It took more than two hours in total for the eight entangled Divine Domains to slowly separate.

  During this process, William’s two teachers, along with the demigod Thoma from Longwa, kept a close watch on the opposing party. The tension only eased once both sides had completely distanced themselves and disappeared from each other’s sight.

  Confirming that they were now safe, William immediately turned his gaze toward his homeroom teacher, frantically signaling with his eyes. His intention was clear—urging him to help claim the promised reward, an Advanced Bloodline Card.

  Lex, noticing William’s eager expression and the anticipation on his face, twitched the corner of his mouth and thought, "So this kid is a money-grubber after all. What’s the rush? They already guaranteed it in the school’s name—there’s no way the Bloodline Card would go missing."

  Clearing his throat, Lex coughed and then reminded Richar with slight embarrassment, "Richar, now that your students are out of danger, isn’t it time to settle the reward you promised?"

  Hearing Lex’s reminder, Richar immediately recalled the Advanced Bloodline Card he had promised William.

  With a smile, Richar reached into his demigod’s spiritual form and pulled out a card, handing it to William. "William, thank you for your help this time. Here’s the Advanced Bloodline Card I promised you."

  William took the Bloodline Card without examining it, swiftly storing it in his body. His face was filled with an uncontrollable smile as he politely said, "No need to thank me, no need to thank me. Helping each other out is the right thing to do."

  Lex, seeing that William had secured his reward, cut off his formal pleasantries, "Alright, kid, no need to be so polite. You’ve earned this Bloodline Card fair and square. If it weren’t for you, there’s no telling how things would’ve turned out."

  Turning to Richar, Lex continued, "Richar, I’m taking my students back now. The annual school assessment is in half a month, so they need time to absorb their gains."

  "I’ll be staying for a while longer. Lex, until we meet again," Richar cupped his hands in farewell.

  "See you," Lex responded with a wave before leading his four students back the way they came.

  On the way back, Lex called William out of his Divine Domain and asked seriously, "Kid, tell me honestly—what’s your current strength? How many Mutant Beasts do you actually have?"

  "A little over two hundred million," William replied truthfully, without any attempt to hide the information.

  "Huh? How much did you say?" Lex thought he had misheard. When Richar previously mentioned that William’s followers numbered close to one hundred million, it had already shocked him once. He had assumed that was the full extent of William’s power. But now he realized that was only half of it.

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  "Two hundred million—specifically, about 220 million," William repeated, giving an exact figure.

  The three other students traveling with them were stunned upon hearing this number, their minds overwhelmed by shock.

  Forget armies—if they combined all their followers, their total number wouldn’t even reach thirty million. The difference was simply astronomical.

  "Didn’t expect that, did you? This kid’s a monster," Lex said, clearly delighted. "With numbers like that, you’re guaranteed to make it to the Global League. Once we get back, focus on absorbing the gains from this experience."

  "Have you found a way to promote your followers to the Transcendent level?" Lex immediately asked. If William’s followers could achieve transcendence, his strength would increase exponentially.

  "I haven’t figured that out yet. My followers are quite unique—they can’t advance through traditional cultivation methods. Their path seems closer to evolution or metamorphosis," William explained. "And it’s different from ordinary evolution; their advancements aren’t heritable."

  Lex frowned slightly and pondered for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Oh, so that’s why you’re so interested in Soul Crystals and Bloodline Cards. Well, nothing in the world is perfect. Since your species has such a massive reproductive advantage, it makes sense that they’d have drawbacks in other areas. Your creatures don’t have any known templates to follow, so you’ll just have to figure things out as you go."

  In the world of gods, while not absolute, most followers adhered to certain natural laws:

  Species with easy reproduction typically lacked in strength or had severe deficiencies—like goblins and kobolds.

  Meanwhile, powerful followers like dragons and angels were notoriously difficult to reproduce and took ages to mature.

  Lex speculated that William’s followers belonged to the category of species that could multiply rapidly but struggled to transcend their original biological limits.

  If William couldn’t find a way to elevate his followers to the Transcendent level, he might dominate in the early stages, but eventually, he would be overtaken by demigod-level followers who had discovered their path to transcendence.

  Still, given their ability to reproduce so easily, William could always outlast his competition by sheer numbers, accumulating enough Divinity to ignite a Godfire and elevate his followers in a single leap.

  "There are still fifteen years left in the Divine World before the Citywide High School League. Who knows? Your followers might just find their breakthrough on their own," Lex consoled.

  The other three students, who had been listening silently, took the chance to chime in.

  Richard spoke up first, "That’s right, genius. My followers unexpectedly discovered their own path to transcendence. Maybe yours will too!"

  "Richard’s got a point," another student added. "This kind of thing is all about luck. Some species just evolve on their own. And even if they don’t, with your breeding advantage, you can just stockpile a hundred thousand Divinity points and ignite a Godfire yourself."

  "Thanks for the support, but I know my own situation best," William replied with a bitter smile, disappointed that he hadn’t heard anything useful.

  "Alright, alright, who knows what the future holds? Right now, this kid is already stronger than the three of you combined. With his strength, he’s practically guaranteed a spot in the Global League. He doesn’t need your pity," Lex interjected impatiently.

  He couldn’t help but scoff internally, "Do these rookies really think William needs their encouragement? This kid just received a Soul Crystal and an Advanced Bloodline Card worth 2.3 million Divine Power points. The total value of all three of their Divine Domains combined doesn’t even come close to that."