Tan You smiled radiantly. "Alright, I’ll get some proper rest here then."
She glanced at the smug-looking Mages across from her, her thoughts magically on the same wavelength as theirs. "If you ask me, building the Dark Divine Hall on the ruins of the Divine Hall of Light is the biggest slap in the face."
Davidson chuckled softly. ’She said the Dark God was vindictive, but it looks like she’s pretty petty herself, rubbing it in their faces so openly.’
If Fiers weren’t concerned about Tan You’s frail condition, he would have rushed over to become sworn brothers with her. "How did you know we chose to rebuild on the original site? That was my proposal!"
Tan You raised an eyebrow at him. "When it comes to slapping someone in the face, you have to do what feels most satisfying. As for the Divine Hall of Light’s dignity, if we trample on it, we trample on it. It’s no big deal."
"The enmity between us is deep enough already. This little bit won’t make a difference."
All the Mages laughed. It seemed their Saintess had quite the vengeful streak. ’But that’s even better,’ they thought. ’It makes her feel more approachable.’
Seeing the fatigue on Tan You’s face after just a few sentences, the Mages tactfully took their leave. The dark unicorn flicked its tail and watched the back of Davidson, the last to depart. "Actually, if you want to recover completely, it would be best to find a Mage with a Dark Element constitution to spend all your time with."
Tan You stared at it. "What a terrible idea. You know perfectly well I’m not Adina, yet you still suggest something like that. Having Netherworld is enough for me. Netherworld and I are the best of friends."
Netherworld’s body shifted slightly. "Tan You is the loyal one. The only thing in our Tan You’s eyes is cultivation; she doesn’t even see men. Besides, I don’t think Davidson has any ideas like that about her. We Dark Mages rarely concern ourselves with romance."
The raven let out two caws. "You’re the Dark Saintess now, and a Divine Favored. So why hasn’t that little girl woken up yet?"
Tan You replied, "Who knows? Her body was already weak, and her soul is frail. Now that the biggest obstacle in our way has been dealt with, I can focus on nurturing her soul with my Magic Power."
"It’s just that this will be a long process. There’s no telling when she’ll awaken." As Tan You spoke, she frowned. ’I’ve already been here for sixteen years. Surely they don’t expect me to stay for hundreds or thousands of years, do they?’
The saber-toothed tiger huffed out, "Davidson’s aptitude is also exceptionally high. Just a tiny smidgen less than yours, Tan You."
Tan You laughed. "The one with high aptitude is Adina. I’m just a very ordinary person, lucky enough to have a few more years of experience than she did."
Originally, Tan You hadn’t intended to hide the truth from everyone. Unfortunately, the dark unicorn possessed a certain Talent Skill. It saw through Tan You’s origins the moment it first met her, so her cover had long been blown in front of these Holy Beasts.
Tan You didn’t mind. On the contrary, she got along quite well with the Holy Beasts.
"Before I entered the Mist Forest, I heard that Davidson broke the record for the youngest Five-star Mage. Speaking of which, how old is he, exactly? And what’s his cultivation level now?"
A rare flicker of curiosity sparked in Tan You. No matter how she looked at them, she couldn’t discern the cultivation level of anyone in the Dark Divine Hall. They were probably all stronger than her.
"Davidson broke through the barrier to become a Five-star Mage at the age of thirty. That was twenty years ago. He is fifty this year and is now an eight-star Mage, just one step away from Nine Stars."
The dark unicorn snorted and said slowly, "A fifty-year-old on the verge of Nine Stars. Sounds pretty incredible, doesn’t it?"
"It is incredible, especially while living under the thumb of the Divine Hall of Light." Tan You nodded. "I really am just an ordinary person."
The raven sounded surprised. "You don’t feel jealous at all? Jealous that someone possesses such extraordinary talent?"
Tan You paused for a moment, then her smile grew wider and wider. "Raven, you’re really amusing. Truly."
She wiped away the tears she’d laughed out. "There are too many geniuses in this world. If I were to get jealous, where would I even start? I’ve said it before, I’m just an ordinary person. I recognized the difference between myself and a genius a long time ago."
"You have to calmly accept that others are strong, and also accept your own weakness and mediocrity. Jealousy is the most useless emotion; it only consumes you from the inside. Besides, this world is ultimately made up of mostly ordinary people. The so-called geniuses are few and far between."
The saber-toothed tiger squinted, as if smiling. "I was right, wasn’t I? Tan You isn’t the type to be consumed by jealousy. She’s very open-minded."
"However, the streets and alleys of the Imperial City are now filled with legends about you. In everyone’s eyes, you’ve overshadowed Davidson and become the new prodigy of the continent."
"That scene of you commanding thousands of Undead to fight for you has been seared into people’s minds. They all say that at such a young age, you were able to battle an incarnation of the God of Light..."
Tan You shook her head. "It’s not that amazing, really. That was purely thanks to the Undead. The only reason I broke through to become a Five-star Mage at twenty-two was because of the uniquely advantageous training environment in the Mist Forest. In that regard, Davidson and I can’t be compared."
"But you’re a seven-star Mage now! The youngest seven-star Mage on the continent. Doesn’t that feel great to think about?" The raven bobbed its head smugly. It loved hearing others praise Tan You. After all, it had known her the longest.
Tan You was exasperated. "You all know how I became a seven-star Mage. Wasn’t it because of the Divine Power? To use that as a standard of measurement is disrespectful to all the Mages who train so painstakingly."
Netherworld chimed in unexpectedly, "I think you’re being too modest, Tan You. The training environment in the Mist Forest is certainly exceptional, but you can now decipher the Magic Arrays set by the God of Light. On that point alone, you’ve surpassed every other Mage in this world."
"To study Magic Arrays while also cultivating to become a Five-star Mage... you’re truly exceptional."
Tan You thought for a moment. "Maybe it’s because I studied math? A lot of problems can be converted into mathematical ones."
"But when you mention the Magic Arrays, I’ll allow myself to be just a tiny bit proud. After all, that really did take a lot of my time and effort."
The Holy Beasts all cheered up. The dark unicorn lay down by Tan You’s bed. "About the Edmonds family... are you really not going to show yourself? Those two brothers seem quite persistent."
"Their persistence has nothing to do with me. They’re not my family." Tan You hugged Netherworld’s massive body and rolled over, nuzzling her cheek against its neck. "Hugging Netherworld is like hugging a piece of the finest jade."
The tip of Netherworld’s tail hooked the blanket at the foot of the bed and pulled it over her. "It’s not time to eat yet. Do you want to rest a little longer?"
Tan You squinted. "No, I’d rather talk with you all. I don’t feel like cultivating right now; my head starts to ache whenever I try to use Magic Power. And I don’t want to sleep either. My whole body feels limp from all the rest."