Chapter 205: All Are Good People!

By the time Zheng Fa was about to leave the Heavenly Stele Realm, Half-Mountain City had already changed somewhat.

Most of the Thunder Sect's core members had turned to ash.

While the city might not have reached the point where no one picked up lost items on the road or left doors unlocked at night, those who did evil were likely trembling with fear.

As for the others, the Book of Divine Seals judged that most were not guilty enough to die—though Zheng Fa would still send down heavenly tribulation thunder to punish them, the power varied from high to low.

The high ones would still cause severe injuries, while the low ones were merely empty thunderclaps:

Mostly to tell them that gods watch from three feet above one's head.

Zheng Fa did nothing superfluous; every day he harvested Heavenly Merit at fixed points.

Yet the incense and offerings in the temple grew day by day.

Xiao Qing would occasionally take the surplus offerings to feed the old and weak.

No, not the old.

Most people in Half-Mountain City had short lifespans; reaching thirty-five could be called elderly, and forty could even be called advanced age.

Someone like Xiao Qing could probably be called a young adult—Half-Mountain City's poverty was the kind that had dried out to the very marrow.

On this day, the people of the city once again came in groups to the temple carrying baskets on their backs. The baskets were full, filled with dried mushrooms, smoked fish and shrimp, bolts of coarse cloth, and some exquisite ornaments.

These things, let alone in the modern era, were not worth much even among the common folk of the Xuanwei Realm.

But this happened to be Half-Mountain City...

These townsfolk seemed to know that the Lord Lei Shen did not much like being disturbed nowadays; they set down a dozen or so baskets, bowed several times before the statue, and left.

"Lord Lei Shen! Do you know whose things are in these baskets?"

After chatting for this period, Xiao Qing seemed to understand that Zheng Fa was not a harsh nature, so she spoke without such restraint.

"I know."

Zheng Fa usually cared little about Half-Mountain City's affairs, but the thoughts of these people within the temple, he had to hear whether he wanted to or not.

These things were, of course, the property of that Thunder Sect Sect Master.

Only he could have scoured such "vast wealth" from Half-Mountain City.

"Lord Lei Shen, you truly know everything!" Xiao Qing nodded, looking very admiring, then spoke again: "The Thunder Sect has scattered, and we found these good things."

"Did I not tell you to tell them that offerings are unnecessary? Let them divide these things among themselves."

Zheng Fa asked.

This group was so poor, yet every day they brought their rations to the temple; he did not approve of that.

He couldn't even eat them!

"I said..." Xiao Qing protested: "They are unwilling!"

"..."

"Why?"

Zheng Fa truly could not understand.

"They said..." the little temple keeper thought for a moment and said: "They said they never expected Lord Lei Shen to be so good... they fear Lord Lei Shen will disappear again."

"Good?" Zheng Fa found it somewhat hard to understand: "Did I do anything?"

"It is precisely because Lord you did nothing that it is good!"

Xiao Qing widened her eyes and said matter-of-factly.

Zheng Fa thought carefully about the logic of Xiao Qing and the people of Half-Mountain City.

The Thunder Sect Sect Master seized their river channels; he did not do so.

The Thunder Sect Sect Master collected taxes; he did not want them.

The Thunder Sect Sect Master even led people to eat people; Zheng Fa deeply abhorred that.

This Lord Lei Shen did not even want offerings and was willing to let the temple keeper distribute the things for others to eat...

In that case, that rascal of a Thunder Sect Sect Master, whether in cultivation or conduct, had lowered the people of Half-Mountain City's expectations of gods—this person, besides not being human, had actually made a small contribution to himself?

Thinking of the nearly three hundred Heavenly Merit points lying on the Book of Divine Seals.

This person's contribution was not small.

"I will give you a few names; go and distribute these things to them."

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and said, shaking his head internally.

He named several people who had recently had a faint Jin Guang around them; these people likely did many good deeds in daily life, and Zheng Fa had some impression of them.

These past few days, Zheng Fa had been thinking about the so-called "punish evil and promote good" of the Book of Divine Seals, which then yields Heavenly Merit.

Punishing evil was, of course, done with Thunder Arts.

Promoting good was harder to handle; distributing these offerings as rewards was also a kind of test.

"Good!" Xiao Qing's eyes flashed, and she nodded quickly in agreement.

When walking out of the Heavenly Stele Realm, Zheng Fa felt quite relaxed, like getting off work and going home—the Heavenly Stele Realm was too boring for him; for this month, he had been more like secluding himself to cultivate.

Now that Heavenly Merit had accumulated to nearly three hundred, there were almost no one left in Half-Mountain City qualified to receive heavenly tribulation thunder.

For the remaining Heavenly Merit, Zheng Fa planned to visit other gathering points.

Half-Mountain City was the city with the largest population in his fiefdom; other places were more scattered, some even lacking a temple.

During these two entries, Zheng Fa had also tested and found out:

The temple was still very important to him; on one hand, only within the temple could he restore his spiritual power.

But in other places, Zheng Fa could only travel with his divine soul; unless he cast heavenly tribulation thunder or other Thunder Arts from the Book of Divine Seals, he could not sense his physical body at all, let alone restore his spiritual power.

Even the fact that he could hear the thoughts of the people of Half-Mountain City, or discern the good and evil of some people, seemed to be through the statue.

This seemed to be another manifestation of the special rules of this world, or rather, some characteristics left behind by the former god-path civilization of this world.

The villains at other gathering points might not include great evildoers like the Thunderbolt Sect Leader, but their total numbers exceed those in Half-Mountain City; assembling five hundred days of merit to exchange for a Yang Lightning Spider's core pill is not difficult: what currently limits Zheng Fa's efficiency is still his Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Just as he stepped out of the Heavenly Stele, he encountered Yan Wushuang.

