Chapter 164: Master, Please Punish Me!

Speaking of this, Sima Bang sighed softly, a touch of fervor appearing in his eyes. "Ten people… I wonder if I'll have the chance to get it by the time I'm a senior."

"Brother Sima," Wen Yushui couldn't help but ask, "you are the son of the Sima Family's head; do you still need these investments?"

Sima Bang gave a bitter smile. "The larger the Family, the more rules there are. Resources are never given for free; everything must be fought for by oneself. I indeed had a good birth, but that doesn't mean the Sima Family will tilt resources toward me without limit."

"In the eyes of those old fogies, they only see value. Even for a Genius with a different surname, as long as their potential is sufficient, the resource tilt they receive can still surpass mine."

At this point, a hint of helplessness flashed in Sima Bang's eyes.

Soon, he regained his composure and said calmly, "The final stage is a competition among these ten people. Based on their performance, the examiners from the Five Great Giants will give corresponding investment amounts."

"Over the years, it's no exaggeration to say that the first place in the Heavenly Pride Apotheosis Battle saves one a thousand years of detours on the Path of the Divine Kingdom."

"Then, I wish us all success in obtaining investment contracts from the Five Great Giants before graduation." Ye Jianfeng raised his wine glass, his gaze firm.

"Good!" Sima Bang laughed loudly and raised his glass as well.

"Let's work hard together. Qingshan District F4, famous in Taichu City!"

"What does Taichu City matter? If you're going to brag, brag big—let's be famous throughout the entire Human Race."

"Hahaha, well said!"

"Come, let's drink together!"

Glasses clinked, laughter echoed, and for a moment, the private room was extraordinarily lively.

As the gathering neared its end, Sima Bang restrained his smile, his tone becoming serious again. "There's still a month and a half before the Heavenly Pride Apotheosis Battle begins."

"During this time, try to improve the overall strength of your Believers as much as possible. Additionally, add more environmental buildings, such as Spiritual Veins, Source Qi Wells, Spirit Mist Forests, and Sky Light Towers. Although these buildings don't directly increase combat power, they will greatly enhance the overall environment and stability of the Divine Kingdom."

Sima Bang's voice lowered slightly. "The Divinity Pressure of the first stage doesn't just test the Physical Body and Mental Energy; the Divine Kingdom environment is also key."

"If the Divine Kingdom environment is unstable, it won't last long."

At this, Sima Bang said seriously, "Within reasonable limits, you can take out appropriate loans. As long as the four of us can last for two hours, the profit of one million divinity points will be enough to cover the costs."

Hearing this, Ye Jianfeng and Wen Yushui fell into deep thought, beginning to calculate the room for adjustment within their Divine Kingdoms.

Clearly, both of them were tempted.

Yang Fan also nodded in agreement, but at this moment, he felt a faint excitement in his heart.

If it were just a competition of combat power, Yang Fan wasn't sure what level he was at within Taichu Academy, but if it were a competition of Divine Kingdom environment, he had absolute confidence.

Just in terms of Spiritual Veins, he had a full fifty thousand of them in his Divine Kingdom.

This was an A-grade resource building. In the outside world, without a powerful Family's support, owning just one or two would already be considered a deep foundation.

Now, the concentration of Spiritual Qi and the stability of the environment in his Divine Kingdom had already reached a limit.

Even continuing to purchase Spiritual Veins in the Late Stage would have marginal returns approaching zero for the overall environment. The reason he continued to invest was simply because there were no better Divine Kingdom investments.

The gathering ended, and everyone left.

After Yang Fan returned to his small courtyard, he directly entered the Virtual World to continue his studies.

There was still a month and a half until the Heavenly Pride Apotheosis Battle. There was no need to prepare for such an assessment; he just needed to maintain his pace of developing the Divine Kingdom.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, another twenty days went by.

On this day, according to his study plan, Yang Fan prepared to read the "Complete Guide to Cultivating Believers on the Mechanical Route."

Just as he picked up the virtual helmet, his whole body suddenly froze. A strong sense of palpitations appeared without warning, as if something was being lost.

"Fuck…" Yang Fan's face instantly darkened. "Yang San!!! What are you doing?!"

Without any hesitation, his consciousness instantly entered the Divine Kingdom.

As a god, the moment this feeling appeared, he already understood what had happened.

Believers were dying on a large scale.

With the current environment of the Divine Kingdom, unless it was being invaded, nothing could go wrong. The only explanation was that something had happened on the Alien God-Kingdom Battlefield!

In the center of the Divine Kingdom, as soon as Yang Fan's figure condensed, he saw the four of them, led by Yang Da, standing in a neat row.

They all lowered their heads, not daring to move, as if they had committed a great mistake.

Yang San had already returned. At this moment, he stood in the middle, hands held high, holding a black divine kingdom core the size of a Half-man.

Yang Fan took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and looked at Yang San with cold eyes. "Tell me, what happened?"

"Reporting to Master," Yang San knelt heavily on both knees and said, "this is the complete record of the final battle with the Black Armored Beetle Race. Please look it over, Master, and… punish me."

In the sky, a huge light screen slowly unfolded, presenting the final battle in its entirety.

On the outskirts of the alien divine kingdom core, the flames of war had already scorched the earth black.

After decades of fierce fighting against the Black Armored Beetle Race, the number of the swarm had been drastically reduced from the original tens of billions to three billion.

But those remaining now were the elite of the elite. Among them, there were seven thousand at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and the Qi Refining Realm was numbered in the tens of millions, floating densely in the air like a black cloud.

The Void Realm trembled as a massive Demigod phantom slowly condensed.

That Black Armored Beetle Race Demigod stood above the heavens, its aura violent, its voice carrying a madness and anger suppressed to the extreme: "Human Race Demigod! Show yourself!!"

"You have pushed me to a dead end; this is the final ultimatum!! If we continue to fight, you might not come out on top!!"

The voice rolled like exploding thunder, and the entire Divine Kingdom trembled.

However, the only response was a cold sneer.

Yang San stood in the center of the army Formation, his gaze as cold as ice. "My army has reached the core area. Your Divine Kingdom's forces still number three billion, and your foundation is fully deployed. Are you worthy of seeing my Master?"

A single sentence, spoken indifferently, yet carrying extreme disdain.

"You—!!" The Demigod phantom suddenly distorted, its voice completely losing control. "A mere intelligent life, how dare you be so arrogant!! You will regret this!!!"

The next moment, the flames of war completely erupted!

The Ten Halls of Yama Formation crashed open.

Between heaven and earth, Yin Qi surged in layers, enveloping the entire battlefield.

The Human Race army showed no mercy.

Poison mist, raging fire, thunder, Sword Qi… various Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills poured out like a flood, attacking the beetle race!

At the outermost edge of the Formation, millions of Martial Apprentices, clad in B-grade Defensive Armor, formed the sturdiest line of flesh and blood.

Even though their bodies had long been corroded by insect poison and their skin had turned black, they still held firm at the very front.

"Hold on!!!"

"Do not retreat!!!"

Behind them, Believers constantly injected detoxification serums into their bodies, while bottles of water of life were crudely poured into their mouths.

Coughing up blood while roaring, they firmly blocked the first wave of the insect tide's impact.