Chapter 140: Coercion and Temptation

Stedley raised his right hand, and the radiant staff in his grasp emitted a blinding light. The supernatural beings gathered nearby instinctively stepped back.
Stedley’s words—that the Glory Temple was at war with the Li family—equaled a death sentence for them. From then on, the Li family would have no place to stand, neither in the secular world nor in the supernatural realm.
In the eyes of the world, Damangxius was a peerless powerhouse of the ninth rank, and the four people by his side were clearly also super-tier supernatural beings. Yet they were all defeated in one slap by that golden figure in the sky.
Defeating five super-tier supernatural beings with just one slap meant this figure was beyond human limits.
In an instant, the Glory Temple’s prestige soared to new heights. At least the ancient families and powerful forces in the supernatural realm dared not test it again. Even without any so-called gods, there was still a powerhouse behind this temple capable of making the entire supernatural realm tremble.
In just a moment, a vast force of fervent faith surged into Chen Xiao’s mind. The faith energy that had been exhausted earlier while raising Fuyun’s rank was instantly replenished.
Chen Xiao’s eyes lit up. He quickly diverted some of his mental energy to integrate part of the faith energy into his main divine entity, further aligning his soul with it. The rest was stored for later use to reward his subordinates and enhance their strength.
…
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
The Glory Temple was now complete. It was countless times more magnificent than the one previously built under Mo Changli’s supervision. Stedley and Wan Hu had mobilized all their subordinates to build it with full effort.
Supernatural beings already possessed extraordinary strength, so three days was enough to construct a grand temple.
Beneath the temple lay a vast underground world, created by Fuyun using his domain. This was Chen Xiao’s adaptation of the concept from the headquarters of the Soul of China.
The surface of the temple was meant for worshipping gods and recruiting believers, but the true core lay underground. Yet this underground world was still just that—a world yet to be fully arranged.
In one corner of the underground world, Fuyun frowned as he stared at the piles of blood-red monster corpses. Initially, Chen Xiao planned to use them to strengthen the power of the Water of Death. But since Fuyun found a way to turn them into puppets, Chen Xiao abandoned that idea and handed over nearly 30,000 of these corpses to Fuyun to deal with.
This was no easy task. Adding the hundreds of monster corpses they obtained from the Tianlong Secret Treasures, the total reached over 30,000. Even Fuyun, now a powerhouse at the fourth level of his domain, found it challenging.
But he dared not defy Chen Xiao’s orders and had no choice but to process them one by one.
Over in this part of the underground world, Chen Xiao sat in a rocking chair, listening as Stedley and Wan Hu reported on the temple’s recent developments.
The five people, including Damangxius, who were captured by Fuyun, had their powers sealed. Although Chen Xiao hadn’t restricted their freedom, they still dared not act rashly.

“Young master, the number of believers in the temple and those outside the Black Tiger Gate has increased from 1,024 to 3,863,” said Stedley respectfully in front of Chen Xiao.
“Only over two thousand more?” Chen Xiao frowned. “It seems I’ll have to ask Fu Yun to perform more miracles in the future.”
“What about the Li family?” Chen Xiao asked next.
“The Li family is almost completely destroyed. Apart from the head of the Li family, Li Tianlong, and the elite members who were killed by Lord Fu Yun, a few direct descendants are still at large,” Stedley replied.
“If you don’t eradicate the roots, the weeds will grow back. Issue a bounty: 10,000 star coins for anyone who provides information about the Li family’s descendants, and 100,000 star coins for those who kill them.” Chen Xiao frowned and said, “I want them dead. I want to see their corpses.”
Chen Xiao had now made up his mind. Last time, he spared Li Chengfei, and as a result, that kid plotted against him from behind. If not for Chen Xiao’s growing strength, things might not have been resolved so easily.
If these remnants are left alive, they might cause trouble in the future.
“Yes, young master,” Stedley said with a bow.
“Also, allocate some forces to help the Jiang family revive, absorb weaker families in the World of Superpowers, and expand the temple’s influence,” Chen Xiao continued.
“Who exactly are you?” Damanghus, who had been observing silently, spoke up at that moment.
“I? I’m the true master of this Glorious Temple,” Chen Xiao said with a smile, hands behind his head.
“It seems that so-called Glorious God was just a scam from the start. What a bold move—you deceived everyone. That so-called deity is probably just a super-strong person, right?” Damanghus looked displeased.
“Gods? Scams? Hehehe…” Chen Xiao suddenly laughed. “In this world, only the strong reign supreme. Because gods are powerful, they become gods and are worshipped by people—nothing more. But now, my power is strong enough; I am the god.”
Damanghus opened his mouth but couldn’t find words to refute Chen Xiao.
“Damanghus, a once-in-a-generation genius in the World of Superpowers… No, you can’t be called a genius—just an exceptional individual. Your innate superpower potential was extremely low, yet within thirty years, you broke through barriers and reached level nine.”
Damanghus’s achievements were widely known in the World of Superpowers, and he had almost become an idol for those with poor superpower potential.
“I give you two choices: either submit to me and become one of my subordinates like Stedley, or be used as a sacrifice to establish my authority.”
Chen Xiao waved his index finger in front of Damanghus.
“Submit to you? Fine,” Damanghus said, his expression unchanged. “But you need to offer something compelling enough to convince me. Otherwise, just kill me.”
“A being at the Source Realm is already beyond the category of ordinary superpowers users. You surely don’t lack star coins or treasures,” Chen Xiao continued. “As for strength, I can give you enough power. Is that acceptable?”
Damanghus raised his head and glanced at Chen Xiao. “Words alone aren’t enough proof.”

