Chapter 360: Divine Revelation
Ramdo had always styled himself as the present-world projection of the One-Wheel Cult's god. Thus, when he was defeated in Maysuo, the vast majority of One-Wheel Cult believers deep down believed that what had died before was merely an avatar. But the god itself was eternal and indestructible.
And in the myths of the Luminous Holy Church, there were likewise accounts of a god's avatar descending to the mortal world and being slain, the purpose of which was to atone for the sins of all believers.
Therefore, similar stories were re-fashioned by the handful of truly loyal high-ranking members who knew the inside story, becoming an important tool to maintain the faith of the masses amidst the crumbling situation.
They proclaimed that God loved the world, and thus sacrificed himself to save the vast majority of ordinary people. As for the casualties in the holy city, they attributed them to despicable sneak attacks by demons utterly devoid of morality.
All believers should unite, drive out all heretics and infidels who invaded and dismembered Maysuo, and rebuild the Divine Kingdom on Earth.
Not long after Ramdo's death, the severe itching that had troubled everyone for several days also disappeared. It was precisely the disappearance of this curse that indirectly corroborated the claim that the One-Wheel Cult's god sacrificed its avatar to save its believers.
"My great Lord, please bestow upon us a Divine Revelation." The Deputy Priest prostrated himself with both hands on the ground, gazing with devout eyes upon the incomplete holy remains before him, a fragmented, glowing crystal.
This crystal, emitting a brilliant blue light, was precisely the small portion of Ramdo's godhead fragments that had been collected over the past two years.
The One-Wheel Cult called upon its believers to search for any fragments of the holy remains as much as possible. This was a trial given by the Lord to all believers; when the holy remains were completely reconstructed, everyone who participated in the reconstruction project would ascend to an infinitely beautiful heavenly realm.
As early as when several of the fragments merged to form a larger piece, his consciousness had already awakened from chaos.
But a god must maintain a sense of majesty and distance to inspire belief. Thus, Ramdo, whose power was less than one percent of what it was after awakening, chose not to communicate with any believers, but instead, bit by bit, through the blue light, injected his knowledge and experience into the minds of his subordinates during prayer.
This method was something he had learned from his mortal enemy, Bai Mo, during their battle. He himself was also a genius, and had gained some benefit from that defeat two years ago, though of course, this was utterly insignificant compared to his losses.
"We thank our Lord for his bounty." After the Divine Revelation concluded, the Priest and the group of young people behind him concluded their worship with complex rituals, then exited the heavily guarded temporary holy sanctuary in twos and threes, scattering to process their respective gains.
Devout faith must not only be maintained by spirit, but timely benefits, or at least a sense of presence, are also crucial. A god who always remains silent would find it too difficult to attract fanatical believers.
"Tomorrow morning, it will be the two of your performances." Inside the Ziliu Sea council chamber, two spirited young men met for the first time.
Perhaps calling them "young men" wasn't entirely accurate; Chen Bo was already thirty-nine this year, and Shi Huachong on the other side was thirty-five. However, their outward appearance made them seem no different from young people in their early twenties.
As the supreme leader, Chen Bo was merely wearing casual clothes. Aside from formal occasions, he was accustomed to wearing leisure suits made of special fibers, to prevent tearing his clothes with a slight exertion of force.
At the same time, as a leader who dominated through martial prowess, he didn't need a large retinue of bodyguards when going out, because even all the bodyguards combined wouldn't be a match for him alone.
Ever since the leaders who took up residence in Ziliu Sea one by one became Five Tiers powerhouses, the role of these elite guards became somewhat awkward. Most of them became security personnel for family members, because the leaders themselves didn't need protection at all. When real trouble arose, it was more likely the leaders would be protecting *them*.
"Naturally." Shi Huachong responded earnestly.
Facing Cheng Mu, who had invested vast resources into cultivating him, even if he himself could now shatter this divine projection within five moves, he still maintained considerable respect. The martial artist's clear distinction between gratitude and grievances was fully embodied in him.
Of course, Cheng Mu's reliance was precisely this point: as long as he didn't actively court death, like Ramdo, by exposing the location of his Divine Kingdom, and consistently maintained forbearance, he would remain in an invincible position. And as a seasoned politician, the ability to endure was what he least lacked.
Unless it was a higher-level monster like a Disciple of the Crimson World, capable of entering a Divine Kingdom and attacking its true body through the extremely bizarre method of information transmission, otherwise, it would be utterly impossible for others to kill the true body located within a Divine Kingdom.
According to the arrangement, the two of them, during the ceremony tomorrow morning, would engage in a performative exchange battle, with the bottom line being no injuries and no revealing of their true trump cards, to display the terrifying power of a Six Tiers individual, thereby deterring petty figures from all sides.
"I'm growing stronger every day. You should be careful."
"What a coincidence, I'm also growing stronger every day." After the amicable meeting concluded, some polite formalities were exchanged. Chen Bo and Shi Huachong were, after all, from two different factions; it was impossible to expect perfect harmony.
After entering the Chemosynthesis stage, even doing nothing, Chen Bo could feel his power increasing every day, and his primordial spirit constantly growing stronger.
He gradually understood why Bai Mo had said he wouldn't last more than a few minutes against him back then, because the gap created by time was indeed too vast. At that time, the other party's primordial spirit had been strengthened for an unknown duration.
This also further solidified the thought in Chen Bo's mind that Bai Mo was absolutely not dead. After personally stepping into this level, he truly understood how difficult it was to kill a Six Tiers powerhouse.
"If his goal was merely to rule the Huaxia Federation, wouldn't seizing power immediately after killing Ramdo have been the best opportunity then? At that time, whether to subdue or slay us, it wouldn't have taken much effort." Chen Bo suddenly thought of this question.
"At that point in time, none of us could have stopped him, nor had we made much preparation to counter his coup. Unlike now, with over a year to prepare, and nearly a trillion invested without regard for cost, the things we've created even make *me* a little afraid."
Under the pressure of the immediate threat, the Huaxia Federation's upper echelons maintained a strange balance, suppressing internal struggles to a certain intensity, and dedicating all their efforts to preparing weapons targeting certain individuals and entities, attempting to crush his ambition.
"He couldn't possibly have failed to consider these things, or does he have an even greater goal?"
"Speaker Chen?" Shi Huachong saw Chen Bo, after tossing out a polite remark, suddenly fall into deep thought, and gently greeted him.
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