Han Wu scrolled through the resource list in the high-level exchange group like a country bumpkin. He wanted everything. He genuinely wanted everything.

The list had it all: Anti-World life form equipment, Divine Aspect Sealing Stones, bombs capable of destroying a Microcosm, and many more similarly tempting resources. If he could get his hands on even a few of these, he would have no reason to worry about the Butcher’s faction.

One glance at the prices, however, quickly dissipated his excitement. They were good items, but incredibly expensive. The cheapest required one full Microcosm. Han Wu had several Microcosms, but each was incredibly precious to him. He wasn’t about to trade any of them away. Sighing, he decided to close the list and steadfastly ignore its existence.

The Wealth God King Zhao Zihong’s investment arrived the same day. Han Wu was startled to see the Banquet God King Wang Fugui arrive with ten individuals, each radiating the presence of a God King.

Eleven God Kings was beyond Han Wu’s expectations. According to the Banquet God King, not every God King held genuine power and authority despite being of the highest tier within the Divine Civilization. That depended entirely on their Divine Jurisdiction.

He himself, for instance, controlled the Banquet Jurisdiction, which allowed him to grow stronger by hosting gatherings. This had low potential for growth, meaning he would likely drift around as a World life form for this lifetime. Unless someone poured enormous resources into him, even the Subcosm rank would be impossible for him to reach.

The ten God Kings he had brought were all ones with weak Divine Jurisdictions that the Wealth Faction had built up.

Low potential or not, a God King was still a God King. Each one could at least hold their own against a stronger Major God. More importantly, becoming a God King meant one’s divine realm fused with their Microcosms, allowing World rank units to be cultivated. They were a respectable force.

Han Wu finally understood why the Wealth Faction seemed to have so many God Kings and World life forms. Most were puppets to make an impression. Regardless of the strength of the Divine Jurisdictions, a God King’s authority was still worth parading. Even if they couldn’t kill a strong Major God, a God would still be trivial to them.

After settling the Wealth Faction’s investments, Han Wu received a faction application from Commerce. Commerce had heard that Han Wu won the wager against the Wealth God King and had come running to get in on it.

Commerce had kept his distance when the Wisdom Faction had been weak and barely standing. Despite this, he was willing to trust the Wealth God King’s judgment regardless of his personal doubts. His idol had made a choice, and his idol was always right.

Commerce also brought his friend Jia Gui along to join. Jia Gui had been working to gather resources to rebuild his divine realm after defecting from the Heaven Stair Civilization, and had since succeeded in his endeavors. With substantial investment, he had even pushed himself back up to a God.

Though he had not yet grasped the initial form of his Divine Jurisdiction and had not reached Major God yet, he was hoping to learn from the God Kings within the Wealth Faction’s support group to see if he could piece together a minor Divine Jurisdiction on his own.

With everything settled, Han Wu returned to Imperial College in person to deliver the good news to his mentor, Xu Hai. The latter was giving a public lecture when he arrived, so Han Wu entered through the back and took a seat in the last row to listen while waiting.

Xu Hai noticed his arrival but did not stop his lecture, breaking his theories down into simple terms for every student. At the end, he made sure to mention that the Wisdom Faction was looking for new members.

For a God King to personally invite students to join their faction was incredibly generous. It was equivalent to the CEO of a major company coming to campus to recruit them. Unfortunately, not every student in the room was on board.

“You all know the War Faction is preparing to declare a divine war on the Wisdom Faction, right?”

“You’re all fools. You think the Wisdom God King is offering you something good? He’s recruiting cannon fodder to throw to the front lines when the war starts.”

“The War Faction fights wars for a living. What other faction can compete with them? You might get in, but you won’t live long enough to enjoy the benefits.”

These comments dampened the enthusiasm of the students who had been considering joining. Nobody wanted to be cannon fodder. Xu Hai could tell immediately that the students speaking were War Faction spies sent to cause trouble.

Still, as a scholar, he could not bring himself to get into a public argument with students. Doing so would simply embarrass the Wisdom Faction. It was beneath a God King to bicker with students below God level.

Knowing this, the planted student freely insulted both Xu Hai and his newly formed faction.

“Really admirable of you, going to students when things get tough. A true model teacher indeed.”

“With what you’ve been teaching, it’s hard to see why I should die for you.”

These words cut into Xu Hai. He wanted to explain, but knew that anything he said at this point would only make things worse. Suspicion was hard to root out of people’s minds.

These insults did not shake his resolve as a God King, but they would destroy the other students’ trust in him. This had the War Faction written all over it. Spreading rumours and smearing reputations was one of their specialties.

As the planted students were enjoying themselves, a pressure swept over the entire room.

Han Wu’s low, steady voice filled the classroom. “My, aren’t your mouths talented? Did you eat something special today?”

Rising from the back row, he scornfully eyed the students who had been speaking against Xu Hai. The students instinctively shrank under his glare, no longer daring to run their mouths.