Tower Defense: Public Enemy

Lei Chi brought up his information panel, and he also gained faith points, which now amounted to 166 billion!

And this number is still increasing.

"166 billion, that should be considered high! Unfortunately, there are only ten days left. Before the war of faith begins, I will ultimately not become a chief god."

Lei Chi understood; he knew that he had so many faith points mainly earned from the food-making machine, Ling Fanfan.

The spirit of the food-making machine can target hungry refugees and open soup kitchens all over the world. This is how faith is spread. The idea that "believing in God will bring you food" makes it too easy to develop believers. You could say that one food-making machine is worth countless missionaries.

Next, Lei Chi controlled his Azure Flame avatar to go to the Mushroom Hall, find Deedlit and the others, and thoroughly studied the "Faith Value" setting.

Deedlit and others have very low faith points. For example, Jiang Shengzi's faith points are even zero. Deedlit's faith points are the highest, perhaps because she became the prime minister of Mushroom Castle, but they are only 36, which is far less than Lei Chi's.

Therefore, once the war of faith begins in ten days, they will likely be busy with faith tasks. If their faith points are too low, they will be eliminated, banished, or sealed by the system.

Of course, they can also use other dimensions to escape the war of faith, such as entering the other world or the peaceful world.

After entering these extradimensional small worlds, they no longer receive mandatory tasks issued by the system, nor does the system impose any penalties.

However, if this happens, unless they have enough faith points, returning to the main world will be very risky. Returning during the first phase of the faith war might be better, as they can do quests. But once they reach the second phase, if their faith points don't meet the system's requirements, they will be punished by the system as soon as they return.

Deedlit then invited Outletie, Degang, Huishu, and others to come over for a chat.

The faith value of the Outlete and their companions is quite considerable. According to the introduction in the attribute panel, Lei Chi learned that when a player's faith value reaches 100 million, they can go to the faith altar to obtain the god rank of a lower god.

If your faith value reaches 1000 million, you can obtain the godhood of a mid-level god.

Once your faith value reaches 100 million, you can obtain the divine rank of a high god.

This is the direct method to "become a god".

Before the war of faith begins, players can also become gods through faith, but that requires secret methods. These secret methods are usually special rituals that consume certain materials. Those who become gods through these rituals are called virtual gods.

While these virtual gods may not be as powerful as true gods in terms of combat strength, they still possess considerable strength and should be more powerful than virtual gods who mindlessly advance through faith altars.

Besides becoming a god through faith, players can also become gods through cultivation or certain items.

True gods go without saying. Those who become gods by using props, such as the gods conferred by the Investiture of the Gods in the City of Bliss, are theoretically also virtual gods, but they can have the protection of the Investiture of the Gods and their primordial spirit is indestructible.

In short, players who mindlessly ascend to godhood using the altar of faith are probably the weakest players of their rank and level.

Furthermore, the player cannot become the supreme god by using the altar of faith.

To become a supreme deity, one must ignite the flame of faith within one's body.

After gaining a general understanding of the setting of the Faith War, Deedlit and the others were quite depressed. In ten days, the first phase of the Faith War would begin, and they would be forced by the system to issue faith collection tasks, and they would most likely no longer be able to enjoy themselves as they were now.

Even if they can survive the first phase of the war of faith, they probably won't be able to withstand the second phase. Therefore, whether or not to stay in the main world is a question they must face.

They then began a lively discussion.

After all, they have a choice.

Not only can Lei Chi use the Golden Lotus of the Other Shore to bring everyone into the Other Shore World to avoid the war of faith gods, but there is also a Pacific Ark that can also send everyone into the Pacific World.

"Why did this treacherous system have to instigate this war of faith?!"

"Yes, I still want to farm peacefully and slowly build up Paradise City!"

"So what are everyone's plans?"

"In my opinion, it's best to leave the main world as soon as possible."

"Don't be so pessimistic, everyone. It's not like the servers are about to shut down. I actually think the game is just getting started!"

"We have a way out anyway, so I plan to hold on until the very end. It's not too late to enter paradise when we're truly facing system punishment!"

"Actually, my Ultra City also has a World of Light where we can take refuge!"

"If anyone is interested, you can also come to the Glorious World of my Divine Moon City!"

