Chapter 396 I Am Useful After All

　　The more excited the Jade Emperor and the Empress were, the guiltier Li Nianfan felt.

　　‘What’s our slogan? No agent fees.

　　‘The Jade Emperor and Empress don’t know about this slogan. Otherwise…it’d be troublesome.

　　‘Whatever. We’re all friends here, I won’t take away their Deluxe Merit…’

　　Soon, the phenomenon went away. However, everyone could not snap out of it. The Jade Emperor and Empress were excited. Those who did not earn the Deluxe Merit were more excited than they were. They were oddly proud! They were inspired by their heroes in front of them!

　　The Empress and the others genuinely thanked Li Nianfan. Their voices were shaky. “Thank you, Deluxe Merit Saint.”

　　Li Nianfan waved it off. He smiled and replied, “Haha, no need to thank me. You guys rebuilt the Heavenly Palace, this is what you deserve.”

　　Li Nianfan told the truth but they interpreted it differently.

　　‘What kind of generosity is this? He blessed us with Deluxe Merit but made it sound so casual. Who else could do that in this realm?’

　　They finally understood why the expert decided to become the Deluxe Merit Saint. ‘Did he really become the Deluxe Merit Saint to protect himself? Obviously not, he was doing it for us!

　　“The glory of the realms was hidden because of the Absolute Era, Deluxe Merit was nowhere to be seen. The expert must’ve been annoyed so he robbed the Deluxe Merit from the realm to share it with all of us! We…don’t deserve it!’

　　The Jade Emperor and Empress looked at each other. They were both touched. They said with seriousness, “Mr. Li, say less! We understand!”

　　Cheng Yi at the side chimed in, “Mr. Li, you blessed us with such precious Deluxe Merit. It’s so wonderful, we should thank you.” “Cough, there’s no need for that.”

　　Li Nianfan scratched his nose. He said, “I’m not trying to brag or anything. I just feel that Deluxe Merit is nothing to me. I can grow Deluxe Merit even when I give it away. It would be a waste to keep Deluxe Merit. I can give you all a set of Deluxe Merits if you want.”

　　‘Grow Deluxe Merit?’

　　‘What does it mean?’

　　Everyone was mystified. It was a simple sentence but their minds could not handle it. They went blank as their hearts thumped. They almost choked.

　　‘It’s too cruel. What a cruel sentence!’

　　‘What are we supposed to say in a situation like this? What facial expressions should we respond with?’

　　Everyone felt numb in the face. They could not control their faces anymore.

　　‘That’s Deluxe Merit! Even Saints would be very careful with Deluxe Merit. How can the expert…grow Deluxe Merit?’

　　‘I see… Being weak and puny limited my imagination.’

　　No one knew what to say to that. The Third Princess, Huang, blinked. She asked skittishly, “Um… Saint, can I have Deluxe Merit?” Li Nianfan looked at her. He shook his head, “Sorry, I don’t see yours.”

　　“Huang, stop messing around!” the Empress scolded. “What do you think Deluxe Merit is? It’s only earned by people who helped the realm, you can’t have it! You don’t deserve it! You can’t ask for it!”

　　The Jade Emperor winced at that. He also scolded in a low voice, “Huang, you shouldn’t ask questions from now on. Quiet!” ‘Deluxe Merit could be ours if the expert is willing to give it to us. How could she ask for it? So immature!

　　“No worries.” Li Nianfan softly coughed. He slightly looked up and searched amongst everyone. However, he did not notice Deluxe Merit on everyone. It was just as the Empress said. Not everyone could have Deluxe Merit. Helping a granny across the street was not sufficient enough to earn Deluxe Merit. Deluxe Merit was earned mainly through their meaning for the realm.

　　Every Immortal jolted. They hurriedly stood up straight. They were terribly hopeful.

　　Suddenly, Li Nianfan raised his eyebrows. He smiled and said, “Juling Shen, come over here.”

　　“Me… Me?” Juling Shen was puzzled. He saw that Li Nianfan nodded so he anxiously walked over. His buff body walked over with tiny steps. He was trying hard to control his footsteps.

　　He bafflingly asked, “Saint, do I have Deluxe Merit?”

　　Li Nianfan did not say anything. He lifted his finger and a strand of golden Deluxe Merit light slowly went toward Juling Shen. The size of the strand was not different from the Jade Emperor’s. It was even thicker than Ziye’s. However… Deluxe Merit was Deluxe Merit, everyone was jealous!

　　Juling Shen had wide, coin-like eyes. He was utterly excited. He was mystified by the sudden gift. He hurriedly took his two axes from his waist to create weapons with the Deluxe Merit.

　　His ax was an ordinary Deluxe Spiritual Treasure. However, after improving it with Deluxe Merit, it was improved tenfold on all attributes. It was almost as powerful as an Ultimate Spiritual Treasure.

