For a Demigod, the path to becoming a True God was already well-defined, and everything else was merely preparation for that goal.
Faith and Divine Office were one aspect, while other essentials such as the Divine Kingdom were equally indispensable.
And if one happened to possess a demiplane, it would certainly save considerable effort in establishing the Divine Kingdom.
For a True God, the Divine Kingdom served as both a stronghold and the seat of their true form, so no amount of careful arrangement would be excessive.
Leilin had long considered how he would build his own Divine Kingdom, but suddenly acquiring an additional demiplane would also prove very useful for housing the souls of his followers.
"With some modifications, it can serve its purpose well. Hmm, but first I should seal away the original Akeban followers' souls!"
Leilin quickly settled on the demiplane's function.
Golden divine power rippled outward, displacing Akeban's original imprint and disturbing some powerful souls.
"Who dares invade my lord's domain?"
Golden flames erupted as more than a dozen indigenous spirits rose into the sky, glaring at Leilin with fury. "False god! This is no place for you!"
"Oh? Hero spirits?"
Leilin recognized them—these native spirits must be heroic figures from the former Sakatkatz Empire, perhaps even the souls of several emperors among them.
"Akeban has fallen! You relics of a bygone age belong in the dustbin of history..."
For Leilin, these hero spirits were nothing more than fanatical devotees of Akeban—utterly useless.
As his incantation continued, the roaring spirits suddenly froze. The spiritual energy sustaining their forms began to crumble, dissolving and dissipating.
"Who gave you the audacity to defy a god?"
As Leilin's stern question rang out, an overwhelming divine majesty erupted. The last few spirits still clinging on crumbled to nothing.
They had been sustained by Akeban's divine power, which had greatly weakened since his fall. How could they possibly pose any challenge before Leilin?
With the last vestiges of resistance dealt with, the remaining follower souls were either dazed or had fallen into deep sleep, utterly incapable of resisting.
The entire demiplane was swept by a hurricane-like force, with a massive vortex forming at its center. Countless souls were drawn into it.
At the end, the tail of the maelstrom came to rest in Leilin's hand. The surging spirits compressed together to form a golden crystal sphere, within which countless tadpole-like souls could still be seen swimming about.
"This place was already modified by Akeban to be suitable for follower souls, but there are still some shortcomings..."
Leilin looked at the now nearly barren demiplane and furrowed his brow slightly.
"Divine Power—Alter Reality!"
"Let there be light!" As if his word were law, a brilliant spark of radiance instantly formed in the chaos, expanding rapidly to dispel all darkness.
"Let there be water!" The previously parched ground split open as streams sprang forth, merging into rivers and then into vast seas.
"After water, there should be vegetation!"
Tender green shoots stubbornly pushed through the barren soil. The vibrant green of life spread outward, quickly covering the entire demiplane and forming vast grasslands and forests.
"That should do it!"
The enormous divine power expenditure from reshaping the demiplane left Leilin feeling slightly strained. He waved his sleeve, and thousands of milky-white souls descended into the plane, each taking the form of a spirit with a bewildered expression.
"You may reside here for now!"
Among these spirits were indigenous people, pirates, and even several demon-like creatures. Upon hearing Leilin's voice, they all knelt in reverent prayer: "As you command, our Lord! You are the World Serpent who devours all, the Master of
"A god enters into a covenant with its followers—they offer faith, and in return I must protect their souls after death..."
This was naturally a god's responsibility. And once this was done, Leilin suddenly felt his connection to his other followers grow marginally stronger, and he fell into contemplation.
"Using this place to receive followers' souls is viable for now, but I must still ascend to True God as quickly as possible and construct a Divine Kingdom—that is where all followers' souls truly belong..."
Using one's altar, divine artifacts, or a demiplane to house followers' souls was a stopgap measure that Demigods had no choice but to resort to.
Compared to a Divine Kingdom, such methods were merely temporary solutions. The protection they offered was inadequate—demiplanes were somewhat better, but souls stored in altars and divine artifacts deteriorated at a pace that would make even Demigods heartsick, continuously eroding the spirituality within them.
For gods, of course, they could not tolerate the constant loss of their most precious possessions.
