Early or Late, He'd Fall from Favor

If Zhan Yunxiao had known Yang Fan's assessment of him, he would probably have cursed furiously in anger.

How could an ordinary person possibly reach the Demigod realm step by step through hard work alone without taking such crooked paths?

His potential might have been exhausted, but out of ten thousand ordinary people like him, could even one become a Demigod?

The experience Zhan Yunxiao taught Yang Fan had also come from a sincere desire to help him. After all, its pros and cons had been clearly marked.

As fellow ordinary people, he naturally felt a measure of mutual sympathy.

It was just a pity that Yang Fan possessed an SSS-Rank Evolution Talent and could not feel the other man's good intentions at all.

"Zhan Yunxiao's methods are far too extreme. With an Evolution Talent, there's no need to take such a path. That was a waste of time."

Yang Fan muttered to himself, his consciousness entering the Divine Kingdom once more. At that moment, he discovered that his Faith Points had reached 193.22 million.

The Luo Family's fifty-million loan had also arrived.

Opening the marketplace, Yang Fan first purchased fourteen Adult Tai Sui. He threw ten directly into the Hundred Spirits Blood Pool, while placing the other five beside the five major cities as steady sources of flesh and blood.

That alone cost him twenty-eight million Faith Points.

To round things off, Yang Fan bought another 193 Moonwells and Sun Springs each, spending a hundred million Faith Points in one go.

Moonwells and Sun Springs were long-term fixed investments Yang Fan intended to make, and he had no plans to cut corners on them.

As the number of these two buildings in the Divine Kingdom continued to increase, coupled with his Evolution Talent, his buildings were naturally ten times more likely than others' to mutate into Fountains of Life.

More importantly, this investment required no attention from him. He could devote himself entirely to improving his believers' strength and developing the Divine Kingdom's ecosystem.

Afterward, Yang Fan purchased the C-rank cultivation technique, the Muscle-Tendon Cleansing Art, for two million Faith Points.

In an instant, Yang Fan's Faith Points dropped to 47.42 million.

After placing all the resources into the Divine Kingdom, Yang Fan issued a divine decree.

"My believers, to reward your outstanding performance in the war against the alien races, I bestow a miracle upon you. An Adult Tai Sui now stands beside every main city."

"Outside Divine Revelation City stands a Hundred Spirits Blood Pool. It can produce ten thousand Blood Pills every thirty years. Only the strong are worthy of consuming them. These pills can greatly improve physical fitness."

"This cultivation technique is called the Muscle-Tendon Cleansing Art. Cultivating it alongside the Federation Body-Tempering Art will rapidly increase your strength."

As the divine decree descended, fervor appeared on the faces of believers in every main city.

God Lord: Yang Fan

Divine Kingdom Area: 1,000,000 square kilometers

Talent: F-Rank Resource Talent (all resources within the Divine Kingdom grow 10% faster)

SSS-Rank Evolution Talent (unique talent; can accelerate Divine Kingdom Evolution; hidden)

Believers: First-Order Lifeforms (5), Mortals (70,000)

Cultivation Methods: Federation Body-Tempering Art, Muscle-Tendon Cleansing Art, Myriad Spirits Return-to-Origin Array (minor mastery)

Faith Points: 47.42 million (daily Faith Point gain: 3.7 million)

Buildings: Moonwell x400, Sun Spring x400, B-rank building Hundred Spirits Blood Pool x1

Assets: Bodhi Treasure Snake (x First-Order Monster)... Tai Sui x15, Water Lotus (x F-rank spirit plant), Soul-Nourishing Wood (one hundred years) (x C-rank spirit plant), Hundred-Spirit Peach (x C-rank spirit plant)

A satisfied smile appeared on Yang Fan's face. "With the Evolution Talent's effects, the Moonwells and Sun Springs in the Divine Kingdom can now provide an income of twenty-four million Faith Points each month. The century-old Blood Pool, enhanced by the Tai Sui, can provide another ten million Faith Points each month. Together with all kinds of monster and spirit-plant assets, my actual monthly income is above forty million Faith Points. Still, the Blood Pills should be used to cultivate believers, so there's no need to sell them."

