As Jiang Jue's thoughts shifted, the transparent lines before him continuously intertwined, coiled, and overlapped, becoming increasingly chaotic, while the throne he had envisioned grew ever more tangible.
The Masked Douluo looked toward the throne. Vaguely, he seemed to see himself within the patterns atop it—but in the blink of an eye, the image vanished.
"Strange… truly strange."
The Masked Douluo rubbed his eyes. He dared swear on the brain he kept stored away that he absolutely had not seen wrong.
"Boy Jiang, how do you view this power of faith?"
Elekes stretched out his palm and lightly touched those lines, but unfortunately, they directly avoided him, completely ignoring his presence.
Elekes silently withdrew his hand once more.
"Since we're already here, we might as well adapt,"
Jiang Jue took a deep breath and spoke with a faintly profound gaze.
The thought he had just entertained was undeniably bold. The power of faith was tied to the very foundation of divine positions in the God Realm. If he were to do this, he would certainly touch the interests of certain people—the first among them being that someone.
Just like Shrek Academy: at the entrance for new students, statues of the Shrek Seven Monsters from ten thousand years ago had always been displayed. Every new student would go to pay their respects. With a large enough population base, there would always be one or two who could generate faith power.
Moreover, there was a major issue with becoming a god through faith—accumulation.
Back then, the first Sea God had successfully created his divine position through faith, but it had still taken him more than a thousand years of accumulation. Yet in the current era, the time left for Jiang Jue was far from abundant…
"Wait!"
Jiang Jue looked at the transparent lines before him and carefully sensed them. These lines varied in thickness, and the degree of faith power contained within them was also different.
"The amount of faith power a person can produce is very likely related to their strength and the firmness of their belief. Since I don't have that much time to accumulate, why not expand horizontally—broaden the base—thereby shortening the accumulation time!"
A flash of fervor passed through Jiang Jue's eyes. The Sun Moon Empire launching a continental unification war in the future was inevitable, and times of war were also the best times to generate faith.
Once life becomes filled with suffering, faith is needed to sustain it!
Moreover, he remembered that his master Zhongli Wu's idea was one of usurping the nest. Once the Douluo Continent was unified, there would be countless opportunities.
Now, backing him was the ruler of the Extreme North—the Snow Empress. With her control over the Extreme North and the fortune of the soul beast race carried by Jiang Jue himself, he could also obtain the faith of soul beasts.
"Calm down! Calm down! Stay clear-headed!"
Jiang Jue clenched his fists, forcing himself to regain composure.
"The timing isn't right yet. I can't throw myself into chaos over this. The Tang God King is still watching from above."
"Still, this truly is an excellent fallback plan. I can first try it secretly on a small scale."
Jiang Jue thought silently. The souls he had taken into the Soul-Refining Banner maintained one hundred percent faith in him—but the outside world was another matter entirely.
Suddenly, a glint flashed through Jiang Jue's eyes.
"The Tang God King's Sea God position relies on the faith of sea creatures. If those sea creatures no longer believe in him, but instead loathe and resent him, would the Sea God position fall?"
Jiang Jue's gaze grew increasingly deep as he silently contemplated this possibility. He remembered clearly that although the Deep Sea Demon Whale King had died, his wife had survived.
"The statues at Shrek Academy… might not be unable to be replaced with statues of me, Jiang Jue."
If his estimation was correct, his future Great Elder of the Holy Spirit Church—Xuanzi—had already become the head of the Sea God Pavilion.
And the hidden moves he had left behind could now begin to take effect.
"Holy Son, you… you should look!"
As Shangguan Wei'er's voice rang out—
"Buzz—buzz—buzz!"
Jiang Jue raised his eyes and looked forward.
He saw that all the lines that had been dancing about had completely vanished, converging instead into an ashen crimson throne. On either side of the throne floated two grim, ferocious skulls, with dim soul-flames flickering within their hollow eye sockets.
It was as if divine inspiration struck his heart. Jiang Jue lightly leapt and slowly seated himself upon the throne. In an instant, a surging feeling of gazing down upon all under heaven welled up within him, as though he stood above all living beings.
He slowly closed his eyes and carefully sensed it. Jiang Jue discovered that this faith was astonishingly pure.
"That figures. The souls within the Soul-Refining Banner all bear soul imprints. They can maintain the most loyal faith, without any desires or prayers whatsoever… this is excellent!"
Feeling this, Jiang Jue nodded slightly.
"However, this amount of faith power is still far too little. It's hard to truly put it to use."
Jiang Jue murmured softly.
At present, the Soul-Refining Banner had merely forged a vessel for him to carry faith power. The accumulation of faith itself would still require him to gather it personally.
"Soul-Refining Banner… just how much more of you remains undeveloped by me?"
Jiang Jue raised his hand, summoning the Soul-Refining Banner into his grasp, his eyes flickering as he examined it.
After releasing this faith power, the Soul-Refining Banner returned to its original appearance, as though none of this had been its doing at all.
"Young Master, from now on I'll carry your portrait with me every day and pray to it—and I'll do it every time before I eat my brain."
The Masked Douluo's eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurried forward as he spoke.
At the side, Zhang Peng's mouth twitched. Looking at the enthusiastic Masked Douluo, he realized that he seemed to have brought back a competitor for himself.
"Very good!"
Jiang Jue moved, the throne behind him slowly fading away. He came before the Masked Douluo and said with a smile.
This time, if not for the Masked Douluo, the Soul-Refining Banner would not have been triggered at all. Therefore, the Masked Douluo deserved the first merit.
"Here, Elder Yue, this is for you."
A flash of white light appeared, and a pure white lotus emerged in Jiang Jue's hand. This was precisely what had been left behind the last time Zhang Peng seized the Snow Empress's embryo.
"Many thanks, Holy Son!"
Seeing this, the Masked Douluo hurried forward, received the Snow Lotus with both hands, and spoke respectfully.
He had known it—following the Holy Son would surely lead to a bright future.
"Holy Son, this humble one can do it too."
Shangguan Wei'er handed Ye Guyi from her arms to Xiao Zi, who had already stood up. Then she stepped forward on her snow-white, round long legs, walked up to Jiang Jue, and spoke in a sweet, coquettish tone—deliberately puffing out her full, ample chest.
"Alliance Leader Shangguan, I want to know—who exactly from the Sun Moon imperial family is behind your Common Alliance?"
Jiang Jue asked softly.
Previously, he had also asked Zhang Peng, but Zhang Peng knew nothing about it—only that it was a force under the Sun Moon imperial family, with further details remaining extremely secretive.
"It's Xu Guozhong, Prince Xu."
Shangguan Wei'er did not hesitate in the slightest, directly naming Xu Guozhong. The former employer had now become her submission gift.
Loyalty has no price—selling the master happens in the moment!
Jiang Jue frowned, somewhat incredulous.
But it wasn't because Shangguan Wei'er had sold out her former patron. With her soul flame in his possession, her life and death were already in his hands.
What truly astonished him was that the one behind the Common Alliance from the Sun Moon imperial family was actually Xu Guozhong.
"Wasn't Xu Guozhong already 'trained' by Master?"
(End of Chapter)