I Reborn as a God Within a Statue, And You Ask Me to Enslave All Gods?-Chapter 169 --The Ten Prodigies

With the Primal Faith from the Caesar Empire now firmly in his grasp, Owen no longer needed the official approval of Fioria City’s mayor to advance his territory. That sacred authority alone was sufficient for him to promote Annasi Town to the status of Annasi City.

"Though I can technically initiate the upgrade right away," Owen mused, "the central residential population is still far too low to justify it."

He swept his gaze over the mountainous terrain encircling the settlement. Despite Annasi Town’s population having recently surged past three hundred thousand, the majority of its people remained scattered across four outlying villages at the fringes of his domain.

Though the original Annasi Town had undergone numerous rounds of development and expansion under Owen’s rule, the surrounding landscape was still dominated by continuous chains of rugged mountains, restricting further growth in all directions.

"If I level the surrounding mountains and relocate a portion of the villagers here, the problem should be solved," he calculated mentally.

A spark of anticipation flickered in the depths of his eyes.

Once he fulfilled the requirements of urban population and structural development, he would finally be eligible to ascend to the rank of 3-Star Ancient God!

And with his internal fusion with the Crystal Core, combined with the divine reinforcement of the Realm of Immortality, Owen was deeply curious—what kind of unprecedented combat power would he wield once he became a full-fledged 3-Star Ancient God?

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Under Owen’s divine decree, both Annasi Town and the neighboring regions fell into action. His awakening devotee, both seasoned and newly initiated, took to the grand construction project with full vigor.

The more powerful awakeners immediately undertook the monumental task of literally moving mountains—flattening the terrain around the town’s borders to pave the way for expansion.

The lesser-ranked warriors took on supportive roles: chopping down trees, transporting lumber, and initiating housing construction across the newly cleared zones.

Thanks to the sheer number of awakeners under Owen’s command, what should have been an arduous and lengthy civil engineering miracle was executed with stunning efficiency. This was the sheer advantage of being a deity backed by legions of loyal and capable followers—something ordinary gods could only dream of replicating.

After all, few other gods possessed such a massive base of awakening devotee or had Vassal Gods available to expedite large-scale efforts. For them, replicating such progress would be almost impossible.

To ensure the project didn’t disrupt the food supply or destabilize the citizens’ livelihoods, Thomas and other high-ranking administrators stepped up. They coordinated the villagers who had not awakened, guiding them in agriculture and resource management to maintain steady production.

All across Owen’s domain, operations ran smoothly and steadily.

According to his estimates, flattening the nearby peaks, building sufficient residential structures, and successfully relocating the village populations would take just half a month more. Once that was done, everything would be ready for the city’s upgrade.

And the timing couldn’t be more perfect—because the next sacrificial offering was just around the corner.

Only one month remained.

During the previous month, Owen had invested significant divine resources into his followers.

Thomas, now a senior missionary, had officially broken through to tier-6—a level that made him the most advanced among all of Owen’s current devotee. As a tier-6 awakener, Thomas would already be a notable figure even within the Caesar Empire’s elite ranks.

In actual combat strength, Thomas could now rival, and even surpass, many 1-Star Ancient Gods. The only thing preventing him from standing shoulder to shoulder with divine beings was the lack of a godhood core and the eternal lifespan that came with it.

Other missionaries—Tom, Hibrael, and several new additions—had also undergone improvements. They were now tier-5 at peak strength, each one standing on the brink of tier-6.

Frank, the unique elementalization-capable warrior, had likewise been elevated to tier-5, his potential continuing to grow.

As for the rest of his followers, Owen deliberately held off on further upgrades.

With the sacrificial event drawing near, he planned to unleash a massive wave of advancements then—one synchronized burst of divine favor and rank enhancement.

Then, the system interface flashed.

[Across the current planar realm and the Taylor Star System, the total number of deities who have reached the 1-Star peak Ancient God rank has now surpassed one hundred million.]

[All deities who have attained the 1-Star peak Ancient God rank, prepare to enter Heaven.]

[The first Planar Deity Clash is about to begin. Perform well. The top ten thousand ranked gods will receive rewards.]

Reading the sudden system prompt, Owen raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"The first Planar Clash of Deities?"

Interesting.

He vividly recalled the Silver Goddess, Alina, whom he had slain—she had been from the Taylor Plane.

And now, he was about to engage in battle once again against gods from that very same realm.

But this clash was nothing like the previous Divine Order Exchange Tournament.

