for thousands of years stood listening to his lecture like well-behaved children.
"Your vision is far too narrow. You must understand... in this vast, boundless space, there are countless material planes. Your perspective is limited to just the Yulan Continent. Geniuses? The geniuses I know of — some have comprehended their way to the Divine Realm within ten years of birth, while others have cultivated for tens of millions of years and remain trapped in the Saint Realm."
Lin Lei and Oliveria were both dumbstruck.
Reaching the Divine Realm within ten years of birth? That was absurdly fast. Were they some kind of divine beast race? But even divine beasts — Bei Bei, for example — needed nearly a hundred years just to reach adulthood.
"Lin Lei, Oliveria." Beirut looked at the two of them. "The Yulan Continent has existed for countless years, and the number of powerhouses it has produced is innumerable. Of course, at least within the last hundred thousand years, you two could be called the most outstanding."
Lin Lei and Oliveria showed not the slightest trace of complacency.
"But if you look across the countless planes, there are far too many who are more talented than you," Beirut sighed. "Some geniuses leave even me speechless."
Lin Lei and Oliveria both nodded slightly. At their current level, their perspectives had broadened considerably.
"And some races possess extraordinary innate talent. For example, the races you encountered in the Tomb of Gods — the Evil Eye clan, and that 'Lasabel'... and so on. These races are born powerful. Across the countless planes, nothing is impossible." Beirut looked toward Desly and the others.
Desly and the others felt a bitter taste in their hearts.
"When you're strong, don't become complacent. And Faen, you others — don't underestimate yourselves either. After all, on the Yulan Continent, you are already peak existences. Across the countless planes, there are those who cultivate for tens of millions of years and still can't reach the Divine Realm. Those weaker than you are numerous beyond count."
Desly, Faen, and the other powerhouses all smiled bitterly to themselves. There were many stronger than them, and many weaker than them too.
"The most important thing is to have confidence in yourselves." Beirut said solemnly. "I've noticed that you've begun to doubt yourselves — believing that because you've been stuck at the peak of the Saint Realm for so long, you've placed all your hope in obtaining a godhead?"