In the Kingdom of Joy, Lin Xuan had finished the next stage of his game and was checking the data on the faith power he had gained.
[Gained +700 Human Faith]
[Gained +400 Faith from Aquatic Races]
[Gained +200 Faith from Necromancers]
[Gained +80 Faith from the Machine Race]
…
Faith power contributed by players from across the star systems who had played Dark Souls was credited to their accounts. The human world, as the primary region, contributed the largest share, and this faith flowed together into a pale golden stream of light, pushing his divine name up the new god rankings.
[Rank 92: Lord of Joy, gained 1,380 Faith]
Lin Xuan's lips curled into a smile. Breaking into the top 100 in just two days was impressive.
But I cannot slack off. With his experience in game design from his previous life, reaching the top 100 was inevitable. Before the month ended, he would strive to climb even higher—and reclaim his former divine power by the end of the month.
Clenching his fist with determination, he was about to return to work when he suddenly felt his divine consciousness—the one linked to the Forum of Gods—vibrating wildly. Lin Xuan quickly directed his awareness into the forum.
He had been busy with other duties and only now had the chance to see Zhang Tai's post.
Even he hadn't expected that the anime-style portrait, initially intended just to attract attention and generate clicks, would have such an enormous effect. It had significantly boosted his godly reputation.
By his aesthetic standards from his previous life, the outfit he had designed wasn't exceptional; it was a last-minute creation, completed only two days before the game's release. At first glance, it looked fine, but anyone familiar with art could spot its flaws immediately.
For instance, the paper-doll costume lacked distinctive features. Some lighting and shadows were blurred to fill gaps, and the colors were fairly monotonous. By conventional standards, the portrait was imperfect.
Logically, some believers skilled in the power of "painting" should have noticed these flaws, especially after the post had gone viral.
Yet Lin Xuan scrolled through the forum and found that eight or nine out of ten comments praised his portrait. The remaining one or two only complained that he had uploaded too few portraits.
Curious, he clicked on the homepage of the [God of Art], deity with the greatest control over the painting authority. Her gallery was filled with a vast number of works.
Flipping through them, Lin Xuan began to understand why his portrait had become so popular. The God of Art's skill was indeed extraordinary. The use of light, the application of color—everything was masterful, fully worthy of her divine name. Even someone without professional art training could feel the overwhelming beauty.
But no matter how beautiful, something always seemed missing. Lin Xuan studied her works, comparing them to famous historical paintings he remembered, until he understood the reason.
The "divine flavor" in her paintings was far too strong. Her style was reminiscent of classical art from a previous life, often depicting natural landscapes or grand architecture. This made her works appear calm, balanced, and flawless—but also cold and distant, lacking "humanity."
Of hundreds of works, only five or six were portraits—and those depicted high-ranking priests or nobles, never ordinary people.
It seems this goddess of art hasn't paid attention to the lower classes, Lin Xuan thought. But he understood. On most planets, painting is a hobby only the wealthy can afford. Ordinary people are too busy surviving to study art.
By contrast, Lin Xuan's anime-style portraits, though flawed, were filled with the dynamism of a living "human being." The approachable style of anime made it relatable, and the effect was natural.
As the post spread, he could even feel the faint presence of painting authority approaching him. Tiny, less than one-thousandth in intensity, yet undeniable.
With satisfaction, Lin Xuan opened the new God Ranking to check his position. He scrolled to the top three:
[First Place: Dream Weaver, 7,731 Faith Points]
[Second Place: Child of the Hearth, 6,987 Faith]
[Third Place: Princess Crescent Moon, 6,347 Faith]
Their faith points had risen slightly over the past two days, but their ranks remained unchanged, indicating strong, loyal follower bases.
Looking at the names, Lin Xuan's heart raced. These were his next targets.
Break into the top three.
Timing was not in his favor. The New God Ranking would end in ten days, but Lin Xuan had only gained power two days ago. The top three had accumulated a full month of faith. In effect, he had twelve days to surpass a month's worth of accumulation—and two days had already been lost.
Even with the post boosting his fame, he was still only ranked 92nd, with 1,380 faith points—far behind the top three. The high difficulty of Souls-like games limited the number of players willing to contribute faith.
But Lin Xuan had prepared. The day-and-night levels of Plants vs. Zombies were complete, ready to launch tonight.
As he contemplated his next move, a sudden surge of faith force shot into his body through the forum.
A beam of light erupted across the interface, sending scarlet ripples across the screen. In midair, a thorned crown appeared, pulsating with painful divine energy.
The crown then transformed into a stream of golden light, cascading into a flowing curtain.
[All Forum Messages]
The God of Pain rewards Dark Souls with 1,000 Faith Points.
The announcement triggered chaos across the forum.
The second-ranked Son of the Hearthfire leapt from his throne, sparks flying from his fiery halo.
Dark Souls? he muttered. Isn't that the game from the 101st-ranked god?
He rushed to the forum, brows furrowed as he read the news.
Indeed, the 1,000-faith reward from the God of Pain had gone to a new god who hadn't even broken into the top 50—turning expectations upside down.