Chapter 1647: The Shame of Today, Shall Be Repaid in Full!

Jun You knelt on the ground, face pale as paper, her eyes filled with dark fury.

Watching Ye Guan and Little Ran fade into the distance, the East Desolates Ruler murmured, "What a clever young man... and one with tremendous vision."

Turning to look at Jun You beside him, he could already guess what was on her mind. With a soft sigh, he said, "Girl, since the day you rose in the East Deoslate, you've never known defeat. I've always felt that wasn't necessarily a good thing. No matter how much you try to suppress it, arrogance will take root deep inside you.

"A full moon wanes, water that overflows will spill, and flowers in full bloom are doomed to wither... A defeat like this might be the best thing that could have happened to you. It will purify you, after all."

Jun You took a deep breath, clenching her fists tightly. "Don't worry, Master. I'm not someone who can't accept a loss. I understand what it means to turn shame into strength."

Then, raising her head and looking in the direction where Ye Guan had disappeared into, she asked, "Master, are we really just going to let the Divine Civilization go?"

The East Desolates Ruler knew she still held resentment in her heart. As someone who had never suffered a setback, she naturally found it hard to accept her first defeat with grace.

"We already gained a lot from the Great Daoist Brush Master. The Divinity is no more. For us, that's already a huge win. If we're still not satisfied and insist on wiping everything out...

"It's true that he won't summon anyone for help, but just because he won't, doesn't mean the power behind him will stand idly by. Besides, with his current strength, killing him now is nearly impossible."

He could clearly see that after fusing Sang Mei's Divine Laws, Ye Guan's own Order Dao had undergone a fundamental transformation.

Both his Invincible Sword Dao and his Order Dao were right at the edge of breaking through, and it was highly likely that Ye Guan was intentionally holding himself back, waiting for the perfect moment.

That meant if he tried to act now, Ye Guan could make a double breakthrough right in front of him.

Thinking that, the East Desolates Ruler sighed again. "This is far enough. He made a breakthrough in his Sword Dao, and we gained something, too. This way, even the force behind him can accept the outcome.

"That's good enough. Girl, if you want to earn back your dignity, go train hard, then challenge him fair and square in the future."

With that, he turned around and left.

Jun You suddenly spoke behind him, "Master, I want to enter the Gate of Suffering—to walk through hell and experience bitter cultivation."

The East Desolates Ruler paused. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Are you sure?"

Jun You replied without hesitation, "Absolutely."

"I'll make the arrangements," he said before vanishing into the distance.

Jun You stared into the horizon. "The shame I suffered today, I'll repay it in full, one day!"

***

Ye Guan returned to the Divine Continent with Little Ran. From that moment on, he began rebuilding the Divine Continent. Most of the top-tier elites in the Divine Continent were killed, but Ye Guan had taken all their storage rings.

Hence, funding wasn't a problem, but manpower was a big issue.

There was no other choice. Everything had to start anew.

He rebuilt the Divine Residence and began recruiting new people. First, he brought back the Main Gods of the South and Origin Temples of Divinity. They were former subordinates of Gu Hao and Xi Zhong, who had stood firmly by his side, so they were loyal and trustworthy.

Back then, they were punished under the Divine Laws for supporting him.

Within days, he had assembled a team and began reforming the entire Divine Civilization's governing structure. He abolished a number of ghost departments and imported the governance model from the Guanxuan Universe.

No more monopolies where one person called all the shots. Each major city had a city governor, responsible for civil administration and reporting directly to the Divine Continent. The Temple Gods were in charge of personnel and military affairs.

In short, a system of checks and balances. He also overhauled the reward and punishment system. The old structure overly favored recruiting top-tier cultivators, completely ignoring the common people.

Now, Ye Guan made a bold move—decentralization. The Temple Lords and city governors across the countless worlds under Divine Civilization's rule could absorb faith power directly from the people under their jurisdiction.

Once the faith power reached a certain threshold, it could help them become Fate Gods and walk their own path.

In other words, power was no longer centralized.

Anyone could become a Divine Realm expert.

Of course, there were still rules. Every ten years, the Divine Continent would dispatch envoys to conduct assessments. Local regions would vote to evaluate their officials. If someone failed, they would be demoted.

Three consecutive demotions meant immediate dismissal and forfeiture of all accumulated faith power.

Every living being within Divine Civilization had voting rights. The assessments would be monitored by the Divine Continent to prevent manipulation.

This reform fundamentally reshaped Divine Civilization, imposing real constraints on its officials.

At the same time, Ye Guan reinforced the Divine Laws and the Guanxuan Laws. No official, not even members of the Divine Continent inner committee, could override these laws, and they were the foundation of Ye Guan's Order.

