Chapter 142-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
System science popularization: High school senior year is a very important stage for readers. After they take the high school graduation exam, they will enter university. University is the place where they formally learn professional skills.
This point was different from the Empire. Imperial children took ability tests at 12 or 13. Ability users entered ability schools, and ordinary children continued to receive general education. When they became adults at eighteen, both ability users and ordinary people had to start working.
The Empire did not value the education of ordinary schools. Although ordinary people were the majority, due to the rampage of Demonic Domains, most ordinary people also approved of tilting resources towards ability and Demonic Domain-related fields.
After Ye Zheng replied to this reader named "Reborn as a High School Senior Big Mutant Variant," she scrolled down again. She suddenly heard a bit of movement, raised her eyes from the phone screen, looked towards the bed, and put away the phone.
Knowing that the Emperor wanted to keep her as a Holy Vessel was enough. This meant that before the Emperor got what he wanted from her, he wouldn't make a lethal move against her for the time being.
But he would definitely try every means to strip her of her Saintess identity. Just like this judgment, Saintesses were not allowed to marry. The moment they swore to become a Saintess, they had already made a promise to dedicate their lives to the gods.
Find a time to fish for information from Ye Fanjing; maybe the Emperor had revealed a bit of his plans to him.
Ye Zheng rejoiced once again that she had taken the risk to challenge the Divine Adjudication and performed a miracle witnessed by all Imperial people. From now on, anyone questioning her would be equivalent to challenging the authority of the God of Hope.
Relying on the illusory gods was only an expedient measure. The gods had never recognized her either. She had to expand her own power and influence as soon as possible—
Lies that deceived the world and blasphemed the gods had the possibility of collapsing at any time. Before the lie shattered, she had to become the unshakable "New God." When the magnificent shadow of the New God covered the idols of the old days, it would be the moment Saintess Ye Zheng rebuilt the world order!
For this, Ye Zheng quickly set a short-term goal for herself.
Seize the [Mother of All Things] ability held by Wen Jian, find a way to restore the Dragon-Bodied Humans, and first put a complete period to the twisted Hope Project.
"Zhengzheng, why did you run over there? The doctor said you need to rest more."
"Come lie back quickly, I won't disturb you."
Shu Wan, who was resting on the edge of the bed, hurriedly stood up. She understood her daughter. Although Ye Zheng looked like she had no temper and seemed very easy to discuss things with, she was actually very stubborn and didn't like others interfering in her private affairs and private space.
When she was little, she quarreled with Ye Di. Once her temper flared up, she directly threw Ye Di out of her room, locked herself up, and isolated everyone. Her temper was stubborn like a little calf.
Now that she had grown up, she could drive away the brother who offended her to suffer hardships with just a few small tricks, completely losing the shadow of being clumsy and stubborn in childhood. Yet Shu Wan could still see a little calf charging recklessly living in the bottom of Ye Zheng's heart.
"I feel much better, no need to worry about me."
Ye Zheng walked to the bedside, sat on the edge of the bed, and tilted her head to gaze at Shu Wan.
"Mother, do you think I am suitable to be a Saintess?"
Shu Wan's face froze. She tentatively held Ye Zheng's hand. Ye Zheng's body temperature had returned to normal. She breathed a sigh of relief, "Zhengzheng, in the entire Empire, one can no longer find a single person who dares to question your status as Saintess."
Yesterday, Shu Wan witnessed the entire process of Ye Zheng undergoing the Divine Adjudication from the projection hall in the Upper District. Tears almost took away all the moisture in her body. If not for worrying about Ye Zheng, she might have fainted before her daughter.
The hand holding Ye Zheng's tightened unconsciously. Ye Fanjing was a useless coward who watched helplessly as his daughter suffered, but she wasn't much better. Fortunately, she still had time. She could continue to arrange the original plan and give Zhengzheng a free coming-of-age ceremony...
"Mother, then do you think I am suitable to be... the Pope?" Ye Zheng suddenly asked.