　　Juling Shen inspected his two axes and almost dropped his jaw from laughing. Fortunately, he knew how to behave. He calmed down and thanked, “Thanks, Deluxe Merit Saint.”

　　Li Nianfan casually waved it off, “Credits go to you for fixing the Southern Sky Gate. No need to thank me.”

　　‘Fixing…the Southern Sky Gate?

　　That counts too?!’

　　Even the Jade Emperor was taken aback. He glared and thought to himself, ‘Damn! I should have gone to fix it, too. What a lucky guy!’

　　Juling Shen had his mouth wide open. He slapped his chest and said, “Lord Saint, I’m not trying to brag but I’m a professional at that! If you need me to do the heavy work, I’ll handle it! Don’t be courteous with me, feel free to request it!”

　　Li Nianfan nodded. Then, he turned around and looked at the Palace of the Deluxe Merit Saint. He said, “Who would’ve thought that I’d have abilities like that with the Deluxe Merit Saint title? It’s interesting. Seems like I’m not completely useless after all.” The Jade Emperor sneakily wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. The expert sure loves to joke.’ He smiled apologetically and said, “You’re useful and you’re crucial!”

　　“So, this Immortal Palace of yours…”

　　The Jade Emperor hurriedly gestured and said, “Stop joking, Saint. This is your Immortal Palace. You truly deserve it. Please, please, feel free to enter!”

　　“Thanks, Jade Emperor,” saluted Li Nianfan. He walked towards the palace.

　　Li Nianfan would be lying if he said he disliked the Immortal Palace. It was the place for Immortals and he could see the vast universe from there. It would be amazing to stay there.

　　He walked into the Palace of the Deluxe Merit Saint. The interior design was luxurious and opulent.

　　Everything was prepared for him. He could just check-in and stay there. The position of the rooms was nice, the ventilation was good. The Heavenly River could be seen passing through. He could see everything through the windows. There was an observatory in the attic, too. He could tell that the view during the nighttime would be tremendously majestic and beautiful.

　　‘Everyone wanted lake view rooms or sea view rooms in my past realm. So, this should be considered as…a star gazing room? Or perhaps…a Heavenly River view room?’

　　Nanan and Dragin already started to play around in the Palace of the Deluxe Merit Saint.

　　The Jade Emperor did not want to disturb them any longer. He said goodbye and left with everyone else.

　　As they walked out from the Palace of the Deluxe Merit Saint, the Jade Emperor and Empress sighed in relief at the same time. They could finally relax. They were excited, anxious, shocked, and terrified.

　　The Jade Emperor said, “Phew—the expert finally accepted the Palace of the Deluxe Merit Saint.”

　　The Empress asked the question in her mind, “Jade Emperor, the Deluxe Merit Saint title could sense and give Deluxe Merit to other people?”

　　“Ha, you haven’t realized it yet. What happened to your usual intelligence?” The Jade Emperor smiled bitterly and shook his head. Then, he said, “How’s that possible? The Deluxe Merit Saint is a custom title we created for the expert. There has never been a Deluxe Merit Saint before. How could it have such a powerful ability?”

　　“Then…then…”

　　“Think carefully of what the expert said.”

　　The Jade Emperor paused and reminded, “The expert said, his Deluxe Merit isn’t beneficial to others. He felt like his Deluxe Merit Saint title was useless, it was nothing to him.”

　　The Empress widened her eyes. She said with disbelief, “So… The expert purely added the ability for himself?”

　　“What do you think?” The Jade Emperor sounded shocked. “For someone of his level, what can’t he do? He could create a Deluxe Merit Saint ability at will. Does he even need a reason to do that?”

　　The Empress had to nod, “You make a lot of sense.”

　　Cheng Yi groaned for a moment. She said, “Emperor, Empress, I think we’ve pleased the expert. That’s why he was willing to let us have Deluxe Merit.”

　　The Jade Emperor and the Empress fell in deep thought. “Oh?”

　　Cheng Yi analyzed, “The expert must be pleased with the title and the Palace of the Deluxe Merit Saint. But he wants to be honorable and well-deserving of it. So, he wouldn’t have a title that was an empty front. He was in a good mood and decided to bless us on a whim and call it an ability. At the same time, he’s rewarding us.”

　　“You’re…right!”

　　The Jade Emperor was joyous. “The expert does things based on his mood. We coincidentally made him happy. We did that because of luck. We’re so lucky! If we gave up halfway, we would’ve missed out on this giant opportunity. This must also be a test of the expert.”

　　The Empress took a deep breath. She said, “No matter what, it’s a huge blessing from the expert. He blessed us with Deluxe Merit. We have to work harder! The reconstruction of the Heavenly Palace needs to be back on track, and we also have to quickly rebuild the three realms so that we can please the expert.”

　　The Jade Emperor nodded. “True. There are a lot of things that need to be done at the Heavenly Palace. Work hard, everybody!”