"As if no one has a way out, let me tell you all, the Hidden Dragon Boss of my Hidden Dragon Flower Sea is a god-level being. He has already appeared and can take us into the Hidden Dragon World at any time. The Hidden Dragon World is huge; it could probably hold hundreds of millions of people without any problem. Everyone can go together, and then we can go to his faith war. We can have a lot of fun in the Hidden Dragon World!"

"Hey, hey, people need to have dreams! There's bound to be an opportunity in the battle of faith..."

Lei Chi listened quietly to the players' discussion without offering any opinion.

Currently, its main body is in the Holy God Palace and will not receive system notifications. It is highly likely that it can avoid the war of faith gods. Furthermore, it has the Azure Flame incarnation to move around in the main world, making it extremely safe.

"I won't participate in the first phase of the Faith War. In the second phase, with my 166 billion faith points, even if I return to the main world, I should be able to hold out until the end. But I absolutely must participate in the third phase! By then, I'll probably know what kind of existence the system truly is..."

Lei Chi silently made plans. He had glimpsed the future in the Eternal Sword Realm, and two things were already on his mind.

The first thing is to enter the finals of the war of faith gods. According to the "future information", he can obtain the qualification to make decisions and participate in the world structure of the next era. This can satisfy many of his curiosities.

The second thing is to steal the power of the system!

His future holds the potential to steal the power of the system; that would be an immense opportunity and stroke of luck.

To steal the system's power, one would probably have to enter the Divine Tomb.

However, Lei Chi would never steal the system's power before he possessed absolute strength.

After all, it was "theft," which came with the risk of being caught and the possibility of punishment.

"Deedlit, first send some people to explore the outer and inner islands of Elysium to see if any faith altars or war beasts have appeared. For now, let's focus on defense in Elysium..."

Lei Chi controlled his Azure Flame avatar to stand up, said something to Deedlit, and then prepared to leave the Mushroom Hall.

Deedlit hurriedly said, "Lord of the City..."

She suddenly paused, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Lei Chi, controlling his azure flame avatar, said, "I'm currently stationed in Bliss City. Anyone wishing to enter the Other Shore World should come and find me!"

"yes!"

Deedlit bowed.

Moments later, the Azure Flame avatar arrived at Ink Bamboo Island.

Here, he handed over the thirty Star Hearts to Tian Xiaonong, then found a quiet place nearby, closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and waited for news.

Three days later, Tian Xiaonong came to report with a beaming face: "Lord City Lord, it's done! It's done!"

"Um!"

Lei Chi's consciousness descended, and the Azure Flame avatar immediately opened its eyes.

"Finally done? After all this effort, let's see how good this artifact is!"

The avatar of Qinghuo stood up and, together with Tian Xiaonong, quickly arrived in front of the giant plant formed by the combination of the Jade Heart and the Treasure Gourd.

This is a vine-like plant that used to be incredibly green and lush, but now it is dilapidated and withering, visibly decaying.

"Its mission is complete; having lost all vitality, it will likely eventually vanish into nothingness!"

Lei Chi looked thoughtfully at the only fruit that the vine had borne, which was now a huge gourd as tall as a person. It was completely different from the previous emerald green heart of jade. This gourd was golden and shiny, and it was very eye-catching.

"Once this treasure gourd is completed, the jade heart will be gone, and the treasure gourd vine will also be gone. I wonder if Hongchen's little gourd will be able to produce more in the future."

Lei Chi silently spoke to himself. With a thought, his Azure Flame avatar raised his hand and used his spiritual power to pull the glittering gourd over.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Name: Magic Gourd

Setting: Super artifact (realistic)

Equipment requirements: None

Basic Abilities: Produce and store [Hongchen Heavy Water], [Hongchen Spiritual Fire], [Hongchen Thunder Qi], [Hongchen Condensed Light], [Hongchen Miasma], [Hongchen Frost Crystal], and [Hongchen Wind Qi].

Special Ability: [Gourd Ancestor], the treasure gourd can give birth to the Hongchen Little Gourd.

Special Ability: [Primordial Chaos Qi], which combines seven types of Primordial Chaos substances into one, condensing into a powerful Primordial Chaos Qi. Activating this ability requires consuming all seven types of Primordial Chaos substances; therefore, the gourd must have a certain reserve of these substances.

Special Ability: [Hongchen World] The Hongchen Gourd possesses a growing alternate-dimensional space called [Hongchen World]. [Hongchen World] can be generated and expanded by [Hongchen Qi]. Please explore for details.

