7: Chapter 7 The Fork in the Road of Divine Beings

"My Lord... this, wouldn't this be a bit too..."

Too what? Radical? Risky? Impulsive? Wang Tao couldn't find the right words to describe his thoughts at this moment.

Seeing their expressions, Lin Xiao could naturally guess what they were thinking. He hadn't spent his years at school for nothing.

After awakening, a normal Divine Being first needs to determine their development direction: whether to take the Logistics Support route or the War Path.

This is a crossroads in life, a choice between left and right. Countless Divine Beings regret their choice until the day they die.

Would everything be different if they had chosen another path? Unfortunately, even gods cannot make everything start over.

Once the direction is set, those on the Logistics Support route must reasonably allocate and purchase resources based on the faith points they possess.

It is best to buy F-grade resource points that require low investment and yield quick results. Then, they issue a divine oracle to let the Believers in their Divine Realm begin to multiply.

Generally speaking, the first ninety years—which is 90 days in reality—are basically spent waiting for the Believers to evolve naturally. If they lack food, animals are bought and thrown in; if they lack shelter, they build it themselves.

Subsequent resource harvests depend on one's later development needs. One can choose to intercept a portion for personal use or sell it all to continue hoarding more resources, letting the snowball roll.

Unlike the students on the Logistics Support route, those who choose the War Path must start pouring in resources at this stage.

reproduction cards—these cannot be interrupted for even a single day. Ordinary food cannot satisfy their needs; graded meat, various enhancements, and pills, spirit fruits, and spirit meals to purify the constitution cannot stop for a moment.

In addition, functional buildings must be purchased: those for evolving constitutions, helping with cooking, handling chores, and improving the Divine Realm environment.

Compared to the free-range state of the Logistics Support students, the Believers of a Warfare Divine Realm are set in motion the moment their Divine Lord determines the path.

They are like a spinning top, and aside from the necessary eating, drinking, and reproducing, all their time is consumed by improving their strength.

All these investments require a massive amount of faith points. It can be said that before successfully promoting to a Demi-God, one shouldn't expect to see a single cent of return in faith points.

As the Believers' strength increases and the population expands, the consumption of faith points will jump exponentially.

It can be said quite directly that any Demi-God is a monster built upon a mountain of faith points.

So, what about students who can't afford it, or rather, don't have the capital to burn faith points, but still want to take the War Path?

There are two ways: first, rely on a good talent (at least Grade C) to sign a contract with a medium-to-large external power using one's future. This is in exchange for the initial investment during the five years from the third year of high school through university.

Second, if the talent is insufficient (not reaching Grade C) but one is still unwilling to give up and feels they must fight even if it kills them, they can apply for a Student Loan from the Ministry of Education.

With a total limit of 5 million faith points, no interest is generated during the period of study. It's best if it can be repaid after graduation, but if not...

From the moment you graduate, a portion of every bit of income must be taken out to repay the loan, and at this time, the loan carries interest.

How should I put it? What you pay back every month is mostly just interest. Moreover, there's a high probability you won't even be able to finish paying off that month's interest.

In other words, you did indeed repay the loan this month, but your repayment wasn't as fast as the interest growth. You spend the whole year repaying, and when the accounts are settled at the end of the year, there's a high probability you'll owe the Ministry of Education even more money.

So, from the moment the 5 million loan is approved, you have to start fighting for your life. You cannot miss any evaluation, exam, or activity organized by the school, including those outside of school.

Furthermore, you must obtain top-ranking rewards in these activities; this is the 'snowballing' of the Warfare Divine Realm route.

Sustaining war through war—if the snowball keeps rolling, you still have a chance. Once you get stuck at any step, for instance, if a certain activity is fought too hard...

Losing a large number of high-end Believers without getting a good ranking will cause your originally decent situation to collapse instantly.

Once it collapses, without a heaven-defying opportunity, you might as well honestly prepare to work for the Ministry of Education for the rest of your life.

Well, of course, there is good news. The lifespan of a normal Divine Being is 500 years. The good news is that from the moment you graduate, you have to squeeze your Believers non-stop every day.

