Hero? Are You Worthy?
Chapter 646 - 472: Holding the Goddess (2)

Chapter 646: Chapter 472: Holding the Goddess (2)

Listening to the words of the Holy Light Goddess, Qin Chu probably already understood what had happened in this Void.

The Holy Light Goddess sensed that the Void Seven Uglies were plotting something, and with the power of a deity, she foresaw that this plan might be targeted at her, so she initiated a resistance in her cage to attract the attention of the Void Seven Uglies.

However, the Holy Light Goddess was not in her complete form and was currently in a state of power exhaustion.

Qin Chu could bring a bit of recovery, but it was clearly not enough.

The final result of the battle was that the Holy Light Goddess failed, unable to break the restraints, and even due to further exhaustion of her own energy, resulted in her size shrinking to its current state.

However, it seemed that things were not looking good for the Void Seven Uglies either. Although they had won seven to one, it could only be described as a Pyrrhic victory, and at least they no longer had the strength to completely annihilate the Holy Light Goddess while she was extremely weakened, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to meet the Holy Light Goddess now.

Recalling the weird mysterious threads that had become part of Silf’s body, as well as in Asina’s Soul World, where the statues of the Gods were constructed into traps, Qin Chu was startled.

At that time the Void Seven Uglies must have been suppressing the Holy Light Goddess.

If it were not for the conflict on this side, then what he faced in Asina’s soul might have not only been five statues but also the will of five Gods descending.

Previously, just contending against the will of the Blood God left him half-dead. Facing the will of five Gods at once, he wouldn’t even know how he died.

Qin Chu felt a wave of fear and broke into a cold sweat.

"Those seven freaks..." Qin Chu cautiously asked.

"Freaks?" The Holy Light Goddess laughed, finding the term quite fitting.

"After all, there are seven of them and they are in a much better situation than me. However, in the following period, they probably won’t have much strength to interfere with the Lower Realm, which should be good news for you, right?"

Indeed it was good news.

"But don’t get too happy too soon." Glancing sideways at Qin Chu, the Holy Light Goddess spoke again, "After all, they suffered less loss than me and will recover faster. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Qin Chu’s smile gradually faded. He of course understood, it was good news, but it was also a crisis.

After being imprisoned for too long, the Holy Light Goddess didn’t have time to consider the loss of strength as she attempted to hold back the Void Seven Uglies to prevent her only Favored from being killed by them, exerting herself to near depletion.

Once the Void Seven Uglies recover before the Holy Light Goddess, it wouldn’t take much of their strength to suppress the weakened Goddess, allowing them to turn more of their attention to Sky Dome Continent, and bringing his crisis once again.

Worse, the Void Seven Uglies might take this opportunity to gain the ability to completely destroy the Holy Light Goddess.

If the Holy Light Goddess dies, Qin Chu might as well give up; even if he surrendered, it’s likely that the other side wouldn’t accept it.

Compared to the Holy Light Goddess who could only recover energy through Qin Chu, the ways for the Void Seven Uglies to recover were clearly more plentiful.

After realizing this, Qin Chu’s brow was deeply furrowed.

"In summary, in the coming time, the help I can offer you will be extremely limited. You must be more careful. I would not want my only Favored to die in such a confused way," she said.

"However, what exactly did you do? When I was confronting those seven individuals, I could clearly feel that the Power of Faith was much more abundant than before, even more so than before the invasion of the Evil God?" The Holy Light Goddess was somewhat curious.

The words of the Holy Light Goddess left Qin Chu somewhat helpless. It seemed that even without the invasion of the Evil God, the faith on the Sky Dome Continent was just so.

You’re the most powerful local god, how in the world did you manage to make the faith so weak?

Qin Chu simply explained, the expression on the face of the Holy Light Little Goddess was so weird that even Qin Chu didn’t know how to describe it.

Eggs, milk, bread?

The Holy Light Little Goddess suddenly felt somewhat drained. What was all this about?

It was as if the painstaking efforts of Gods for thousands of years were all in vain.

As a deity, she didn’t want to interfere too much with this world; she granted humans sufficient autonomy to allow people to develop according to their own will.

But seeing the frail humans struggling to survive under the attacks of Barbaric Beasts, she couldn’t bear it in the end; she taught humans to master the power of Elements, giving them the means to fight against the Barbaric Beasts.

She guided humanity to learn how to think.

Step by step, from raw meat and blood drinking towards civilization.

She didn’t directly give humans anything, hoping that under the guidance of Gods, they would become a race independent and autonomous, capable of surviving in this world even if one day they lost the protection of Gods.