Shu Wan was immersed in her own thoughts. Hearing Ye Zheng's inquiry, she first showed astonishment. After a fierce deliberation in her mind, she relaxed her expression.
"Do you like that position? If you want it, you are suitable to sit in that position."
This time it was Ye Zheng's turn to show a surprised expression.
Shu Wan smiled. Ye Zheng must think that her mother wouldn't understand her. Indeed, the more her daughter grew up, the more opaque she became to her. But the Ye Zheng who clamored to buy candy at four, the Ye Zheng who fought with her brother at seven, the Ye Zheng who announced she wanted to run for Saintess at thirteen, and the Saintess Ye Zheng praised by thousands before her eyes were all the same person.
Ye Zheng lowered her head, muttering, "Like it?"
"I don't like it. That position means a lot of trouble, but there is something I must obtain from that position."
[Mother of All Things] was an ability passed down to every generation of Pope. Ye Zheng had searched for relevant information but hadn't found half a clue about the inheritance. Perhaps only by becoming the next Pope could she contact the secret of the inheritance and openly hold this ability.
But becoming the Pope was an extremely difficult thing, far more than just getting rid of the current Pope, Wen Jian.
"Mother, I'm a bit tired." Ye Zheng pondered for a while, gently broke free from her mother's hand, and tucked the loose hair at her temples behind her ear. "You also need to rest well."
Shu Wan, sitting on the edge of the bed, stood up silently. After instructing a few words, she walked to the door and suddenly turned around.
"Zhengzheng, whatever makes you unhappy... you can tell Mom."
"Whatever you want, you will definitely get it."
The door closed gently. Ye Zheng looked at the closed door, her expression somewhat distracted. Was it because she hadn't paid attention for too long? She felt her mother had changed a lot.
Ye Zheng quickly snapped back. She left the bedroom and used a key to open her study. Picking and choosing on the bookshelf, she took down several books and placed them on the desk.
These were books she borrowed from the Curia, recording the historical events of the Curia from various angles, including the life stories of every important person in the Curia.
Ye Zheng used a small key to open the desk drawer again and took out her habitual notebook. She had already written quite a few organizations and analyses in this notebook.
She picked up a pen and compared the contents of several books, extracting and recording the general situations of successive Popes: origin, famous deeds, duration of reign, time of death... including the current Wen Jian, there were 21 in total, with an average reign of 25 years.
Ye Zheng organized the information and frowned in thought. The crucially important first Pope actually had the least real information preserved.
Apart from the gods giving him an oracle telling him that the end of days would come in five hundred years, and some legendary deeds, there were no clear records of his origin, date of death, or specific abilities.
Qin Lu had told her that [Mother of All Things] was an ability the first Pope passed to the next generation to save the world. Looking at it this way, this Pope's ability should be [Mother of All Things]. Judging from the ability name, Ye Zheng had reason to suspect that the "he" recorded in history books was very likely a "she."
There was another point worth pondering. Past Popes would convene an election meeting before dying, as if they knew the mandate of imminent death in advance, hurriedly choosing the next candidate.
When people were about to die, they indeed had premonitions. But for all Popes to accurately predict their own deaths and select the successor in time, this was a bit strange.
Ye Zheng had read some obscure books recording history before the descent of Demonic Domains. Even earlier, people believed in other gods, and there were also Curias serving gods and Popes leading them. Generally, election meetings were convened after the Pope died.
Ye Zheng guessed it was very likely related to the inheritance of [Mother of All Things], so the Pope had to choose an heir before dying.
She bent her knuckles and tapped on the desktop, her expression gradually becoming somewhat playful.
Such a precise process, was there a possibility that the holder's death was a necessary condition for inheritance?
Ye Zheng looked through the cause of death for every Pope. Everyone died very decently. Ye Zheng remembered the previous Pope. In her memory, he was old but hale and hearty. She hadn't heard of him having any illness. He passed away very suddenly, and then Wen Jian ascended.
