350: The beginning of a golden age

Boom! Boom! Boom... Thunder rumbled.

Each bolt of lightning that fell meant the demise of a Savior Society member.

The people in the six great cities trembled in fear.

"In just three years, this world is left with only six cities. How difficult it is for the Human Race!"

"There are too many demons in this world; their numbers should be halved!"

After Xu Le finished speaking, his figure appeared in the Fallen Zone.

His Divine Domain unfolded, directly covering half of Blue Star. Then, the Contract rules surged, and the demons on the ground were instantly ground into dust.

Destruction is always easier than construction.

He opened his palm, and paper figurines from the Contract Space appeared, quickly being folded into twelve paper figurines.

Although the folding was simple, each paper figurine possessed the strength of a Demigod.

It wasn't that he couldn't fold Divine-Grade paper figurines, but Blue Star was a low-level world and couldn't bear Divine-Grade power.

Divine-Grade paper figurines would be squeezed out by the world.

Even Demigod Rank paper figurines were not much inferior in strength to a True God.

Furthermore, their core contained a trace of Contract rules, allowing them to take down even a Divine-Grade Peak expert if they self-destructed.

The pressure Blue Star endured just by him standing on it was terrifying.

Even with his aura restrained, Blue Star was subtly unable to bear it.

Xu Le threw the paper figurines on the border of the old Great Zhou, forming the Twelve Ancestral Shamans' Spirit Protection Array!

Within the array's range, no Devilish Qi could infiltrate, and no demons could penetrate. It was truly an impregnable fortress.

It wasn't that the demons outside Great Zhou couldn't be annihilated; it was that he didn't want to annihilate them.

Humanity needs external enemies to continuously progress.

Without external enemies, they tend to fight amongst themselves, and perhaps, accidentally destroy the world.

Great Zhou needs enemies!

The twelve paper figurines landed and formed an array, outlining a circle of golden patterns on the outermost perimeter, shimmering with golden light... Zhen Xiaolu was a Great Wall Guard Army soldier, standing guard with his teammates by the sea, defending against sea demons attacking the Third City Zone.

Suddenly, a golden light flashed before his eyes, and he saw a golden circle appear 12 nautical miles away.

"What is that?"

His teammate looked in the direction Zhen Xiaolu was pointing but saw nothing.

12 nautical miles is over 22 kilometers. He hadn't enhanced his eyesight, so even golden light was too far to see.

Zhen Xiaolu pondered for a moment, then reported his discovery to the captain.

The captain knew Zhen Xiaolu possessed a flying artifact and immediately dispatched him to investigate.

"There are many sea and air demons; be careful."

"Yes!"

Zhen Xiaolu flapped his wings and flew towards the golden circle.

The golden circle shimmered with brilliant colors, looking very beautiful.

He took out a low-level item and threw it at it.

The item passed through the golden light, and nothing happened.

A Demon Shark in the sea sensed the "attack," leaped out of the water, and viciously bit the low-level item into pieces.

The Demon Shark caught Zhen Xiaolu's scent, became very excited, and wagged its tail, preparing to fly over.

Zhen Xiaolu's heart sank. That Demon Shark was an 86th-Rank demon; he was no match for it.

If he got entangled and provoked the sea Demon Race to attack him, even a hundred lives wouldn't be enough.

The Demon Shark leaped into the air, its head touching the golden light, and instantly turned into ashes and dissipated.

"Hiss, what is this thing?"

Zhen Xiaolu gasped, then used a few more items to test it, but the golden light showed no reaction.

Could it be that the golden light only kills living things?

Suddenly, a small voice echoed in his ears.

"I am Contract God Xu Le. I declare: The Human Race shall rise!"

"Where the golden light shines, the Human Race shall be king. Within one hundred years, no demon or evil god shall enter; violators shall die!"

"After a hundred years, may my Human Race descendants be able to step out of the light circle and sweep away all demons in the world."

Zhen Xiaolu's scalp tingled, and his blood roared and cheered.

A true man should be like this!

Could this so-called Contract God's words truly come to pass?

After much hesitation, he felt that someone needed to be the first to try.

He tried touching the light circle with his hand; it was safe.

He then poked his head out of the light circle; safe!