And thus, Gods received the faith of humans.

However, all this seemed insignificant compared to Qin Chu’s direct distribution of eggs, milk, and bread, which were more effective in gaining people’s gratitude.

A true irony.

Maybe it was because her form had shrunk, making her personality a bit more human-like, that the Holy Light Goddess was undergoing such severe existential reflection.

And within this, the principles were something Qin Chu understood very well.

The so-called "better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish"... While it seems sensible, it doesn’t apply to everyone, at least not to the majority of the Sky Dome Continent.

Giving someone a fish directly could at least earn sincere gratitude at that moment.

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You teach someone how to fish, and it seems like you’ve given them a means to make a living, but this method won’t yield results immediately. Before they can catch fish with their own hands, they will still suffer from hunger, and they may not have much gratitude for you.

Even when one day they do catch fish, there might be two outcomes: first, they might genuinely appreciate your help and teaching; second, they might feel it’s the result of their own hard work and not relate it much to you.

From Qin Chu’s perspective, it’s much more likely that the people of the Sky Dome Continent would entertain the second thought.

Perhaps the first generation that learns to fish will be grateful for the guidance of the Holy Light Goddess, but what about the second, third, or fourth generations? As generations pass, the means of making a living they possess isn’t through the guidance of the Holy Light Goddess but inherited from their parents and forebears, and their faith in the Holy Light Goddess naturally declines.

Teaching someone how to cultivate Strength is never as rewarding in gratitude as bestowing Strength upon them directly.

Teaching someone how to hunt is never as rewarding in faith as directly gifting them with food.

This is the Sky Dome Continent.

"But, by doing this, aren’t you just raising those humans like livestock?" the Holy Light Little Goddess pursed her lips softly as she muttered.

"What’s the problem? I provide them with food, and they provide me with faith. Both parties get what they desire; it’s a win-win," Qin Chu had his own explanation.

"Livestock raised in captivity?"

"To put it bluntly, there are many who want to be in that position and don’t even get the chance," he replied curtly.

The Holy Light Goddess frowned deeply, "But such a method will create problems over time, as people come to take the free food for granted..."

"Once the food you provide is insufficient, or say, the quality is not up to standard, it could lead to chaos."

"The faith would also diminish."

"It doesn’t matter," Qin Chu spread his hands, completely unconcerned about the issue.

"As long as these people remain struggling below the subsistence level, the free food becomes indispensable to them."

"At the same time, periodically selecting some individuals and expelling them on the grounds of insufficient piety serves as a warning to the remaining believers about how miserable those lives can be, naturally making them fear and thus more devout."

"As for chaos and trouble? When you have the power to kill them at any moment, chaos is never a problem."

"Gods must not only show their benevolence but also their might."

"Benevolence does not necessarily translate into faith, but fear definitely does."

The Holy Light Little Goddess stared blankly at the man in front of her.

Is this really her Favored one?

Although she had long understood that this man was far from being a good person, his ruthless tactics still struck the Holy Light Little Goddess as odd.

Qin Chu could tell what the Holy Light Little Goddess was thinking; he just shrugged indifferently: "Goddess, times have changed."

"Your approach doesn’t work anymore."

"Moreover, you know our current situation better than I do."

"Following your way, how long do you think it will take to recover enough strength to fight against the Void Seven Uglies? Do you think those monsters would give you the time you need?"

Although her benevolent nature made it difficult for the Holy Light Little Goddess to accept Qin Chu’s argument, reason told her that his methods were definitely the most effective.

She did not want the humans she guided to end up being raised like livestock, but she also understood that without regaining her strength, the Sky Dome Continent would be facing eternal destruction.

The Holy Light Little Goddess tacitly approved of Qin Chu’s method.

"Go ahead with your plan."

Then she turned her big eyes toward Qin Chu, who understood that it was time for him to act as a charger.

However, previously when the Holy Light Goddess absorbed strength from him, she used her hands to envelop his entire body; her palms were so vast against his form that they were wider than a blanket.

But now, the Holy Light Little Goddess would probably only be able to cover a small part.

As Qin Chu wondered how the Holy Light Goddess planned to draw strength from him this time, she suddenly stood up, turned around, and sat down in his lap with her back to him.

"Hold me,"

came the cool voice of the Holy Light Little Goddess.

Huh?

Huh, huh, huh, huh?

Qin Chu was shocked. What was happening?

To hold the Holy Light Goddess directly? That didn’t seem quite right; wasn’t this an act of sacrilege?

He was a devout believer, after all.

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