Translator: 549690339
Looking at the Star-gazing Mirror in his hand, which had regained its starlight, and the smooth and complete mirror surface, waves of excitement filled Lin Zhenâs heart.
Six trillion!
In the past few days, he had spent at least six trillion, not only using up the money he had poured into elemental energy equipment but even investing an additional three trillion of his own!
With all this money invested, he had only just managed to restore a high-grade celestial device, and he was still far from becoming a first-grade Star Shift apprentice.
âThankfully, the Star-gazing Mirror has been repaired. This time, I believe Old Man Gongsun Du will have no reason to prevent Yueâer and me from being together.â
After putting away the Star-gazing Mirror, Lin Zhen stood up and stretched his body.
As he walked out of the tent, Zhang Yue had just woken up and ran over to Lin Zhen upon seeing him.
âLin Zhen, you finally decided to come out. You havenât appeared for almost seven days. Besides occasionally going to your tent door to take some of your charged Celestial Devices, I havenât seen you at all.â
Lin Zhen smiled at Zhang Yue: âIâve been busy with something. Let me ask you, do you know where to find Earth element crystals?â
âEarth element? Yeah, you initially asked me to purchase them. The list included water, fire, wind, and earth elements, and Iâve already given them to you, havenât I?â
âThatâs not enough; the grade is not high enough. The higher, the better; at least it should be a quasi-SS class.â
âThatâs not easy to find. We havenât been able to purchase any quasi-SS class crystals in these days. Anyone who has them would treasure them and wouldnât be willing to sell them. The only option is for us to go searching ourselves.â
Zhang Yue thought for a moment, âHowever, Iâve heard that the third level of the Ancient God City has various high-grade mutated beasts, with the lowest being quasi-SS-grade. You can find all kinds of elemental crystals there unless you go and take a look for yourself.â
âAlright, Iâll have to give it a try sooner or later.â
Lin Zhen made up his mind, wanting to obtain an Earth element crystal first. Once he got the Dark Star, it would truly condense, marking the moment of his breakthrough.
âIs there any news these days?â
âYes, the Holy Son has completed the integration of the worldwide Gods Clan and announced the establishment of the church in the Divine Might Church in Constantinople. He has assumed the title of Pope.â
âHe became the Pope? When did this happen?â Lin Zhen was taken aback. In his previous life, it seemed that there was no such event, and there was no title of Pope. This life, however, had seen a change.
âIt happened just today. The news has been flying all over the world, and only a cultivation maniac like you would not know about it. I bet even online streaming has started by now. If I werenât thinking about setting up a stall, I would be watching the live stream.â
Lin Zhen waved his hand: âLetâs not set up a stall for now; letâs watch the live stream first.â
Lin Zhen took out his phone, and the Internet was flooded with news about the Holy Son assuming the title of Pope.
The coronation ceremony took place in the Divine Might Church in Constantinople. When Lin Zhen started watching, it was nearing its end, He saw Yan Huang dressed in a golden Papal robe, sitting in the throne in the main hall of the Divine Might Church, looking down on everyone like a deity overseeing all living beings.
Yan Huang was of mixed race, with distinct facial features. The robe gave him quite an imposing appearance. People from all over the world cheered, and countless Gods Clan believers celebrated their Popeâs ascent to the throne.
There were two relatively smaller seats to the left and right of his throne, but no one was sitting on them, leaving one to wonder who they were reserved for.
Beneath the Popeâs throne, on the smooth, mirror-like marble floor, there were as many as thirty golden-robed elders!
Each of these thirty elders was a Star Realm Expert, and every one of the twenty-seven base cities had a Great Divine Sect, with each Sect served by an elder. There were also three more Star Realm experts, which made up the core people of the church.
The Ice City Base Cityâs Allen from the Great Divine Sect also became an elder. As one of the earliest followers of the Pope, Allen was giving a speech at the moment.
âThis is a sacred event for the whole world. With His Holiness the Pope ascending the throne and the worldwide unification of the Gods Clan, we believe that under His leadership, the glorious days of our Gods Clan will be restoredâ¦.â The lengthy speech of praise and glorification moved many believers to tears, who shouted long live the Pope.
A reporter on the scene then asked: âMay I ask Elder Allen, His Holiness the Pope has ascended to the throne, and there is an assembly of elders below. But we have noticed that there are two seats beside His Holiness. Who are these seats for?â
Allen laughed, âThatâs a good question. His Holiness the Pope is the Holy Son, who can communicate with the Gods and is the incarnation of the Deity in the mortal world. However, he cannot be alone; he also needs a companion. One of these two seats will be reserved for the future queen.â
âQueen! Can you reveal the name of the queen? Why doesnât she appear in this sacred ceremony?â The reporter continued to ask.
âI cannot reveal that at the moment. I can tell you, however, that a hundred days from now, the Pope will be married. Although the queenâs name is temporarily kept confidential, she will be the most perfect woman in the world and certainly a devout believer in the Deity.â
Whispers spread below, and many began to guess who the future queen might be.
âMay I ask Elder Allen, who is the other seat for?â
Allen replied: âThe other seat will belong to the Chief Judge of our Church, who
has powers only secondary to the Pope and the queen, and will be the third-ranked person in our Church.â
âMay I ask who the Chief Judge is?â
âIt could be anyone in the world, even you.â Allenâs words left people somewhat puzzled.
