Chapter 1363 Balance

Previously, the Demon Sin of Pride and the angel had each controlled approximately thirty-five percent of the influence over Earth. Yū Meng possessed the remaining thirty percent.

But after her battle of fate with Michael…

That thirty percent had been divided!

Yū Meng now retained only fifteen percent, while the other fifteen percent had fallen into Michael's hands.

In other words, Earth's original three-way balance had become a four-way balance.

Of course, Michael's influence was still the weakest among the four. Not only did he possess the smallest individual share, but his foundation was also far inferior to those of the other three. After all, their influence wasn't merely represented by percentages. It also reflected how deeply they had corrupted Earth's realm will.

Michael, on the other hand, had only just obtained his share. His connection was still relatively fragile, and he hadn't established the necessary foundation to fully utilize it.

If he wanted to increase his influence, he would have to begin doing what the other three had been doing all along. He needed to gradually imprint his own influence upon Earth's realm will. Only then could he strengthen his connection to the realm and potentially compete with the others for a greater portion of its authority.

However…

That's not the most important thing.

The greatest significance of obtaining this fifteen percent wasn't his current influence over Earth, but what that influence represented.

An opportunity to ignite Divine Fire using Origin Energy!

This was something countless powerful Demigods could only dream of obtaining. After all, even possessing sufficient insight into a Greater Law didn't necessarily guarantee that an individual could become a True God.

Things had been different in the past, but now the greatest challenge was obtaining the necessary conditions to ignite one's Divine Fire. For certain individuals who couldn't complete their advancement naturally, the Origin Energy of a sufficiently powerful realm offered another possibility. However, finding such a realm was already extremely difficult.

Earth was precisely such an opportunity.

And now, Michael had secured a portion of that influence for himself. Although he was still far from Rank 6, much less the stage where he could attempt to become a True God, he had already acquired something that many Demigods who possessed insights into Greater Laws lacked.

A ticket.

A ticket granting him the opportunity to compete for the Origin Energy necessary to ignite his Divine Fire. Whether he could eventually make use of that opportunity was another matter entirely. But at the very least, the possibility now existed.

"…"

Michael remained silent for a moment and glanced toward Jester again.

So that's why…

He was beginning to understand something. Perhaps this was why Jester had insisted that Michael personally participate in the battle of fate instead of handling everything himself.

If Jester had fought Yū Meng alone, the outcome might have been completely different. Even if he had succeeded in extracting information or weakening her influence, there was no guarantee that Michael would have obtained a direct connection to Earth's realm will.

By participating personally, Michael had established himself as one of the parties involved in the struggle over Earth's fate. And through that connection, he had managed to claim a portion of Yū Meng's influence.

What a ridiculous opportunity.

Michael couldn't help feeling impressed.

Of course, the terrifying incident involving the mysterious golden eyes had been completely unexpected. There was no way either he or Jester could have anticipated such an encounter. That had simply been their bad luck.

However, despite everything that had happened, both of them had managed to escape. Jester's grade had been restored. Michael had obtained a mountain of valuable information, and most importantly, he had secured a place in the struggle over Earth's Origin Energy.

Considering all this, Michael couldn't help but smile as well.

Truly, danger and opportunity often went hand in hand.

Fortunately, it had ended well.

Just as Michael was deep in thought, Jester suddenly spoke.

"Master, look over there."

"…?"

Michael looked in the direction Jester was pointing. In the distance, the battle between Timi, Lily, and Lon was still ongoing. Although the two had experienced what felt like an extremely long battle of fate, very little time had passed in the outside world.

Jester suddenly chuckled.

"It seems Yū Meng hasn't given up. She's already attempting to recover her lost influence."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward Lily.

"…"

Michael immediately understood what he meant. His expression darkened.

With the enormous amount of knowledge he had obtained from Yū Meng, many things that had previously confused him were now becoming clearer. For example, he finally understood why Lon had specifically targeted Lily.

It was because Yū Meng wanted to increase her influence over Earth.

There were several methods through which powerful beings could accomplish this. One involved gradually corrupting a realm's will through their own influence. Establishing religions, influencing the natives to indirectly corrupt the realm's will, manipulating civilizations, and gradually destroying a world's natural order were all possible methods.

However, there was another approach, which involved using individuals who possessed particularly strong connections to a realm.

Through these individuals, an outsider could establish a deeper connection with the realm's will and receive greater feedback from their actions. Naturally, this made such individuals extremely valuable.

And Lily appeared to be one of them.

As for why?

The most likely explanation was Michael himself.

After all, he had once been a resident of this world. Although he was no longer exactly the same Michael who had lived on Earth, that connection hadn't completely disappeared.

Perhaps Lily's relationship with him had indirectly granted her a connection to Earth's fate.

It would also explain why Jester, despite originating from another world, hadn't experienced the complete suppression that a foreign realm's will would ordinarily impose. It could also explain why Michael himself had encountered no such suppression while projecting his consciousness here.

Of course, this was only Michael's speculation, but he felt it was reasonable.

Michael's gaze settled on Lily.

I can't let her do whatever she wants.

Without hesitation, he activated Jester's Parasite skill. His consciousness immediately reached toward Lily, and in the next instant, Michael entered her consciousness.

At the same time, Yū Meng's consciousness had also descended upon Lon.

_Drakon