Chapter 210

Zheng Fa looked at his Divine Register and felt a hint of regret:

The heavenly merit on the Divine Register had already accumulated to nine hundred and twenty-three, yet he had only used up half of the heavenly tribulation thunder talismans in his storage pouch…

He now suspected he might truly be surpassed by Xiao Xianzi.

The main problem was there weren't enough villains!

Although Zheng Fa's domain was vast, the population was truly small.

Altogether, it was less than five hundred thousand.

Banshan City alone accounted for over one-tenth.

Other places had towns too, but none came close to Banshan City in population—even many settlements lacked temples.

Without a temple, Zheng Fa couldn't even connect with his physical body, let alone use the heavenly tribulation thunder talismans.

As a result, the number of villains he could strike was even more limited.

But Xiao Xianzi had the Golden Register…

Thinking of this, Zheng Fa began to feel a little insecure.

With no villains left, Zheng Fa decided to return to Banshan City first.

The reason was simple: compared to Banshan City, other places' temples, even if they still stood, were long since ruined, for the Lei Shen had long vanished.

Not even the temple attendants remained—no one could even live inside them.

At this moment, he remembered how good Xiao Qing was—she at least swept the temple daily.

In truth, his frequent descent of heavenly tribulation thunder had likely reminded people of the Lei Shen's majesty, and they were preparing to rebuild his temples—but thinking of the Heavenly Stele Realm's productivity, Zheng Fa stopped them.

These people barely had enough to eat; making them haul stones to build temples violated Zheng Fa's principles.

Thus, the only temple he could stay in was the one in Banshan City.

Upon returning to Banshan City, Zheng Fa sensed something was off…

The temple front was still bustling.

Xiao Qing stood at the center, several old men beside her; nearly the entire city had gathered.

Those old men weren't truly old—around thirty years old—but they looked worn down.

Zheng Fa knew them well—they were the virtuous men he had once ordered Xiao Qing to reward.

Zheng Fa said nothing, just listened to what they were doing.

Soon, he understood.

Xiao Qing and these men were organizing the labor of Banshan City's people—assigning how many would go up the mountain to gather forest goods, how many would go to the river to fish.

Those left in the city were mostly women, and Xiao Qing was assigning them to weave and sew clothes.

It was clear Xiao Qing was nervous, but with the help of these men, she made no mistakes.

Zheng Fa understood in his heart—

With the Thunder Sect gone, Banshan City had fallen into a massive power vacuum.

As his temple attendant, Xiao Qing had effortlessly gained the authority to command the entire city.

Thinking of this, he watched Xiao Qing's actions with interest, yet also wondered whether she could hold onto her true heart.

When the assignments ended, he heard Xiao Qing say:

"When you gather forest goods, catch fish, or weave clothes, bring them all to the temple—I will distribute them."

Zheng Fa silently frowned.

"The Lei Shen said he needs no offerings!" Xiao Qing continued: "Doing good is worship! We will distribute fairly!"

Zheng Fa's frown eased slightly.

"Because the Lei Shen favors the elderly most! We will distribute according to age!"

Zheng Fa froze… what did that mean?

I love old men?

How did she know that?

No—how did she make this up?

Zheng Fa looked at the men beside Xiao Qing… after a moment, he understood why she had this idea:

When Zheng Fa had once ordered her to deliver offerings to these virtuous men, he hadn't explained why—

But in Banshan City, those capable of doing good were mostly men with some strength.

Accumulating virtue required time.

Thus, these men were all the old men of Banshan City…

As he pondered, Zheng Fa noticed the heavenly merit on his Divine Register quietly jumped up a few points.

"Hm?"

He hadn't summoned any heavenly tribulation thunder—where did this heavenly merit come from?

Zheng Fa turned his gaze to Xiao Qing outside.

Xiao Qing had dismissed the crowd and walked alone into the temple.

She leaned on the altar, looking exhausted, letting out a long sigh.

"What was that just now?"

Zheng Fa's voice made Xiao Qing snap her head up: "Lei Shen, you're here again?"

"Mm. Why do they listen to you?"

Zheng Fa had never realized Xiao Qing had such thoughts.

"How should I know…" Xiao Qing sighed and complained: "After the Thunder Sect vanished, people started fighting over river access, then over forest goods… they all came to me to settle it."

"I thought, since Master favors those few elders, I asked them—and they told me everyone should go out together and bring back what they gather, then we distribute it. They said I'm the only one in the city who can make everyone accept the decision."

"Lord Lei Shen, have I done wrong?"

Xiao Qing asked nervously.

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and understood the issue—the Thunder Sect was an order, though flawed, it was clear.

With the Thunder Sect gone, Banshan City had fallen into chaos.

As for Xiao Qing's actions, they certainly had many flaws, yet they also represented a relatively peaceful new order.

"You say you favor the elderly…" "Isn't that so?" Xiao Qing asked, puzzled. "Without you, Master, some of the old folks in the city would have starved—or simply left the city alone…"

"…"

Zheng Fa finally understood where those few Heavenly Merit points had come from.

The resources of Banshan City had led to the absence of any custom honoring the elderly—instead, it resembled a herd of beasts, abandoning the weak and old.

"I suppose so."

Zheng Fa replied after long thought, mainly because the standard for what counted as "elderly" here was far too low, a terrible waste of people.

"I knew it!"

