Building an Aquatic Ecosystem

Li Shuhao had been born into an ordinary family and lacked the arrogance common among the scions of great clans. He was also more willing to recognize the strengths of people like Yang Fan.

"You are right, Young Master," the old man replied expressionlessly.

"How is the family loan coming along?"

"We have applied for 50 million Faith Points. The annual interest rate is 11.2%. For the first five years, we only need to pay the interest. After that, the principal and interest can be repaid in equal installments over twenty years."

"Is that the maximum amount?"

"If Young Master demonstrates the value of a first-class genius, it can be raised to 500 million."

"Then borrow it all. Spend 20 million to buy ten adult Tai Sui and put them all into the Hundred Spirits Blood Pool. After deducting the 11.2% cost of funds, I can still earn around 37.6% annually.

Let Uncle An use the remaining 30 million to purchase resources, mainly to improve the strength of the Divine Kingdom's believers. The school placement assessment will be held in half a year. I have to give it everything I've got and strive to become a first-class genius of the family."

"Yes, sir."

After resting for a night in the virtual world, Yang Fan returned to reality.

That Liu Ruyan was truly pitiful.

A sick younger brother, a gambling father, a mother who favored sons over daughters, and a broken her.

Yang Fan felt that she was a hundred times poorer than he was.

Faced with the delicate and pitiful Liu Ruyan, Yang Fan could not help tipping her a drop of Moonlight Dew as a token of his feelings.

Afterward, they exchanged contact information, and Yang Fan said that he would definitely patronize her business again in the future.

The sensations had been too real. He had clearly gone there to relieve stress, yet when Yang Fan returned to reality, he felt utterly exhausted.

"Amitabha. Women only slow down the speed at which I draw my blade. It would be best to do less saving and helping in the future." Yang Fan took a deep breath.

After adjusting his mindset, Yang Fan poured his consciousness into the Divine Kingdom.

With a thought, he placed the Tai Sui Li Qingying had given him beside Divine Revelation City and issued a divine oracle.

"My believers, this is flesh bestowed by your God. It can improve one's aptitude. Strip the flesh clean, and it will regrow next month. Powerful believers shall receive priority in the distribution."

"Thank you for your divine gift, my God." The believers knelt and kowtowed.

The moment the Tai Sui entered the Divine Kingdom, Yang Fan sensed its detailed information.

With his believers' current rate of consumption, this single Tai Sui alone could provide all their food.

Yang Fan could not help sighing. It was indeed a treasure worth 2 million. He probably would not need to worry about food for a long time. Even the crops he had planted some time ago felt like they could simply be abandoned.

When cultivating the Federation Body-Tempering Art, eating meat was naturally best.

Yang Fan then activated his tenfold Evolution Talent and returned to reality.

After seeing how the Li Family cultivated geniuses, the small spark of pride Yang Fan had just developed was crushed to nothing. Even though his ability to acquire resources was ten times that of others, he did not dare grow complacent.

"It would be great if I could get more startup capital." Yang Fan sighed.

Though a person's heart was only the size of a fist, their desires were endless.

Just a month ago, Yang Fan's family had not even earned 5,000 a month. Now, his minimum net income was 500,000, yet he still could not be satisfied.

People saw different sights from different positions. In the past, he had not even been qualified to come into contact with someone like Li Shuhao, so he naturally had not felt this sense of urgency.

He was still a student now and was protected by Federation law, but what about five years later?

Forget five years from now—was Federation law truly foolproof?

Rather than entrusting his fate to so-called rules, he might as well make himself stronger.

I must use every means possible to enrich the Divine Kingdom, strengthen my believers, and break through to Demigod as soon as possible—or even become a God. Yang Fan silently warned himself.

A call request suddenly came through his wristwatch at an inopportune moment. It was Zhang Pang.

The moment the call connected, Zhang Pang began wailing like a ghost.

