Inside a room in the Rear Hall of Arbor God Temple.
Wodema lay on the bed, his mind filled with Ye Yu's calm, unruffled figure after the Divine War ended.
His face was extremely pale, utterly devoid of color.
He looked like a consumptive on his deathbed.
However, this was due to Wodema's special bloodline.
It was precisely because of this bloodline that he had awakened the special race—the Blood Bat Race!
But at this moment, Wodema's heart was far from calm.
His Divine Domain spanned 700 square kilometers, second only to Xiao Gui and Ma Baoguo.
The special race he had awakened, the Blood Bat Race, was in no way inferior to Xiao Gui's Flood Dragon People race or Ma Baoguo's Scorpion Lion Race!
By all rights, as the third genius of Arbor God City, he should have been very satisfied.
Yet Wodema was not content.
He had always dreamed of being the number-one genius.
Especially after seeing Ye Yu that day, still so calm and unruffled despite having fallen on hard times!
He had wanted nothing more than to kill Ye Yu on the spot!
After all, Ye Yu had been a peerless genius among them since childhood, dazzling everyone with his brilliance!
Perhaps only by truly stepping on Ye Yu to rise to the top could he quell the resentment in his heart!
"Damn it, Ye Yu actually managed to make a comeback!"
"Why am I, Wodema, doomed to be nothing more than an appendage to the number-one genius?"
"I can't accept it. I can't accept it..."
An angry, resentful growl escaped Wodema's lips.
Before his voice had fully faded,
a figure suddenly appeared in his room!
"You should be dissatisfied!"
"A true, peerless genius always fights to be number one!"
"Wodema, you haven't let me down!"
The figure was none other than the Divine Envoy, Shabi.
Seeing the Divine Envoy appear, Wodema jolted and sprang up from the bed.
"Wodema greets the esteemed Divine Envoy!"
Shabi waved a hand and studied Wodema for a few moments.
Only then did he speak, his voice low and measured.
"Wodema, can I trust you?"
Wodema wasn't stupid. The moment he heard this, he understood.
The Divine Envoy probably needed him for something.
Wodema immediately nodded again and again.
"The esteemed Divine Envoy has always looked after me. I've never forgotten it!"
"If there's anything you need me to do, please just say the word. I won't hesitate for a moment."
Hearing Wodema's assurances, the Divine Envoy Shabi was pleased.
However, he didn't let it show.
After all, Xiao Gui had said much the same thing not long ago,
only to reject his plans without hesitation in the end.
That had made Shabi somewhat cautious.
He thought it over, gathered his words, and spoke slowly.
"Wodema, I know you've always been ambitious."
"I've always thought highly of you, too!"
"Now, I'm offering you a chance to surpass Xiao Gui. What do you say?"
At this, Wodema was both shocked and delighted.
He was shocked because there was no such thing as a free lunch. If an opportunity like this fell into his lap, how could he possibly get it without paying a considerable price?
But he was delighted because at last he had a chance to surpass Xiao Gui and Ye Yu.
Especially Ye Yu!
As long as he could step on Ye Yu to rise to the top, he didn't care what price he had to pay!
"Please give me your instructions, Divine Envoy!"
Wodema took a deep breath and steadied himself.
Seeing this, the Divine Envoy Shabi nodded.
"Good. You've managed to stay composed!"
"Then I'll get straight to the point!"
"When tomorrow comes, go and challenge Zhang Dongyang to a Divine War!"
"I'll approve your challenge. And even if you kill Zhang Dongyang and devour his Divine Spark, I'll pretend I didn't see a thing."
There was a hint of coldness in Shabi's words, and Wodema felt a chill run through him.
But he wasn't foolish enough to ask why.
"May I ask what price I'll have to pay, Divine Envoy?"
Wodema asked the question directly.
There was no such thing as a free lunch. Why would the Divine Envoy suddenly go out of his way to promote him?
"Clever!"
The Divine Envoy Shabi gave Wodema an approving look.
He paused, then continued.
"I don't need you to pay any price!"
"All I need is for you to challenge Ye Yu to a Divine War after you devour Zhang Dongyang's Divine Spark!"
At this, Wodema was startled, then overcome with delight.
Ye Yu really had offended the Divine Envoy!
It seemed the Divine Envoy was just as displeased with Ye Yu!
Otherwise, why would he risk punishment from the Divine Temple just to use Wodema to get rid of Ye Yu?
That was what Wodema thought, but he had no intention of refusing.
What a joke—he'd been hoping for an opportunity like this!
He could get rid of Ye Yu and make himself stronger at the same time!
That's right. Although Ma Baoguo had died,
Wodema and the other New Gods had all speculated afterward that it wasn't because Ye Yu was so powerful that Ma Baoguo couldn't defeat him!
Something unknown must have happened during that Divine War,
something that had led to Ma Baoguo's fall.
Of course, Ye Yu had now devoured Ma Baoguo's Divine Spark and become the second-ranked genius.
They absolutely couldn't underestimate him as they had before.
Still, Wodema wasn't worried.
Ye Yu had devoured Ma Baoguo's Divine Spark and grown stronger.
But couldn't he devour Zhang Dongyang's Divine Spark and grow stronger still?
No wonder the Divine Envoy arranged for me to challenge Zhang Dongyang first!
He's afraid I'm no match for Ye Yu right now, so he's sacrificing Zhang Dongyang to strengthen me!
Wodema thought this over and drew a deep breath.
Then he addressed the Divine Envoy with a solemn expression.
"Wodema will follow all of the esteemed Divine Envoy's arrangements!"
He had made his position clear.
Without the slightest hesitation, he accepted the opportunity Shabi had offered him.
Shabi was extremely pleased to hear it.
That was more like it!
Xiao Gui must have lost his mind earlier!
How dare he refuse my offer!
Just wait, Xiao Gui!
After Wodema kills Ye Yu, you're next!
That's what you get for slighting me, Shabi!
A vicious look flashed across Shabi's face. He was petty and had a vindictive streak.
While Shabi was making his own behind-the-scenes moves, Ye Yu wasn't sitting idle either.
Now that he had realized Shabi was preparing to deal with him,
Ye Yu naturally wasn't going to sit back and wait for it.
Whatever Shabi had planned, as long as Ye Yu made himself stronger,
all schemes and tricks would be worthless against him.
With that in mind, Ye Yu contacted the system.
"System, speed things up. Open the dungeons, experience points, and currency system to the players as soon as possible!"
"I want the players' strength to at least double over the next few days!"
"Also, I have 12,124 Divine Power remaining. Use 10,000 of it to purchase more player slots!"
Ye Yu quickly laid out his plans.
Unfortunately, that meant he no longer had enough Divine Power to increase his Divine Rank as he'd originally intended.
But there was nothing he could do. Time was short, and he couldn't worry about that for now.
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