I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

He could also sense that although O'Neill's current state was bad, he definitely still had some cards up his sleeve.

Achieving the goal was enough, with O'Neill, the Legendary Priest, present, he could block those from the Church of the Ocean Goddess for Lis.

"Old thing, I told you, you're no good. Do you still dare to fight your Grandpa Klaus?"

"I really didn't expect that you're so young and yet so strong?"

O'Neill gasped and said, while separating the Totem Spirit from his body.

The Totem Spirit possessing him brought great pressure, and as it left O'Neill's body, it returned to the twelve coral pillars behind him.

Watching the departing azure Totem Spirit, Lis's eyes flickered.

He was quite interested in this Totem Spirit.

Or rather, he was interested in anything related to the Power of Faith.

But now, more was O'Neill in front of him.

After the Totem Spirit left his body, his massive frame slowly returned to its previous small and thin form.

Lis looked at O'Neill and said tauntingly:

"Hurry up and tell me how Matteo died, or I'll beat you up again!"

"I didn't expect Matteo to have a friend like you, honestly..."

O'Neill said with a bitter smile, feeling a bit complex.

Now it seems Klaus indeed came because of Matteo; Matteo, that fellow, never mentioned such a thing to him.

He was wary of him!

By the Ocean Goddess, he truly had no ill intentions,

Even O'Neill felt a bit bitter at this moment.

However, he didn't refuse to speak,

After all, Klaus's long knife was still dangling in front of him!

"Since you are Matteo's friend, it doesn't matter telling you."

Watching O'Neill give in, what happened to your insistence on protecting the tribe's secret before?

Such flexible principles!

But Lis didn't interrupt, instead, he motioned with his knife for the other to quickly speak.

This time, O'Neill no longer had his previous calm demeanor and said honestly:

"Actually, when Matteo died, I was right beside him."

"But I didn't kill him, it was because he failed the challenge, and the outcome was doomed to be death."

"Failed the challenge and died?"

Lis frowned slightly; was it the Path to Divinity?

For legends, the biggest cause of death is a failed Path to Divinity, followed by disappearance, and lastly, death by old age.

Legends who die in battle are quite rare.

But... that doesn't sound quite right either.

Deaths due to the Path to Divinity usually occur in the later stages when any failure can lead to irreparable consequences.

And Matteo's strength shouldn't have reached a level where failure means certain death, should it?

Both Lis and O'Neill are quite far from each other, aren't they?

"Are you referring to the Path to Divinity?"

Seeing Lis knew about the Path to Divinity's secrets, O'Neill did not mind.

The Path to Divinity holds irresistible allure for most legends.

With Klaus's strength, knowing the secrets of the Path to Divinity is quite normal.

Secrets are only relative.

"Yes, but also no."

O'Neill nodded and said.

"Tsk!"

Feigning impatience, Lis slashed the knife beside O'Neill and then sat down in front of him, staring coldly.

The meaning was that if this old thing continued to dawdle, be careful for another lesson.

Seeing this, O'Neill's heart skipped slightly, he quickly said:

"I say yes because Matteo and I indeed wanted to walk the Path to Divinity."

"Not, because Matteo indeed did not die because of the Path to Divinity."

After a pause, O'Neill proactively said:

"Matteo and I have been Legends for a long time, naturally wanting to gain eternal life through the Path to Divinity."

"But perhaps due to the tribe's limitations, or maybe because Matteo and I lacked this talent, we barely made any progress on the Path to Divinity, and the distance to ignite the Divine Fire was just too far."

"Unwilling, Matteo and I set our sights on a different target."

A different target?

The Path to Divinity?

Power of Faith?

Lis looked at O'Neill in front of him and suddenly asked:

"Related to the Totem Spirit?"

O'Neill was startled by Lis's words, then, after a long pause, nodded and said:

"Yes, Matteo and I did set our sights on the Totem Spirit."

"As long as the Treasure Pearl Merfolk Tribe doesn't disappear, under the offering of the tribe's Power of Faith, the Totem Spirit also possesses eternal life."

"So Matteo and I wanted to replace the Totem Spirit's consciousness, transform into it, and live on."

These two... they dare to think!

Lis looked thoughtfully at O'Neill in front of him.

No wonder the Totem Spirit's power was so weird and chaotic earlier, and its performances when possessing O'Neill were bizarre, like some chaotic side Evil God.

It seemed O'Neill and Matteo had completely shattered the vague consciousness within the Totem Spirit, leading to such manifestations.

"Matteo attempted first after we were ready, but his challenge failed, there were probably things we overlooked."

"Because of this failure, Matteo died."

O'Neill said next, shaking his head as if lamenting.

Lis looked at O'Neill, not fully trusting his words.

This old thing... dishonest!

What he just said, at most, five or six tenths were true.

Why would Matteo, as a Legendary Warrior, dare attempt something that seemed obviously unreliable?

By any means, O'Neill as a Legendary Priest had a higher chance of success, right?

Even if Matteo volunteered to attempt, he must've been misled by O'Neill, making him take the fall first.

Thinking of this, Lis's gaze towards O'Neill carried a trace of malice.

O'Neill felt a chill under Lis's gaze, having just suffered a great loss, he didn't dare fight Lis again.

He hurriedly said:

"Because Matteo failed, I didn't dare attempt again in the short term, so I temporarily put it on hold."

"Today I came here to protect the Pearl Clan."

"With Matteo gone, I will protect Berion and the Pearl Clan."

"But I also want them to know they should have no other thoughts, so I planned to act at the end but didn't expect you, Klaus, to be here."

At this moment, O'Neill dared not belittle Klaus, though seemingly rough and bold, his keen mind earlier startled O'Neill greatly.

Which also made him abandon some small thoughts.

For example, convincing Lis to also try replacing the Totem Spirit.

Even though he realized O'Neill's little thoughts, Lis didn't expose him.

After all, he didn't come here to actually avenge Matteo.

He still needed O'Neill's help with many things, and truly revealing his intents would at least require avenging his "good friend" Matteo.

Nonetheless, O'Neill and Matteo's attempt gave Lis a new idea.

Besides becoming a god through the Path to Divinity, priestly abilities, and other professions, Totem Spirits are also powerful beings related to the Power of Faith.

Certain powerful Beast Tribe clans have Totem Spirits equivalent to demigod-level strongmen.

It's said some gods within the Beast Race God System were once Totem Spirits of the Beast Tribe.

This means Totem Spirits might be closely linked to divine beings in some aspects.

For Lis, this presented another line of thought.

Could he develop the Sphinx Ascension Technique by cultivating a Totem Spirit and creating a completely different path?

The biggest advantage of Totem Spirits for Lis is that the Power of Faith can be completely separated from his own, not affecting his own path.

Lis could collect the Power of Faith through nurturing Totem Spirits and convert it into a strength he could control.

It's a bit similar to the concept of avatars.

Coincidently, Lis also possessed a powerful Mirror Body skill, which could serve as a vehicle for this kind of attempt.

Thinking of this made Lis eager inside.

"Since it's like this, I have a request."

Lis looked at O'Neill pointing to the twelve coral pillars bearing the Totem Spirit behind him, and said with a grin:

"These coral pillars, they're mine now!"

O'Neill: ?