Chapter 561 - 517: "Welcome to the Kingdom of God.
[First extraterrestrial life-form has entered.]
[Extraterrestrial life-forms 2 through 5 have entered.]
Just as Shi Ming received the alert from the Cosmic Country’s will, five pseudo-gods, led by Bertutan, set foot in the reborn First Civilization Cosmic Country. Using their own true bodies or materialized backup forms, they truly experienced the "old land" they had left one hundred and twenty thousand years ago.
"This really brings back memories!"
"A pity. Civilization stagnated here for a full one hundred and twenty thousand years. Even though it has been revived now, it’s nothing more than a soulless ruin."
Bertutan lamented.
The Time Giant, Candela, remained silent.
The moment he stepped inside, he was struck by a sense of déjà vu, as if he had traveled back one hundred and twenty thousand years across the timeline. Fate and time converged, and a wondrous revelation had already descended upon him, but there was no shortage of competitors.
"Mother has been gone for far too long. I can feel the planets here calling out to me, begging me to grant them new life."
Huang Ji smiled, and the surrounding starry sky seemed to dim in comparison to her radiance.
This time, she hadn’t brought any of her children. On the contrary, she was prepared to become a mother once again... Perhaps this time would produce the most perfect infant, though in a mother’s heart, every child is perfect.
Uncle Tian, however, just sneered.
He couldn’t sense the presence of deathly stillness here.
The nascent power had indeed dispelled all the silence of death, and everything pulsed with vibrant life.
He hated this feeling.
While they were each lost in their own thoughts, Amonev made a new discovery.
"Have you all noticed? The privileges from our ’Title of Mortals’ have been nullified."
Amonev’s own title, [Friend of the Secret], was not as high-ranking as [God’s Favored] or [God’s Lawbringer], but it was only one tier lower. It still came with several special privileges that were effective within the borders of the First Civilization Cosmic Country. For example, the [Friend of the Secret] could obtain 300 Civilization Stones daily, receive a certain degree of immunity from law enforcement, and use the three major infrastructures in a covert state, leaving no trace behind.
But now, all of those privileges were gone.
Even the [Friend of the Secret] title above her head was beginning to dim.
The titles above the other new gods’ heads were doing the same.
"Hmph."
"This acting administrator is really something else. To think he can strip away titles bestowed by a god. A shame he doesn’t realize that authority comes from strength. Trying to strip away and suppress the powerful beings he should be looking up to, all because his own strength is lacking... it’s an act of supreme foolishness."
"And foolishness has a price."
The [Grand Architect] title above Uncle Tian’s head vanished completely. The dazzling ’Title of Mortals’ was revoked under the reason "Expired," and a drab, unremarkable [Traveler] title took its place above their heads.
This meant that these "new gods," with their profound seniority, had now become "newbies."
Bertutan took just a few steps and arrived at the planet’s [Teleportation Vortex]. Just like last time, he intended to use it to travel to the next planet.
Without any suspense, a message appeared above the Teleportation Vortex.
[Respected Traveler,]
[You have insufficient Civilization Stones.]
[Use of the Teleportation Vortex requires payment of the corresponding Civilization Stones or the consumption of one Teleportation Order. Teleportation Orders can be redeemed from the Divine Treasure Vault or acquired through other various means.]
Bertutan snorted coldly.
’Pay to travel?’
He had never experienced such a thing.
The God’s Lawbringer went wherever he pleased!
And now, that privilege had been stripped away too!
’Good. Very good.’
"Hehe, no matter. There’s a saying: when a new leader takes office, they light their own fire. We may not have Civilization Stones, but we have plenty of Cosmic Crystals. If I recall correctly, there’s a channel in the Divine Treasure Vault for converting Cosmic Crystals into Civilization Stones."
Huang Ji waved her hand, and countless Cosmic Crystals scattered out from the folds of her skirt.
The high and mighty new gods had never lacked for Cosmic Crystals.
...
A moment later, Huang Ji’s expression turned a little sour.
Cosmic Crystals could indeed be exchanged for Civilization Stones, but the current "exchange rate" was a full 50% higher than it was one hundred and twenty thousand years ago. Not only that, but newbies with the [Traveler] ’Title of Mortals’ had to complete three novice quests before they could even make an exchange.
And there was a daily limit of 100 stones.
The novice quests were one thing—they were nothing more than reading the laws and regulations of the First Civilization Cosmic Country, staying on a border planet for three days to get a preliminary feel for the nation’s local culture, and performing one small deed beneficial to the Cosmic Country’s development.
But the daily limit of 100 stones was disgusting.
Civilization Stones were only enough to use a Teleportation Vortex one to three times. In a First Civilization Cosmic Country that lacked a Dark Cosmos, moving at such a crawl effectively cut off any chance for powerful beings to explore quickly. It was like another Cave of the Stars, requiring a huge investment of time. For new gods at their level of nirvana, time was the most important resource, far more valuable than the Cosmic Crystals themselves.
These new gods also discovered that every item in the Divine Treasure Vault was now labeled as a [Super Unsellable Item]. Redeeming them only required half the usual amount of Civilization Stones.
Unfortunately, the source of Civilization Stones was completely choked off.
The First Civilization Cosmic Country had merged with the Divine Countries of deceased gods and given birth to a new Cosmic Country will. It was fundamentally different from other Star Sea Cosmic Countries and possessed an extremely high standing. Even "new gods" could not defy its rules. Perhaps mastering a skill similar to [Bore] could reveal loopholes, but none of the five new gods were skilled in that art.
Soon, Huang Ji made another new discovery—
[Title of Mortals: Pioneer.]
[The Cosmic Country will remember your name as it remembers the pioneers.]
[Title Privilege: Increases the daily limit for exchanging Civilization Stones by 10 times. (1,000 stones).]
[Acquisition Method A: Redeem through the Divine Treasure Vault. Price: 1,000 Civilization Stones.]
[Acquisition Method B: Accept and complete the A-rank commission "Generous Splurger" via the mercenary terminal. Donate 1,000,000 Cosmic Crystals to the enlightened Regent for the Cosmic Country’s basic infrastructure. Your generous spending will be a driving force for the Cosmic Country’s progress, and the Pioneer title will serve as a commendation for your noble deed.]
"The Regent?"
"Generous Splurger?"
"A driving force for the Cosmic Country’s progress? More like a driving force for his personal progress!"
How could the five new gods fail to see Shi Ming’s intentions? He was blatantly accumulating wealth by selling the insignificant privilege of this [Pioneer] title!
Selling offices and titles,
stealing from the very house he was meant to guard!
Within the First Civilization Cosmic Country’s borders, Cosmic Crystals weren’t the primary currency and didn’t have much purchasing power. But in other Cosmic Countries, they were the undisputed hard currency! Trading one million Cosmic Crystals for a commemorative [Pioneer] title with practically zero privileges was a truly idiotic move!
No matter how wealthy the five new gods were, the corners of their mouths couldn’t help but twitch.