Besides looking cool, Tu Xiao’an’s attacks were merciless. One by one, the Taotie clones fell with a crash.
These hundred-odd Fierce Beasts were as large as mountains and possessed infinite strength, but after a few exchanges, Tu Xiao’an discovered they had no special abilities or Skills. Their attacks relied almost entirely on brute force.
When faced with an opponent far stronger than them, they couldn’t do much.
However, it all depended on the opponent. They were savage, but a Fierce Beast could overcome all techniques with a single display of force, ending things with destructive ease.
The Taotie clones had simple methods, while Tu Xiao’an, by coincidence, was a snake with far too many tricks up his sleeve. With his five major Elemental Attributes bursting forth, there was really no chance of an unexpected outcome in this battle.
What did surprise Tu Xiao’an a little was that the corpses of the first ten Taotie clones he had slain actually transformed into streaks of green light that vanished toward the horizon, disappearing without a trace.
Noticing this phenomenon, Tu Xiao’an’s gaze sharpened as he looked into the distance. He snorted. ’So, you really don’t take any losses. The clones are killed, and you still have to recycle their Energy.’
Even though the Taotie clones were like puppets, like a suicide squad that couldn’t be tamed, their flesh and blood still contained powerful Energy. After all, they were spawned by the real Taotie and possessed its Energy.
When Tu Xiao’an saw the corpses slowly transforming into green light and disappearing, his demonic eyes narrowed. He immediately stored the bodies that hadn’t yet transformed into his system.
’This is excellent nourishment. I can feed it to my Battle Companions to give them a good power boost.’
The earth-shattering battle between the Bai Town Snake King and the hundred-odd Fierce Beasts was broadcast live, giving a glimmer of hope to many despairing people around the world.
Fierce Beasts were not invincible. Humanity’s home could be defended.
A full hour later, the land of Bai Town fell quiet, as if the smoke had cleared and all had returned to dust.
The brilliant golden serpent coiled in the sky above Bai Town. After letting out a domineering, disdainful hiss, it transformed into a flash of golden light and vanished toward the Snake King Temple.
The statue of the Snake King flashed brightly in response. Tu Xiao’an appeared on the second-floor corridor, a slight arch to his brow and a faint, gentle smile on his face, as if he had just done something trivial and not worth mentioning.
"The Snake King is invincible! Long live the Snake King!"
In an instant, Bai Town once again erupted with cheers like a mountain collapsing into a tsunami. From every ruin and every corner, massive crowds of people emerged, dense as a colony of ants. Their voices were deafening, overwhelming, and they were all so excited they could hardly contain themselves.
A hundred-odd Fierce Beasts had attacked the city, heralding the apocalypse. The thousand-year-old town was on the brink of falling, its people about to become food for the beasts. But as soon as the Snake King appeared, he slaughtered every last Fierce Beast in just over an hour.
The crowd was in disbelief, but also deeply proud. ’This is the Snake King, the Divine Spirit we believe in!’
’He’s just that badass.’
The crisis in Bai Town was resolved, and the four hundred thousand surviving citizens had all been saved.
"Viewers, did you see that? Bai Town is safe! It’s safe! Long live the Snake King! Long live the King!" The reporter, deeply moved, spoke his final words in front of the camera with tears streaming down his face.
People believed in Buddhas, in the Dao, in Gods, and in Immortals. But when disaster struck, none of the Divine Buddhas of the heavens they believed in appeared. Instead, it was a snake that saved this thousand-year-old town.
People had a sudden awakening and, one after another, became followers of that snake.
In truth, what one believed in wasn’t what was important. Believing in oneself was the most practical thing. But when you were powerless, you naturally had to believe in a reliable existence.
And clearly, on the internet right now, the Bai Town Snake King was that reliable existence.
From this point on, in this turbulent human society, many people began to make their way toward Bai Town, seeking refuge.
It was as if this ancient town was the only place in the entire Wencheng region that could guarantee their survival. But that is a story for another time.
The incense in the Snake King Temple burned stronger than ever, and the Power of Faith was generated in a continuous stream.
"Ding... Congratulations, Host, for completing the ’Calamity of Bai Town’ mission. You have been granted one Level increase and a reward of one hundred million Faith Points."
A ray of light enveloped Tu Xiao’an. Subsequently, one hundred million Faith Points appeared in his Mall System.
However, the Faith Points Tu Xiao’an gained from this great battle weren’t just the one hundred million from the system’s reward. As of now, the masses alone had provided him with over ten million Faith Points. It was insane.
Tu Xiao’an’s demonic eyes narrowed. A virtual screen appeared before him, displaying the number of believers in the top-left corner.
910,235... 923,586... 935,687!
The number of Tu Xiao’an’s believers was skyrocketing, increasing by a huge amount every second of every minute.
’Shocking.’ Even Tu Xiao’an was shocked. ’It seems I’ll have to find that reporter friend and thank him properly.’
’That was the perfect assist.’
Otherwise, even if every citizen of Bai Town had become his believer, Tu Xiao’an wouldn’t have broken the five hundred thousand mark. But now, he was rapidly charging toward the one million mark.
’At this rate, it will probably only take...!’
"Ding... Congratulations, Host, for successfully gaining one million believers. You may choose to either draw from the system lottery once or choose one of your Battle Companions to gain one Level (no requirements or restrictions)."
’Alright, I underestimated the power of the masses.’
’To break one million just like that... My god, this is insane.’
He was finally experiencing just how terrifying the internet could be.
After this day, he, the Bai Town Snake King, had officially gone viral on the internet.
With the arrival of the Fierce Beast Era, it seemed that all manner of ghouls and goblins no longer needed to hide. As long as you could save the world, the people would accept you and even revere you as a Divine Spirit.
He, Tu Xiao’an, would be the first person to eat the crab.
After that day, scenes of Cultivating Demons emerging to fight Fierce Beasts began to appear all over the world. Many animal totems worshipped by the common people began to manifest one after another.
Temples dedicated to animals were constructed one after another, filled with the smoke of incense offerings.
Furthermore, in human society, many heroic figures and Rank Three Cultivators appeared, hailed by the people as War Gods, defending their territories.
Demon Management Bureaus from various regions came out of the woodwork, revealing themselves openly to the public.
The changes around the world were enormous, but they didn’t have much to do with Tu Xiao’an. He just needed to take care of the land that had birthed and raised him first.
Although he had slain the hundred Taotie clones, this wasn’t the end of the matter. On the contrary, it was just the beginning.
Because killing any number of Taotie clones was futile. Only by dealing with the real Taotie could Bai Town, and Wencheng, truly be at peace.
The Fox Immortal King had made this point very clear to him back in the Yaoling Mountain Range.
Still, even knowing this, he had to take things one step at a time. For now, Tu Xiao’an focused his attention on the virtual screen before him.
The data updated and appeared.
Host: Tu Xiao’an.
Identity: King of the Snake Clan, Bai Town Snake King.
Level: Level 37!
Believers: 1,035,687 (continuously increasing)
Faith Points: 112,356,453 (continuously increasing).
After a quick glance at his stats, Tu Xiao’an himself couldn’t help but marvel at how fast his Level was increasing.
’One more Level and I’ll be at the Level of a Deep Mountain Demon King. If I were at the same level, I could have effortlessly crushed that damned rat, the Gray Demon King.’
’Even now, if the Gray Demon King were in front of me, I could beat the shit out of him.’
’Who needs to become a Deep Mountain Demon King to do that?’