Xiao Qing said proudly.

"…"

Zheng Fa looked at Xiao Qing—she had grown fuller these past days, radiating the vitality of a young girl.

He hadn't expected this girl had unknowingly established the雏形 of a cult.

Of course, he didn't accept the core doctrine that it was about loving old men…

…

In the Tiangong of the Heavenly Stele Realm.

As Zheng Fa walked, he thought about the sect—he had no desire to become a deity; on one hand, he was, well, a materialist cultivator with no longing for any god.

When he discovered great beings who could inscribe the laws of heaven and earth, his thought was simply: how powerful this person is—how can I achieve such a thing?

Not to kneel and worship them as a deity.

On the other hand, he was inherently averse to trouble…

If not for all these disturbances, he would have preferred to remain in his sect, studying talisman arts and cultivating in peace.

To become a god and fulfill believers' demands—Zheng Fa was unwilling.

The reason he hadn't stopped Xiao Qing was that the evil people in his fiefdom who could contribute Heavenly Merit points had mostly all died out.

To gain Heavenly Merit, he needed another method.

For example, as Yan Wushuang had said, either complete the tasks listed on the Divine Enfeoffment Scroll—requiring higher mastery of Thunder Art—or

Let the people under his rule multiply and thrive—requiring better governance of his fief.

Like Xiao Qing's accidental success, which had earned him a few Heavenly Merit points.

Now, Xiao Qing's model gave Zheng Fa a less troublesome solution—

Let ordinary people like Xiao Qing manage these subjects, so he need not fulfill believers' demands himself, yet still guide them.

As for whether this might give Xiao Qing or others a chance to corrupt:

He, as the god, held the final authority…

In fact, Zheng Fa already planned to abandon this so-called cult whenever he wished.

…

As he thought, Zheng Fa entered the Hall of Ten Thousand Treasures.

He tapped his spiritual sense against the jade tablet—the Divine Enfeoffment Scroll lost five hundred Heavenly Merit points, and in his hand appeared a purple, thousand-year Yang Thunder Spider core.

Zheng Fa's mind stirred—the Divine Enfeoffment Scroll turned into a streak of light that enveloped him, making his body vanish from the Hall of Ten Thousand Treasures.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in a void, pitch-black all around, yet faint light glowed from every direction.

This was where his physical body rested when his spirit descended—the space seemed independent, safer than the outside world—this was also why Yan Wushuang said there was little conflict in the Heavenly Stele Realm.

Even if there was conflict, once one hid inside the Divine Enfeoffment Scroll, no one could touch you.

Naturally, no one bothered.

Zheng Fa held the Yang Thunder Spider core, pressed his lower abdomen, closed his eyes, and cultivated according to the secret method of the Heavenly Luo Thunder Armor passed down by his master.

Purple spiritual energy, crackling with lightning, entered his nostrils with each breath and sank downward into his dantian.

The silver sand grains within his dantian, which had been slowly rotating, now stirred as if shocked, spinning rapidly.

His dantian now resembled a swirling nebula, spinning faster and faster!

Purple lightning, like vine armor, appeared on his body's surface—the manifestation of the Heavenly Luo Thunder Armor.

As the thousand-year Yang Thunder Spider core gradually depleted, the Heavenly Luo Thunder Armor slowly took shape, shimmering with a soft purple glow, resembling metal, possessing the texture of chainmail described in modern texts.

The Heavenly Luo Thunder Armor was complete.

Zheng Fa did not open his eyes.

His spiritual sense remained fixed within his dantian—this absorption of the thousand-year Yang Thunder Spider core had not only completed the Heavenly Luo Thunder Armor, but also directly allowed him to cultivate the Lei Tian!

Now, the scattered spiritual sand grains in his dantian had coalesced into a single entity, forming a small Lei Tian that looked like a square silver inkstone within his dantian.

His cultivation advancement was no surprise to Zheng Fa—he was nearly consuming all the spiritual materials from Lei Chi Market.

Even Zhang Shijie back then hadn't had such resources.

Zheng Fa kept his eyes closed, following the next step of the Divine Thunder Sublime Method, slowly guiding spiritual energy into the newly formed Lei Tian, preparing to begin the cultivation of the Thunder Seed.

At that moment, his entire body suddenly trembled—a massive red tree's phantom appeared behind his head, flashed once, then turned into a streak of light and sank into the newly formed Lei Tian!

Zheng Fa stared blankly as the red spiritual light entered his Lei Tian.

It seemed like a seed finding fertile soil—instantly taking root, sprouting a red, leafless tender shoot.

This… was the Qing Yang Dao Body?

Zheng Fa felt the stirrings in his body just now, and a realization dawned in his heart...

Hadn't he just PUA'd it a couple of sentences earlier, criticizing its uselessness and saying it couldn't compare to others' Yuan Magnetic Rail Bodies—yet this fellow had actually moved today!

It was just that...

Looking at the tender sprout inside his dantian, Zheng Fa couldn't help but feel a bit worried—what exactly had he conceived?

Had this "Divine Thunder Controlling True Art" been practiced incorrectly?

Just as the tender sprout took form, the always-closed doors of the central hall in the Tiangong of the Heavenly Stele Realm suddenly swung wide open!

The twenty-four faceless divine statues in the side halls, however, slowly bowed their heads, as if paying respect to something.

(End of Chapter)