“Hehe, Damanxius, don’t be too greedy.” Chen Xiao tilted his head and said, “You’re not even my subordinate yet, yet you’re asking for favors. If I give them to you, how will my subordinates view me? Rewards for merit, punishments for faults—this is my principle.”
“Young master, uh, young master, can I take a break? Turning the corpses of tens of thousands of vicious spirits into puppets all at once is a laborious task.”
At that moment, lying on the ground and sticking out his tongue, behind Floating Cloud, three hundred nearly identical puppets, their blood-red hues faded, stood in a row, silent.
“You’ve worked hard,” Chen Xiao said, looking at the three hundred puppets with great satisfaction. The lowest rank for those blood-red vicious spirits was level seven, but after being killed and turned into puppets, their rank dropped by two, becoming level five puppets.
Even so, Chen Xiao was extremely satisfied. What he lacked most now were subordinates. Believers, after all, were just believers—they didn’t pledge loyalty to Chen Xiao like Stedley Wanhu did; they merely offered their faith.
“Alright, these three hundred puppets will serve as the temple’s guards,” Chen Xiao said, waving at Floating Cloud. He didn’t expect Floating Cloud to turn all thirty thousand blood-red vicious spirits into puppets at once.
“Mr. Damanxius, what’s your decision? I’m quite busy,” Chen Xiao stood up and walked over to the five of them, bending down to speak.
“You should know that even before this, you were targets for those powerful families. Sending you here without first understanding the true nature of the Glory Temple clearly shows they don’t take you seriously. Following me is better than those powerful families—at least I won’t sacrifice my subordinates casually.”
Except for Damanxius, the other four showed signs of resentment on their faces.
“I, Damanxius, don’t rely on any faction. All I pursue is ultimate strength. If you can give me that strength, then following you isn’t a problem,” Damanxius said.
“Strength? Hmph, though I don’t know how strong the strongest person in the human world is, following me means you’ll no longer be part of the human world.”
“Surrender your faith and worship me wholeheartedly.”
Hearing Chen Xiao’s words, Damanxius was stunned.
“Surrender my faith and worship you? Do you really think you’re a deity?”
“Worship if I say so—no need for all this nonsense.” At that moment, Floating Cloud cursed as he rushed over and kicked Damanxius in the buttocks.
Since following Chen Xiao, he had been kicked countless times. Kicking Damanxius now helped him feel balanced.
“Hmm, this guy might be old, but he’s still pretty handsome. Mm… his buttocks are quite soft too…” Floating Cloud muttered softly, while Damanxius’s entire body covered in goosebumps.
Though he didn’t know who Floating Cloud was, he understood that this white-haired stranger possessed unparalleled strength yet was still a subordinate of this seemingly ordinary young man.

Damanxius gritted his teeth and suddenly knelt before Chen Xiao, worshipping him. Suddenly, a ball of golden light flew out from the back of his head and merged directly into Chen Xiao’s sea of consciousness.

Damanxius pursued supreme strength, but that so-called “heart of a strong warrior” was nothing but nonsense. When faced with someone stronger than oneself, still pretending to be noble—such a person isn’t a strong warrior; they’re a fool. Only those who can endure what others cannot can become true strong warriors.

Chen Xiao didn’t touch this faith energy; instead, he sealed it away for future use.

“God? Are you really a god?” The next moment, Damanxius raised his head and stared at Chen Xiao in disbelief.

“If I weren’t a god, what right would I have to receive the faith of the world and establish a temple?” Chen Xiao smiled. “Well, from today onward, in the world of supernatural abilities, there is no longer that once-in-a-generation genius, Damanxius. What exists now is merely the king of darkness, the master of the Hidden Hall of the Glory Temple—Shadow Wing.”

With a wave of his hand, a short sword entirely black in color, only two feet long, emitting a faint glow, appeared before him.

This short sword, just like the Glory Staff in Stedley’s hands, was forged using the same method. And Damanxius, or Shadow Wing, also had a dark attribute, making him a perfect match for this sword.