When Xiao Feng finally walked out of the room that afternoon, Couronne happened to be approaching from the opposite end of the corridor.
The moment she saw him, her footsteps stopped.
Memories of what she had witnessed that morning flashed through her mind, and her face immediately turned crimson.
She lowered her head, refusing to meet his eyes.
"Couronne—"
"I-I suddenly remembered something important!"
Before Xiao Feng could finish speaking, Couronne turned around and fled down the corridor.
He watched her disappearing figure and sighed helplessly.
"It seems she won't be able to look at me normally for a while."
After standing there for a moment, Xiao Feng shook his head.
"Forget it. Let's go see Tet. We still need to perfect the Magic and Faith Systems."
...
"Sigh! Another failure."
Xiao Feng stared at the small pile of ashes before him and let out yet another weary sigh. This was his twentieth try.
The gods of this world were capable of creating entire races. Since Xiao Feng had also obtained divine authority, there was no reason why he couldn't create life.
Over the past several days, besides studying and perfecting the foundations of the Magic and Faith Systems, he had repeatedly attempted to create a living being from nothing.
Unfortunately, every attempt ended in failure.
As for why he was so determined to create life, the one of the reasons were Rem and Ram, who were still helping manage Fenghua Chamber of Commerce together with Seitenshi and others.
The two girls were his first true creations. They possessed independent intelligence, emotions, and personalities, but their bodies were ultimately those of Mechanical Dolls.
Xiao Feng wanted to change that. He wanted to give them true life instead of just artificial bodies. He wanted to them to breath same air and enjoy the same touch as everyone.
Of course, that was not his only reason.
The races created by gods possessed an instinctive connection to their creators. Their loyalty and faith were almost absolute. If Xiao Feng succeeded in creating a race of his own, he would also gain a stable source of believers.
The more believers he possessed, the greater the amount of faith he could gather.
"What exactly am I missing?"
Xiao Feng frowned as he examined the remnants of his latest creation.
He pondered for a long time, mentally reviewing every stage of the process, but still couldn't locate the source of the problem.
Eventually, he turned toward Tet.
The young god was sitting nearby, completely absorbed in a deck of poker cards Xiao Feng had given her.
Judging from the messy arrangement of cards around her, she seemed to be inventing several new games at once.
"Tet, do you know how gods create life?"
"Huh? What—life?"
Tet raised her head in confusion, clearly having heard only the final word.
"I asked how the other gods created their races."
Xiao Feng stared silently at the absent-minded girl.
No matter how many times he looked at her, he still found it difficult to associate this unreliable little god with the future One True God who would stand above the entire world.
"Oh! You're asking me how gods create life!"
Tet finally understood. She placed the poker cards aside and clasped her hands together, adopting an unusually serious expression. Her brows furrowed as though she were searching through the deepest reaches of her divine knowledge.
After several moments of solemn contemplation, she opened her mouth.
"I've never created any life before. So..."
"…"
Xiao Feng slowly raised one hand.
An overwhelming mass of divine power gathered above his palm, causing the surrounding space to tremble.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Tet immediately jumped to her feet and waved both hands frantically.
"Why are you always so violent?! I only said I've never created life before! That doesn't mean I don't know how the process works!"
The terrifying energy in Xiao Feng's palm gradually dispersed then he lowered his hand and gestured for her to continue.
Tet secretly breathed a sigh of relief before clearing her throat and putting on the dignified appearance of a knowledgeable god.
"Creating life isn't as simple as shaping a body and placing a soul inside it."
She pointed toward the ashes on the ground.
"That thing you made had a body, energy, and even something resembling a soul. But it lacked the most important element."
Xiao Feng's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And what is that?"
"The creator's essence."
Tet raised one finger.
"Every race created by a god carries a fragment of that god's nature. The Elves possess an affinity for magic because of the god who created them. The Flügel inherited their creator's desire for battle, while other races received abilities and characteristics connected to their respective gods."
"You've been trying to construct life as though you were refining a tool."
"But living beings aren't tools."
Tet pointed at his chest, "You need to decide what your creations will inherit from you. Your power, your nature, your desires, your fantasy—or perhaps even a part of your divine concept."
Hearing her words, Xiao Feng finally understood the flaw in his previous attempts.
He had created bodies capable of functioning and souls capable of thinking, but he had never established the fundamental concept that would define their existence.
Without that foundation, the bodies and souls could not truly unite.
Tet picked up her cards again and gave him a smug smile.
"See? I may not have created a race, but I still know more than you."
Xiao Feng glanced at the ashes before him, then at Tet's triumphant expression.
"You could have said that from the beginning."
"Where would the fun be in that?"
Tet's smile froze when Xiao Feng raised his hand once more.
"Wait! I was joking!"
Looking at the playful loli god, Xiao Feng sighed again.
As they slowly got to know each other Tet lost her initial fear of him and has slowly began to tease him and play jokes on him like a bad friend.
If not for the fact he was more powerful than her, he was afraid she would everything upside down.
Xiao Feng ignored Tet and began to concentrate on his current project.
Since the newly born life needed something from their creator then what should he bestow them.
My power, bestowing that alone would only create war machines. I don't want to create war machines.
My nature, heh, if I bestow my Otaku nature then a bunch of lazy perverts will be flying in the sky.
My desires, forget it. I don't want to create a bunch of lustful guys.
Hm, fantasy seems to be a good choice since the characters from my fantasies are all my waifus.
As for a part of my concept, that's also feasible. Just like Artosh who bestowed his concept of war to Flügels.
As expected, I don't want to make a choice. It's better to endow it all.
In that case...
Xiao Feng closed his eyes and imagined a character from his fantasies whom he liked very much in his past life. She could very well represent his fantasy.