Chapter 875: Like-minded

"God of Gale, long time no see. Shall we chat for a bit?"

"God of Returning Snow, I'd like to introduce a newcomer to you..."

"God of Dream Demons, regarding the problem you've been agonizing over—about the Great Pantheon Assembly—I have an idea. Actually, it's not my idea; my little brother here brought it up to me..."

"..."

For several days in a row, the God of Flowing Gold took his newly appointed little brother, the God Taixiong, to visit the various divine lineages he was familiar with, busily networking with the gods to his heart's content.

All of this was because of the strategy proposed by the God Taixiong: if we want to pledge allegiance to the new Main God, we must first perform a meritorious deed.

Of course, this merit wasn't about going to the Qianxian to kill enemies or anything of the sort. Firstly, there wasn't enough time, and secondly, even if there were, accumulating favor that way was too slow. That kind of "dead" merit was foolish merit and wouldn't win any favor. There were only a few types of the best merit. The first was the merit of supporting a new ruler, but they couldn't claim that because they weren't founding members. The second was the merit of saving the sovereign, but that was also out of the question; given their strength, even if the opportunity arose, it was unclear who would be saving whom.

So, the third option lay right before them: the merit of urging the ascension.

With a change of dynasty imminent and the Holy God about to take the throne, how could it ascend smoothly and gloriously? Even if it were an evil... Holy God, it would still prefer a way of ascending that involved mountains of cheers and the support of the masses. Even if it didn't have that awareness now, if they did it first, it would have it by then.

The key points now were: first, the urging must be done before all other gods. Although most gods suspected it would ascend, none had taken the initiative to agitate for it yet. Most were adopting a wait-and-see, follow-the-crowd approach, making this the perfect opportunity to seize the lead and stir up noise.

Second, they needed to gather more gods. While the first proposal was good, their own strength was limited and their ranks were too low; no god would listen to them. If the momentum was too small, it would look ridiculous. Without a response from all sides to create an overwhelming atmosphere, this urging would be dispensable to the Holy God. Therefore, they had to coordinate in advance, agree with everyone on when to swarm forward, and ensure the momentum was sufficient.

Third, naturally, for their own sake, this merit of being the first to initiate must be secured. No matter how the momentum was built outside or how many people eventually followed, they had to be the ones to speak first before the Holy God, personally shouting the words, "We invite the Emperor to ascend the throne," clearly demonstrating their own merit.

With these steps, and if operated properly, he could not only escape the crisis but also obtain a great merit, no worse than the founding members who had followed the Holy God early on.

How to put it? The God of Flowing Gold had always been playing house in the Wanshendian, unable to distinguish friends from enemies, and had never experienced political training—how could he have ever seen this? He was completely ignorant, but deeply shocked.

Then, under the instigation of the God Taixiong, he felt a sense of urgency.

Although the God of Flowing Gold was naturally lazy, he was under survival pressure, and the carrot the God Taixiong dangled in front of him was truly tempting. He suddenly erupted with immense initiative and took his little brother out to make rounds that very day.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. The gods the God of Flowing Gold knew were, of course, Lesser Gods of the same level, most of whom had even less strength and wealth than he did. Most of these Lesser Gods were short-sighted, and upon hearing this plan, they couldn't help but be shocked. Some chose to join after being persuaded, while others were timid and wanted to wait and see how the wind blew.

However, as their numbers grew, there were fewer gods who refused later on, because they had already become the "mainstream" and built up momentum. Those wavering little gods easily made the decision to "follow the crowd," and thus the group rolled forward like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger.

By the fifth month, that group had expanded to over a hundred gods.

The God of Flowing Gold was already satisfied. He thought that with so many gods gathered, even if the urging didn't succeed, it was still a force that could not be ignored. Standing among the gods, he felt the strength in numbers and felt very safe.

At this time, the God Taixiong said they could try to talk to the Middle Gods.

The God of Flowing Gold was shocked and said, how is that possible? We are all Lesser Gods and not in the same circle as the Middle Gods. If we go to them, they won't even look at us.

The God Taixiong said, that's where you don't understand. If just a few of us went to them at first, they certainly wouldn't agree and would only treat it as a joke. But now that we have gathered so many gods, even the Holy God would have to take a second look, let alone the Middle Gods? We are now using the prestige of the masses to entice the Middle Gods to join. Once one Middle God joins, we use his name to entice other Middle Gods. In short, the more, the better.

This is called coercion.

The God of Flowing Gold's worldview was baptized once more. He said it was brilliant, and that after agitating the Middle Gods, they could even go find the High Gods—wouldn't that mean they had reached the heavens?

The God Taixiong said that wasn't necessary; one must know when to stop. Firstly, there wasn't enough time; the day was only a few days away. Secondly, the rank gap between the High Gods and you is too large. Even if they joined, you probably wouldn't be able to hold the leading position, and the merit of being the first to initiate would have to be ceded—wouldn't that be making wedding clothes for others? A sense of proportion is very important. The God of Flowing Gold was enlightened once again and looked at this God Taixiong with even more admiration, saying, "They all say those barbarians are full of schemes, but I think you're no different; you truly are the most barbarian of barbarians. It's just that your Divine Power is a bit low. If your Divine Power were stronger, you would surely have a great future. At that time, I wouldn't even follow the Holy God; I'd just follow you directly."

