A couple of Saint Domains quickly asked, “What about the worst possible scenario?”
“The worst scenario is that Thackeray’s the half-deity. How that would turn out requires no further explanation from me!”
...
The same scene unfolding in the Blazing Sun Clan was also taking place on the other Golden Archipelago islands.
All the ambitious players who had originally been intent on greatness practically laid down their flags and fell silent overnight.
Conquest?
Not anymore!
Expansion?
Not anymore!
Social unrest?
Not anymore!
All the experts, forces, and clans were as obedient as a puppet as they holed up in their bases.
Right on the heels of it, the strongest experts and the people holding the highest power in these forces began to head toward the Golden Dragon-Lion Continent without even a moment’s rest.
In under three days’ time, all of them had assembled at the Golden Dragon-Lion Continent and gathered at the Golden Dragon-Lions’ base with not a single one fewer or a single clan missing.
No one dared to defy or challenge a half-deity’s order!
But what shocked and horrified them even more was that upon arrival at the Golden Dragon-Lions’ base, they didn’t see just one half-deity but... Four!
Four half-deities stood proudly in the sky above the Golden Dragon-Lions’ base. They gave off as much vast, majestic divine power as they wanted and wantonly abused their souls, almost scaring them half-dead.
Ambition?
Great aspirations?
Replacement?
Gone?
Gone! All gone!
The only thing they had left was just endless fear and unease!
“We have three reasons for summoning all of them here today!”
Bubbles’ gaze swept across everyone present as his voice boomed in their ears like the rolling thunder.
“Firstly, it’s to inform all of you who the one that killed Thackeray, annihilated the Golden Dragon-Lions, and saved all of you from the sea of suffering is! He’s our great, noble Master and the most supreme... Great God Meng Lei!”
Boom!
With a wave from Bubbles, a 100,000-feet-tall statue of Meng Lei appeared out of nowhere. It instantly stood towering in the square, producing a grand boom.
Everyone was stunned for a moment as they stared at the divine statue that had abruptly appeared. Then, they bowed down to it at once, all sorts of words of immense gratitude flowing endlessly and eternally like the gushing, flooding rivers beyond one’s control.
“Thank you for saving our lives, Great God Meng Lei!”
“I thank the noble Great God Meng Lei for saving us from the sea of suffering and allowing us to be human again, such that the evil Golden Dragon-Lions’ servants no longer oppress us!”
“I thank the supreme Great God Meng Lei. You’re the light that chases away loneliness and lights up my hopes. You’re the tea that filters out my impetuousness and helps me to retain my calm. You’re the water that hydrates and nourishes me for a moment so as to preserve my freshness for a lifetime. You’re the sugar that waters down the bitterness and fills me with sweetness...”
“Secondly, all of your recent actions have greatly angered the Great God Meng Lei. He’s terribly furious!”
Bubbles could hardly contain his fury. “The noble Great God Meng Lei is a benevolent and humble existence that holds universal love for all of mankind has compassion for the weak and abhors evilness!
“He had exterminated Thackeray and annihilated the Golden Dragon-Lions in order to save all of you from the sea of suffering. What a merciful and benevolent god he is! But what about all of you?
“Showing blatant disregard for the toiling masses’ lives, wantonly engaging in slaughter, and creating chaos—you’ve thrown the Golden Archipelago into a state of turmoil where calamities wreak havoc everywhere!”
Bubbles glared at them, his vast divine power overflowing. “Do you own up to your sins?”
“Yes! Yes, we do!”
“Forgive us for our sins, Great God! We have seen the error of our ways and will definitely correct them!”
The group of people was so frightened that they shook like leaves. They kowtowed incessantly as they begged for mercy, fearful to the extreme.
“A fault confessed is half redressed. On account of how this is a first offense for all of you, he can let bygones be bygones. What’s important is what you do next!”
Bubbles shouted, “Do you need the Great God Meng Lei to specially instruct you on what you should be doing from now on?”
