Chapter 204: True Brothers

After taking control of the Divine Register, Zheng Fa could see the good and evil of those in the Heavenly Stele Realm.

Good people emitted a faint golden light around them; evil people radiated a tinge of blood qi.

To him, these burly men of the Thunderbolt Cult were black-red with evil, their bellies filled with the lives of countless women—even by the Divine Register's judgment, they were great evildoers, deserving the calamity of being shattered to dust.

Those who rose to the core of the Thunderbolt Cult were no fools; they scattered like birds and beasts. Zheng Fa spurred his soul, unleashing a dozen lightning strikes in succession until his soul energy was nearly drained.

Several piles of black ash now littered the ground before the temple—left behind by those burly men.

Xiao Qing stood inside the temple, her face blank. She involuntarily turned to look at the statue within—the statue still had no facial features, yet now she felt as if a pair of eyes were watching her, her heart trembling with excited awe.

She gazed out toward the temple's entrance.

Most of the Thunderbolt Cult followers who had come to seize the temple had fled; those still standing were likely too terrified to move, kneeling on the ground, foreheads pressed to the dirt, trembling as they prostrated themselves before the temple.

The townspeople who had come to watch also knelt in a sea of bowed heads—bolder than the cultists, they dared to lift their eyes toward the temple interior.

Aside from Xiao Qing, not a single person remained standing; her small frame suddenly became the tallest in the entire city.

"Lord Lei Shen?" She seemed unaccustomed to such a scene, bewildered, whispering: "What should we do now?"

Zheng Fa thought for a moment before speaking:

"Those who do good shall worship me; those who do evil shall profane the divine. You may all depart."

Hearing Zheng Fa's words, the crowd exchanged glances—wanting to enter the temple but too afraid, they silently withdrew.

…

Ban Shan City fell completely silent for five days.

No—rather, apart from Zheng Fa's thunder, no one else in Ban Shan City dared to step outside.

The main reason he hadn't killed all those burly men that day was actually himself—he lacked sufficient soul energy and spiritual power; ten or so heavenly tribulation strikes per day was his absolute limit.

He wasn't in a hurry; he even made a plan in his mind: ten thunderbolts per day, awarded to the lucky ones.

At first, those burly men hid in their homes, but the heavenly tribulation's power was immense—no roof, no matter how thick, could withstand it.

Some tried to flee Ban Shan City, but within a thousand li, all land belonged to Zheng Fa's domain—they had nowhere to run. Even to prevent accidents, fearing they might die in some forgotten corner, Zheng Fa would sometimes let them jump the queue.

To be honest, Zheng Fa's days were rather dull—

Just thunder, recover, thunder, recover…

It felt like the grind of a wage slave.

But Xiao Qing's days were full of flavor—Zheng Fa didn't care about the faith of Ban Shan's people, yet with ten heavenly tribulation strikes daily, their devotion to him grew ever stronger.

At first, only one or two bold souls dared enter the temple to worship.

Later, seeing those who went unharmed, more and more came.

Xiao Qing, seeing the temple grow ever more prosperous, smiled more each day.

Zheng Fa even felt— the more distant he acted, the more devout the people became.

Only after studying their inner thoughts did he understand—they believed Lei Shen was angry.

They wanted to mend the broken mirror.

…

After nightfall, Xiao Qing stared at the full offerings on the altar, her eyes darting around.

She no longer feared going hungry.

As the only one who could communicate with Zheng Fa, worshippers sometimes slipped her small gifts—nothing much, Ban Shan City was too poor—but enough to keep her half-full.

Yet the offerings given to her were of a lower grade than those given to Lei Shen.

The altar held fish and meat, making her gaze linger hungrily.

"Want to eat?"

She suddenly heard Lord Lei Shen say.

"No! These are Lord Lei Shen's offerings!" Xiao Qing shook her head frantically: "Not for me to consume!"

"Didn't you used to eat quite happily?"

"..."

Zheng Fa saw Xiao Qing topple backward, her face filled with terror—as if she hadn't realized Lord Lei Shen knew about this.

She stammered, clutching the sides of her head as if fearing a bolt of lightning would strike her dead.

Yet inside, she screamed: "This… this isn't Lord Lei Shen truly manifesting, is it?"

Zheng Fa found it amusing, but didn't care—he simply continued: "Eat."

Xiao Qing froze. "Eat?"

"Consider it my reward."

"Reward?" Xiao Qing lowered her hands, leaping to the altar's side: "Then… can I eat just a little?"

Zheng Fa had tested this before—he currently could not enter the mortal realm of the Heavenly Stele Realm; at least, he hadn't found a passage. He could only manifest through the Divine Register.

All these offerings on the altar were useless to him.

So he said casually: "Eat it all."

"A-all of it?"

Xiao Qing stared blankly at the altar, suddenly too afraid to move.

Zheng Fa did not answer again.

These past two days, he had reflected on his attitude toward the Heavenly Stele Realm—it felt to him like a modern online game.

The things on the Divine Register were like daily quests…

To him, the people of the Heavenly Stele Realm were mostly just NPCs.

He had no desire to harm them, but he felt no connection to them either.

It was a true god's indifference.

He had no desires regarding Banshan City, and for the people of the Heavenly Stele Realm, he felt only a touch of pity—

Their kowtows brought him no honor whatsoever.

He didn't even need incense offerings.

Talking with Xiao Qing was partly to pass the time and ease boredom while restoring his spiritual power, and partly due to his stingy nature—he couldn't bear to see the offerings on the altar go to waste.

He said nothing, but Xiao Qing suddenly spoke again: "Can I… take these to give to people?"

"Hm?" "Banshan City… so many people are starving."

Zheng Fa looked at Xiao Qing and fell silent for a moment.

