118: Chapter 118 Damaging that kid's reputation

Not only the Fang Family, but other powerful clans and factions were also holding emergency meetings to discuss the matter after receiving word from the County Magistrate.

"We absolutely cannot let this precedent be set! Today it's that kid surnamed Lin, but what if someone surnamed Li or Wang comes tomorrow? What do we do then?"

"If we take one step back, we'll keep backing up. By the time we have nowhere left to retreat, it'll be too late to fight back!"

"We can take a step back and sell our resources to that kid at a slightly lower price. However, we must absolutely not allow his resources to have priority selling rights!"

"Hmph, forget about priority selling rights. Just by doing business in the county, he is already encroaching on our interests!"

"Anping County has been peaceful for so many years. We absolutely cannot let this kid bring about another bloodbath!"

The market in Anping County is only so big. If Lin Xiao comes in to take a share, the profits everyone can get will be much smaller. They were already barely scraping by.

If they had to share even more, some of the Elders or younger generations within their clans would have to starve. Once these powerful clans and factions showed signs of fatigue,

those mid-sized and small families below them would definitely not let this opportunity slip by. No Family was willing to give up their current status.

As for the benefits Lin Xiao distributed every day, all the powerful clans and factions selectively forgot about them.

Since they had already eaten it, it naturally belonged to them. Since it was already theirs, how could it be counted separately?

How much the Elders would get, how much the Family Heads would get, how much would be used to nurture the younger generation, how much would be used to replenish the treasuries of the families and factions, and so on...

Having received only one day's worth of benefits, these powerful clans and factions had already divided up these divine power points clearly.

It was fine to give them benefits, but trying to take advantage of them? Absolutely not, even if they had already benefited!

"That may be true, but we can't just openly oppose the County Magistrate, can we? Once we anger the County Magistrate, none of us will have an easy time."

"I heard that when that kid opened for business today, quite a few people were blacklisted by him because of some arguments."

"Resources worth one or two hundred divine power points a day is no small amount. These people definitely won't be willing to let it go just like that."

"If we can find a way to gather these people together, the matter will blow up. Then, we can step in as helpers and make our demands. Even if that kid is unwilling, he won't have a choice."

"Don't forget, at the end of the day, that kid is still just a Divine Being. Tomorrow is the class placement assessment. I think we can find a way to exploit this."

"Let's try to damage his reputation. If he, as the Temple Master, is thoroughly humiliated by a demigod..."

"Now that you mention it, you've reminded me. In previous years, there would always be some combat-oriented activities after class placement. If he is always the one losing in these activities..."

"That's actually a great idea. We can damage his reputation within the framework of the rules and make him lose face completely. When the time comes, he'll be too ashamed to stay."

"Even if the County Magistrate finds out, he won't be able to say anything."

Soon, after communicating with each other, all the powerful clans and factions reached a tacit understanding: to ruthlessly target Lin Xiao and his Divine Being subordinates.

Lin Xiao naturally knew nothing of this. Information about Intermediate Deities was clearly not that easy to come by.

Over the course of an entire day, Meng Ning spent tens of thousands of divine power points but failed to gather even a single piece of useful information.

"I am sorry, my Lord. Your subordinate has failed your trust..."

Lin Xiao was quite open-minded about this, and was even in the mood to comfort Meng Ning in return.

"It's not your fault. After all, the kind of information I want is relatively private. As Intermediate Deities, unless there's an exceptional circumstance, who would let their subordinates know they are struggling?"

Speaking to this point, Lin Xiao paused slightly, thought seriously for a moment, and gave further instructions.

"I think we can change our approach. Didn't that Intermediate God mention earlier that the friction between the Xuanxu Star Region and the foreign races has escalated?"

"Why don't we go inquire more around the Xuanxu Star Region? War is frequent in the border areas. Perhaps we might gain something there?"

"Of course, we shouldn't ignore news from other Star Domains either. In short, don't be afraid to spend divine power points. Hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions.

"As long as we can get the information we need, these expenses will be worth it."

Lin Xiao also knew that the first step is always the hardest. As long as he could make a Breakthrough from zero to one, everything after that would become much simpler.

They just couldn't get into the circle right now. As long as he could gain access to the circle of Intermediate Deities, with the System's Heaven-Defying capability, he didn't believe there was anyone who didn't love divine power points.

A day slipped away while his subordinates were busy. Out of over a million members, at most less than seven hundred thousand had redeemed their resources.

Nearly half of the remaining members hadn't even had time to finish redeeming today before another day's worth of resources was added.

Fortunately, the continuous, non-stop reception at the temple all day long gave everyone a great deal of confidence in it.

Some members, seeing that they couldn't get a spot in line, chose to leave temporarily, planning to come back at night to grab a good spot.

And there were quite a few of these "smart people." When the temple closed on time at 10 PM, there was still a large crowd queuing outside.

However, the people queuing at this moment were mostly ordinary people who hadn't even undergone Awakening yet, with only a small portion being Divine Beings.

"Do you need help queuing, my Lord? It only costs 1,000 faith points. You can go attend to your own business, my Lord. When it's almost your turn, I'll send you a message so you can come straight over to redeem."

The demigod who was asked was stunned for a moment, but after a brief hesitation, he nodded. He could earn 10 divine power points a day here at the temple, so 1,000 faith points was indeed nothing.

A deity who had been queuing nearby for almost the entire day was extremely irritable by now. Having finally spotted a scalper, he immediately called out.

"One thousand divine power points. Come queue for me first."

The child, who didn't look very old, froze for a moment. Then, he immediately put on a deeply flattered expression and trotted over to the First-order Deity.

"Yes, High Deity, your servant will definitely queue diligently for you. When it's almost your turn, your servant will message you immediately."

The demigod whose spot was taken did not show the slightest displeasure. Instead, he flashed a sycophantic smile at the First-order Deity.

Not long after, even more ordinary people who had not yet undergone Awakening flooded into the area. In the past, they would never have agreed to pay 1,000 faith points just to have someone queue for them.

But now that the temple was giving them 10 divine power points a day, spending 1,000 faith points seemed very cost-effective to them.

The first batch of Divine Beings who came up with this idea took queuing orders at a price of 5,000 faith points.

Soon, even more Divine Beings and even ordinary people who hadn't undergone Awakening yet flooded in like sharks smelling blood upon hearing the news.

Without even needing the demigods and deities to speak, these Divine Beings and ordinary people who were helping to queue began to undercut each other.

In less than an hour, the price for taking an order plummeted from 5,000 to under 2,000, finally stopping at 1,000 faith points.

If it went any lower, no one would dare to take the orders. Once those demigods and deities left, the Divine Beings and ordinary people would find ways to crowd each other out.

And with the emergence of these queuing scalayers, a scattering of street vendors selling snacks and drinks began to appear outside the Commission Temple.

In just a few hours, the demigods and deities who originally occupied the line were entirely replaced by Divine Beings and ordinary people.

Fortunately, there were still many First-order Deities and Divine Guards brought by Xuan Liu patrolling outside, which kept the Divine Beings further out who hadn't gotten any orders well-behaved.

Seeing those vendors quietly calling out to customers, the Divine Beings and ordinary people who hadn't gotten any orders quickly transformed themselves into vendors as well.