But apart from the Divine Kingdom, every method of preserving followers' souls had its own drawbacks.
And ascending to True God was an exceedingly difficult matter for these Demigods.
Leilin could not forget that on the mainland, there currently stood a mid-tier god of protection named Heim, whose church made combating False Gods its primary mission.
Unfortunately for him, the current Leilin was, in that entity's eyes, nothing short of a False God!
Fortunately, his base of operations was on Bankes Island, and indigenous faith had always been found to have deficiencies, so it had not attracted much attention.
However, with his rise to prominence, this secret was unlikely to remain hidden for much longer.
"No—other gods have already noticed my existence..."
Leilin's gaze turned toward the harbor, where the faint reflections of several sailing vessels shimmered in his eyes.
Howling sea winds carried terrifying waves that crashed against the gilded hull of a massive ship.
Atop the vessel, an enormous gold coin emblem gleamed brilliantly. This was the "Gold Coin," the flagship of Zuona, a gold-coin bishop under the Goddess of Wealth. Leilin had seen it once at Morning Star Port, but now it had appeared in the waters near Bankes Island.
"Your Excellency! According to our goddess's guidance, we are approaching the mainland!"
At the bow of the Gold Coin, Bishop Zuona—whom Leilin knew well—was wrapped in a white deer-skin coat, her eyes slightly distant.
"I understand. You may leave..."
Zuona dismissed the captain with a wave of her hand, but her heart churned like the turbulent sea.
"On a newly risen indigenous mega-island, there exists a Serpent Church. I must learn everything about it!"
This was the divine oracle bestowed upon her by Lady Wojin, and only the goddess's decree could make this gold-coin bishop abandon Morning Star Port—with its rivers of flowing gold—and brave such danger to enter indigenous waters.
"Bring goodwill, but observe carefully!"
Zuona turned the goddess's meaning over in her mind, her face showing considerable hesitation. And the goddess's vague hint that this indigenous empire was connected to Morning Star Port only deepened her alarm.
"I don't know why, but I'm certain—the person capable of all this must be that legendary young master of the Faolan Family!"
Zuona possessed the intuition unique to women.
"Ship spotted ahead! All hands on alert!" The lookout in the crow's nest began shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Enemy ship? Indigenous canoes?" Having dealt with the natives several times before, Zuona looked at the sea with some amusement—but she quickly lost her smile.
More than a dozen massive warships, led by an even larger pirate vessel sheathed in magical armor, burst over the horizon and moved to encircle them.
Elite soldiers and sailors could be seen aboard the warships.
When had the natives ever possessed such enormous vessels?
Zuona was perplexed, but when she saw the flag atop the lead ship—a blood-red dagger and skull—she drew in a sharp breath.
"The Crimson Tiger Pirate Fleet, infamous across the open seas! It's them! Is this their stronghold?"
Zuona had a deep impression of this notorious open-sea pirate group. After learning through certain covert channels that the "Daughter of the Red Dragon" was in fact a legendary-tier bloodline bearer, her wariness had intensified to its peak.
What alarmed her even more was that the Crimson Tiger Pirate Fleet must have some hidden connection to the Faolan Family!
"Flying their banner now means they have nothing left to hide?"
Zuona managed a bitter smile, then issued her orders. "Signal them! We come in peace!"
After the signal was sent, the opposing fleet responded quickly and split to either side of the Wealth Church's convoy, flanking them like an escort.
"They're requesting we maintain speed and follow them!"
The sailors quickly deciphered the signal.
"Do as they say!"
Zuona took a deep breath to suppress the anger in her heart and made the rational choice.
"And here I was hoping to rob a Wealth Goddess ship or two for kicks..."
On the lead pirate ship, Ronald curled his lip dismissively and lowered his brass telescope.
"Take them to Pando Port. All attendants and personnel are to undergo thorough inspection! Listen up, everyone—we're the Imperial Navy now! Keep your hands clean, or I'll chop them off personally!"
"Aye aye, Captain!"
The other pirates answered with laughter and banter, clearly finding it difficult to adjust on command.
The indigenous sailors, however, showed considerably more respect—these would be the true backbone of the future Imperial Navy. Ronald sighed inwardly, but then his heart filled with hope.