Raising a God!

Within Liang Province of the Great Yan Kingdom, atop Tribulation Sword Mountain.

Jiang Ning'an was dressed in white as pristine as snow, her graceful bearing making her seem like a celestial maiden descended to the mortal world.

At that moment, she held the latest issue of the Heavenly Secret Ranking. When she saw who topped the Rising Dragon Ranking, her expression showed not the slightest surprise, for it matched exactly what she had expected.

"So he's at the Tiger Fiend Sect in Yun Province? That's quite a distance from Liang Province. But to be involved with that sort of lowlife, no wonder he didn't want to tell me." Jiang Ning'an murmured softly, her picturesque features serene.

As she spoke, the girl's gaze unconsciously drifted to the top entry under Cauldron Body. A moment later, something seemed to cross her mind. Her cheeks flushed, and she gave a soft, disapproving "tsk."

"Is this the genius you spoke of?" A calm voice suddenly sounded behind Jiang Ning'an, appearing out of nowhere. Liu Qingmeng watched the book in her hands as she spoke.

"Master." Hearing the voice behind her, Jiang Ning'an closed the book and turned to greet her.

"His talent is quite good. I just don't know how strong his will is. If he has nothing but natural talent, he'll be stuck at the Third Turn," Liu Qingmeng assessed objectively.

After all, once a martial artist reached the Heaven Ascending Path, they were themselves the embodiment of miracles. Any deficiencies in their innate qualities could be made up for through effort, so talent alone could not determine everything.

At that thought, Liu Qingmeng chuckled. "Still, a future Third Turn powerhouse is already enough to make those people restless. Very well. I'll personally visit those sects."

"At the very least, I'll make sure those old Heaven Ascending Path experts don't bully someone younger than them."

With that, Liu Qingmeng's figure slowly faded away, leaving only her voice echoing through the valley.

In the main hall of Blazing Sun Martial Hall, Ye Yonglie sat in a Grandmaster Chair, his gaze sweeping over the assembled disciples.

All the disciples who had appeared the day before had been forcibly gathered. No one spoke, but the shock in their exchanged glances had already revealed plenty.

After just a few brief looks, they all understood why they had been summoned.

"I imagine you all know why I called you here." Ye Yonglie lifted his warm teacup and took a small sip.

"I've gathered you all to talk about Young Master Fang," Ye Yonglie said evenly. "I'll get straight to the point. I've officially taken Young Master Fang as my god."

His words first startled everyone. Then, a feeling of inevitability rose in their hearts.

This sort of god-making method was widely known. Nearly every martial artist listed on the Hidden Dragon Rising Dragon Ranking had a large following of their own.

It didn't matter whether those ranked on the lists were evil, righteous, greedy, arrogant, lustful, ugly...

As long as they had power and made a name for themselves, fanatical followers would flock from all over the world, hoping to worship them.

Legend had it that Divine Monarch of Great Yan, the founding figure of the Great Yan Kingdom, had never been defeated since he first entered the world of martial arts. He had gone from one legend to another, and seemed to have hundreds of millions of followers. In the past, every citizen of the Great Yan Kingdom had been his devout follower.

There were two hardest parts to making a god.

First, the god had to maintain an undefeated image. Second, one had to meet the god and gain permission to serve him.

Fang Can's battle record was so terrifying, and his future so promising. If they didn't invest in him now, when would they?

"M-Master..." One of the disciples stepped forward. "I want to worship Young Master Fang as my god too. I'm so eager to improve."

"Exactly, Master. I know why you summoned us. You're worried we'll tell someone, aren't you?"

One disciple declared righteously, "We can all keep this secret and worship Young Master Fang together. Wouldn't it be wonderful to grow alongside our god?"

As he spoke, the other disciples silently agreed.

Just imagine being among the first to follow him, servants accompanying a god as he walked among mortals. The rewards...

"Impudent! Who do you think you are, to deserve to grow alongside a god?"

Yan Zhi stepped forward, cutting off their daydreams. "You came for the benefits, so your devotion is insincere. Worshiping a god won't help you at all."

"You can fool other people, but don't fool yourselves. You lot can barely focus on martial arts in your daily practice, always slacking off and cutting corners. Your worship and training are all talk. No matter how hard you try, you'll only end up chasing after shortcuts."

Yan Zhi's voice was filled with scorn. He had nothing but contempt for these disciples.

They had lived together for so long. He knew exactly what they were like.

Ye Yonglie was stuck at the sixth level of the Mysterious Pass because no matter how hard he worked, his talent only took him that far. That was why he needed other means to improve.

But these disciples were always slacking off. They were content to do the bare minimum in their training, and hadn't even reached the limits of their own talent before trying to take a crooked path.

They were the sort of small fry who'd be swept right back out the moment they entered the Counter-Current River.

Worshiping a god meant abandoning everything of your own and treating the god's commands as your sole purpose. These people couldn't even hold fast to themselves, so what was the point of worshiping a god?

If a god told you to get into Tsinghua University, a true devotee would study hard and do their utmost, even if they failed. That was the true meaning of worship. As for these disciples...

Under the senior disciple Yan Zhi's scolding, they all lowered their heads. Some were unhappy, but for a moment, they didn't know how to argue back.

Then they heard Yan Zhi's tone soften. "Though you're all hopelessly unruly by nature, that doesn't mean you can't change. You simply need us to guide you."

"Innate bad habits can be made up for through effort. Your devotion may be insincere now, but you can become more devout, step by step, by reciting the name of Heavenly Emperor Fang."

"Since that's settled, let's start with the first step. Everyone, sit down with me. We'll all recite the name of our lord, Heavenly Emperor Fang."

Yan Zhi's words seemed to carry some unknown power. The disciples around him instinctively wanted to follow his instructions and worship the god.

Watching this, Yuan Dang felt a strange sensation rise in his heart. It was as if...

"Not good. It's a Heart Manifestation!" In an instant, Yuan Dang bit his tongue. The sharp pain brought him back to his senses.

Feeling his state of mind waver in response to Yan Zhi's words, he grew deeply wary. Yan Zhi was actually using his Heart Manifestation to influence the minds of the disciples present.

The Heart Manifestation's influence wasn't strong, and resembled psychological suggestion, so none of the ordinary disciples noticed it.

Yuan Dang sat down with the others. As he watched them chant the name of Heavenly Emperor Fang in unison, a chill rose in his heart.

"Something's wrong. Everything's wrong. The future has been completely changed. At this point in my previous life, Heavenly Emperor Fang should have already been locked in a fierce battle. But now..."

As he kept his mind calm, the voices of everyone present reciting Fang Can's name rang out in unison, gradually growing solemn.

"But where is Fang Can now?" Yuan Dang wondered.

What he didn't know was that, in Ye Qingshi's bedroom, Fang Can was staring at the girl whom Master Ye had tied up like a bundle, looking utterly bewildered.