(MC POV)
Well it happened. I saw it clearly that because of Cain, Lian Li had ascended to godhood because of him and there she was.
Pretty ingenious of Brendan to make use of that memory potion again, repurposing it into a skin lotion so that he could use it covertly on Lian Li since she definitely would have rejected drinking a potion.
Since Cain redirected most of Lian Li's feelings of love from me to himself, Brendan simply made Lian Li experience her life again to rekindle her feelings for me once more.
The fact that she was manipulated must have frustrated her to no end and she decided right there that she would not stand it anymore.
And because Lilith had already told her about the limitations of Cain's abilities, Lian Li concentrated all her efforts to ascend to prevent herself from being manipulated again.
Without Cain's interference, Lian Li might have needed another few more years to comprehend the Cosmic Lightning Tribulations I had given her. She really is a genius to break through the bounds of mortality just like that.
Or perhaps being manipulated played a big part in her motivations.
There is only just one thing I was worried about…
Right now, Lian Li's affections for me have essentially just doubled, so I'm not sure how that's going to change her…
"Master! Master!!!! I looooooove you!!!" My newly ascended disciple suddenly shouted out while blowing kisses at me.
Ah… Well she got cuter it seems.
I chuckled and waved back at her in response, causing her to squirm cutely before turning back to face Cain.
Here's the thing, Cain might also be a cosmic being but his personal strength is actually pretty low.
Of course he could still stomp a mortal flat but in the cosmic scale, he's quite a pushover.
That's why this match is most likely going to turn into a one sided slaughter soon, especially with how pissed my newly ascended Goddess looks.
"Lilith?" I called out, prompting the demoness to turn to me.
"Yes, Daddy?"
"Could you look after Cai Hong for a bit? I don't want to involve her in what's going to happen next."
Lilith made a face at me, "Ehhhhh… Can I not?"
At the same time, Cai Hong also scrunched up her face, "Buuuu! Cai Hong no want mean auntie!"
"Hey! Who are you calling me a mean auntie?!! You're about the same age as me! No wait, you're the older one!!"
"Buuuu! Mean auntie!!"
I reached out and patted both of their heads, "Now, now, be nice ok? It's not good to fight all the time so why don't the two of you play together for a bit?"
"Do we have to, Daddy?"
"Cai Hong want Papa…"
"Please?" I pleaded, giving them more head pats.
Both of them pouted at me, but I could tell they were falling for the head pats already.
"If Daddy says so…"
"Muuu… Okies…"
Lilith and Cai Hong got up and strolled off to the other side of the beach, just far enough that they wouldn't be able to see what is happening here.
Speaking of which… I haven't seen Iris around for some time… I wonder what she's doing?
Oh, I guess she's avoiding Cain? How thoughtful of her.
I turned back to see Lian Li shooting up into the air to slam the ball down towards Cain with the wrath of an angry goddess.
She must have located the real one beforehand because the ball went straight for him and smacked him right in the face before he could react, sending him tumbling across the sand and dematerialising his clones.
"Six… Four…" Elaria announced, albeit a little dejectedly.
Unfortunately, omniscience did not show me that any of my other disciples would be ascending today so I'm not expecting anyone else to.
Cain picked himself up from the ground on shaky limbs and gaped at my golden girl, his mind still trying to comprehend what had just happened.
"H… How? How did you break out of it?" He gasped, still not believing that my disciple had just ascended to godhood in front of him.
"It's simple," Brendan answered in her stead. "You took senior sister's current feelings for Master away so I made her relive her past life to get it back."
"No… How did you ascend to Godhood like that? This is something that countless mortals in existence have tried and failed to achieve, but yet only a handful manage to do it, you know?"
Lian Li crossed her arms, "That is all because of Master of course. Do you think any of us would fail if Master is the one guiding us?"
Cain turned his gaze to me, silently questioning if I had planned everything.
Sorry to disappoint, but I didn't even know about your existence before this. Frankly, if it wasn't because I knew you would help Lian Li ascend, I would've wiped you from existence already.
Also, don't even think you're in the clear yet because I am most definitely not letting you go so easily after making my disciples suffer through that.
He furrowed his brow and kicked the ball out into the sea in a huff, "This is ridiculous! I'm not continuing this!"
"Oh? So are you admitting defeat? Shouldn't you adhere to your losing terms now in that case?" Brendan snickered.
Cain glared at him, "Never! The game is no longer fair! How can you suggest to continue a game like this?! The terms are all null and void!"
Lian Li did not agree with that, seeing that she disappeared from where she was a moment ago to reappear in front of him.
She grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up, an action that prompted the rest of my disciples to rush forward to stop her.
"What are you doing, Lian Li?!"
"Don't hurt him!"
"Let go of Cain!!"
Lian Li scowled at the girls but relented, taking a step back before turning to look at me.
I gave her a small shake of her head and she understood my intentions.
Lian Li looked at her fellow sisters with a face of sympathy, "Fine. Let's just forget about this whole farce then. You can run along and keep your overinflated and fragile ego, hope you don't choke on it."
Cain was obviously not amused by her choice of words but decided not to argue with her since Lian Li could literally wreck him if she wanted to right now.
He left the area in a huff and I thought the other girls might follow him. Instead, they simply watched him leave since they were still more interested in Lian Li's ascension right now.
While the girls were occupied, Brendan shuffled his way over to me.
Before he could say anything though, I started patting his head.
"Good work, Brendan. I knew I could count on you. I'm proud of you!"
"Eh? Ehhh? Ah! Umm… Tha… Thank you, Master…" He stuttered, embarrassed.
He quickly recovered and cleared his throat, "Ahem… Umm… I wanted to ask why did Master let him go though?"
"Hmm? I most definitely am not. I'm just letting him go somewhere else so that I can punish him. Tell Lian Li to meet me at the other end of the beach in five minutes, won't you? In fact, tell all the girls to do that."
Brendan was curious about my words but nodded, "I will do that, Master. But what about me?"
"Lilith and Cai Hong are supposed to be… Er… Bonding right now," I explained, gesturing towards the direction the two of them had gone. "Help me keep an eye on them just in case they start fighting, ok?"
"Understood, Master. But umm… Could I have some backup as well?"
I looked down at the pair of foxes curled up against me, "Akari, Shiori. Could you follow Brendan and help him with that?"
The two of them obeyed and went to Brendan's side, following him to carry out my requests.
Right, while Brendan is busy with that, I need to do my own preparations for dealing with Cain too.
At least this is finally the fun part~
