Chapter 16 Behold the Hand of the Chosen One!

Song Ping narrowed his eyes and said with a chuckle, "Pardon me, Mr. Ning. I am merely an unremarkable strategist."

Pointing right at his nose, Ning Fengxi scolded him angrily, "Do you even know what you are saying? If we were to do this, what kind of massive repercussions would follow?"

"Throughout history, it has only ever been demons that used minor states to harvest the power of faith from the common people. In the history books, such figures are universally condemned as heretics and evil gods!"

"Setting aside the fact that you wish to have the Prince of Qi walk the path of an evil god in his mortal flesh, where does that leave His Majesty?"

Song Ping shrugged and said with an air of pure innocence, "That is for all of you to worry about. I am merely offering a suggestion. I know nothing of mystical arts whatsoever; I am just an ordinary person. I simply proposed the most suitable solution!"

"Rebellious subject! I shall strike you down, you old fool!" Ning Fengxi took off his other shoe and bolted straight toward him. Without a second thought, Song Ping sprinted toward a nearby pillar.

The two of them ran in circles around the pillar. No matter how fiercely Ning Fengxi swung, he simply could not land a hit.

"Come and hit me if you can! Come on, hit me! Ooh~ you missed~" Song Ping occasionally tossed out a taunt, driving Ning Fengxi into a furious frenzy of high-pitched yells.

They looked precisely like two children bickering and playing.

Squinting his eyes, Ji Huo first glanced at Teacher Wen, who looked entirely accustomed to the spectacle, and then turned to Big Brother, who was yawning out of sheer boredom. He asked, "Are they always like this?"

Big Brother gave a light laugh. "You'll get used to it. Look at me—after spending these past few days with them, I'm already used to it."

"…They certainly have a lot of energy," Ji Huo remarked.

Big Brother gave a light cough, and the two bickering figures immediately straightened up and walked over obediently. Ning Fengxi was barefoot, wearing only a pair of brand-new long socks.

Ji Huo guessed that the old man probably had to strip off his shoes like this every single day; if he didn't change into fresh socks constantly, they would likely reek.

Big Brother retracted the array diagram, handed it to Ning Fengxi, and smiled, "Chancellor Ning, make a copy of this array diagram, and then take charge of executing this matter. Do precisely as Mr. Song suggested."

"Understood!" Ning Fengxi agreed without the slightest hesitation. In truth, the moment he saw Ji Junhong's expression, he knew the matter had already been decided. He had simply been venting his lingering frustration with the thought of giving Song Ping a beating.

Big Brother then turned to Song Ping and smiled, "Mr. Song, the task of elevating the Prince of Qi's reputation is left in your hands."

Song Ping's squinted eyes curved into crescents as he asked, "To what extent?"

"Well..." Big Brother looked toward Ji Huo.

So he really wants to build me up into a celebrity, huh...

In theory, it's completely feasible. The higher my reputation climbs, combined with the fact that my image in the temples holds a bronze clapper, the common folk will automatically associate me with the bronze clapper whenever they think of me. That way, even if they don't visit a temple in person, they can still unconsciously gather the power of faith.

While the yield won't be as massive as a physical pilgrimage to a temple, the sheer volume of the common populace makes up for it. They can generate it anytime and anywhere, simply by having a passing thought of me.

And if I use that to promote the Universe Cult as well...

After weighing everything, Ji Huo increasingly felt that Song Ping's idea was brilliantly reliable. Of course, it was also utterly unhinged. He shrugged and said, "I don't mind. Throw whatever dirty water you like at me. As long as we can harvest a massive amount of the power of faith, anything goes."

Only then did Song Ping laugh with mounting excitement, "In that case, Mr. Song shall hold nothing back~"

Ji Huo shuddered violently from head to toe, suddenly feeling that agreeing to this might not have been such a great idea after all.

"There is still one issue," Teacher Wen reminded them. "Since ancient times, those who establish temples for worship are predominantly demonic entities. Even if we issue an imperial decree in the name of Daqi, heaven's approval is required; otherwise, divine punishment will inevitably descend."

"Indeed!" Ning Fengxi nodded in agreement. "This is precisely my concern as well. Even that Thousand-Faced Demonic Fox never dared to establish temples and deify itself within DaZhou, purely because any form of worship would immediately provoke heavenly retribution!"

"If our luck turns sour, the moment the temple is built, a bolt of divine lightning might just strike the Prince of Qi directly on the head."

Resting his chin in one hand, Big Brother looked over at Ji Huo, a questioning glint in his eyes.

"Heaven's approval, you say?" Ji Huo smiled indifferently. "That's not much of an issue at all. Rest assured."

A smile instantly bloomed in Big Brother's eyes. "Since that is settled, let us decide on this course of action."

Wait, are you seriously that confident you won't get struck by lightning? Even the Sovereign of Men wouldn't dare make that kind of guarantee, right? Or are you so used to messing around with lightning that your brain's already fried from being struck too many times...? The others wore strange expressions, muttering inwardly before finally giving their assent.

With the matter settled, Ji Huo couldn't be bothered to stay in the imperial study and watch them argue further. The moment he stepped out the doors of the imperial study, the system notification chimed.

[Side Quest: Side Quest — Peak of "One". Completed!]

[Reward: From this moment onward, supreme fortune attends you. Time limit: One day.]

It seemed the system was growing impatient too, directly declaring the quest complete.

Leaving the imperial palace, Ji Huo headed straight back to his small courtyard, only to discover that the roof of the courtyard still hadn't been repaired.

Oh well, it probably won't rain these next few days, right?

He walked straight into his room and took a deep breath. Though he couldn't catch the lingering fragrance from the day he rested his head on Xia Ningchan's lap, that undeniable aura of supreme luck had definitely arrived.

It's here, it's here!

That exact feeling!

He immersed his consciousness into his mind, gazing at the massive roulette wheel spinning in the void. The bold characters reading "Fair to Young and Old! 100% Winning Chance!" suddenly looked exceptionally endearing at this very moment.

"Now that the Emperor of Luck possesses me," Ji Huo rolled up his sleeves and rubbed his hands together in excitement, just like playing scratch-off tickets in his childhood, "Watch me pull a miracle!"

"I want ten consecutive draws!"

"Ten draws!"

"Ten draws!"

"Draws!"

His shout echoed far away into the emptiness of his mind!

The roulette wheel immediately began to spin at a frenzied pace, and faint flashes of golden light continuously burst forth across the wheel!