Hammock replied, saying, "Maybe self-sufficiency was a priority when the four pathways were created. But it is not as if other pathways can’t refine and upgrade their own Divine Metacs. It just requires something called the mastery of the pathway."

"The mastery of a pathway is the level of understanding of the mechanics of operation of a pathway. It is gained by observing the operation of the Supreme Metac with the Insight Stat."

"This brings me to the second option of upgrading Divine Metacs. When your mastery of a pathway is high enough, not only can you use the secret recipe to upgrade a Divine Metac yourself, but you can also come up with the secret recipe on your own and create more Divine Metacs on your own."

"However, this method is expensive to use because using the Insight Stat to comprehend the pathway costs lifespan. And if your Insight Stat is weak, you can send up to ten times more lifespan to gain the same amount of mastery compared to someone with a higher Insight."

In response, Loki nodded and said, "I see. So one is the easy method that requires hard work, and the other one is the difficult method that requires both hard work and a lot of lifespan to use."

But Hammock shook his head and said, "The first option also requires some lifespan to use. After all, you will still need to pay the people who will help you upgrade your Divine Metac."

"It is just that there is a set amount of time and resources that you need to spend for you to use the first method. As for the second method, there is no fixed amount of time or lifespan that you have to spend before you get what you want."

"You can spend 10,000 years’ worth of lifespan and still get nothing for your effort. So, for the second method, there is no end in sight, and it is uncertain if you will ever be able to acquire the mastery you need to upgrade your Divine Metac."

"As for the first method, it is straightforward with less uncertainty. But both of them will require a lot of resources for the final upgrade of the Divine Metac. One would need a lot of spirit creatures and a lot of Branch Metacs and Core Metacs from the sect."

Loki couldn’t help but sigh and say, "This is so complicated. For now, I don’t see why anyone would want to use the second option if it is similar to gambling."

Hammock shook his head again and said, "Actually, the first option, where you pay others and the sect, is the shortcut. The second option, where you need to gain mastery, is the true method, as mastery of the pathway also grants other benefits other than being able to upgrade one’s Divine Metacs."

Loki was skeptical, and it showed in his voice as he said, "Benefits like what?"

Hammock immediately said, "The mastery of a pathway will determine how a divine being can combine the Divine Metacs of a pathway. Divine beings can have more than one Divine Metac, but they can’t easily combine the Divine Metacs the way mortals combine Branch Metacs because each Divine Metac represents a Divine Position, and it is difficult to make Divine Positions work together."

"In general, the Adept Level of Mastery is required to transform a mutated Life Ability into a Divine Metac. The Master Level of Mastery is required to use a rank 6 Divine Metac to raise one’s stat, even if that Divine Metac supports that Divine Metac."

"Then the Grandmaster Level of Mastery is required to use a rank 7 Divine Metac to raise a stat and make two Divine Metacs work together to create greater power. The Greatmaster Level of Mastery is required to use a rank 8 Divine Metac to raise one’s stat and make three Divine Metacs work together."

"Those last two are also the levels of mastery required to come up with the recipe for an upgrade of a Divine Metac from rank 6 to rank 7 and from rank 7 to rank 8. As for a rank 9 Metac, I don’t think creating one is possible. Only the Supreme Metac can be rank 9."

At this point, Loki was nodding in understanding. He was also smiling, and his smile was a large one.

He was smiling because he happened to be able to use a Divine Metac to raise his stats without the Master Level of Mastery. He is also able to combine Divine Metacs without the Grandmaster Level of Mastery.

He has the Power Shifting Ability to thank for this. But what’s even better is that the Power Shifting Ability is capable of more than this.

There is the fact that the Power Shifting Ability can even help him combine the Divine Metacs of different pathways without any problem. However, this still isn’t the best that the Power Shifting Ability can do.

The more he thought about the capabilities of the Power Shifting Ability, the wider his smile became. His physical body was the one smiling, not his avatar, so Hammock didn’t know that he was pleased with himself.

Hammock continued answering the question as he said, "So, gaining mastery is the true path. Anything else is a shortcut that will make you unable to make full use of the Divine Metac."

Loki suddenly remembered the previous identity of Hammock, so he said, "When you were a divine being, what was your highest level of mastery?"

This question made Hammock sigh before saying, "I was only at the Adept Level. If I were given some time, I would have reached the Master Level."

"Mortals can achieve the Adept Level of mastery as long as they reach rank 5 and spend a lot of time using their Life Abilities. As for the Master Level, divine beings have no problem reaching that after living for a while. It is the Grandmaster Level and the Greatmaster Level that require a lot of active investment."