"Godfather, you hid it from me so well! A population of 110,000—how the hell did you do it? Yesterday was your son's fault. Your son should not have shown off before you, Godfather. My eyes have already been blinded by your towering radiance. Please grace my humble home with your presence, so that I may behold your great and glorious image."

Yang Fan could not help rolling his eyes. "I don't accept godsons."

"Then how about a biological son?"

"I can have one myself, and I don't need one as big as you. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

"No, no, no. It would be an offense against heaven and reason not to cling to a thigh as thick as yours, brother. I'm not asking for much—just give me some simple pointers on developing my Divine Kingdom." Zhang Pang straightened his tone.

"I'm afraid I can't offer much advice. I have something to do, so I'm hanging up." Yang Fan ended the call directly.

Over the next few days, Zhang Pang either called him or came to his door to bother him.

Since he was his best friend, Yang Fan had no choice but to make time to offer some suggestions.

After looking over the development of Zhang Pang's Divine Kingdom, Yang Fan discovered that Zhang Pang's theoretical knowledge was abysmal. Aside from the cultivated farmland near the tribe, which his father Zhang Wanshan had helped arrange,

the rest of the place was simply unbearable to look at. Compared to him, Yang Fan's theoretical knowledge really did qualify him as a top student.

Over the next few days, Yang Fan greatly improved Zhang Pang's Divine Kingdom ecosystem, instantly earning Zhang Pang's heartfelt gratitude and gaining a devoted little fanboy.

After dealing with his best friend, Yang Fan returned to his daily routine.

He attended class diligently during the day, then browsed the marketplace and the God forum after school, researching how to develop the Divine Kingdom more effectively.

The ecosystem in Yang Fan's Divine Kingdom was now stable, and with the Tai Sui acting as a flesh-producing machine, there was more food than they could ever eat.

This caused the believers to hunt far less, and all the creatures in the Divine Kingdom began to multiply and thrive.

What Yang Fan needed to do now was research how to improve his believers' strength.

Given his Evolution Talent, he focused mainly on spirit plants or demon beasts capable of gradually improving aptitude.

Items that could improve aptitude were extremely expensive. Ninety-nine percent of them were beyond what Yang Fan could currently afford, but those that took an especially long time to take effect were relatively cheaper.

After spending a long time browsing the marketplace, Yang Fan really did find some suitable options.

"C-rank Hundred-Spirit Peach x100. Price: 100,000 Faith Points. Seller's note: Long-term consumption can improve believers' aptitude. If you plan to develop toward cultivation and immortality in the future, buy without hesitation. There is an extremely low chance that descendants of believers will be born with spiritual roots.

Must be planted with Breath Soil. Peach pits can be replanted after consumption, with a 37% chance of sprouting."

Yang Fan waved his hand and bought them directly, along with 10,000 square meters of Breath Soil.

With Yang Fan's current believer population, these one hundred peach trees would not even be enough to fill the gaps between their teeth. Fortunately, they could be cultivated again, saving him quite a few Faith Points. Time, on the other hand, was what he cared about least.

"Spirit Fish Doll x10,000. First-rank demon beast. Price: 60,000 Faith Points. Long-term consumption can strengthen the physique."

"Buy."

Yang Fan also bought grass carp, perch, mandarin fish, and all kinds of other aquatic creatures, releasing them into the river as food for the Spirit Fish Dolls.

To create a simple aquatic ecosystem, he bought more aquatic plants as well, such as water grass, algae, and water vines. He also bought aquatic creatures like shrimp and pufferfish, purchasing the whole lot in one package.

These unranked plants and animals were extremely cheap. With Yang Fan's current funds, he did not even blink at the cost.

As for whether the creatures he bought could survive, Yang Fan was not worried at all. Aside from the Spirit Fish Dolls, the rest did not even count as assets.

Whether they could reproduce within this ecosystem would be left to time. Time would select the most suitable combination for the food chain.