After some suspenseful moments, Allen finally said solemnly, âWhile Godâs grace is vast, His dignity is not to be violated. Now that the Gods Clan is established, we will not let go of anyone who has insulted or hurt the Clan. I hereby declare that the Gods Clan will eradicate a heretic.â
Gazing at the countless cameras in front of him, Allen announced, word by word, âLin Zhen has insulted the Pope, and this cannot be tolerated. I now declare that Lin Zhen is an enemy of our Gods Clan, and everything he has done to us must be repaid with his blood! From today, no matter who kills Lin Zhen, the Gods Clan will grant the position of judge to them!â
This news sent shockwaves throughout the world!
The church was establishing its authority, intending to use Lin Zhen as an example.
People still remembered the recent events in the Ancient God City, where Lin Zhen had made bold claims, not only completely denying the existence of the Gods Clan but also the True God of the Stars.
This angered many believers of the Gods Clan, and the calls for punishing Lin Zhen only grew louder.
However, Yan Huang remained silent about this issue, which disappointed many believers who felt that the Holy Son was being too tolerant of Lin Zhen.
No one expected that Yan Huangâs retaliation against Lin Zhen would be to drive him into a corner!
How many believers are there in the Gods Clan?
With a population of two billion worldwide, it is estimated that almost half are believers in the Gods Clan.
Under these circumstances, how can Lin Zhen live a good life? How can he even survive in this world? There likely will be people chasing him wherever there are people.
Moreover, the Pope offered a huge reward: whoever kills Lin Zhen can assume the position of a judge in the church.
This position is just below the Pope and the queen, making it one of immense power and influence. Who wouldnât be tempted?
Itâs believed that even in Hua Xia, many people would be tempted by this proposition.
At that moment, Lin Zhen became the common enemy of everyone!
News about Lin Zhen flooded the internet worldwide, further solidifying his infamy.
Abroad, countless people clamored to kill Lin Zhen, and many even posted videos of themselves heading to the Ancient God City to find Lin Zhenâs whereabouts.
Meanwhile, in Hua Xia, Lin Zhenâs supporters were also numerous. Many people became opposed to the churchâs actions and hurled abuses at them. They had long been supportive of Lin Zhen.
Especially in Ice City, despite many people responding to the churchâs call, the majority still favored Lin Zhen. According to statistics, there were about 40 million believers in Ice City. When the church announced its intention to eradicate Lin Zhen, the number of believers in Ice City dropped sharply to 25 million, and many declared their withdrawal from the Star Sky Divine Teaching, with the number still increasing.
Furthermore, in some places, people even organized groups to travel to the Ancient God City to protect Lin Zhen and fight against the Gods Clan to the bitter end.
Although many people were supporting Lin Zhen, he did not feel the slightest joy. While the outcome wasnât the worst, and he did not fear the churchâs pursuit, he was not alone. He had parents, An Ning, and Ming Yue to worry about. If these people couldnât kill Lin Zhen, what about his parents? What about An Ning and Yueâer? What if someone wanted to harm them in an attempt to threaten Lin Zhen?
Lin Zhenâs tent was far from the market. As soon as he saw the news, he immediately contacted Zhang Yue, telling him to leave quickly and go as far away as possible so as not to be recognized. Otherwise, they risked facing the wrath of others.
Zhang Yue was aware of the gravity of the situation and immediately boarded a flying machine to leave. Before he left, he reassured Lin Zhen not to worry and that he would find a way to survive.
Lin Zhen also boarded the Black Ghost and ascended into the clouds, making his first call to his parents.
As the call connected, it was Li Yao who picked up.
Li Yao told Lin Zhen that he had just completed the matters concerning the Ice City Marriott Group and had arrived at the Blue Sky Martial Arts Hall. Upon seeing the online news, he immediately took Lin Liye and Li Qin to a secret residence, assuring Lin Zhen of their absolute safety.
Lin Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone in the world could doubt anyone, but they would never doubt Li Yao. Since Li Yao was his sworn enemy, his parents would be absolutely safe with him, and Li Yao would never betray Lin Zhen.
Then, Lin Zhen made his second call to An Ning.
An Ning immediately answered the call and told Lin Zhen not to worry about her. An Group had the ability to protect her, and no one could harm her. Instead, she wanted Lin Zhen to come back immediately because she wanted to be with him.
Lin Zhen didnât want to return for now and could only comfort An Ning over the phone.
The usually tough An Ning even began to cry, âLin Zhen, donât worry about me.
You must live well. If youâre gone, what will happen to Yueâer, Uncle, and
Auntie? Call Yueâer, she must be extremely worried.â
After hanging up the phone, Lin Zhen felt a little relieved. He believed An Ningâs words. As Hua Xiaâs top financial group and even the worldâs largest financial group, An Groupâs hidden power was astonishing.
Next, before Lin Zhen could call Su Mingyue, Yueâerâs call came through.
Mingyue smiled brightly on the screen, âLin Zhen, do not worry about Yueâer. I am the Saintess of Gods Clan, and no Gods Clan believers can harm me. Yueâer believes that the man she loves is a great hero, and no difficulty or danger can defeat him. If anything really happens to you, Yueâer will follow you in life and death. If youâre victorious, remember that Yueâer is waiting here for you to take her home and visit Uncle and Auntie together.â
Lin Zhen nodded. Su Mingyue suddenly cried, âLin Zhen⦠Yueâer hasnât cooked a meal for you yet. Please come find me⦠I beg youâ¦.â
Watching Yueâer sobbing, Lin Zhen gently hung up the phone and then posted a message online.
âThank you to everyone who supports Lin Zhen, but I donât want anyone to protect me. I donât need it. Accidents can happen, and I donât want anyone to get hurt because of me.. As for those who want to take my life to add glory to the Popeâs crown, come at me! No matter how many there are, I will kill them all!â