Unlike before, Ye Guan didn't rush off to conquer worlds. He had always taken them by force and then moved on without truly governing them. This time, he decided to stay and do it right, personally reforming the Divine Civilization while using the process to refine his Divine Guanxuan Laws.

Theory and practice had to go hand in hand. Only through real-world application could his understanding of the Divine Guanxuan Laws evolve.

Ye Guan stayed for thirty years. During that period of time, the once-chaotic Divine Civilization stabilized and entered a golden age.

He also gathered countless brilliant minds. The progress didn't rely on him alone. He brought these minds into the Little Pagoda, and together they debated how to build, restrict, and perfect their civilization's system.

The Guanxuan Laws and the Divine Laws learned from each other and coexisted, creating mutual constraints.

Order restraining order.

With every discussion, his Divine Guanxuan Laws matured. As the civilization prospered, the faith power he became pure, violet-colored faith that surpassed the limits of his fleshly body and soul. His Order Sword Intent had already transcended both his body and soul, too. Still, he didn't take the final step.

There was no rush. His priority wasn't power; it was governing this place well.

The Divine Continent's Inner Committee now had three hundred sixty-two people, all of whom were young and energetic. They poured their hearts into the work upon receiving the opportunity to become a part of the Inner Committee.

Below the Inner Committee was the Outer Committee, and tens of thousands of people were a part of it. This was the engine room of the Divine Civilization. All committee policies were executed through them.

One day, the doors to Ye Guan's office opened, and a tall, elegant young woman walked in. The young woman was none other than Little Ran.

She was no longer a child. Though she held no official post, she served as the Divine Assistant of the Committee. And whenever Ye Guan was absent, she would become the acting Divine Lord.

She placed a thick stack of reports before him. "Brother, these documents need your signature."

Ye Guan nodded and took them, reading each carefully before signing. His signature was more than mere ink; it carried terrifying binding power. Any word he wrote could kill.

No one could withstand his word. Moments later, he signed them all and stamped each with the Divine Ruler Seal.

Little Ran collected the papers but didn't leave. She looked at him, hesitant.

Ye Guan smiled. "What is it?"

Little Ran asked, "You're leaving, aren't you?"

She would often seen him gazing into the stars lately, and his pace of governance had sped up noticeably.

Ye Guan nodded.

Little Ran lowered her head, saying nothing.

Then Ye Guan said suddenly, "Let's go for a walk."

Little Ran looked at him in surprise.

He smiled. "We've done so much these past decades. But whether things have actually taken root, we don't really know. We haven't gone down to see it ourselves.

"That's not right, so I want to inspect things personally. Once everything checks out, I'll leave. That way, I can go in peace."

"Alright." Little Ran nodded. Then, she asked, "An undercover visit?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Of course."

Little Ran smiled brightly. "When?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Now."

Little Ran beamed. "Great!"

She wanted to get out and explore the world outside, too.

Ye Guan stood up, and the two disappeared from the palace.

The Divine Civilization was vast, ruling over countless worlds. This time, they traveled to its most impoverished world—the Yuan World.

The Yuan World was remote, extremely far from the Divine Continent. It lacked resources and spiritual energy, and its cultivation civilization was rudimentary.

Ye Guan even wondered why the Divine Civilization had annexed such a place until he found out it was Sang Mei's doing, which explained things. It was worth noting that Nun Rake was from the Yuan World.

When Ye Guan and Little Ran arrived, their brows furrowed deeply. The spiritual energy here was far thinner than expected, even worse than the slums of the Divine Continent. The climate was scorching and dry; resources were scarce.

Ye Guan asked, "Little Ran, has the city governor we sent arrived yet?"

The region was so underdeveloped that the cabinet had appointed a city governor to govern and invest in its reconstruction.

Little Ran said, "Want me to check?"

Ye Guan shook his head. "No need. I already sensed him. He's here. Let's head to the largest city."

Little Ran nodded.

Soon, they arrived before an ancient city. It was shabby and dilapidated, with even the city gates missing. When they entered, they froze. There were mountains of garbage, creating an unbearable stench. Stagnant pools of filth were everywhere as well, but countless people lived here.

Little Ran's brows furrowed in dismay.

They walked for a while and came upon a relatively clean square. A large crowd had gathered there. They were people in rags, and they were all kneeling in worship before a temple.

The temple was barely intact, and it had no statues, only a plaque that said, "Divinity."

There were tens of thousands kneeling in the square.

Next to Ye Guan and Little Ran, a young man knelt with hands clasped, expression devout as he prayed, "Divinity, I don't want to work. I just want to sprawl out on my bed with some women next to me..."