“Then let me ask you this—could a true god create a dumbbell so heavy that even he couldn’t lift it?”

  The moment Lex posed the question, William didn’t even need to think.

  He instantly recognized it as a paradox—identical to the old theological dilemma from his previous life.

  If a god creates a dumbbell so heavy that he can’t lift it,

  then how can he be called omnipotent if he can’t even lift what he created?

  But if he can’t create such a dumbbell at all,

  then again, he’s not truly omnipotent.

  As William fell into deep thought, Lex looked at him with the kind of expression one might use when comforting a particularly slow child.

  Inwardly, he sighed: “This kid’s usually sharp—how’d he turn into such a blockhead all of a sudden?”

  Guess it’s time for me to unleash my spiritual mentor powers and give this kid a proper mental beatdown.

  Lex let out a long sigh before cutting into William’s thoughts.

  “Alright, alright, quit overthinking it. What’s there to get stuck on?”

  “Think about it—from the perspective of the beings you create as your followers, what do they see you as?”

  “……………”

  William was stumped by that question.

  But thoughts flashed quickly through his mind:

  “Child labor exploiter…? Ruthless slave driver…?”

  Definitely not the answers Lex was looking for.

  So William wisely chose to stay silent.

  Seeing him clam up, Lex just continued without waiting.

  “To them, you’re everything. The beginning, the end. All-powerful. Limitless…”

  “To them—you are a god.”

  Lex noticed the thoughtful look on William’s face and didn’t give him a chance to get lost in his thoughts.

  “But in my eyes? You’re just a rookie. All-powerful? Please. Wanna show me what that looks like?”

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  “You believe I can’t knock you back to mortal status with fists the size of sandbags?”

  “So why get caught up on this?”

  “Demigods, gods, true gods—they’re just titles.”

  “All they mean is that you’re a lifeform on a higher rung of the ladder.”

  “The word ‘god’ was inherited from a long-extinct civilization—the one that once scattered the divine spark across the stars.”

  “It’s their way of classifying power levels.”

  “And it’s our way of paying respect to beings more advanced than ourselves.”

  “There’s no such thing as omnipotence. Snap out of it—that’s just basic common sense!”

  By the time Lex finished, William had completely sorted out the confusion in his mind.

  His misunderstanding of the term ‘god’ had stemmed entirely from the worldview of his previous life.

  And he couldn’t really blame himself—after digging through the original memories of his body’s former owner, he realized something.

  Before he’d taken over, the previous William’s idea of a god had always been shaped passively by his environment—there had never been any in-depth explanation or exploration of the concept.

  He’d basically tripped over his own assumptions.

  Shaking his head hard to clear out the remaining fog, William looked at Lex’s kindergarten teacher trying to be patient expression and gave a sheepish smile.

  “Got it. I was just a little out of it. I’m all clear now.”

  Seeing William return to his usual self, Lex nodded in satisfaction.

  Clearly proud of his own performance as a spiritual guide—another win for the power of motivational banter.

  Time flew by as they chatted casually.

  After nearly three hours of waiting in place, the number of Divine Realms floating around had already exceeded 1,400.

  Finally, the opaque, planet-sized Divine Realm that had remained still for so long… began to move.

  Ripples started to flow gently across the barrier of the spherical Divine Realm—like the surface of a calm lake struck by a stone.

  Waves of divine power spread in concentric circles, meeting again on the far side.

  At the center of those ripples, a golden figure—seemingly made of pure energy—slowly floated out from within the barrier.

  An overwhelming divine will radiated outward from this figure, spreading in all directions and covering the surrounding demigod realms.

  “The Third Stellar Sector Competition is about to begin. All participants, bring your Divine Realms and assemble.”

  The voice echoed in William’s mind—sharp and resonant, like ringing metal.

  Every word was powerful, clear, and commanding.

  Lex heard it too, and he patted William on the shoulder with a big grin, full of expectation.

  “Come on—you’ve got this. Believe in yourself. There’s no real danger to your life, so go all out!”

  “This is your chance. Show those university scouts what you’re made of.”

  “As for losing a few followers along the way? You can always create more.”

  “But if you impress the right scout and snag a spot at a top-tier university, then trust me—it’s worth every bit of it.”

  “Worst-case scenario? You take a gamble and go from skateboard to spaceship.”

  Originally calm and confident, William was already on his way to join the others.

  But after hearing Lex’s words of encouragement… his face twitched.

  Why does that pep talk feel so off somehow…?