A rainbow of colors covered the entire sky above Donghai City, a dazzling and miraculous sight, a sign of divine intervention.

On the streets, the residents who had been busy since early morning stopped what they were doing. They stood there, stunned, gazing up at the sea of ​​clouds dyed in brilliant colors, their eyes filled with awe and reverence.

"My God, what is that? What a beautiful sunset!"

"This is definitely a good omen! Could it be that Heaven is protecting our Donghai City?"

"We just experienced such a terrible beast tide recently, this must be the gods descending to earth to bestow blessings!"

The crowd buzzed with discussion, and many people even knelt down involuntarily, clasped their hands together, and devoutly worshipped the courtyard where the rosy light was most intense.

Meanwhile, inside the villa.

Zhou Huai was quietly observing the new clone he had just created—Li Er.

With white hair and a youthful face, exuding an air of otherworldly grace, he wore a simple gray Taoist robe. Despite the lack of any ornate decorations, it emanated a transcendent aura that seemed to be in harmony with heaven and earth.

Those slightly closed eyes held boundless wisdom and compassion.

"Tsk tsk, that aura..." Zhou Huai stroked his chin, unable to help but admire in his heart, "Although both are SSS-level, the feeling he gives me is completely different from that of the Insect Emperor Caesar."

Caesar is the ruler of the Zerg, exuding an overbearing and majestic aura of "those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish." He is a ruthless emperor who is high above and decisive in killing.

The Li Er before us was surrounded by a layer of soft, visible holy light, which could soothe any anger or irritability in one's heart with just a glance.

This is a saint who can inspire countless people to sincerely revere and follow him!

"I'm certain that as long as I use this clone to go out and perform some miracles, I can easily gain countless devout believers throughout the country and even the world." Zhou Huai smiled with satisfaction.

Without thinking further, Zhou Huai closed his eyes and focused his consciousness directly on Li Er.

The moment Zhou Huai opened his eyes, he felt that the whole world was different.

With clear hearing and sharp eyesight, a clear mind, one can even sense the mysterious and profound rules and patterns of the universe.

"Since it is a saint descended to earth, let's experience the effect of this active skill first."

Words become law!

These four words alone are enough to send chills down your spine.

"What should I say?" Zhou Huai pondered for a moment and decided to start with a simple test.

He controlled Li Er's slender body, his expression calm, and slowly said, "I can reach the outside of Donghai City in one step."

The words had barely left his mouth!

【Ding! 1000 mana points consumed.】

Zhou Huai felt a massive amount of spiritual energy being drained from his body. But when he looked around, the flowers, plants, and trees in the courtyard were still there, and he hadn't taken off from the spot.

"No change? Did we fail?"

Zhou Huai raised his eyebrows in confusion. With a tentative thought, he lifted his foot and took a small step forward.

"Buzz—!"

The instant his feet touched the ground, the space in front of him was torn apart and folded by a pair of invisible hands! The surrounding scenery turned into countless blurry streams of light, rushing backward!

When Zhou Huai came to his senses, his eyes widened!

The bluestone slabs underfoot had turned into muddy ground overgrown with weeds, and a desolate, cold wind swept over us!

He really did appear in the wilderness of Donghai City!

"How amazing! It really is true that words become law!" Zhou Huai was so excited that he almost couldn't maintain his aloof saintly persona.

Keep in mind that the villa is at least ten kilometers away from the nearest city wall!

Arrived in one step? That's even more powerful than a space mage's teleportation!

"If I said right now that I could cross thousands of kilometers in one step and go directly to the military compound in the capital, could I do it?"

Just as he was eager to try again and was about to speak—

【System prompt: Do you wish to deduct 50 merit points to offset the upcoming skill backlash?】

"My goodness!"

Zhou Huai was startled and immediately gave up the idea of ​​traveling to the capital.

"So ruthless?!"

He pulled up the panel and glanced at it; his body initially only had a total of 100 merit points.

Just one sentence, and to offset the backlash, half of it has to be deducted?!

"It seems that while this 'words become law' is incredibly powerful, the backlash can be deadly." Zhou Huai sighed helplessly. "In the future, we'll have to find a way to accumulate more merit points for Li Er. Otherwise, we won't dare to use this divine skill casually."

But here's the problem: how can I quickly accumulate merit points?

Zhou Huai was somewhat troubled.

"I can't expect a dignified SSS-level professional like myself to go out ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) and help old ladies cross the street every day, or help my neighbors catch cats and dogs and do good deeds, can I?"

"That would be such a disgrace to an SSS-level character! If word got out, what would become of my saintly image?"

I was just thinking about it.

A rustling sound came from the tall grass ahead.

Then, several wolves with gleaming green eyes and bodies the size of calves, baring their drooling fangs, rushed out.

Their levels aren't high, only around level ten or so.

Zhou Huai glanced at it and his eyes lit up. He remembered that the panel said that killing evil targets like alien beasts could also accumulate merit points, so he decided to use these little things to test the waters.

Zhou Huai, controlling Li Er, calmly extended his right hand, his index finger gently pointing at the wolf charging at the front.

There was no complicated casting animation, nor did it release any dazzling magical elements.

Li Er parted her lips slightly and uttered a single word.

"die."

"Waaaaah—!"

The wasteland wolf, which was opening its blood-red maw, had no real wounds on its body, but the health bar above its head had mysteriously been emptied!

With a short, mournful howl, the wolf fell heavily to the ground with a thud, dead beyond any doubt.

【Ding! Killed 1 Steppenwolf, gained 120 experience points.】

【Ding! Slaying a low-level beast has earned you 1 merit point.】

Before Zhou Huai could even feel happy, another notification popped up:

【System prompt: Do you wish to deduct 1 merit point to offset the skill backlash?】

"..."

Zhou Huai looked at the prompt in front of him and almost laughed in anger.

"So all this effort of increasing and decreasing my merit points was for nothing? I haven't changed a single point!"

Undeterred, he turned his gaze to the remaining three wasteland wolves.

Seeing their companion die suddenly without even bleeding, the three-headed wolf instinctively felt extreme fear and began to back down, its tail between its legs.

Before they could even turn and run away, they heard the old man with the air of a hermit speak again in that calm tone.

"You will all die."

The words fell.

"Splash! Splash! Splash!"

The three wolves collapsed to the ground, following in the footsteps of the first wolf.

【Ding! You have gained 3 merit points.】

【System Prompt: This statement instantly annihilated three low-level life forms. Do you wish to deduct 3 merit points to offset the skill's backlash?】

After reading the system notification, Zhou Huai fell silent.

He controlled Li Er, helplessly stroking the snow-white beard on his chest.

"Even if we change the word'speaking becomes law' to an area-of-effect attack, we still won't save merit points."

"It seems that the judgment of this skill's backlash is more precise and strict than I imagined. Killing a few wolves means bearing the backlash from the death of a few wolves!"

"If I do it this way, and I have to kill monsters myself, won't my merit points never increase?"