Sixty-fifth Illustration: Crimson Leaf Interstellar City [First Update]

Sangsang spoke earnestly, “Many lost in this incident, but I am the only winner. A few careless words from others mean nothing—I’ve gained far more than I gave. Uncle, you’re a good man. Little Jin told me that ninety percent of the congratulatory gifts I received after the physical test were won by you betting on my behalf. I could do little to help you, yet you thought of me first. I’m truly grateful. I look forward to our partnership.”

“May our partnership be fruitful,” Sena replied, handing Sangsang a single page: a contract brimming with stellar energy and the laws of binding. “The appeal list for slander and discrimination against you on the StarNet has been submitted. Here are the ones willing to settle—thirteen thousand in total. Of these, seventy-six hundred have chosen to become your contract followers. You need to leave your soul imprint here. Once the contract takes effect, they’ll pray to you at least once a day, providing about five thousand units of faith power daily. Their ages, ranks, professions, and talents are noted in the appendix.”

Five thousand units of faith power a day?

Doing nothing for just a dozen days would earn her more than Little Jin’s entire hard-earned savings!

Sangsang’s eyes filled with the glint of star coins. “Why did the other five thousand or so refuse to become contract followers?” If it was a matter of benefits, she could offer them healing paintings, even customized ones.

Sena was amused by her unabashed greed. “They won’t sell their faith, but they’ve paid a higher price. Your people from home are expected to arrive within half a month. It’s impossible to settle thousands in your Mulberry House. I’ve heard you brought a habitable asteroid. I’ll convert all the compensation from this incident and the rewards from the physical test into faith power and use it to order a small interstellar city. Here’s the information.”

Sangsang’s eyes grew wide. The arrival of the Celestial Emperor within half a month was a joy. Parting with the treasures she’d just acquired was painful, but an interstellar city trumped all else.

This small interstellar city consisted of five medium-sized planets, all fully developed and linked by massive sky bridges. Three are training planets with different gravities: one a pure desert, one an oceanic world with islands, one a land of snowy mountains and forest seas. Each has its own ecosystem, with fierce and exotic beasts released to form a balanced chain—so long as they aren’t hunted to extinction, they’ll thrive. The other two planets are for residence, with energy levels far above the norm and stunning scenery, but no buildings yet.

Sangsang quickly scanned the data, incredulous. “Did you say it’s mine?”

Sena nodded. “It’s already yours. You can design the buildings for the residential planets yourself—the manufacturer will handle construction. I’ve arranged for them to gift you a large faith-mediation display area with source-law defenses. The city itself isn’t expensive; costly are the law modifications, the defense systems, and, above all, the star domain.”

A star domain—the territory of the stars. Even the smallest interstellar city requires a vast expanse of starspace; temple domains are as coveted as the land in the capital of the Galactic Empire.

Sangsang rarely went online, but every time she did, she heard stories of the temple’s astronomically priced star domains. Her eyes sparkled. “Where did you buy the domain? It can’t be in the central city—maybe beyond the Fifth Ring? Is the compensation enough? If not, even the newly developed Falling Star District would do—the airspace there is cheap, a bit remote, but still within short-range teleport arrays. Distance doesn’t matter.” As for the Divine City where the Seminary was, she hadn’t dared dream.

Sena smiled. “We haven’t bought a domain yet. Bishop Anthony agreed to let your small city affiliate with his domain inside the inner circle of Divine City. Once you’re formally appointed as Saintess, you’ll move to the domain assigned to you. The savings will let you upgrade your asteroid, and with what remains, you can buy equipment. The temple covers basic needs, but a good life requires extra money. The domain assigned comes with three thousand years’ usage rights. By then, you’ll either own your own domain or have moved on to the Celestial Court’s headquarters…”

One surprise after another. Sangsang could only nod in delight at Sena’s arrangements—they were perfectly to her taste.

Having finished, Sena requested leave: “Three, at most five, days. I have personal matters to attend to.”

Everyone has their privacy. Sangsang didn’t ask, simply nodded. She wasn’t a child in need of a nanny every day.

Sena was more anxious than she was. “If you need anything, find Aslan or Boya. I’ve already asked Aslan to look after you these few days…”

“Don’t worry. Everything’s calm now. I won’t run off. I’m already too busy with classes and painting.”

After sending off the suddenly fussy Sena, Sangsang carefully read through the materials he’d left, especially the interstellar city’s designs.

A city of her own—a thought Sangsang had never dared entertain. The Mulberry House was nice, but merely a dormitory. The Celestial Star felt like home, but it was more the Celestial Emperor’s home.

This was her interstellar city. From now on, she would no longer be a guest in the temple.

No wonder so many people are drawn to hype—controversy is still fame. I haven’t even been truly maligned, just scolded a little, and here I am, getting a city for free, plus a daily faith income of five thousand for three thousand years! Uncle Sena truly is a good man!

Any position bearing the word “Chief” is instantly elevated, like Chief Saint Son.

Saint Sons and Saintesses are the temple’s figureheads—granted many privileges, yet wielding little real power. The seat holders fare slightly better, having autonomy in their faith districts, but only the Chief is different. With the Chief Saintess position vacant, all Saint Sons and Saintesses now fell under the authority of the Chief Saint Son. The Hundred-Flower Saintess believed herself immune, expecting only a minor setback before the Chief Saint Son emerged from seclusion, lifting her to new heights—perhaps even letting her touch the Chief Saintess’s seat.

Unfortunately, she miscalculated. Not all men in the world are cut from the same mold, nor so easily swayed.

The Chief Saint Son—Jian Kong—was at the third tier of the Origin level, the highest among all Saint Sons and Saintesses, and the most powerful. His title, Jian Kong, referred not to “space,” but to “void.” He specialized in the law of nothingness, with space as a secondary focus. He didn’t have the largest number of followers—quite the opposite, among seat holders he ranked near the bottom—but his overall strength was unmatched, as most of his followers were battle fanatics with the deepest faith.

He used no fixed faith medium, for he was the Void; he required nothing tangible. Since his breakthrough to the Profound level, at the start of each year, he would set a prayer as his faith medium. Anyone who called his title and recited his yearly prayer could receive a boost in combat power, proportional to their devotion. Those who reached the level of saint could even summon his void avatar.

PS: Don’t forget to bookmark and recommend after reading, sisters! There will be another update at eight tonight.