From Careful Budgeting to Rolling in Wealth

"Further left is that ruined temple up ahead."

Following the God of Destruction's directions, Su Chen wound his way through several turns until he arrived before a dilapidated temple.

"Senior Destruction, the travel funds you mentioned are in this ruined temple?"

The temple had fallen into disrepair long ago and looked as though it could collapse at any moment.

"That's right. They're inside."

"Alright."

Since the God of Destruction had even considered the matter of travel funds, what else could Su Chen do? Naturally, he accepted them.

After entering the ruined temple, Su Chen felt even more certain that it was about to collapse.

Even when a gust of wind passed through, he could hear the beams and pillars creaking, accompanied by a distinct swaying sensation.

"It's beneath the third stone slab behind that sound. Just lift it."

The God of Destruction's navigation skills were first-rate, far more accurate than any damned map app.

Su Chen went around behind the statue, which had only half its body remaining, and found the stone slab the God of Destruction had mentioned.

The divine pantheon of Douluo Continent differed from that of Su Chen's previous life, and he could not tell which god the statue depicted.

In any case, it was most likely not the Angel God.

If it had been the Angel God, Spirit Hall, which the god had established, would certainly not have allowed it to fall into abandonment.

As for other gods, they had few believers. It was only natural for their temples to be so dilapidated.

After lifting the stone slab, a pitch-black chest came into Su Chen's view.

Once the God of Destruction confirmed there was no danger, Su Chen did not hesitate and directly opened the chest.

"Well? Is it the currency currently used across Douluo Continent?"

"Yes, and they're Gold Soul Coins."

The chest was packed full of Gold Soul Coins. Su Chen did not count them carefully, but judging from the size of the chest, there were at least ten thousand.

Although ten thousand Gold Soul Coins could not compare to the savings of major sects and great clans, it was already an enormous fortune for Su Chen.

"Who exactly left such a large sum of Gold Soul Coins here?"

This ruined temple appeared to have been deserted for a long time. Who would be willing to leave so many Gold Soul Coins here unattended?

"Who knows?"

The God of Destruction did not care about such trivial matters. As long as he found Su Chen some travel funds, that was enough.

This chest of Gold Soul Coins had actually been left behind by a Soul Master thief.

He had suffered grievous wounds and died while being jointly hunted by other Soul Masters, so naturally, no one came to reclaim the Gold Soul Coins he had left behind.

Had Su Chen not discovered it under the God of Destruction's guidance, perhaps the temple would have completely collapsed in some storm, and someone else might have unearthed it by chance from the ruins.

Of course, it might also have been buried deep underground forever. Either way, it belonged to Su Chen now.

Su Chen stored both the chest and the Gold Soul Coins inside his Pendant, then walked out of the tottering temple with satisfaction.

If he used all those Gold Soul Coins only for food, clothing, lodging, and travel, Su Chen could spend them for a lifetime.

Yet the God of Destruction clearly felt that it was still not enough.

How long could a mere chest of Gold Soul Coins last? He had to find Su Chen more travel funds. How could someone the Destruction God King favored be troubled by something as insignificant as money?

However, there were no other large caches of ownerless wealth in this city.

The God of Destruction could not possibly care about scattered Soul Coins. Did a mere few dozen or hundred Soul Coins deserve Su Chen's time searching for them?

As for taking property that had owners, that would be even more inappropriate.

Compared to his previous life, the God of Destruction had already acted quite out of line, repeatedly breaking the God Realm's rules.

But he still had some pride. Otherwise, would he not be no different from that fellow Tang San?

Along the road to Star Dou Forest, the God of Destruction found several more places where large sums of ownerless Soul Coins were buried.

He thought that with these Gold Soul Coins replenishing his funds along the way, they should be enough for Su Chen.

If they were not enough, he could always find more later.

With his purse now full, Su Chen officially entered shopping mode.

Since he was not short on money, he might as well buy everything he would need for the long journey.

Originally, he had planned to live frugally, making every Copper Soul Coin count and saving wherever possible.

But the God of Destruction had been so thorough that he instantly shifted Su Chen from careful budgeting mode into rolling-in-wealth mode.

By the time he had bought everything from pots, bowls, and ladles to oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar, it was already getting late.

Su Chen simply decided to stay in the city for the night and set out tomorrow.

In the God Realm, just as the God of Destruction withdrew his attention from Douluo Continent, visitors arrived outside Castle of Destruction.

The visitors were all of the Seven Original Sin Gods.

They waited outside the castle without crossing the Thunder Pool by even a single step.

They did this not entirely out of reverence for the God of Destruction, but because Castle of Destruction was filled with Destruction Intent.

Other than the God of Destruction, any other god would feel incomparably stifled here and would have to guard against being contaminated by Destruction Intent. They would not set foot within easily.

"For what purpose have you come?"

The God of Destruction's voice rang out, making all Seven Original Sin Gods tremble.

The God of Greed, the God of Pride, and the others all looked toward the God of Wrath.

They had all come to visit the God of Destruction after hearing the God of Wrath say that the Destruction God King's temperament had become much kinder, and that he did not spare care or guidance for subordinates like them.

But judging from the God of Destruction's tone, he did not sound any kinder.

The God of Wrath wore an innocent expression.

I did say that the Destruction God King had been very kind to me, but I never said he would always be this kind, nor did I say he would be this kind to everyone.

You came here of your own accord. How could you blame me?

Fortunately, the others all understood the God of Destruction's personality. Other than being slightly disappointed that they had not witnessed the Destruction God King's gentle side for themselves, they had no further thoughts.

"Come in."

The God of Destruction's voice sounded again, and the castle gates opened.

"Yes."

Several of them could not help swallowing.

Although they were First-Level Gods and divine beings who controlled negative emotions like the seven original sins, they still felt lingering fear at the prospect of entering Castle of Destruction.

The violent Destruction Intent that permeated every corner made the pressure within Castle of Destruction overwhelming.

But they had come voluntarily. Now that the God of Destruction had opened the gates, could they really refuse to enter?

"Hm?"

After mustering their courage and entering Castle of Destruction, all seven were startled.

The ever-present Destruction Intent had unexpectedly been restrained around the surroundings and did not approach them at all.

The other six looked at the God of Wrath again.

What you said really was true. The Destruction God King had indeed become much kinder.

No!

This was no longer merely kindness. He was considerate of his subordinates and boundlessly benevolent.

The God of Destruction from before would never have cared whether they felt immense pressure and constant dread within Castle of Destruction.

Too much pressure?

Just endure it!

"Greetings, my lord!"

Within Castle of Destruction, the Seven Original Sin Gods directly addressed the God of Destruction as "my lord."

"Mm. Sit."

"Thank you, my lord."

The God of Destruction looked at the God of Wrath and said,

"Are the methods of controlling Wrath Power that I taught you earlier still effective?"

The God of Wrath hurriedly stood and replied,

"My lord's guidance has been extraordinarily effective. This subordinate has benefited greatly and came specifically to thank you."

The God of Wrath was not merely flattering him. He truly felt that his control over Wrath Power had become more natural and effortless.

Though the improvement was not great, for First-Level Gods like them, even the slightest progress was already extremely difficult to achieve.

"That is good."

The God of Destruction then looked at the others.

"Since you are all here, tell me about any confusion you have in cultivation and any obstacles you find difficult to overcome. Pooling our wisdom is always better than working behind closed doors."

"Thank you, my lord."

What pooling their wisdom? Everyone understood that this simply meant receiving the God of Destruction's guidance.

They had never dared hope for such a good opportunity before. Each of them focused with utmost concentration, unwilling to miss even the slightest detail.