Exactly how strong was Tier 5?
In fact, compared to Tier 4's Gu Nan, there really wasn't a qualitative leap.
His physical power was strengthened and his laws were transforming into shadows—all these things paved the way for his future path, but they had far less impact on actual fighting strength than one would expect.
Enemies he could defeat now that he was Tier 5 could also be defeated when he was at Tier 4 by utilizing tactics; enemies he crushed during Tier 4 would similarly be crushed now that he was Tier 5.
But there was still an essential difference between Tier 4 and Tier 5. This difference didn't lie in strength, but in qualification.
Tier 5 meant that Gu Nan was qualified to dip a finger into Divine Kingdom construction.
｢External kindling detected. Do you wish to light the divine fire?｣
When this world's origin—which was still in an embryonic form—appeared in front of the Tier 5 Gu Nan, the Evil God Temple immediately asked.
The Evil God Temple was like a loyal assistant, dutifully translating external information for Gu Nan while also accepting all external power. It never made mistakes.
｢Yes｣
Gu Nan didn't even think about it and directly gave an affirmative answer.
As for waiting until the origin grows stronger? No need! Gu Nan firmly believed that once he officially established his Divine Kingdom, this world would grow stronger at a pace far faster than before.
Of course Gu Nan didn't hide his return from Lan Si and Yan Xiaoxiao. They were currently standing next to Gu Nan.
At this moment, the world in front of their eyes suddenly changed.
The sky seemed to darken all of a sudden, and the originally damaged sky also quieted down at this moment. Then it started to repair itself.
Gu Nan and the other two stood at the very center of the continent. An exquisite, majestic, yet sinister temple was erected out of thin air.
"This is…" The two women stared at this scene in astonishment.
Lan Si wasn't as surprised. It wasn't like she'd never witnessed a divine miracle before back in the Kingdom of Luxuriant Blossoms, but Yan Xiaoxiao was a completely different story. She couldn't comprehend this at all.
'It's not a trick of the eye, and it's not an illusion. It's a real palace…'
The two subconsciously took a few steps forward and finally saw the words on the palace plaque—although they didn't recognize the language, the meaning of these three words fell directly into the deepest part of their hearts.
Evil God Temple!
An inexplicable shadow seemed to slowly emerge from the back of the palace, shrouding the two women's minds.
Gu Nan, however, ignored their thoughts. Now that the Divine Kingdom was finally at hand, it meant that his game progress had entered an entirely new stage.
From this moment on, his advancement path would no longer be directly strengthening himself. Instead, it would be indirectly strengthening himself by building a powerful Divine Kingdom.
｢Evil God Temple: Core structure. The foundation of the Divine Kingdom. Level 0｣
This notice automatically jumped out when he looked at the Evil God Temple.
This Evil God Temple was the exact same as the one inside Gu Nan's mind, but now only its shadow was left behind in his mind. Its tangible body had suddenly appeared in the Divine Kingdom.
If Gu Nan wanted to complete the First Round by advancing to Tier 6, he just needed to level the Evil God Temple to Level 1.
But this level-up wasn't simple at all. It required Gu Nan to have at least six Level 0 structures.
After officially establishing the Divine Kingdom, Gu Nan's panel in the Evil God Temple suddenly changed, and certain data that had never appeared before were finally revealed.
｢Wood: 0
Ore: 0
Sulfur: 0
Crystal: 0
......｣
Mercury, gems, gold… A series of resources appeared on the interface, and the number behind them was, of course, all zero.
However, Gu Nan wasn't in a hurry. Such Level 0 resources could easily be collected, even from the mortal realm, so there was no pressure at all.
The data after that represented the amount of power the Divine Kingdom could provide for Gu Nan.
｢Divine Power: 1｣
Of course this wasn't trying to say that the entire Immortal Demon World was only worth a divine power of "1." Rather, it meant that for the current Level 0 Evil God Temple, the maximum divine power was 1.
