Within the temple, the discussion among the five god-level experts continued.
When the topic turned once more to faith, Jiadeliya, the Goddess of Dark Night, suddenly spoke in her cool voice:
"Leian, now that you have become a god, I assume you understand the uses of faith power. What are your plans regarding it?"
The fact that faith power could strengthen spiritual power was no secret among god-level experts, and the benefits brought by powerful spiritual power were well known.
First, it could accelerate one's comprehension of the Laws and Profound Mysteries. Second, it could enhance attack power and soul defense.
That was also why Leian had taken the initiative to cultivate a meditation technique from the very beginning.
However, material planes were unlike Supreme Planes. Forget Soul Golden Pearls—even treasures like Amethyst simply did not exist here. Faith power was the only means of strengthening spiritual power.
As it happened, Leian had chosen to split his soul in two when becoming a god, so he naturally coveted faith power greatly. Hearing Jiadeliya bring it up herself, he asked in turn:
"Faith power is indeed very important to me, but if I spread my faith, would it affect the Dark Night Goddess Sect?"
Their earlier conversation had been pleasant, and Leian did not wish to appear overly aggressive.
Jiadeliya's expression remained unchanged as she said:
"As a god-level expert, Leian, you have the right to spread your faith across the Youquan Continent. I have two methods for you to choose from."
"Please, go on." Leian promptly adopted a solemn expression.
Jiadeliya said, "First, we can divide half of the Youquan Continent's territory to you. I will withdraw the churches, and you may spread your faith however you choose.
"Or, you can establish your own sect, build churches in the major cities, and spread your faith."
Each method had its own advantages and disadvantages. The former fixed the territory, which also meant fixing the amount of faith available. Yet if one possessed sufficiently brilliant methods of proselytizing, choosing the latter offered the chance to seize even more faith power.
Unfortunately, Leian had only just become a god and lacked manpower. Even if he could recruit some Saint Realm experts, he could not compare with the Dark Night Goddess Sect, which had developed over countless years.
Thus, after only a brief consideration, Leian chose the first method.
Upon hearing this, Jiadeliya nodded slightly.
"Leian, you were born in the Byron Empire. For convenience's sake, I will assign the Byron Empire and half of the Beni Empire to you."
"Then I must thank you, Goddess." Leian bowed slightly.
In just a few words, the two had settled the ownership of the entire Youquan Continent. Such was the authority of god-level experts.
On the other side, Andrew and the other two offered Leian their congratulations at the right moment. After setting the matter aside, they began exchanging cultivation insights once more.
Outside the temple, after Leian's appearance, the Saint Realm experts had lost all interest in sparring and exchanging pointers. They gathered in small groups, speaking either of their yearning to become gods or flattering Leian.
Time passed swiftly. The next morning, when the sky was fully bright, Margaret arrived outside the temple and asked Jiadeliya whether the Goddess's Named Disciple Tournament should begin.
Inside the temple, before Jiadeliya could speak, Andrew burst into laughter.
"Brother Leian, now that you've become a god, this year's battles are probably going to be much less entertaining."
Andrew was not wrong. Over the past hundred years, the Dark Night Goddess Sect had issued only four Goddess Tokens. Leian had become a god, while Robert had been killed by Leian, leaving only two people behind. There truly was not much to anticipate.
However, the named disciples Jiadeliya had accepted over the years would also compete against one another. Based on the results of their cultivation, Jiadeliya would then consider whether to accept them as direct disciples.
As everyone chatted and laughed, Jiadeliya had already sent a voice transmission to Margaret.
Before the temple, the Saint Realm experts had gathered around the training ground. As Margaret delivered the Goddess's command, the tournament began.
The first to take the field were the remaining two talented Saint Realm experts holding Goddess Tokens. One cultivated the Laws of Earth, while the other cultivated the Laws of Fire.
The two had entered the Saint Realm less than a hundred years ago. They had only barely comprehended Worldly Momentum to completion and had yet to touch upon the Laws and Profound Mysteries. To god-level experts, their battle was truly not much to watch.
The two talented Saint Realm experts fought for nearly half a day, but neither emerged victorious.
Immediately afterward, the battles between the various named disciples began.
Inside the temple, the divine senses of Leian and the other four covered the entire valley. They watched while offering commentary.
These named disciples had all comprehended the Laws and Profound Mysteries, so their battles were somewhat worth watching. Leian even discovered a Saint Realm warrior who also cultivated Destruction Battle Qi.
This man was named Xilmon. It was said that he had been a Saint Realm expert for more than two thousand years. Judging from his combat methods, he had clearly comprehended a trace of the Destruction Profundity in material attacks.
Seeing this, Leian's heart stirred, and he secretly sent a voice transmission to Jiadeliya.
"Lady Jiadeliya, could you perhaps give this Saint Realm expert named Xilmon to me?"
Ever since the two had agreed on the division of faith, Leian had been considering methods of spreading it. To him, the most effective approach at present was to imitate the Martial God O'Brien and directly establish an empire belonging to himself.
However, Leian had an enormous need for faith power. To be honest, half of the Youquan Continent's territory could not satisfy his appetite. Once his Death Rule allowed him to become a god, he would still choose to split his soul in two.
By then, with two divine clones and one Saint Realm true body, that amount of faith power would be nowhere near enough.
Therefore, if he had the chance, he would certainly destroy the Radiant Church and the Dark Church, then bring the continents of Nansen and Chiyan under his command.
The reason he chose those two continents was naturally because the two churches stood opposed to them. Moreover, Leian found the two churches' practice of collecting pure souls utterly distasteful, so he felt no burden whatsoever about destroying them.
And once he occupied those two continents, establishing another empire would no longer be appropriate. For convenience, he would need to slowly build a church instead.
In that case, Xilmon, who also cultivated the Destruction Rule, was naturally an excellent candidate to help develop the church.
Jiadeliya did not guess Leian's intentions. Upon hearing his voice transmission, she replied without hesitation:
"This is a small matter. If you need manpower, aside from my direct disciples, you may recruit any other Saint Realm experts."
She had a favorable impression of Leian and knew that he was not someone who would push his luck, so she naturally acted somewhat more generously.
"Thank you."
Leian naturally did not forget to express his sincere gratitude.
Several days passed, and the once-in-a-century tournament finally came to an end.
On the training ground, the Saint Realm experts stood with bowed bodies, their gazes fixed eagerly upon the temple gates.
Before long, Jiadeliya and Leian's group emerged.
"Greetings, my lords!"
The Saint Realm experts lowered their heads and greeted them in unison, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.
Jiadeliya's cool gaze swept over them. Perhaps because she did not think much of the two so-called talented Saint Realm experts, she accepted neither of them this time. Instead, among her previous named disciples, she accepted one who cultivated the Laws of Darkness as a direct disciple.
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