Joining the gods in the game granted the power of a plug-in. And killing monsters made you stronger in reality.
Who wouldn't want to join the faith?
Inside the game.
Ye Laoxie had not yet left Novice Village—but he had recruited every single person within it.
Including the blacksmith.
And the blacksmith's wife, who had been extremely well hidden. Her identity was deeply mysterious—she was one of the Demon King's direct subordinates.
Although she had long since lost her strength—
After seeing her husband join the sect, she naturally followed suit. Marry a chicken, become a chicken; marry a dog, become a dog.
In the small blacksmith's shop, Ye Laoxie looked at the lady blacksmith nervously.
This was the first time he had given a cultivation technique to a Demon King-level character. He had no idea what the other party would become.
At this time, Ye Laoxie's original task of establishing the religion had been completed.
In its place were three brand-new missions:
[Recruitment]: 86,499/100,000 — Reward: Conqueror's Haki.
[Recruitment of Priests]: 6/20 — Reward: Armed Haki.
[Collect Goddess]: 0/??? — Reward: Overlord's Haki.
He understood Haki very well. After getting to know the people in the chat group, he had naturally come to understand that this was a power originating from Brother Long's world—the One Piece universe.
But since the system was rewarding it—
It had to have been arranged by God.
At present, the first mission was nearing completion. When players had begun exploring on their own, some of the larger teams had chosen to evacuate Novice Village entirely.
In other words—to delete their characters and start over.
The official response was to protect players' interests and cancel the so-called punishment.
As a result, this particular Novice Village had been drained of ninety percent of its population.
But the people who stayed—relying on God's power—had gained incomparably formidable strength.
So now, many players actually wanted to delete their characters and reincarnate into this same Novice Village. But the problem was... there were millions of Novice Villages. Finding this specific one was nearly impossible.
Believers who walked out of Novice Village bore unique titles above their heads:
Followers of the Eternal Faith.
They did not need to do quests or change jobs like ordinary players. They only needed to kill monsters to level up—and skills would be understood automatically.
Even some players with exceptional talents had defeated powerful monsters and obtained various mighty spells and abilities entirely on their own.
The current game world could only be described as a frenzy. Solo believers. Team believers. If Ye Laoxie hadn't stopped them, they would have already launched an assault on the next city.
Just as he was lost in thought—
The lady blacksmith's presence suddenly became terrifying.
A black cloud materialized in the sky. It swept across the entire Novice Village.
And beneath the shroud of divine light, Mrs. Blacksmith slowly recovered her former strength!
The power of the Demon King had long since been shattered and replaced—overwritten by the power of darkness. This power was both tremendous and sacred.
It made even the demon dwelling within her feel her own insignificance deeply.
"Ding... Congratulations! You have harvested a Demon King-level subordinate. Mission 2 has been over-completed! Reward: Armed Haki..."
[Armed Haki]: Power strengthened by the gods. Upon activation, it attaches a layer of terrifying, mysterious energy to your weapon or your own body. Destructive power increased by 30%. Can seize the power of elements. Can destroy the soul.
"Is this Armed Haki?"
Ye Laoxie looked at the skill attributes, swallowed hard, and tried activating it. His arms instantly turned black.
This was elementary-level Armed Haki.
But it had already increased his strength by thirty percent.
Too strong.
"Boy... you're still harboring a demon..."
The grocery store owner's voice was cold. He stepped out, holding a pair of daggers in his hands—obviously drawn out by the demonic presence.
The disaster of his life.
It had torn him apart from his wife.
Since that day, Yin and Yang had been severed between them forever.
He would never forget this enemy for the rest of his days.
Yuan Que could remain indifferent to anything—even Ye Laoxie's divine teachings, he would simply ignore them. But the one thing that could not be ignored, the one wound that would never close, was his hatred of demons. That was his single immovable truth.
"Yeah... so you're finally willing to show yourself. I could tell from the start that you weren't ordinary. You must have been drawn out by the breath of the demon."
"Yes. Today—you and this woman are both going to die."
Yuan Que drew his weapon. A majestic aura surged outward.
The power of the Twelve Sages.
It was comparable to the power of a Demon King in its own right.
But—
A flash of black light. Yuan Que felt his power sealed within his own body instantaneously.
"How... how could you possibly have power this strong?!"
Faced with Yuan Que's stunned question, the female demon said flatly: "This is the power of the gods. Not the so-called goddess Xi Yao. Not the so-called Creation God. But a true god."
"She's right. The God of Eternity is truly great. Although this is the power of darkness—can you see even a single trace of depraved aura in it?
Power does not distinguish between good and evil. Only the one who wields it can."
Ye Laoxie looked at Yuan Que. The hatred in the old man's eyes had not dimmed in the slightest.
He turned to the demon king's subordinate and asked: "He has a deep hatred with you?"
The demon king smiled faintly and said, respectfully: "It should be connected to his wife. Many of the Twelve Sages perished during the demon war..."
