Lu Ran pressed his palms together and said solemnly, "Please enlighten me, Lord Immortal Sheep!"

The White Sheep Jade Carving replied, "Unless you let that member of the Human Clan worship sincerely in front of our Divine Sculpture.

Leveraging the advantage of the terrain, we might be able to contend with the laws of this world."

Lu Ran asked, "The laws of this world?"

The White Sheep Jade Carving explained, "Gods are the laws.

No matter where you are, whether you are a Believer or not.

When you pray sincerely, the Power of Faith you generate will, like rivers returning to the sea, eventually return to the embrace of the gods."

Lu Ran fell silent for a while, then whispered, "Even if I am not a Believer?"

The White Sheep Jade Carving replied, "I know what you are thinking, and yes."

"Heh," Lu Ran suddenly laughed.

Even though I'm not a Jade Talisman Believer, all the sincere worship I've done since childhood, the Jade Talisman has not missed a bit of it.

The Immortal Sheep fell silent, giving Lu Ran time to digest the information.

Until Lu Ran spoke again, "Lord Immortal Sheep, did you just say that we can rely on the advantage of the terrain?"

The White Sheep Jade Carving explained, "The Power of Faith born from the Human Clan in front of our Divine Sculpture, my side might be able to intercept a bit."

Lu Ran's brow furrowed slightly, somewhat confused.

The God Demon Sculpture Garden is located in my own spiritual world.

These Pupils of the Dead World can only draw Dead Souls into the Sculpture Garden.

Could it be possible to "absorb" a living person?

Lu Ran immediately asked, and, of course, the answer he received was negative.

Lu Ran then inquired, "Since we cannot let living people enter the Sculpture Garden, how do we make them worship... in front of a Fake God?"

His voice grew softer and eventually stopped.

After a moment, Lu Ran ventured, "Do you mean to say, to have people worship sincerely in front of me?"

The White Sheep Jade Carving confirmed, "Exactly."

Lu Ran pursed his lips and said no more.

He had pondered over one thing before and jokingly concluded, "I am All Gods."

Now, it seemed, his spoken words were prophetic.

Indeed, each Divine Sculpture resides within Lu Ran's spiritual world.

This means that anyone wishing to worship any god within the Sculpture Garden need only worship Lu Ran.

In other words, Lu Ran is that small Divine Sculpture standing within the little shrine.

And he is "One with Many Faces"!

When Chang Ying worships Lu Ran, he is Divine·Spiritual Sign.

When Si Xianxian worships Lu Ran, he is Ran Shen.

Likewise, Lu Ran can be Sword Lotus, he can be Red Scarf, and he can even be Prisoner Demon, North Wind, Sword One from West Desolation!

"Pitter-patter..."

The room was silent except for the continuous soft rain outside the window throughout the night.

After a while, Lu Ran softly asked, "Can't we find an object in the mortal world to house the sculptures of our gods for Believers to worship?

Like a little Divine Sculpture within a shrine?"

The White Sheep Jade Carving responded, "Aren't you that object?"

Lu Ran: "..."

The White Sheep Jade Carving continued, "Under the Divine Law, other objects struggle to intercept faith.

Only in front of the true form of our Divine Sculpture can devout prayers possibly work."

Lu Ran still wasn't convinced, "Can't I, through a Divine Sculpture, create a minion of some god and have it collect faith?"

The White Sheep Jade Carving asked, "Why ask further?"

Lu Ran inwardly sighed heavily, resignedly saying, "Disciple understands."

The White Sheep Jade Carving sought clarification, "What do you understand?"

Lu Ran shrugged, "As you said before, I am a little Divine Sculpture, a messenger of a host of Fake Gods."

The deep, transmitted voice suddenly grew stern:

"I can belittle myself in front of you, but you must not undervalue yourself."

Lu Ran lifted his eyelids to look at the little Divine Sculpture in the shrine.

Oh boy~

Its face is all pissed off, isn't it?

The transmitted voice lowered, "You own this God Demon Sculpture Garden and the sculptures within it.

You cultivate them, control them, use them..."

Lu Ran, uncharacteristically, interrupted the Immortal Sheep, speaking softly, "I am not the messenger of a host of Fake Gods.

I am their master."

The White Sheep Jade Carving commended, "The child is indeed teachable."

It was rare for Lord Immortal Sheep to give Lu Ran such high praise.

Lu Ran probably understood why, just now, the Immortal Sheep was so stern.

All the signs indicated that the Immortal Sheep was cultivating Lu Ran as a "successor."

At this level, Lu Ran was not allowed to undervalue himself.

"Before I make it big, I'll just have to discreetly take on disciples on a small scale," Lu Ran mused, sitting down, crossing his legs.

Lord Immortal Sheep was right. When he decided to extend an olive branch to someone, he had to ensure their absolute loyalty to Lu Ran.

The White Sheep Jade Carving said, "Quality matters in Angel Envoys, not quantity.

Do not fret; you will gradually understand in the future."

Lu Ran pondered and understood the Immortal Sheep's point.

On the night of September 15, Lu Ran witnessed two Sea Realm Great Powers battle.

The confrontation was indeed earth-shattering.

In the face of absolute power, numbers are meaningless.

It seems that if one truly reaches the level of the gods, the principle is even more so.

The White Sheep Jade Carving suddenly said, "Trickery under the Divine Law is, after all, not the right path.

Only proper means can replace it!"

Lu Ran: "..."

You make it sound so easy.

Lu Ran mockingly thought to himself, then changed the subject, "Similarly, this applies to Evil Demon Sculptures, right?

The Evil Demon Clan feeds on emotions like fear and despair, so only if I personally terrify the enemy will the Evil Sculptures in the garden be nourished?"

