Chapter 210: Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?

“As a god… what exactly is your authority?”

Perletti tilted her head and finally voiced the question that had lingered in her heart for a long time.

She had never doubted Qingcheng’s strength.

But being powerful enough to silently destroy the World Tree — a colossal existence that sustained an entire race, vast as a mountain range — without the nearby elves or even the human kingdoms outside noticing anything…

That surpassed Perletti’s understanding of “strength.”

Humans had long stationed observers around the borders of the Elven Forest to monitor the witches. Back when Perletti first entered the forest, she had deliberately avoided them.

Qingcheng did not answer directly.

She slightly raised her gaze toward the real sky now revealed after the World Tree’s collapse and instead asked:

“Why do you think that elf who lived for hundreds of years stubbornly believed the sky was a tree canopy, while you recognized at a glance that it was the true, infinite ‘sky’?”

Perletti froze for a moment before answering uncertainly after some thought:

“Probably… because they’ve lived beneath the canopy for generations and never truly seen the sky? Or maybe… in their understanding, the sky itself was a tree?”

“Mhm.” Qingcheng nodded, her eyes distant.

“That is cognition. And cognition shaped into memory. That is the authority I control — the weaving and revision of cognition and memory. People around us can’t see me because I altered their cognition. The World Tree was the same.”

She paused before continuing calmly, as though narrating a story unrelated to herself.

“Back when we separated in Black, I went directly to the Elven Forest, found the World Tree, and then… burned it.”

“Everything afterward — all your calls, confusion, and fear — I never heard any of it.”

“But I’m sorry. At that time, I had to remain beside the World Tree to ensure it was completely destroyed. I couldn’t leave to help you.”

For Qingcheng, who had experienced countless loops and knew nearly every major turning point in advance, Xiaomu’s plans were like an open script laid bare before her.

Destroying the World Tree from the root was the only way to completely extinguish the most costly “salvation scenario.”

According to the original trajectory, Xiaomu would forcibly ascend to godhood through the World Tree’s authority and wage a divine war against Sila.

The result would have been Sila, driven into rage by the battle, slaughtering the entire elf race.

Having lost all her followers and the meaning of her own existence, Xiaomu would ultimately choose mutual destruction alongside Sila.

And after Qingcheng herself later ascended to godhood, the resulting chain reactions would bring even greater devastation…

In that future, ancient and powerful races like elves and vampires would become nothing more than legends.

Only the comparatively weak yet resilient humans and beastfolk would stagger forward amidst the ruins.

“But still…” Perletti found it difficult to believe. “Burning down an entire World Tree! The flames, smoke, magical upheaval… how could you possibly do all of that completely unnoticed?”

“Just cover half the continent with your authority’s domain.”

Qingcheng answered casually, as though discussing the weather.

“Cover… half the continent?!”

Perletti inhaled sharply, her scalp tingling from the sheer understatement of that answer.

What kind of divine power was that?

With such overwhelming strength, wouldn’t she be practically… invincible?

And the fact Qingcheng spoke of it so casually implied her true abilities likely went far beyond even that!

After the shock subsided, another thought uncontrollably surfaced in Perletti’s mind.

Now that Qingcheng was this powerful and the World Tree had already been destroyed…

didn’t that mean she was basically free now?

So if Perletti encountered problems she couldn’t solve in the future…

wouldn’t she basically gain an overpowered “cheat” she could summon whenever she wanted?

The moment that thought appeared—

Bonk.

Qingcheng suddenly leaned forward and flicked Perletti lightly on the forehead.

“Ow!”

Perletti clutched her forehead in pain, her eyes darting away guiltily.

“Stop entertaining those crooked little thoughts.”

Qingcheng straightened herself, her tone calm with the certainty of someone who saw through everything.

“Some paths must be walked by you alone. Some obstacles must be crossed by you alone. I cannot help you, nor should I.”

“Why not?”

Perletti protested unhappily, pointing toward Juwaish, who at some point had once again appeared nearby.

“Didn’t that cat-girl goddess help Xiaomu too?”

“Did she really help?” Qingcheng calmly countered. “Think carefully. Other than providing some information and setting up a few harmless obstacles, did she ever truly intervene to alter any key event?”

“After fulfilling her vague agreement with Xiaomu, all she did was stand beside the stage and watch with amusement.”

“The ending never deviated because of her.”

Perletti thought back carefully.

And it was true.

When Juwaish blocked her path earlier, despite all her nonsense, she had not even touched the corner of Perletti’s clothes.

It had felt more like an improvised verbal game.

That woman had completely remained outside the situation under the guise of “helping,” while thoroughly enjoying the entire spectacle!

“Gods do indeed possess several powers beyond mortal reach,” Qingcheng continued, pulling Perletti’s thoughts back. “But one of the deeper meanings behind a god’s existence is to introduce or maintain certain ‘rules’ and ‘systems’ within the world.”

“Between gods and mortals, interactions are usually based upon balanced equivalent exchange, not unconditional gifts or interference.”

“So when difficulties arise, think more about what you can accomplish instead of relying on me.”

“Equivalent exchange?”

Perletti’s eyes suddenly brightened mischievously.

She immediately stretched out her hand, palm upward, and declared righteously:

“Fine then. Pay me back!”

She had not forgotten how Qingcheng had once run off with her “private savings”!

That money had meant a great deal to her.

Qingcheng looked entirely unsurprised, as though she had anticipated this moment all along.

“That money originally belonged to me.”

“It belonged to me!” Perletti widened her eyes indignantly. “You’re just some past phantom that shouldn’t even exist here anymore! Besides, do you even need money in this place?!”

“Yes.”

Qingcheng nodded seriously before calmly listing things off.

“I took fifty-one gold coins total. Part of it was used to prepare properly fitting clothes and forge the necessary identity documents for you. The remainder was reserved for your future living expenses. I remember exactly how every single coin was used.”

“You—”

Perletti nearly laughed from sheer disbelief.

It was precisely because this woman had run off with her money that she had been forced to work for Earl Bobpa, which in turn accelerated or triggered the entire chain of later events.

Even having just five more peaceful nights would have been invaluable to her!

“Fifty gold coins! An ordinary person could live luxuriously for years with that! Don’t tell me your so-called equivalent exchange was turning me into this poor and overworked mess!”

Perletti gritted her teeth furiously.

“Of course not.”

Qingcheng raised a cup of tea, took a sip, then continued calmly:

“The magic book Amo gave you was entrusted to her by me.”

“Human magical systems weren’t suitable for you, and the Winged Divine Race left behind no systematic magical inheritance. If you wanted to properly learn magic, self-exploration was your only option.”

“As for the gold… what I truly needed wasn’t currency itself, but gold as a material. It was one of the keys necessary to obtain that newborn feather crucial to you.”

“Then you could’ve at least discussed it with me first!”

Perletti still sounded deeply resentful.

“I know.”

Qingcheng set down her teacup and lightly snapped her fingers.

A bulging linen pouch and a crystal bottle filled with swirling gold-red liquid suddenly appeared atop the table before them.

Perletti’s eyes instantly locked onto the pouch.

She recognized that style immediately.

It was one of the old belongings left behind by her father, Dispel.

And the deeper reason she had wanted the money back was precisely because she wanted to reclaim that keepsake carrying traces of her father.

Qingcheng was also Dispel.

How could she possibly not understand?

“This…”

Perletti stared speechlessly at the perfectly preserved money pouch.

A nearly imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Qingcheng’s lips.

“I never said I had ‘spent’ the money.”

“I was merely keeping it safe on behalf of a certain little fool who lacks any concept of money and might impulsively spend it on something ridiculous.”