“No, no!”
“We know what we should do!”
“Good to hear that!”
Bubbles nodded in satisfaction. Then, he said, “Thirdly, this isn’t the Great God Meng Lei’s decision, but the four of ours! You can just use it as a casual reference!”
“Your orders, please, sir!”
Bubbles said dispassionately, “The Great God Meng Lei has done so much for the Golden Archipelago. Shouldn’t all of you show some gratitude in order to repay his great kindness?”
“Show some gratitude?”
“Yes, yes, yes! We get it! We get everything!”
“Since you do, then get lost! The four of us will inspect the Golden Archipelago again a month from now. If your actions do not satisfy us, your life will be taken as punishment in less severe cases, while the whole clan will be wiped out for more serious cases. All of you had best keep that in mind!”
“Yes, yes!”
Everyone then left in a hasty panic.
Bubbles snorted lightly as he watched them from the back. “These guys will never behave if you don’t scare them a little.”
“What happens next will now depend on what they choose to do.”
“Of course!”
“We can’t stay idle, either. We’ll have to create a few disasters and then make a few displays of divine intervention in Master’s name. Only when we attack the problem from two angles at the same time can we successfully establish and build power of faith!”
“Yes, that’s what we should do!”
Chapter 249: Lesser Deities, Distributing Divine Cores
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lieyang Zhan hastily returned. The moment he got back on the Blazing Sun Island, all the Blazing Sun Clan directors came out to receive him. Their eyes were filled with both hope and apprehension.
Lieyang Zhan heaved a long sigh. He said with a shake of his head, “The Blazing Sun Clan won’t be annihilated, but our emergence plan can now be considered a complete failure!”
Lieyang Zhan recounted everything that had taken place on the Golden Dragon-Lion Continent right away, upon which everyone broke out in cold sweat, lingering fear filling their hearts.
Half-deities! And four of them at that!
The mysterious Great God Meng Lei, too!
They were the ones that had killed Thackeray and annihilated the Golden Dragon-Lions!
“Four half-deities! How laughable of us to even think of taking the opportunity to emerge as a power, replace the Golden Dragon-Lions, and become the new masters of the Golden Archipelago. What a gross overestimation of our own capabilities!”
“Totally! The Blazing Sun Clan would probably have followed in the Golden Dragon-Lions’ footsteps and been wiped out by them before we can even emerge...”
“That’s enough! Say no more!”
Lieyang Zhan said with an awful look on his face, “What’s most pressing is to tide over the crisis right before us now. Otherwise, the clan will still face the threat of annihilation!”
“Yes, yes! Grandmaster is right!”
Everyone nodded hurriedly. After all, according to the grandmaster, the four half-deities were going to do an inspection in a month’s time. Should they be dissatisfied, they would still have to die, regardless.
A worried director asked, “What sh
ould the clan do now, Grandmaster?”
“I’ve discussed this with the other clans’ grandmasters while on the way back.”
Lieyang Zhan said in a low, deep voice, “Half-deities are totally above run-of-the-mill treasures. What they really place importance in... is power of faith!”
“Power of faith?”
“That’s right, power of faith!”
Lieyang Zhan nodded heavily. “Isn’t power of faith the exact reason why the Golden Dragon-Lions had occupied the Golden Archipelago? Therefore, we can start with power of faith!”
“Just tell us what we should do, Grandmaster! We’ll do exactly what you say!”
“Yes! For the sake of the clan’s survival, we’ll listen to everything the Grandmaster says!”
“Since the Great God Meng Lei places great importance on power of faith, then we’ll help to spread his faith. In summary—construct temples and statues!”
Lieyang Zhan instructed gravely, “Pass down the order! Everyone is to collect timber, stone, gold, and other materials and construct temples and statues on every island.
“Get all the Magicians in the clan to help out. We’ll strive to build a temple and construct a statue on every island within ten days.