It wasn't until his entire body was outside the light circle, and he still hadn't suffered any harm, that he confirmed the light circle was harmless to humans.

Clap clap clap... Dense swarms of demon fish in the sea smelled the scent of a living person and rushed towards him.

Zhen Xiaolu screamed in fright, turned, and fled into the light circle, then watched as tens of thousands of demon fish crashed into the light circle and were all burned to ashes.

Not a single demon fish's head could poke into the light circle before being burned to ashes.

In his shock, Zhen Xiaolu suddenly remembered that there were no demon fish in Great Zhou's territorial waters.

He prided himself on being clever, yet he had only just discovered the truth.

He hurriedly rushed back to report, only to find that the small voice he had heard clearly, his captain, more than 22 kilometers away, had also heard it clearly.

Even throughout the entire Great Zhou, all humans had heard it clearly... God Descent Cult.

The new leader, Ren Dongfang, heard Xu Le's voice and thought, 'This is bad. If the believers are swayed, won't the God Descent Cult exist in name only?'

He immediately gathered his believers to worship the Serpent Mother.

"The mortal world is like a prison; all beings suffer. God loves the world; true spirits return home."

"Great Serpent Mother..."

Crack!

The Serpent Mother statue, which could not be broken by blades or burned by fire, suddenly shattered.

Ren Dongfang rushed to support it, but the shattered stone turned into powder, scattering upon touch.

The believers looked at each other, and a great deity surged into their hearts, never to be forgotten.

Not only the God Descent Cult, but all sects that worshipped foreign deities other than the Contract God, whether real or fake, saw their statues turn to dust. Along with them, the faith in the hearts of their believers also turned to dust.

Most believers immediately changed their allegiance, converting to the Contract God. A small number of stubborn individuals either committed suicide out of loyalty or were gradually assimilated by those around them, converting to the Contract God.

In the face of a true miracle, other deities were vulnerable...

"God!"

Li Yang respectfully called out, preparing to kneel and bow.

Xu Le felt a pang in his heart, knowing that a sorrowful thick barrier had formed between him and his old friend.

There was no going back!

He nodded lightly, took out an immortal coil, and handed it to Li Yang.

Now that the Little Peach Tree had broken through to Divine-Grade, one immortal coil it produced was enough to raise a profession to SSS-Rank and also allow one to comprehend a terrifying, compatible talent.

"Thank you, God, for the gift!"

Li Yang didn't ask what it was; he took the immortal coil and began to eat it.

The tender flesh and sweet juice. By the time he came to his senses, the entire immortal coil was gone. The pulp and juice in his stomach transformed into a warm current, nourishing his body and Soul, and his profession Rank on the panel rapidly increased.

"Ah—"

Li Yang roared, feeling his body filled with power, as if he could punch Blue Star apart.

Of course, that was just an illusion.

When he looked at his attribute panel again, he found that his profession had changed from B-Rank Heavy Shield Guard to SSS-Rank Titan Barrier.

At the same time, he had Awakened an SSS-Rank talent: Divine Defense!

Not only did his Strength, Agility, and Physique growth double, but he could also immunize 80% of physical damage and 50% of Spell damage.

His once-lacking panel instantly became luxurious. Li Yang was so excited that his face was covered in tears, and he kowtowed five times, incoherently expressing his gratitude.

"God. Your grace of rebirth, I will never forget! I..."

When he looked up again, Xu Le had vanished without a trace.

Xu Le felt a mix of emotions. He could have accepted being called foster father, but 'God' was too distant. Indeed, there was no going back.

Strolling through the streets, which were decorated with lanterns and streamers, everyone rushed out, shouting and howling loudly.

No one found it jarring; everyone felt that only this could vent the Human Race's pain that had been suppressed for hundreds of years.

Today, the Human Race has risen again!

A prosperous age shall begin today.

The 4-year-old Emperor of Great Zhou announced his abdication.

And reformed the system into a federal one, inviting the five Great City lords, officials of the second Rank and above from the imperial court, the Pope of the Covenant God Cult, and the twelve bishops to establish a council.

Two hours later, the council completed various resolutions and announced the establishment of a new nation—the Covenant United States.

Abbreviated as the Covenant Nation!

"Boring!"

Xu Le was melancholic, then suddenly frowned, "Who is plotting against me?"