"So that's how it is. If we could resurrect your wife—would you join our sect?"
Ye Laoxie understood the full picture now and threw out his offer to Yuan Que.
Resurrection.
This was an extraordinarily grave matter in the order of fate.
Even the Creation God could not accomplish it easily, presumably.
"You can resurrect even a demon? I don't believe it."
Yuan Que said bluntly.
Ye Laoxie frowned slightly. He had not expected the old man to be so stubborn.
Then he thought of a way. He extracted the scene of the gods playing with the River of Time in the palm of their hands—and transmitted the vision directly to Yuan Que.
"This is the original power of our gods. Take a good look... and understand what true greatness means. At that time, the gods' power hadn't even recovered to the level it is now."
The recovery of strength made for a convenient excuse.
Because Liu Che's power was constantly growing stronger. He had once been weak—having only just awakened from a deep slumber. This explanation was accepted by all believers without question.
Because even the gods of that era—
Were beyond anything they could have matched.
Yuan Que showed disdain at first. But when he entered the vision and watched the River of Time being wielded like a toy in the gods' hands—
His heart was shaken to its very core.
Time was just a toy.
What manner of existence was this?
What Demon King? What goddess Xi Yao?
All of it was nothing.
No wonder this female demon was so obedient—like a dutiful servant. Now he understood why.
When Yuan Que opened his eyes, he naturally chose to join the sect. But only on one condition—that he would not be made into an enemy of his former teammates, nor of the goddess.
Ye Laoxie smiled and said: "Don't worry, brother. Our sect cares for the world."
The old man pursed his lips and didn't believe a single word.
Then the female demon turned to him and said: "My lord—then I will go first. My child was snatched by the Demon King's mount. I want to take revenge..."
"Go. Remember to meet me in the main city."
"Mm."
At present, everything that needed to be done had been done. The value of Novice Village had been fully drained.
Ye Laoxie was also preparing to leave. But before he did, he made his way to the great tree outside the village.
He remembered there was also a female NPC there.
Although she was quite old, she should still be able to communicate.
Ye Laoxie passed the cultivation technique to this stone sculpture-like NPC—holding to the principle of "better to fail than to miss"—and then departed through the portal.
But he had not expected this woman to be Yuan Que's wife.
Yes.
This old woman had not initially wanted to learn the divine method. But her husband was about to be taken away, and she herself was cursed.
With the mindset of "might as well try," she practiced.
As it turned out—
On the second day after Yuan Que left, she returned to her original appearance.
"Is this the power of God? It seems... the goddess is going to fall..."
A god that surpassed even the existence of the Creation God—there was no way their goddess Xi Yao could compare.
The woman gave a wry smile and sighed: "Forget it. Why do I care so much? This being surpasses even the God of Creation..."
Then she reached the teleportation array and departed.
And in the city at that moment—
Sixty thousand believers were attacking the city.
Among them, Yuan Que took the lead. His fighting power had soared.
The players had become terrifying assassins!
"Holy shit... so fierce?! They just came out of Novice Village and immediately started attacking the city?!"
"Wait—didn't the people who came out before say they couldn't attack cities?"
"You don't know shit! It was because the priest hadn't appeared yet. Have you seen him now? That fierce old man is the grocery store owner from Novice Village. Look how strong he is!"
...
Millions of people had gathered outside the city to spectate the vigorous siege.
Ye Laoxie stood in the air, looking down at the city lord who was counting the swords in his heart, and said indifferently: "Give up. Otherwise, the death toll will only continue to rise..."
"Damn... I... I surrender..."
Even if he wanted to persist—his own soldiers had already been knocked down.
This was just a small city. The strongest individuals within it were only level fifty.
But this group of people had defeated them all with sheer, overwhelming power.
And they called it a plug-in.
What was a plug-in?
The city lord didn't understand. Nor did the job-change mentors.
In any case—they were very strong. And his side couldn't win.
After the first city had been taken, Ye Laoxie shouted out to everyone: "From today on, the Eternal God Faith is recruiting! If you have committed crimes, don't come—otherwise, once you're found out, you're done for!"
"We want to join... We want to join..."
Players who had been waiting for a long time surged forward in madness.
"Ding... Your task of recruiting followers has been completed. Reward: Observation Haki. Successfully distributed."
Observation Haki.
It was said that after achieving a high level of proficiency, one could even see into the future.
Ye Laoxie tried activating it.
His entire world changed completely.
It was like opening a third-person perspective. As long as he wanted to see something within a kilometer's range, he could see it clearly.
And more—he could even predict what would happen in the next three seconds.
"Holy crap... this skill is way too powerful..."
A direct advanced experience already.
If it reached the top level, just how powerful would it be?
Ye Laoxie's heart swelled with excitement. And the little loli Guoguo, who was perched on his shoulder, had also become extremely powerful under the practice of the Divine Technique.