Or rather, he encountered Yan Wushuang and many other cultivators who had entered the Heavenly Stele.

They were gathered beside the Heavenly Stele, refusing to leave, as if waiting for someone.

The moment Zheng Fa emerged, all these people fixed their bright gazes in his direction.

He couldn't help but turn around; behind him stood no one. Yet when he looked back at the crowd, their eyes were still uniformly fixed upon him.

Zheng Fa felt a chill run down his spine...

"Brother Yan..."

He cupped his hands and asked.

"Brother Zheng! You've finally come out!" Yan Wushuang suddenly walked over: "We've all been waiting for you!"

"... Waiting for me?"

Zheng Fa paused, unable to understand why they were waiting for him.

"Come and see!" Yan Wushuang pulled him into the crowd, leading him beneath the Heavenly Stele, where among the names inscribed upon it, the two characters "Zheng Fa" stood prominently at the very top.

"..."

To be honest, Zheng Fa was somewhat displeased with this ranking.

The Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Spirit Energy Equation constituted a dimensional strike against the cultivators of the Heavenly Stele Realm; naturally, accumulating days of merit was swift.

What he disliked was that this ranking made him overly conspicuous—offering no benefit while easily offending others.

Merely possessing the opposing Five-Colored Divine Light had nearly frightened Uncle Pang to death; he ought to have kept a lower profile.

Yet this ranking was a unique feature of the Heavenly Stele...

He glanced around at those present with some concern.

Factually speaking, this group were all his competitors.

What he hadn't expected was that some among them indeed displayed apprehension in their eyes.

But many others looked at him with eyes full of goodwill!

Even a kind of goodwill brimming with encouragement and admiration...

Seeing him look their way, many smiled warmly at him, their expressions extremely enthusiastic.

Some even stepped forward to introduce themselves:

"I am Cheng Tian Xin, from the Profound Heaven Gate... Senior Brother Zheng, honored to meet you!"

"My name is Yun Yang, from the Righteous Qi Sect..."

"My name is..."

For a moment, many cultivators present introduced themselves to Zheng Fa, clearly wishing to become acquainted with him.

Zheng Fa responded while feeling somewhat bewildered.

Wait, how had the atmosphere in the Xuanwei Realm suddenly improved so much? Did none of these people harbor jealousy toward talent and ability?

Even setting aside jealousy, why were they being so friendly?

As if perceiving Zheng Fa's confusion, Yan Wushuang chuckled, first glancing around as if fearing someone might appear, then whispered to Zheng Fa: "Brother Zheng, look who is ranked second."

Zheng Fa raised his head and saw the three characters "Xiao Yuying" ranked directly beneath his own.

He felt somewhat surprised in his heart; he had long anticipated that relying on the Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Spirit Energy Equation would allow him to rank first.

But Xiao Yuying...

This person's talent was truly extraordinary.

One must remember, this person had only just arrived in the Heavenly Stele Realm, actually a month later than himself; if comparing only the days of merit earned during the first month, he himself could not match this person.

But on the other hand...

Were these people being enthusiastic toward him also because of this person?

"Brother Zheng, you may not know, this Xiao Xianzi's character..." Yan Wushuang began recounting his experiences from thirty years ago.

"This..."

Zheng Fa began to somewhat understand this Xiao Xianzi's character.

Hearing Yan Wushuang speak thus, others likewise spoke up one after another:

"Ten years ago... an ancient cave realm also emerged..."

"My senior brother also encountered her..."

"My master! Back then, he met this person and ultimately failed to overcome his heart-demon tribulation..."

Listening to them, Zheng Fa suddenly felt... this Xiao Yuying was actually a great good person, comparable to the Thunderbolt Sect Leader!

Given the atmosphere in the Xuanwei Realm, with him now ranking first, even if not hated, he certainly wouldn't be well-liked:

Who wouldn't wish to control the Heavenly Stele?

But with Xiao Yuying present, it was different...

This person had made so many enemies that she even had her own fan club.

The meaning of this group was simple: We aren't necessarily supporting you, but whoever can defeat Xiao Yuying, we support them!

Thinking thus, Zheng Fa unexpectedly felt several degrees of fondness toward this Xiao Xianzi.

Just as people were discussing this matter, another person suddenly emerged from the Heavenly Stele: it was precisely the Lingye Xianzi, Xiao Yuying.

The moment she appeared, everyone fell silent; the previously lively atmosphere instantly turned cold.

Everyone looked somewhat unnatural, gazing at her with a mixture of awe and slight anger.

No...

Except for one person; the more Zheng Fa looked at this individual now, the more agreeable they seemed.

Xiao Yuying seemed long accustomed to such gazes, even displaying a hint of disdain; yet the goodwill in Zheng Fa's eyes appeared somewhat obvious, prompting her to glance at him once more.

She scarcely deigned to examine the rankings on the Heavenly Stele in detail; instead, as she walked outward, she merely cast a sidelong glance at the top of the list...

With just that one look, her footsteps halted.

Slowly, she turned around and walked toward the Heavenly Stele.

The others silently made way, allowing her to approach the Heavenly Stele, where she scrutinized the rankings for quite some time.

Their eyes were not lacking in expressions of those eager to watch a spectacle.

After viewing it, she frowned as if pondering something, yet unable to recall what it was.

After a moment, she suddenly lifted her head and looked toward the crowd; her gaze swept past the others before landing on Zheng Fa, as if recalling the rare goodwill in his eyes:

"Fellow Daoist, I wish to ask something." Xiao Yuying's tone remained fairly polite: "I wonder, who exactly is this Zheng Fa?"

When speaking the two characters "Zheng Fa," there was clearly a note of concern and unwillingness to accept in this person's voice.

"... I am Zheng Fa."

"..."

(End of Chapter)