Faith Was Poisonous

The Silver Age.

Legend held that it was a continuation of the Age of Myth.

In those days, gods and humans lived together.

Heavenly gods descended from their magnificent divine kingdoms and walked the earth, helping mortals subjugate strange beasts.

Countless epics of the gods circulated among mortals.

As time passed, the silver species multiplied, spreading across several continents.

Gradually, city-states of the Silver Folk were established.

Countless Silver Folk lived in the territories governed by the seven great Divine Courts.

Statues of the gods were also erected in every city-state.

As though they had been granted fiefs, each city-state had a particular god it worshipped.

During the early days of the Silver Folk's expansion, the Divine Courts had assigned tasks to the various Divine Clans, scattering them across the lands like stars.

Each god had Silver Folk within their own area of responsibility. Once the people established city-states, the devout naturally erected statues of their gods within their cities.

Unlike the Golden Humans, the Silver Folk's faith was purer and more devout.

Many years later, the gods discovered a kind of power within that faith.

It was the power of faith.

With the help of the power of faith, many members of the Divine Clans rapidly grew stronger. Some rose from A-rank to king-rank, while others rose from king-rank to emperor-rank.

The tremendous benefits of the power of faith sparked a craze among the Divine Clans, and so they cherished their people even more.

For the sake of faith, they also began helping their people develop and grow stronger.

The gods fought many God Wars over the power of faith. There were even casualties, something no one had anticipated.

Their once-united brethren would actually turn their blades on one another one day.

Thus, the God Kings of the seven great Divine Courts had no choice but to suppress this trend, issuing an ironclad law forbidding gods from intervening personally.

Any god caught doing so would face the wrath of all the gods!

The God Kings' deterrent power was plain to see. No matter the era, they were always among the strongest.

The Kunlun Divine Court.

Inside the great hall.

Jiang Yang sat upright on his throne, looking at the two members of the Divine Clan kneeling prostrate in the hall.

"Rain God Cao Man, Grain God Yun Han. You personally intervened and sparked a war between two city-states. You crossed the line. Go to the Thunder Terrace and receive your punishment."

Clad in green robes, Grain God Yun Han was clearly unconvinced. He loudly protested his innocence.

"King Jiang, Cao Man intervened first! I was forced to fight back..."

Seeing the Grain God speak up, Rain God Cao Man refused to back down.

"Yun Han, you've pulled so many little tricks behind the scenes. Why don't you lay them out before the gods and let everyone judge?"

For a time, the two gods argued until their faces flushed and their necks bulged, as though the word "stubborn" were written all over them.

On his throne, Jiang Yang had a terrible headache. Ever since they discovered the wondrous uses of the power of faith, clear rifts over interests had appeared among the once-united gods.

They all wanted to grow stronger. They all wanted more faith.

Even though Jiang Yang and the other six God Kings had jointly issued a ban, some still broke the law!

At first, remembering that they were all his former companions, Jiang Yang had raised the rod high but brought it down lightly.

Yet even now, some still refused to repent.

At this thought, Jiang Yang felt that he needed to change his approach.

His face abruptly turned cold, and his fury soared to the heavens.

"I don't care which of you is in the right. Gods must not intervene personally-that is an ironclad law. If he intervened first, couldn't you return to the Divine Court and report him? If he was playing so many little tricks, couldn't you bring the evidence back to the Divine Court?"

"We are comrades-in-arms, brethren. Don't let us all slaughter one another before the great catastrophe arrives."

"Cao Man, Yun Han. Go to the Thunder Terrace and receive your punishment. Now. This instant. And from today onward, anyone who offends again won't get off with just this. I will punish them severely!"

"I mean what I say. Either defeat me, or don't defy my words!"

With that, Jiang Yang swept his sleeve and left in a fury.

Goddammit, being a God King really wasn't easy!

In the great hall, Rain God Cao Man and Grain God Yun Han looked at each other.

"King Jiang really got angry..."

"We'd better behave."

When he returned to his palace, Filiya was already waiting at the entrance.

Seeing Jiang Yang return, she came forward to greet him with a sweet, charming smile.

"Your Majesty, have gods been fighting again?"

Looking at the sweet, well-behaved Filiya before him, Jiang Yang heaved a deep sigh and said,

"Yes. Every one of those fellows is a slippery old hand. They know I won't do much to them, so they have no qualms at all. But after today, I'll harden my heart."

After speaking, he glanced again at the quiet, sweet girl and suddenly remarked,

"If only they could all be as well-behaved and obedient as you, Filiya."

The moment he finished speaking, Filiya's face flushed red, and she stammered,

"I... I'm not really."

"By the way, Filiya, what brings you here? What is Li Xiaowa up to this time?"

Filiya was now also the god worshipped by a small city-state. Back when the gods chose their divine names, she had picked Goddess of Roselight, which few others wanted.

But she preferred studying to handling the city-state's affairs.

In recent years, Filiya had been spending her time with Li Xiaowa, serving as her assistant.

Jiang Yang had no idea why she, a Golden Human, was so interested in science.

Of course, she was quite talented as well, and was now at A-rank.

As for Sphinx, it had now given up striving. The Divine Clan's food was far better than what it had eaten before, and it now idled around Kunlun Mountain, happily serving as a divine beast that guarded the mountain.

It had even given itself an Eastern Cang name: "Lu Wu."

The sun gradually rose higher in the sky.

Filiya looked at the heroic, imposing man before her, silently admiring the God King's martial bearing.

But when she remembered the message Li Xiaowa had asked her to deliver, a rare seriousness came over her face.

"Your Majesty, the director said their latest research has found that faith is poisonous!"