"Yes."

Xiao Qing picked up the food and hurried out, stumbling slightly.

After a while, he heard a dense throng of footsteps at the temple entrance.

These people were likely among the poorest in Banshan City; their shadows on the ground looked like thin bamboo poles.

They clutched the food Xiao Qing had brought out and bowed reverently to the ground.

Zheng Fa had done nothing at all.

Yet the fire in their eyes burned brighter than the faith of the Thunder Sect's followers from just days ago.

…

A month later, Yan Wushuang and Chu Tianque stepped out of the Heavenly Stele.

He was listless, unable to muster even a trace of joy.

"Senior Yan, you must have gained deep insight from the heavenly tribulation lightning—this time you earned thirty days of merit!" Chu Tianque said in a congratulatory tone.

"Mm."

Yan Wushuang replied, his expression utterly uninterested.

"Then you're nearly gathered enough merit for the hundred-year Cloud Fruit in the Hundred Treasures Hall, right?"

Chu Tianque changed the subject.

"Mm."

"…"

Seeing him like this, Chu Tianque opened his mouth, glanced at Xue Shimei, the Supreme Dao's true disciple beside him, and neither knew what to say.

Both knew why Yan Wushuang was like this—even on the journey, they'd treaded lightly, never daring to mention that person's name—but Yan Wushuang's expression…

"Xiao Xianzi has emerged!"

Yan Wushuang shuddered violently and snapped back to awareness: "Where?"

"…"

Both Chu Tianque and Xue Shimei stared at him.

Yan Wushuang stared for a long time before realizing they were teasing him; his shoulders slumped, his face growing even more bitter.

"Senior Yan, it's just one Xiao Xianzi… is it really worth this?"

Chu Tianque, seeing his behavior, felt a mix of frustration and pity.

"I don't want it to be this way!" Yan Wushuang said bitterly. "But don't you understand? If I were simply outclassed, I'd accept it—I Yan Wushuang believe I have the breadth of heart… but I still don't even understand how Xiao Xianzi…!"

"…"

"It's just so infuriating," Yan Wushuang recalled. "I never told you this before, but that Xiao Xianzi—she's so used to her good fortune she takes it for granted. After she obtained the treasure in the Hanhai Desert, she said one thing to us…"

"What did she say?"

"She asked…" Yan Wushuang's expression twisted. "What were we even doing there…?"

"…"

Chu Tianque imagined the scene and finally understood why Yan Wushuang reacted to Xiao Xianzi as if she were a demon—really, it should be said that Yan Wushuang's demon now resembled Xiao Xianzi!

"To be honest, ever since Xiao Xianzi arrived, I've wanted to leave the Heavenly Stele…" Yan Wushuang continued. "Not getting the Heavenly Stele, I can bear. But this Xiao Xianzi… I can't bear."

"But…" Chu Tianque frowned. "How is it possible for someone like Xiao Xianzi to remain completely unscathed?"

"When I returned home back then, I went to my father…" Yan Wushuang said.

"…"

"My father listened to my complaint—and beat me." Yan Wushuang's expression was hard to describe.

"Does this person have powerful connections?"

"Yes. She was long ago taken in by a reclusive master. Most importantly…" Yan Wushuang thought for a moment. "My father said her great fortune means she carries immense destiny—he told me to treat her with respect from now on."

"…"

Chu Tianque, thinking about it, felt Yan Wushuang was unlucky.

Being mocked and running to your parents is low, but worse is kicking a real iron plate.

"Since then, I've traveled outside…"

Chu Tianque finally understood why Yan Wushuang cared so deeply about Xiao Xianzi—it had changed Yan Wushuang's entire life.

"Sorry for making you two laugh."

"It's not just you, Senior Yan. Ever since Xiao Xianzi arrived, everyone outside who bets on our rankings has put all their money on her…" Chu Tianque still tried to comfort him. "They've heard of this Xianzi's reputation."

…

The group reached the foot of the Heavenly Stele. Yan Wushuang hung his head and said: "No need to look. Let's go."

But Chu Tianque remained resolute, still trying to reassure him: "Xiao Xianzi is new here—she's bound to be confused about the situation…"

Yan Wushuang felt grateful, convinced his junior brother trusted him deeply—but deep inside, he was even more certain of Xiao Xianzi's strangeness, and still refused to look up at the rankings on the stele.

After a long silence, hearing no response from Chu Tianque, he grew even more despondent: "I'm ranked second now, right?"

"No." Chu Tianque's voice sounded dreamlike.

"Hm?" Yan Wushuang suddenly raised his head: "I'm still first?"

"Third…"

Hearing this, Yan Wushuang looked toward the top of the Heavenly Stele — he was currently in third, but first place was not the three characters Xiao Yuying either, but a name he had never expected:

Zheng Fa.

"Brother Zheng?" He stared blankly at the two characters Zheng Fa, then suddenly burst into laughter: "I really didn't misjudge Brother Zheng!"

The Zhao Shimei Xue beside him could not help but ask: "Zheng Fa is first, and Senior Brother Yan isn't even second… why are you so happy?"

"You don't understand. The revenge my father couldn't even avenge for me, Brother Zheng has avenged for me!"

"…" Zhao Shimei Xue twitched the corner of her mouth, feeling that the Tianhe Sect Master's beating that time should have been too light. When she turned her head back, she saw Chu Tianque's face looking blank, as if he couldn't believe it.

"Junior Brother Chu?" True Disciple Xue was puzzled — that one was happy, but this one looked like he was about to cry.

"I… I bet all my spirit stones on Fairy Xiao."

"…" Yan Wushuang was silent for a moment, glanced at Zheng Fa's name, then glanced at Chu Tianque, and sighed: "Now I know who the real brother is."

(End of chapter)