163: Chapter 163 I'll still take a bite!

Previously, Patriarch Fang Hong hadn't made a point of mentioning this because he personally felt it was unnecessary. It wouldn't be too late to bring it up once those Families and factions set their plans in motion.

But now, he felt it was time to sacrifice these people.

The relationship between the powerful clans and factions was not actually as harmonious as outsiders saw it. The reason they had remained at peace for thousands of years...

...was mainly because no one was confident they could annex another Family without taking damage. If two families truly fought to the death, the other powerful clans would absolutely not let such a golden opportunity slip by.

Precisely because their relationship was nothing special, Patriarch Fang Hong felt no psychological burden whatsoever about the news he was about to share.

Watching Patriarch Fang Hong stand up, Lin Xiao's expression grew intrigued.

"This is indeed interesting. Why don't you tell me about it in detail, Patriarch Fang?"

"In response to your Lordship, previously, the Chen Family, the Liu Family, the Hu Family, the President of the Spiritual Grain Chamber of Commerce... and other top factions in Anping County..."

"...harbored resentment because the County Magistrate once proposed that we purchase the Temple's resources at original price and sell our own resources at low prices."

"Some days ago, they invited me to discuss matters regarding dealing with the Temple. In my heart, I was extremely unwilling."

"However, their combined forces were simply too powerful. Left with no choice, I could only play along with them on the surface."

"I discovered that they plan to contact those rogue gods who were previously blacklisted by the Temple for their reckless remarks, attempting to gather them to disrupt the Temple's order."

"Someone even proposed that everyone contact the messengers of the Intermediate Gods backing them, attempting to use the influence of the Intermediate Gods to forcibly plunder everything you currently possess, my Lord!"

Patriarch Fang Hong's words did not exaggerate the situation in the slightest. Faced with the powerful rise of Lin Xiao's Commission Temple, all the powerful clans of Anping County could be said to be unable to eat or sleep in peace.

They were terrified that their original interests would be snatched away by the Temple. Even the Fang Family had previously shared this mindset.

Unfortunately, the current Lin Xiao had already established a firm foothold in Anping County, and was far from someone they could easily manipulate at will.

Furthermore, everyone was also worried about the attitude of the Lin Family behind Lin Xiao. After much deliberation, they felt that acting through someone else's hands was the safest route.

Thus, while these Families and factions egged on the blacklisted rogue gods, they also did not forget to complain to the higher-ups they worshipped.

When the crowd heard the first part, they were filled with disdain and anger, but when they heard that an Intermediate God might step in...

...everyone's expressions grew solemn. Everyone had heard rumors of how terrifying Intermediate Gods were. That was genuine planet-destroying power!

For a remote star like Anping County, a casual move from any Intermediate God could completely obliterate it within the Divine Domain.

Although the Federation's laws gave them some protection, they couldn't stop an Intermediate God from intentionally looking for trouble.

The Divine Domain was unlike the Earth before Lin Xiao's Transmigration, where any random person or ghost dared to bark at famous figures.

In the Divine Domain, there was actually a crime known as Great Irreverence!

Divine Beings and demigods had to revere gods, and Lower-tier Gods had to revere Intermediate Gods. If a Lower-tier God dared to offend their superior, the Intermediate God could use the excuse of damaged reputation...

...to challenge the Lower-tier God to a cross-tier deathmatch!

And the deathmatch arena did not restrict life or death at all. When an Intermediate God and a Lower-tier God entered the deathmatch arena, the outcome could easily be imagined...

The original intention of this law was to restrain and warn subordinates: "Don't you freaking talk nonsense to people who are way stronger than you."

"Otherwise, if you get dragged onto the deathmatch arena and die, don't blame the Federation for not warning you."

But laws, from the moment they are enacted, already possess an absolute lag. Under the deliberate distortion of those with ulterior motives, this law, which was originally meant to protect the weak, gradually became a loophole for the powerful.

Once an Intermediate God set their sights on a Family's property, unless your Family already worshipped an Intermediate God behind you, you either obediently paid tribute according to the Intermediate God's wishes...

...or you could wait to go onto the deathmatch arena.

An Intermediate God looking for trouble would find things for you to do every day. For example, if traces of a foreign race appeared in a certain Star Domain, considering that your Family had a god skilled in tracking...

"...we have specially come to requisition this god. Once the matter is resolved, we will return them to you, along with a nice reward."