Last time, it had been a friendly competition among gods from his own realm. This time, it was direct, brutal confrontation between gods from two separate planes.

Even more shocking was the rapid acceleration of godly ranks—within a year, both planes had managed to produce over a hundred million 1-Star peak Ancient Gods.

Clearly, the rest of the gods had been pushing themselves to their limits.

Reaching the 1-Star peak Ancient God rank wasn’t easy, especially for those who lacked Owen’s advantages.

Yet time had passed—more than a full year since the system began—and diligent gods who completed missions and accumulated divine points had gradually managed to ascend.

After all, becoming a 1-Star Ancient God required only 100 divine points, and reaching the peak rank only demanded 1,000 points.

For a god with competent devotee, slaying a few tier-4 spellbeasts could quickly provide the necessary divine currency.

In hindsight, then, it wasn’t too surprising that the one-hundred-million mark had been reached.

Still, this battle would be twice as intense as before. Two planes, colliding. Twice the gods, twice the chaos.

Yet Owen remained utterly calm.

The gap between him and the others was not narrow—it was a chasm. He was so far ahead, he might as well be competing on an entirely different plane of existence.

Even with the competition doubled in intensity, it meant nothing to him.

What he was truly interested in was the reward for first place.

Last time, the Crystal Core he had earned had been beyond invaluable. It had boosted his combat potential so dramatically that even among other peak gods, he had become a figure who could reign supreme.

Not to mention, he had obtained a god mark—an ultra-rare artifact that allowed him to exit his territory once, at full strength, with no suppression.

Neither item was something one could earn from regular missions. They were the kinds of treasures that reshaped fate.

Especially the god mark—its ability to bypass territorial suppression was priceless. It was an ace up his sleeve, a strategic weapon others couldn’t even comprehend.

And as time went on, as Owen grew stronger, the god mark’s value would only increase.

If other gods discovered he could leave his territory without penalty, it would terrify them. They’d lose sleep, paranoid and panicked.

After all, for any other deity, stepping outside their domain meant being suppressed by one full Godhood rank.

"This time, the top prize must be even more extravagant," Owen murmured, anticipation glowing in his eyes.

Currently, he had accumulated a staggering 4.6 million divine points.

Such a massive reservoir of divine energy made him virtually unmatched.

And with the amplification of the Realm of Immortality, even a tier-8 peak awakener would fall before his endless array of divine skills.

By sheer point accumulation alone, his peers were struggling with a few thousand or tens of thousands of points—still scraping together what they needed for basic rank-ups.

Compared to them, Owen’s pace was outrageous.

He had been in this realm for just over ten months.

To reach such an overwhelming power level in that short time... it was something that far outstripped every other god’s efforts.

And when the clash concluded—once he claimed first place again and reaped its immense reward—his lead over the others would only widen.

Owen’s eyes turned toward East Village.

Though it had only recently been established, it was already attracting a significant population.

At this moment, within the home of a local hunter, a blonde-haired woman gently caressed her swelling belly, a soft smile of maternal love gracing her lips.

She was pregnant.

The life growing inside her filled her with radiance, a new kind of sacredness.

"The tenth reincarnated human prodigy has arrived," Owen nodded to himself with satisfaction.

Ever since Henry had ventured into the Realm of Immortality, Owen had begun arranging for the rebirth of ten pre-selected human geniuses—each one handpicked from the talent pool of Dantean Hell.

These ten were chosen not at random, but specifically gifted to the occupier of the eighth-tier zone: Owen.

Their talents were bound to be astonishing.

One month—ten new prodigies.

That meant one hundred and twenty a year.

Over a decade? More than twelve hundred.

As they matured, the strength of Owen’s awakening forces would grow into something utterly incomprehensible to other gods.

More importantly, these prodigies would one day have children of their own.

The combination of elite bloodlines would only produce even more extraordinary offspring.

It was entirely possible that among his awakening ranks, future figures akin to "Celestial Gods"—those who would lead humanity’s evolution—might be born.

The thought alone filled him with ambition.

Without hesitation, he passed the latest information about these pregnancies to Camilla.

Since ascending to godhood, Camilla had taken charge of all divine matters concerning Owen’s mortal followers. He trusted her to monitor and protect these mothers closely, ensuring that the prodigies would grow up strong and healthy.

With his arrangements complete, Owen stepped into a pillar of divine light.

In the next instant, he vanished—his body reappearing in the skies of Heaven.