“On the day that the temples are completed, we, the Blazing Sun Clan, shall take the lead to pray to the Great God Meng Lei. We’ll be a good role model and do everything we can to spread his faith!”
“Yes, sir!”
...
Just like that, a large-scale temple construction project was launched. This wasn’t just limited to the Blazing Sun Clan’s turf; other islands were also building temples.
The rich and powerful clans were no longer warring, no longer seizing food supplies and weaponry, and no longer recruiting warships and soldiers, to the common people’s astonishment. Instead, they were building temples.
“What kind of situation is this?”
“I have no idea...”
Under the common people’s puzzled eyes and in fewer than ten days, temples worshiping the Great God Meng Lei started to sprout like mushrooms after rain.
Large temples were constructed on large islands, while small temples were constructed on small islands. Every temple housed a statue each.
One must admit that the Magicians of this world could really be said to be the world’s best architectural construction experts. In under ten days, the Golden Archipelago was filled with temples.
Their efficiency was truly flabbergasting!
After the temples were built, large forces like the Blazing Sun Clan took the lead to pray to Meng Lei. Some families went even further, conducting small prayer ceremonies every three days and big ones every seven days. They were more passionate in praying to Meng Lei than to their own fathers and ancestors!
Although their passion was somewhat too over-the-top, they nevertheless achieved excellent results as role models.
Several dubious islanders also attempted worshiping the new god, and then, incredible things happened!
Those with disabilities... were cured!
Those with illnesses... recovered!
Those facing fertility issues... became pregnant!
The marine beasts that frequently attacked the islands and gave the people a huge headache... also disappeared!
The islanders were incredibly poverty-stricken from the start. Thus, these efficacious incidents brought about astounding effects.
More and more residents entered the temples and started to pray to the Great God Meng Lei for various things.
For a while, Meng Lei’s faith took root and sprouted in every island, gradually beginning to develop and strengthen.
A month later, 20% of the islanders had become Meng Lei’s worshipers. Two months later, the number increased to 40%.
A year later, the number reached a frightening 70%. How much was 70%?
Out of 10 billion islanders, 7 billion of them worshiped Meng Lei. This number was even bigger than the total population on Earth!
The four half-deities were highly satisfied with the results. After laboring for a good half a year, they were finally seeing results. Their efforts hadn’t gone to waste.
The only problem was that Meng Lei still hadn’t awakened. This sorely disappointed the four half-deities.
They were just like children who had done well—eager for Meng Lei’s acknowledgment!
Of course, if it pleased him, it would be even better if Meng Lei could bestow a little something or two upon them.
In the Golden Dragon-Lions’ palace...
A year had passed. The ice that had frozen Meng Lei’s whole sea of consciousness gradually melted. At last, only a lump of ice surrounding the divine spirit flame remained.
Crack!
Crack!
All of a sudden...
A crisp sound rang out. Tiny, densely-packed cracks formed on the surface of the large ice lump freezing the divine spirit flame. As more and more cracks started to form...
Boom!
The ice lump exploded violently! The divine spirit flame started to blaze once more, and the Soul Ice Marrow that had melted integrated itself into the golden divine spirit flame all at once.
Boom!
As though it had been doused with a few buckets of petrol, the divine spirit flame instantly erupted and started to surge and blaze even more exuberantly, fiercely, and fervently!
Boom!
At the same time, a terrifying spiritual might also spread outward from Meng Lei, instantly sweeping through the entire Golden Dragon-Lions’ base.
“Master!!”
The four half-deities standing guard outside jumped in shock, almost flattened to the ground.
The force of the aura was simply too fearsome. It felt rather unbearable, as though a great, lofty mountain was weighing down on them.
“Master has become even stronger!”
The four half-deities exchanged a look, a sense of mortification coming over them. Previously, Meng Lei could already slay even a true god-level Demon Lord with his blood-red scythe.
Yet now, he had gotten stronger again. His speed of improvement was practically horrifying!
Improve? He had indeed improved!