After that, you only need less than a hundred and fifty years to 'restart' early, saving you 350 years of a life spent repaying loans.

So when the class teacher said to consider it carefully, he was truly advising the students. Don't let a moment of heat in the head ruin your entire life.

Pulling back his wandering thoughts, Lin Xiao patted Wang Tao on the shoulder with a faint smile on his face.

"Don't worry, just do as I say. I know what you're worried about. What I want to say is, there are ways to play without money. This 'Pay-to-Win' style of ours is an unconventional route to begin with."

[If you guys don't pull in more population, how can I settle for more rewards? Without settling for more rewards, where would I get the faith points to nurture you? We can't let down Brother System's enthusiasm.]

"Pay... Pay-to-Win Style?"

Wang Tao was truly dazed. Even among those top noble clans in the county, he had never heard of anyone developing their Divine Realm like this.

"Just trust me. Remember what I said. Your current task is to pull in Believer population for me. Within 45 days, I want to hear the news that your Believers have broken four hundred million. Starting from today, I will give you a sum of faith points every day."

Hearing this, Wang Tao dared not ask further and bowed respectfully to Lin Xiao.

"I shall follow your orders, My Lord."

Su Xue also followed suit and bowed.

*Yawn*... It's getting late. If there's nothing else, you guys head back first. If anything comes up, contact me through the virtual world or your wristwatches. I'm sleepy."

"Your subordinates will not disturb your rest, My Lord."

Late at night, in the Fuyuan Residential Complex. When Wang Tao opened the door to his home, he found his parents busy in the living room.

Upon seeing him return, Wang Tao's father's tense expression eased slightly, but he still kept a stern face.

"Were you kicked back? I've taught you since you were little that we must be down-to-earth. If you really encounter faith points falling from the sky, you'd better first check if there are any signs of alien gods around."

"Alright, the son is back, isn't he? Can't you say a few words less? Son, are you hungry? How about Mom has the Believers slaughter a cow to make your favorite braised pork?"

At 50 years old, for a Divine Being, it could be called completely young. Yet his parents, who should have been in their prime, had wrinkles on their faces from years of squeezing their Believers.

There were also sparse, barely noticeable silver hairs on their heads. Pursing his lips, Wang Tao tried to make his words sound as calm as possible.

"I am already Lord Lin's Slave God. Just now, the Lord transferred 40,000 faith points to me. Mom, Dad... wait for a while, our family will definitely get better."

"You should also try to squeeze the Believers less. At most, wait until I graduate from university. I will definitely be able to pay off your Student Loans."

"When the time comes, I'll earn faith points to make you both Demi-Gods, or even true gods."

*Clatter.* Hearing his son's words, Wang Tao's father's hand shook, and a basin of medicinal herbs spilled onto the floor. Ignoring them, he stepped quickly to his son and carefully examined his brow.

Seeing his father like this, Wang Tao pursed his lips. His divinity was stimulated, and a blood-colored rune flashed briefly at the center of his brow.

"It really... happened."

The moment he saw the Slave Mark, the father's figure became even more hunched. An unspeakable sadness filled his heart; his son had become someone else's Slave God...

As for the forty thousand faith points his son mentioned, in his eyes, it was just the price paid for his son's life.

"I'm tired, I'm going back to rest."

Leaving behind those words, the father walked toward the inner room, looking completely despondent.

"Sigh, since things have reached this point, you must listen well to that Lord in the future. You've had a stubborn nature since you were a child. In the future... in the future... *sob sob*... my son!"

Looking at his tearful mother, Wang Tao couldn't help but feel his own eyes well up with tears.

"Mom, the Lord is really different. I will definitely be able to break through to Demi-God, or even a true god in the future. You will enjoy a good life, believe me."

A similar scene also occurred in the neighboring Mingguang Residential Complex. Su Xue's eyes were bright and a smile played on her lips as she comforted her crying mother in her arms.

"Don't worry, Mom. I know what I'm doing. That Lord gives me a very special feeling. Just give me some more time. Our family will get better."