"Looking at it this way, if I kill Wen Jian, it's possible to inherit [Mother of All Things]..."
Ye Zheng changed her sitting posture, propping her chin with her hand. Unfortunately, this was only her guess, and she still lacked strong evidence. In case she rashly killed Wen Jian but lost [Mother of All Things] instead, the loss would outweigh the gain.
She still needed more clues.
Ye Zheng stood up, her eyes patrolling the bookshelf. A trace of disappointment flashed across her face. She had almost flipped through all the Curia's books; there were no more valuable records.
The initial clue about [Mother of All Things] was told to her by Teacher Qin Lu, but she also said she didn't have more information.
Qin Lu... Ye Zheng's dark black eyes suddenly lit up. Right, then where did Qin Lu's information originate from? She was nominally a person of the Royal Family, yet she understood the secrets of the Curia and the Pope better than she, the Saintess.
Qin Lu was just an idle duke. She actively pursued the truth for her sister, the former Empress. Compared to the Curia, she had more contact with the Royal Family.
The Hope Project and the birth of Sykes proved that the connection between the Royal Family and the Curia was far closer than it appeared on the surface.
If more clues couldn't be found in the Curia, then what about starting from the Royal Family?
Two days later.
"Ye Zheng, your courage is truly jaw-dropping. Thinking that because I helped you, it equals forgetting the West District matters?"
On the high platform of the hunting ground, Sykes leaned against the railing, staring unhappily at Ye Zheng who visited on her own initiative.
Ye Zheng replied with a calm smile, "Thank you, Your Highness, for being willing to investigate that case at that time. So I must remind you—"
"Better check that subordinate who investigated David Green's fake identity. Perhaps you will have unexpected gains."
Sykes was just a link in the Emperor's plan. Sykes' investigation result was inevitably the Emperor's instruction.
She didn't mind using Sykes' hand to cause a little trouble for the Emperor.
Hearing this, Sykes' brows tightened, and his expression quickly became even gloomier. He heard it; Ye Zheng was questioning the capability under his rule.
He stepped closer, the killing intent in his golden pupils almost solidifying into substance, "Ye Zheng, I will really kill you."
Ye Zheng suddenly lowered her head, hiding a trace of mockery in her eyes, then raised her head and looked at him very sincerely.
"Compared to wanting to kill me, how is your memory and headache recovering?"
"...I no longer need your treatment. You are completely worthless now, Saintess-sama."
"Is that so." Ye Zheng wasn't very surprised by this answer.
"Then regarding the Ability Tournament, has Your Highness decided to give up?"
Successive events caused the Empire's most eye-catching tournament to be constantly delayed. After the Crown Prince entered the West District, the bewildered Ability Tournament Organizing Committee paused the competition again.
Too many unexpected events caused the time to be constantly dragged on. After some discussion, the organizing committee announced the modified new rules just yesterday.
Currently, the top four squads in points would enter the same Demonic Domain. Points would be judged based on contribution, added to the previously accumulated scores, to finally decide the winner.
In other words, the final match of the Ability Tournament was coming.
Thinking of the Ability Tournament, Sykes was silent for a moment.
Even if this competition had no benefits for him, since he participated as the Crown Prince, he inevitably couldn't lose to a commoner kid like Percy.
Someone had already revealed the setup of the final match to him... Ye Zheng's ability was actually very suitable.
Ye Zheng watched Sykes' changing expression and had already obtained the answer.
"Your news is quite well-informed." Sykes glanced at her gloomily.
Ye Zheng smiled. To curry favor with the Royal Family, the organizing committee didn't reveal less news to Sykes. Sykes, accustomed to special treatment, also didn't feel there was any problem.
Although the organizing committee wouldn't come to actively curry favor with her, she also had special information channels in her hand—
Just yesterday, a new manga preview was updated on her phone.
The System told her that in the original plot, her home court was coming.
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