The White Sheep Jade Carving explained, "The principles of Evil Magic aren't as harsh as the Divine Law.

You can summon minions of Evil Demons to torment your enemies and provide the needed emotional nourishment for the Evil Sculptures in the garden."

"I see," Lu Ran nodded.

The clans of the gods are really stingy, not willing to let even a sliver of faith slip through.

It seems the Evil Demon Clan is much more generous, aren't they?

Thinking about it, while gods collect faith under some conditions—

The Divine·Spiritual Sign, naturally, won't receive the power of faith from Sword Lotus believers.

And the Evil Demon Clan collecting emotions is much more carefree.

What's this believer, that believer—for them, you could be a dog, and it wouldn't matter; who we torment makes no difference, right?

Regardless of what you are, it doesn't interfere with their feasting.

This means the Power of Faith of the Human Clan is higher level, more refined energy that nourishes the gods far more than fear and despair nourish the Evil Demon Clan.

Otherwise, the Evil Demons would have ascended long ago.

Suddenly, Lu Ran had a thought: "The night when Sea Realm's Lady of Yin and Yang appeared and performed her ghostly play in the city skies, the whole of Rain Alley City plunged into panic."

The White Sheep Jade Carving confirmed, "The Lady of Yin and Yang herself feasted heartily, and you contributed your part as well."

Lu Ran was a tad embarrassed; indeed, he had been thoroughly scared that night.

He asked softly, "Since the whole city was panic-stricken, couldn't we have intercepted a bit of that emotion?"

The White Sheep Jade Carving's voice seemed distant, "People were afraid of the Lady of Yin and Yang, not you who hid at home."

Lu Ran: "..."

You've got a way with words, don't you?

Am I invisible to you?

The transmission suddenly turned dark, "Once the Evil Sculptures in your garden grow strong enough, you too can summon Evil Demons to join the chaos of the Night of Ghosts.

From that, you can take your share."

Lu Ran's mouth dropped open slightly.

Isn't this just another form of "farming the Human Clan"?

The Night of Ghosts is already chaotic enough; how could I possibly add to it?

Yes, I can't really send my own Evil Demons to wield the knife; I won't let them attack the Human Clan.

But the mere appearance of a powerful Evil Demon would inevitably trigger serious chain reactions.

This isn't a joke!

If you let me tie Kou Yingquan and have a Lady of Yin and Yang perform and frighten him with her handkerchief every day, maybe then I'd consider it.

But others are innocent...

Too bad, there's no Divine Technique or Evil Technique in this world that can open a separate dimension.

If only I had a secret place to confine a bunch of enemy Evil Dogs, then use my own Evil Demons to scare the pets every day...

Wouldn't that be a steady source of energy?

Wait!

Neither Divine Technique nor Evil Technique can indeed open separate dimensions.

But within the realm of Divine Weapons and Evil Weapons, there seem to be such "Domains"?

"You must find your own path," spoke the god with a voice gradually returning to calm, becoming softer and softer.

Lu Ran quickly stood up, pressed his palms together, and bowed towards the shrine, "Thank you for your guidance, Lord Immortal Sheep."

It seemed that Lord Immortal Sheep had indeed departed.

That night, there was no further dialogue between them.

In the following days, Lu Ran remained quietly meditating in front of the shrine and did not disturb the god anymore.

The days quickly passed until the nineteenth day of the tenth lunar month.

In the early morning, Lu Ran dressed in a trench coat and a dark red knitted scarf, stepped out of his home.

He stepped into early winter.

Last month, the only morning class at school had been canceled, but not this month.

On the road to school, Lu Ran could clearly sense that there were fewer and fewer people in Rain Alley City.

Along the way, only the familiar bun shop was still bustling with noises.

After all, everybody's got to eat.

As for other places...

This dilapidated little town, like the trees entering winter, was withering away continually.

Returning to school gave Lu Ran a sense of being worlds apart.

As expected, he became the center of attention— the kind that drew everyone's eyes.

Wherever Lu Ran went, glances followed.

A fervor, excitement, curiosity...

It's proven that people might envy those slightly better than themselves.

But towards those far beyond their league, the feeling was more admiration.

Lu Ran lowered his head and briskly walked into the teaching building, scurrying upstairs.

Before reaching the classroom, he heard a clamor from inside.

Looks like someone was conning people out of their money?

"Ran Shen!"

"Holy shit, isn't that my Ran Shen!"

"He's alive, alive! Hurry, come in and sit down!"

Lu Ran: "..."

Before, people used to call him "Bro Ran."

After this Night of Ghosts event, did he level up again?

He actually saw this nickname in the grade group chat.

The first to use it was none other than his own classmate, the chubby kid Qian Hao.

"Yay, Ran-bao!"

Chang Ying's eyes were brimming with surprise.

One address, and any airs Lu Ran might have had were shattered.

The fortuneteller stopped her practice.

Chang Ying left her clients aside and hurried over to Lu Ran, "That was so impressive!"

"Oh~" Lu Ran instinctively raised his hands.

Chang Ying then gave Lu Ran a big bear hug!

"Yahoo~!" This gambler seemed too excited as she lifted Lu Ran and suddenly flung him upwards.

Lu Ran flustered, "Eh? Eh?"

What's with flinging me around?

Lu Ran reached up to support himself on the classroom's ceiling to avoid hitting his head.

But as he landed, Chang Ying embraced him again.

"Slap!"

Lu Ran placed his hand on her face, pushing her away at a distance, "Calm down, will you?!"

Chang Ying's muffled voice came from under Lu Ran's palm, "Hmm..."

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