In terms of Gu Nan's current strength, it would take at least 1,000 divine power for it to be slightly helpful to him in battles.
Gu Nan's first construction target was the "Resource Market."
Rookie players often wanted to build the Barracks and Research Institute as soon as possible, but a top player like Gu Nan knew that the most time-saving structure was definitely the "Market."
Because although the resources required by Level 0 structures were all very common, they often required many types of resources, and they had to be transported to the Evil God Temple in order to take effect, which would undoubtedly waste a lot of time.
And the role of the Resource Market was to exchange resources of the same level. Of course, the exchange price was definitely not 1:1.
For example, the exchange ratio of wood to gems could get as high as 5:1. Five units of wood could only be exchanged for one unit of gems. On the other hand, the exchange ratio of gems to wood was also the same 5:1. No matter how one looked at it, this was a greedy merchant.
But in order to save time in the early stage, it didn't matter if he was ripped off slightly.
"Wood 500 units, ore 300 units, gold 50 units…"
Gu Nan wrote down a long list and handed it to Yan Xiaoxiao.
Yan Xiaoxiao stared blankly at the list for a long time. "Teacher, how much is one unit? And wood… What type of wood does it want?"
"How much doesn't matter, and the type also doesn't matter." Gu Nan waved his hand and said, "Collect as many resources on that list as you can and bring them to the Evil God Temple."
The resources required by the Evil God Temple weren't limited by type, such as types of wood; it had a set of algorithms to evaluate them. Excess resources could also be converted by the Market in the future.
There was nothing to worry about on the resources side. Instead, Gu Nan had a severe shortage of the most important material in constructing a building—points.
A considerable number of points was needed to establish a Resource Market.
How considerable? Exactly 10,000.
The points Gu Nan earned as a byproduct from using 100,000 origin crystals to exchange for Evil Value had already long been used up when he advanced to Tier 5, and now Gu Nan was a penniless wretch.
If he added up all the points he spent from Tier 1 to Tier 5, it would probably barely reach ten thousand, but now even a single structure required ten thousand points!
This was frigging inflation!
As an experienced player, Gu Nan had naturally anticipated the astronomical prices that many beginner players grumbled over, so he wasn't surprised right now.
This was deliberately designed by the game developers to prevent players from saving money in advance and skipping the initial stage of the Divine Kingdom's development by relying on points they'd previously saved up.
But Gu Nan had actually mastered the way to harvest points after Tier 5 a long time ago.
That was a personal dungeon.
For players, personal dungeons were used to interact with other players, but in the game, personal dungeons were used to print money for the developers.
"Lan Si, come with me," Gu Nan's voice traveled over from far away, and his figure had already entered the Evil God Temple.
Lan Si didn't understand his intention and glanced back at Yan Xiaoxiao, who was also at a loss, so she could only follow Gu Nan's footsteps and enter the Evil God Temple.
Gu Nan stood quietly in the center of the spacious and empty Evil God Temple, while there was a red gate next to him.
"So you've successfully advanced to Tier 4, very good." Gu Nan beamed at her. "It's time to test your strength."
After a slight pause, Lan Si immediately became spirited. Over the years, Gu Nan had always been the one providing her with cultivation resources. She had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time!
She needed a chance to prove that she was by no means a good-for-nothing who only took resources and never gave back.
"How can I help? Murder or arson?" Lan Si subconsciously asked.
Gu Nan cast her a glance. "Youngsters shouldn't be so impulsive… Behind this door is 'Splendid World.' You'll know what needs to be done after you enter."
"Okay!" Lan Si nodded vigorously, then walked towards the door.
"Inside, you can resurrect upon death. I hope you can make good use of this ability. In addition…"
Lan Si walked forward quickly, throwing only one sentence behind her, "I won't die even once!"
Five seconds later, Classmate Lan Si walked out of the door with a dark expression.
"In addition," Gu Nan patted her shoulder a couple of times, "this map has starting point kill."