As the person involved himself, Meng Lei could sense this the clearest. He could clearly feel the change in his divine spirit—it wasn’t just a hundred times more powerful than before!
When he spread his divine spirit outward, it could easily cover several thousand miles of where he was. Nothing within the range could escape his divine spirit’s inspection. There was practically nowhere to hide.
“My divine spirit has actually gone from the pinnacle-grade half-deity stage to the mid-grade lesser deity stage. This level of improvement is truly rather dramatic!”
A smile appeared on Meng Lei’s visage as he gazed at his stats interface. He was very satisfied with his upgrade this time.
Host: Meng Lei
Race: Human (Primeval Bloodline: Primordial Human <16%>, Assimilated Bloodlines: Gods-Slaying Rat, Divine Netherworld Phoenix, Hundred-Armed Giant)
Wealth: 64.41 million Laws of Nature Origin Crystals
Physical Body Constitution: Metal-Origin Divine Body (1%)
Spirit: Lesser Deity (Mid-Grade)
Power of Divinity: 0.1 Divinity Crystal
Laws of Nature: Metal-Dark Fusion (100%), Water-Fire Fusion (100%), Earth-Wind Fusion (100%), Wood-Earth Fusion (100%), Fire-Thunder-Ice Fusion (0.1%), Earth-Wood-Thunder Fusion (0.1%), Metal-Dark-Ice Fusion (0.1%)
“Now that my divine spirit has strengthened so much, the cost of buying credit to assimilate laws of nature should be lower now, right?”
With that in mind, Meng Lei promptly contacted the system. As expected...
“Ding! Raising Triple-Elemental Laws of Nature assimilation rate by 1% costs 100,000 Laws of Nature Origin Crystals.”
“It has gone down by so much? Not bad, not bad!”
Meng Lei rejoiced at the news. Previously, it had cost 1,000,000 Laws o
f Nature Origin Crystals to raise the assimilation rate of triple-elemental laws of nature, yet it cost only 100,000 Laws of Nature Origin Crystals now.
Such a price was completely within an acceptable range. If raising it by 1% required 100,000 Laws of Nature Origin Crystals, then 100% would require 1,000,000 Laws of Nature Origin Crystals!
,000,000 Laws of Nature Origin Crystals weren’t a lot!
Meng Lei thought to himself, I’ll wait before I raise it, though. When my divine spirit becomes even stronger, the price will definitely fall even further! It’s not too late to buy credit again at that time!
His gaze then shifted away from the stats interface and toward his sea of consciousness.
As the blazing sun, his divine spirit flame was burning even more exuberantly and fiercely than before. A million golden rays lit up his boundless sea of consciousness, and attached all around his divine spirit were innumerable milky-white threads!
They were connected to his divine spirit flame like antennas. Dense and packed, their numbers were endless.
“So many threads of faith?”
Meng Lei was rather taken aback.
Even a modest estimate of the number of threads would put it at at least a few billion. This would represent a few billion worshipers, but—he didn’t have a few billion worshipers?
Bewildered, Meng Lei connected to one of the threads of faith, and then he heard an aged and hoarse, but exceptionally pious voice.
“Oh the supreme Great God Meng Lei, I am Constantine Macaric. I’m going out to sea tomorrow. Please watch over me and let me return safely!”
“He’s a Golden Archipelago resident!”
Meng Lei deduced the worshiper’s background in an instant. Then, he picked another thread of faith and began to listen.
“Oh noble and great Lord, I am a worker at Zebra Island’s pig farm. I am sick and tired of my current life. Please bless me and let me find a Battle Aura manual...”
“Zebra Island? It’s someone from the Golden Archipelago again!”
Meng Lei checked the threads one by one and realized that all the worshipers were from the Golden Archipelago.
He spread his divine cognition into the surroundings and saw several statues, as well as groups of worshipers on their way to pray to him.
Meng Lei found this very incredible. All he had done was obviously just having a night’s sleep.
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