It seemed like there was nothing wrong with this, but if you actually dared to send the person over, you could get ready to collect your clansman's corpse! Oh, wait, that's not right.

They wouldn't even return the corpse to you. A simple "this god mysteriously vanished while tracking" would suffice. You want the person back? Didn't they tell you they vanished?

If you dared to voice any complaints against the Intermediate God, the label of Great Irreverence would instantly be pinned on you!

What if you had no complaints? Then wait to have another excuse used to demand more people the next day. No Family could withstand this kind of slow-slicing torture.

Therefore, as long as an Intermediate God targeted you, no Family could escape in one piece.

This was also why local powerful clans like the Fang Family and the Hu Family would eagerly try to build connections and send gifts to the messengers of Intermediate Gods.

After all, if you didn't burn incense and offer tributes to the True Gods in normal times, naturally no True God would care about your plight when trouble knocked on your door.

As gods themselves, everyone had heard far too many stories of this kind.

It was precisely because they knew the consequences of being targeted that everyone became worried and solemn. Although their Lord possessed plenty of divine power points and resources...

...at the end of the day, their Commission Temple did not have the protection of an Intermediate God.

If those Families truly managed to persuade them, once an Intermediate God descended upon Anping County, the Commission Temple would inevitably fall into complete decline...

Compared to his subordinates' worries, Lin Xiao looked completely unperturbed, like a fisherman sitting securely on his boat. Not to mention that he had already recruited an Intermediate God as a subordinate...

...in another two days, two [True God Spirit Puppets] were also about to arrive.

Even if none of that was counted, Shi Mu, who had previously extorted a huge sum from him, would certainly not just stand by and watch. After all, Lin Xiao had to give him over three hundred million divine power points every month.

Someone wanted to cut off such a lucrative source of wealth? Even if Lin Xiao agreed, Shi Mu absolutely wouldn't!

With so many trump cards in hand, Lin Xiao really didn't know how he could lose.

"Alright, there's no need for everyone to worry about things that haven't happened yet. If an Intermediate God really comes looking for us, our Temple isn't a soft persimmon anyone can squeeze."

"Even if we agreed, the Intermediate God standing behind the Temple wouldn't agree."

As soon as Lin Xiao said this, Magistrate Mei Fang immediately thought of Lord Shi Mu. Remembering that the Temple had to send a massive amount of resources to Lord Shi's side every month, just for the sake of those resources...

...Lord Shi would definitely not sit idly by. Thinking of this, Magistrate Mei Fang immediately felt at ease.

Although the other subordinates did not know the specific details, upon hearing their Lord say that there was also an Intermediate God behind the Temple...

...they immediately felt at ease. Some of them even recalled Lord Lin's background.

How could they have forgotten? Their Lord was a direct descendant of the Lin Family of Xuanyuan Star. If an Intermediate God really came, the one who should be worried ought to be that Intermediate God instead.

Seeing his subordinates' expressions ease up, Lin Xiao then shifted the topic.

"Although we aren't afraid of these schemes, it doesn't mean we have to endure being plotted against. Since they are so wary of us touching the cake, then I just have to take a bite of this Anping County cake!"

"The Fang Family should have quite a few shops in the county, right?"

Hearing his Lord's question, Patriarch Fang Hong immediately answered in a loud voice.

"The Fang Family has a total of over a thousand shops of various sizes in Anping County. However, our Fang Family has always dealt in the armor business."

"Therefore, these shops are all armor shops. If you need them, my Lord, the Fang Family can immediately set up over a thousand more new shops!"

Hearing this, Magistrate Mei Fang also immediately spoke up.

"I recall that on the county's commercial street, the leases for some shops are about to expire. Patriarch Fang can go to the county office to handle the procedures later. I will give the word to my subordinates."

"As for the rent, let's make it 1 divine power point per year. As for the lease term, if you need it, my Lord, I can first issue a one-thousand-year lease."

"At that time, even if I am no longer in Anping, if the Fang Family wants to renew the lease, I can still pull some strings behind the scenes..."

With the treatment his master was currently giving him, Magistrate Mei Fang felt that a thousand years from now, he would definitely already be an Intermediate God.

By then, even if he were willing to stay, the higher-ups would transfer him to other, more prosperous county-level planets, or even city-level planets.

However, this would count as a promotion. As long as his successor wasn't stupid, they would certainly not offend him over such a trivial matter.

Therefore, strictly speaking, as long as he didn't die, the Fang Family could renew this lease forever.