'To become a pioneer God of a world like the Nexus World, you need to gather the faith which can come in many forms but essentially boils down to you being well known and respected by all those in this world.

Looking at it objectively, It must be what the leaders of the two continents are vying for. Victory and complete control over the other half of the world.

Of course, the Dystopian continent does not actually have one supreme ruler like the Haron continent has in the form of an Emperor, but that does not change the code of their mission.

The Haron emperor is the one I feel is well on the way to being successful. I don't mean that he will win the war as both sides seem quite evenly matched, but I do feel he is the most well-known. Especially since he has sole rulership over all those in the Haron continent.

The Dystopian rulership however is divided between the four major tribes.

Anyway, if you wish to become the pioneer God of the Nexus World, then you need to fulfill all three criteria.

Or, you could simply wait for someone to become a pioneer god in which case you don't need the third and will only need to fulfill the other two.' Grimoire said.

Hal looked incredulous,

"Are you kidding me? The third is actually the easiest for me to get. As long as I am allowed to do things the Devil's way, then I just need to continue with my plans which are to spread my corruption over this world.

With my Devil seed already planted at Sapphire city, it is only a matter of time before I can do so...

I CAN do things as a Devil, can't I?" He paused to ask Grimoire.

'Of course, you can. What you did is a form of gathering faith as well.' Grimoire replied and Hal nodded and then grinned.

"Which means no one can possibly become a pioneer God in this world before me because they can not actually gain the faith of those living in Sapphire city." He said before he had a thought that causeed him to frown.

He was worried that should they find out once the time comes that the only thing standing between them and godhood was a small city, they could opt for genocide.

It meant he would have to move fast as well.

'Well, they are actually farther along than you think.' Grimoire said.

"What do you mean?" Hal asked.

The Artifact shook in his mind space,

'I apologize but that is information I am not allowed to divulge to you at the moment.' It said.

"Oh come on, you can't just drop that kind of bomb and go silent" Hal said exasperatedly.

'My hands are tied... Figuratively speaking, of course.'

Hal frowned but eventually sighed as he was well aware he could not actually force the Artifact to give anything up. Especially if this was an edict from the one who created the Primordial Cosmic Grimoire.

He adjusted his posture to one synonymous with serious cultivation as he began to refine all the energy he had received from the gem flower and received a significant boost in his cultivation.

The energy was still a tad bit violent but it was nothing his body could just handle.

However, while there was definitely a boost and he moved closer to another advancement, he never actually got there. In fact, it looked like it would still take a lot more to finally make the advancement.

That was just how difficult it was to advance now.

Taking the flower whole had had even more effectiveness than all the pills formed through it with dilution could have brought since dilution never involved another advancement material.

The gem flower was enough and adding any more would be overkill and borderline useless.

And yet, it only gave a boost and was still nowhere near completing the job.

Hal shook his head and his eyes opened while a lament began to build up within him.

However, Melinda's cultivation bore fruits at that point, and with the *boom* sound of her advancement, she proceeded into the mid-stage of the Cosmic phenomenon realm.

Hal had only been away for a few days but she had used that time to get ever closer to an advancement which this refined-through-Hal's-body Gem flower energy had now helped her complete.

However, there was a frown on her face as opposed to the jubilation she was supposed to be feeling and Hal knew why that was the case.

Now that she was at the mid-stage, Melinda had now seen past that ridge and was now aware of just how wide the gap to fill before advancement to the next stage was.

She could see and anticipate just how difficult it was bound to be and it was absolutely no picnic.

She opened her eyes and looked sideways at Hal looking at her,

"You knew, didn't you?" She asked.

Hal looked confused but did not bother hiding the fact that it was a false expression.

"Knew? Knew what?" He asked.

"That our previous quick advancement from Early to Mid-stage and even to a considerable level, from the peak of the cosmic Armament to the early stage of the Cosmic phenomenon realm, was all just to make us happy and eventually put a large road block in our cultivational path in the form of this wide gap" Melinda said and Hal's mouth gaped.

"What?" He exclaimed in incredulity.

He had considered the possibility of the advancement from mid to late-stage difficulty was more pronounced with them all who made use of the Primordial cosmic art and other techniques (upgraded) from Grimoire.

But he had no way of possibly knowing for certain because they are attempting to achieve things that normally took others months and maybe even years to accomplish in days and weeks.

Maybe, this was the Grimoire's way of limiting how far they could go in short periods of time but Melinda's theory was so much more comprehensive and if he was being honest with himself, it made a bit of sense.

Melinda took his exclamation for genuine confusion and said,

"I mean think about it. What if we're allowed to advance to the mid-stage so fast so that we had enough to defend ourselves while all the time actually needed for the advancement was added to the one needed for mid to late-stage?"

'Is that it? Is that why?' Gap asked Grimoire but the Artifact huffed,

'I won't say a single word without my lawyer' it said.

'That doesn't even make sense' Hal retorted.

'I know, I know. I've just always wanted to say that. Anyhow, I will neither confirm nor deny your little fiancee's theory. Juvenile as it is.' Grimoire replied and Hal ignored it after that since it was now clear it was not going to be of any use.

Melinda thought on it for a while before shrugging,

"Oh, whatever. I was getting worried by the speed anyway. Tempering myself with patience might do me some good." She said.

Hal smiled lightly,

"Way to look on the bright side" he told her before crossing his legs once again and begin a different kind of advancement.

The Devil energy he had swallowed in the form of lake water at Black lagoon temple as well as the Blood essence he had reaped in his process of tearing through enemies coupled with essence gained during his session with Melinda were now to be used to complete the development he could already feel.

The development that was him discovering another Demonic Bloodline...