These three options...

No matter which one it was, Zhang Yi wanted it desperately!

’[Option One] is 300 Fire Elves who are completely loyal to me!’

’After all, even if I manage to subjugate this entire group of Fire Elves, I’d only end up with a little over two hundred.’

’Three hundred Fire Elves are definitely better than two hundred.’

’Just in terms of numbers, that’s almost a hundred more.’

’Not to mention, these would be Fire Elves completely loyal to the great Elf God, who would never betray me!’

’In other words, this batch of Fire Elves would all be Fanatic Believers.’

’A single Fanatic Believer can provide one hundred points of Faith Value per day.’

’So, three hundred Fanatic Believers could provide thirty thousand Faith Value a day!’

’Before this, I was only gaining close to one thousand Faith Value per day.’

’This would be a thirty-fold increase!’

’Moreover, the time ratio in my Divine Realm is still very high right now.’

’One day in the real world is thirty days in the Divine Realm.’

In the real world,

it wouldn’t even take a week

for me to accumulate the Faith Value needed to advance from a Second Transformation Demigod to a Third Transformation Demigod!

’I have to remember that only in the first year after a Divine Realm’s birth,’

’with the help of the Blue Star Will,’

’can our batch of newly born Lords of Deities adjust the time ratio between our Divine Realms and the real world to be this high!’

’Once the second-year novice grace period is over,’

’the time ratio for all Lords of Deities will revert to one-to-ten.’

’Our development speed will be cut by two-thirds!’

’Of course, it isn’t as if there are no other ways to continue accelerating time in the Divine Realm.’

’For example, I could spend a large amount of Faith Value, consuming Divine Power to accelerate a specific area.’

’Or I could buy a Time Acceleration Divine Domain Card to speed up the entire Divine Realm.’

’In short, only pay-to-win players can afford it!’

’If I chose [Option One],’

’I might reach the level of a High Transformationed Demigod before the first year is even over.’

’If I then went on a spending spree before the college entrance exams, buying Time Acceleration Divine Domain Cards,’

’it wouldn’t be impossible to reach the level of a True God a month before the exams just by accumulating Faith Value!’

’If I really did reach the level of a True God before the college entrance exams,’

’it wouldn’t matter how I did it.’

’I wouldn’t have to take any exams or attend any training camps.’

’I could get directly admitted into a university based on my power as a True God alone!’

’However, I’m not too fond of such a high-risk, uncertain plan.’

’It might be achievable, but the whole plan can be summed up in a single word: gamble.’

’Gambling that my Clan’s Faith Value will be high enough.’

’Gambling that I have enough influence to get my family to support a crazy spending spree!’

’The very thought of it makes me uneasy.’

’Then there was [Option Two]: one Seed of the Sun Ancient Tree.’

’The seed of the Sun Ancient Tree...’

’I didn’t even need a prompt from my Golden Finger to know about it.’

’My high school textbooks had mentioned that the Sun Ancient Tree is an incredibly precious Elf Ancient Tree within the Elf Clan!’

’The only Elf Ancient Trees comparable to the Sun Ancient Tree are the Moon Ancient Tree and the Natural Ancient Tree.’

’All three of these Elf Ancient Trees are of the same quality!’

’When I was a child, I’d heard from my grandfather’

’that if one gathered all three of these Elf Ancient Trees, a very peculiar transformation would occur!’

’Unfortunately, back then, I treated it as just a story.’

’I never asked him what kind of transformation would happen if someone actually gathered all three.’

’But it’s not too late. I’ll be able to see my grandfather this New Year.’

’Besides, the potential of an Ancient Sun Tree Seed is definitely greater than that of the Fire Attribute Elf Ancient Tree the Fire Elves worshiped.’

’That Fire Attribute Elf Ancient Tree would be considered quite good if it could cultivate the Fire Elves’ Upper-Rank Clan—the Flame Elves!’

’But I have to remember that even among Upper-Rank Clans, there are differences in power.’

’The Sun Ancient Tree, however, can cultivate the Fire Elves’ true Upper-Rank Clan—the Sun Elves!’

’The potential of Sun Elves is far greater than that of Flame Elves.’

’Even when it comes to learning Magic, a Sun Elf’s mastery of Fire Attribute Magic would leave a Flame Elf in the dust!’

’Legend has it that when a Sun Elf reaches a certain level of power, it can swallow a sun and become one itself!’

’They can rival a Creator God!’

’In the course of the Blue Star Federation’s explorations of the Multiverse,’

’many of the discovered micro- and mini-worlds were in fact created by Sun Elves!’

’You could say that if any Lord of Deities has Sun Elves as their Clan,’

’and nurtures them properly,’

’given enough time, they will inevitably produce a Sun Elf with the potential to become a Hero!’

’Furthermore, if I bestowed this Ancient Sun Tree Seed upon them,’

’the Fire Elves would have to dedicate a considerable amount of their attention to raising a new Elf Ancient Tree for themselves.’

’The more they invest, the higher their sunk costs, and the less willing they’d be to leave.’

’That way, without me needing to do much, these Fire Elves will come to believe in the great Elf God more and more!’

’And a Sun Ancient Tree that I raise from a seed,’

’under my influence,’

’will definitely believe in the great Elf God!’

’That’s far better than resurrecting that unknown Fire Attribute Elf Ancient Tree.’

’Not to mention the explicit hint from the Golden Finger:’

’as long as I invest enough Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures during the Sun Ancient Tree’s growth,’

’it is guaranteed to produce a Hero unit with legendary potential!’

’That information alone is enough for me to make up my mind!’

’Three hundred Fire Elves are nothing.’

’Once the Sun Ancient Tree reaches the Ninth Level, if I give it enough time and Magic Power,’

’won’t producing new Fire Elves be a piece of cake?’

’And that’s not even mentioning the Sun Elves, who are even better than Fire Elves!’

’For me,’

’I’ve already passed the most difficult period of my Divine Realm’s development.’

’Now, I’m in a position to prioritize the future potential of my Clan.’

’When I look at it that way, everything [Option One] offers, [Option Two] can also provide, it will just take longer.’

’As for [Option Three]...’

’After reviewing the first two options, I instantly made my decision and dismissed it.’

’Although the reward for [Option Three] was a Seven Transformation Semi-Divine Artifact—the Sun God Bow—’

’which had the ability to instantly kill any unit below the Seventh Level,’

’it came with a prerequisite: the wielder had to provide enough energy to fully draw the bow!’

’In other words, this Seven Transformation Semi-Divine Artifact, the Sun God Bow, had to be used by an Elf of corresponding strength, and a Fire Elf at that.’

’If I chose this Semi-Divine Artifact, I would have to give up on nurturing Wood Elves and go all-in on cultivating Fire Elves.’

’And even then, the prerequisite for bestowing this Semi-Divine Artifact would be the Fire Elves’ loyalty meeting a certain standard.’

’If their loyalty wasn’t high enough, I would rather not give it to them at all.’

’In that case, choosing this Seven Transformation Semi-Divine Artifact would be a complete waste of a precious opportunity!’

So, after considering everything, Zhang Yi directly chose [Option Two], one Seed of the Sun Ancient Tree!

As Zhang Yi confirmed his choice,

「The next moment,」

the six offered materials on the altar all vanished.

In their place, appearing within Zhang Yi’s Divine Realm,

was a seed that shone with a brilliant golden light, yet also carried a dense Fire Attribute and a trace of Solar Power!