The God Taixiong smiled and said nothing.

This plan of coercion was also considered successful. The God of Flowing Gold, in his capacity as leader, led dozens of Lesser Gods to visit the Middle God he was most familiar with, the God of Four Rocks. Relying on his own reputation and the God Taixiong's silver tongue, they easily achieved an initial success. Then, using the name of the God of Four Rocks, they visited other Middle Gods and successfully persuaded several families in a row. Even if some gods were noncommittal, they were still polite and dared not underestimate this "Urging Alliance" of theirs.

With things going so smoothly, the God of Flowing Gold couldn't help but feel carried away. Although his "merit of urging" had not yet been recognized by the main subject, the Holy God, he already felt that the day he would be rewarded for his merit and his status would be greatly improved was not far off. How could he still have the state of being terrified and restless like he had days ago?

However... things were not always that smooth.

"Absurd!" In a gray, misty Shenguo, a "God of Bears" resembling a giant bear was furious. Pointing at the God of Flowing Gold, he cursed: "You despicable, low-class opportunist, all you know is how to scheme! What kind of bullshit idea is this? Look at yourself now—do you still look like a god? You're not even as good as an ordinary believer in the Lingjie. You look exactly like a dog! Open your dog eyes and look—the heavens haven't changed yet! When is it your turn, you clowns, to jump around?"

The God of Flowing Gold was shocked and angry. In the past, he would have been timid and submissive upon seeing a Middle God lose his temper, but now that he could command more than one Middle God, his mindset was completely different. He retorted angrily: "If you don't agree, you don't agree, so why curse a god? I was looking at you with pity; since the God of Upper Right went into seclusion, you haven't had anyone to rely on, like a lonely ghost, so I came to find you to give you a hand. You actually don't know what's good for you! Looking at you like this, you wouldn't even be able to catch a fresh meal if you were eating shit."

The God of Bears was enraged. He conjured a staff from his Shenguo and charged at the God of Flowing Gold and his group to strike them. Although the God of Flowing Gold was able to organize a counterattack, the disadvantage in the opponent's Shenguo was too great, so he had to fight and retreat, leading the gods out, feeling somewhat dejected.

After coming out, the aggrieved Lesser Gods were full of curses. One god said: "Your Highness Flowing Gold, you had no reason to pity him. What is he? A stray dog that lost its home, putting on such airs? Does he still think the God of Upper Right is in power? Let's ignore him today. When the Holy God ascends, we'll make him pay!"

The God Taixiong comforted them: "Alright, alright, it's inevitable that there will be differences when there are many gods. It's unavoidable to encounter such ungrateful fellows. By now, our harvest is already quite good. Even if no new gods join, we have already met the specifications. Now we can consider focusing our energy on the execution level and gather to discuss a strategy."

The God of Flowing Gold let out a breath and said: "I'll listen to Brother Taixiong. We won't pay any mind to such bastards. Let's go back today and discuss a plan tomorrow." He thought, discuss my ass; even if all these gods' brains were tied together, they wouldn't compare to the God Taixiong's. It would be enough to just listen to his strategy when the time came. The only reason to go back today was to give the God Taixiong some time to organize the various strategies into a complete plan, announce it at the meeting tomorrow, and then assign tasks to each family.

——

After the group of foul-smelling fellows left, the God of Bears finally let out a breath.

His Shenguo was filled with mist, with many high mountains and strange rocks, rugged and towering. He sat alone on a high mountain, silently lost in thought.

His size was considered large among the gods, but sitting alone on the peak at this moment, he appeared both small and lonely.

"Is Your Highness in a bad mood?"

At this moment, a voice came from behind.

The God of Bears jumped up abruptly and roared: "Who?"

Beyond the shock, he also felt a chill. This was his Shenguo, a place he could completely control. It had actually been invaded, and he had only reacted when the other party spoke. How terrifying was that?

"Your Highness need not be so defensive; I have no ill intent."

A figure appeared on another mountain peak. It was a red-haired young man, shrouded in a mysterious veil by the misty fog, appearing ethereal and otherworldly.

"You... you are..." The God of Bears narrowed his eyes. He vaguely remembered this person as one of the riffraff who had visited earlier. He hadn't said much at the time, so he wasn't that annoying, but because his appearance was truly outstanding, he had left an impression.

"I am the God Taixiong, merely a god of a small clan, not worth mentioning." The God Taixiong bowed and said, "It is truly great to be able to find Your Highness."

The God of Bears frowned and said: "Why are you looking for me? I don't know you at all."

The God Taixiong said: "You indeed don't know me; it is I who have been looking for you. To be precise, I have been looking for a god like you who shares my ideals. The reason I joined that incredibly foolish plan was to find a god like you, to join you in stopping the conspiracy of that so-called Holy God to swallow our world!"