Yang Fan had already made up his mind. All Blood Pills would be invested in his own Divine Kingdom to strengthen his believers, while the profits from Moonlight Dew and Solar Essence could be used to reinvest in the Divine Kingdom or purchase other resources to enrich it.

He still had plenty of Faith Points left, so Yang Fan was not in a hurry to spend them.

Now that he had enough Faith Points, he intended to browse the marketplace properly during this period, studying things he previously could not afford. He could also seek advice from his classmates to see whether there were buildings or spirit plants more suited to him.

Faith Points could never be earned fast enough. He still needed to keep some funds in reserve. Besides, he now had a wife suffering from a terminal illness, and he needed to spend money every month to buy Water of Life.

After finishing everything, Yang Fan looked at the beauty lying on the bed. Feeling somewhat tired, he climbed into bed and held her as he drifted into sleep.

Early the next morning, Yang Fan entered the Divine Kingdom to inspect it.

With the Muscle-Tendon Cleansing Art's support, his believers' consumption of meat had risen to another level.

However, with five Tai Sui and the Blood Pills produced from time to time, such consumption was merely a drop in the bucket.

Even though time flowed ten times faster in his Divine Kingdom than elsewhere, development still required a great deal of time. When he was not investing resources, there was no point in staring at it constantly.

Should I buy some Breeding Cards to speed up the Divine Kingdom? Yang Fan felt conflicted.

The last time he used Breeding Cards, the burden on the Divine Kingdom's resources had been too great and had caused Yang Fan quite a headache. Besides, there were no assessments in the near future, so he could let the Divine Kingdom develop freely.

Some things became counterproductive when rushed.

Yang Fan's consciousness was still within the Divine Kingdom when he suddenly felt the person in his arms move. He hurriedly returned to reality.

Luo Rou opened her eyes and discovered that she was lying in Yang Fan's arms, while he was looking at her.

Her face reddened. Instinctively, she tried to push Yang Fan away, only to discover that her body was far too weak for her to break free.

"Y-You... let go of me."

"We've already seen each other naked. What are you being shy about?"

"Have you no shame?"

"We're husband and wife. Does that count as shameless?" Yang Fan teased.

Seeing Luo Rou's delicate, birdlike appearance, Yang Fan could not help teasing her a little.

The former young lady of a wealthy family had fallen into the dust, only to let a country bumpkin like him pick up the bargain.

Just then, Sun Rong's gentle voice called from outside the door. "Yang Fan, Rou'er, are you awake? I've finished making breakfast."

"Mom, I'm awake. I'll be down right away," Luo Rou answered first.

"Good. If you don't feel rested, you can sleep a little longer. I'll have that brat Yang Fan bring the food upstairs so you can eat in bed."

"No need."

Hearing their exchange, Yang Fan gave the beauty in his arms a strange look.

Yang Fan could not help asking, "Do you have a split personality?"

"No."

"Then why is your attitude toward me so different from your attitude toward my parents?"

"I'm a good person when facing good people. I'm a bad person when facing bad people," Luo Rou explained as she got dressed.

"I already explained yesterday's matter. It wasn't what you thought," Yang Fan said, rubbing his temples.

"Rather than listen to what someone says, it's better to watch what he does."

Leaving those words behind, Luo Rou went downstairs alone.

As expected of a wealthy family, the refrigerator was filled with the meat of Second-Order and Third-Order Monsters.

For a moment, the atmosphere at the dining table was somewhat awkward. Aside from Yang Fan, Yang Tiexin and Sun Rong both watched the young lady Luo Rou cautiously, not quite daring to pick up their chopsticks.

Luo Rou picked up a piece of meat and put it into her mouth. Her face immediately broke into a smile. "Mom's cooking is so good. I want to eat it every day from now on."

Sun Rong let out a long breath of relief, and the atmosphere at the table eased considerably.

Seeing this, Yang Fan could not help admiring Luo Rou. His wife was truly unmatched when it came to winning over elders.

Unlike him, no matter what he said, his parents never believed him.

For a moment, Yang Fan actually felt that if this continued, he would sooner or later fall from favor.