Explanation 1: When the wearer and the gourd are in sync, the wearer can use the gourd to release [Hongchen Heavy Water], [Hongchen Spiritual Fire], [Hongchen Thunder Force], [Hongchen Condensed Light], [Hongchen Miasma], [Hongchen Frost Crystal], [Hongchen Wind Force], or [Hongchen One Qi].

Explanation 2: The magic gourd possesses spatial power. When the wearer and the gourd are connected by thought, the wearer can bring the target into the gourd or release the target. The target that is brought in or released will automatically enlarge or shrink. Please explore the details yourself.

Note 3: Please explore other uses on your own.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"This thing is called the Treasure Gourd?" Lei Chi looked at the attributes of the Hongchen Gourd and a question immediately popped into his mind.

"The magic gourd is a super artifact, but it's not explicitly labeled as the main artifact. So why is it described with the word 'real'? Could it be that it's a real artifact with real abilities, the kind that won't disappear even if taken out of the divine realm?"

Lei Chi couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

The Golden Lotus of the Other Shore is a super artifact, a special main artifact, and its power goes without saying, but in the end, it is still a system item.

When Lei Chi entered the outer starry sky through the Black Abyss Passage beneath the Windless Sea, he only glanced at the outer starry sky before the Golden Lotus of the Other Shore was about to "disappear." This meant that even though the Golden Lotus of the Other Shore was a super artifact, it could only have power within the Divine Realm and could not be taken out of the Divine Realm at all, because it was condensed by the power of the system. In places without the power of the system, it would naturally not exist.

But real objects are different; they possess power regardless of whether they are within the realm of gods or not.

There are real items in the Divine Realm, many of which are materials, and these materials can be taken out of the Divine Realm.

"If this magic gourd is the real thing I've imagined, that would be amazing!"

Lei Chi controlled the Azure Flame incarnation to lift the treasure gourd, and verifying whether it was a real plant was not difficult.

A moment later, Lei Chi, controlling his Azure Flame avatar, found the wandering Jedi Knight Kulin.

Kulin has now fully adapted to life in Elysium.

His position as a star field advisor at Mushroom Castle was highly valued by Deedlit, and his days there were becoming increasingly comfortable. This Jedi Knight had almost lost the Jedi faith he had honed in desperate situations, and even had plans to settle down and start a family there.

"The War of Faith seems to be a very important large-scale event in the Divine Realm. I guess Mushroom Castle will be busy again. I wonder when Dante will be free. I invited her to dinner at the Stormy Mansion Hotel before, but she refused. Doesn't she feel any charm from me? What excuse should I use to ask her out..."

Kulin muttered to himself that it was no secret that he liked Secretary Dante; many people knew it.

Suddenly, a flash of sword light appeared before Kulin's eyes. He looked up and saw Qinghuo's avatar standing in front of him, carrying a large, golden gourd on his back.

"Lord City Lord!"

Kulin quickly bowed. He understood that the powerful man in front of him, who could capture even the quasi-realm lord Lan family head, was no longer someone he could call a brother.

"Jedi Knight, Kulin?" The Azure Flame avatar nodded. "You can too!"

Having said that, the Azure Flame avatar tossed a real mask to Kulin, saying, "Put on this mask!"

"good!"

Kulin took the real mask, and without asking why or hesitating, put it on immediately.

In his mind, how could someone like Lei Chi possibly harm him?

"Hmm, not bad, stand still!"

The Azure Flame avatar nodded in satisfaction, then hugged the treasure gourd on its back to its chest, and with a thought, shouted, "Collect!"

Suddenly, the gourd's mouth popped open automatically, and Kulin, who was locked onto by Lei Chi's thoughts, suddenly shrank in size and then transformed into a beam of light, flying directly into the gourd.

With a thud, the lid of the magic gourd closed automatically.

"As expected, this is real!"

Lei Chi was overjoyed.

The Mask of Truth can shield the power of the system. Kulin wore it, but he was still captured by the Magic Gourd. This shows that the Mask of Truth is useless to the Magic Gourd, which means that the Magic Gourd's ability to capture people is not a system function, but a real ability.

"It really is a treasure gourd! This item can accompany me when I leave the Divine Realm, and the Golden Lotus of the Other Shore..."

The Azure Flame Avatar shook its head. "In the Divine Realm, it remains a top-tier treasure, and it's time to begin upgrading it."