Chapter 181-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

The four of them stepped up the exquisitely carved stairs, ascending to the high stone platform. The hollow, cold wind swept away the warmth of the sunlight and curled around their hair. They surrounded a heavy, rectangular stone table, each standing at one of the four cardinal directions.

Percy’s expression was complex. He never imagined that he, who had originally intended to disrupt Wen Jian's ritual, would now be joining this strange ceremony to compete for the [Mother of All Things]—something he didn't even know the nature of.

But he had no choice. Neither Ye Zheng nor Wen Jian would let him leave.

On the other side, Riley rested his hands on the stone table. His calm face revealed a hint of sinister shadow, but no fear.

He trusted Wen Jian. As the executor of the ritual, Wen Jian surely had a way to transfer the ability to him. More importantly... he had no choice but to trust Wen Jian now.

Ye Zheng, meanwhile, kept her eyes on Wen Jian across from her, watching as he began to arrange the prepared props on the stone table.

In the center of the stone table sat a round loaf of bread, its arched shape standing like a mountain. Beside it lay a knife, a bottle of wine, a goblet engraved with intricate patterns, a copy of Divine Revelation, and a drop of golden blood floating in a transparent vessel.

Wen Jian poured the red wine into the goblet. Holding the goblet in one hand and Divine Revelation in the other, he closed his eyes tightly and chanted under his breath.

"The Holy Spirit descends, cleansing the unclean..."

The elderly Pope, dressed in sacrificial robes, tilted the goblet, spilling the dark red wine onto the round bread.

After pouring the wine, he continued his chant.

"The Holy Spirit descends, cleansing the unclean..."

Ye Zheng frowned; Wen Jian began to repeat this chant.

The three people present heard Wen Jian repeat the chant three times with his eyes closed before he finally opened them. He sighed and shook his head, turning his gaze to Percy on his left.

"Child, I need your blood."

Wen Jian handed the small knife on the table to him and persuaded, "Drizzle your blood onto the bread."

Percy took the knife, his expression guarded. He asked, "How much blood is needed?"

"...Shouldn't be much."

Receiving Wen Jian's ambiguous answer, Percy paused the knife at his wrist, then moved it up to cut his index finger. Blood dripped down drop by drop, like a slow hourglass.

In this ritual, he was the one who needed to rush the least.

But amidst his anger, he was also curious: what exactly was it that made Saintess Ye Zheng and Pope Wen Jian scheme so deliberately?

Seeing Percy playing petty tricks, Riley's face darkened, completely losing his previous mindset of appreciating and trying to win over Percy. Ye Zheng was one thing, but why was Percy, a commoner from the Lower District, qualified to compete with him?

He moved his feet, intending to step forward and help Percy speed up the ritual, when Wen Jian's voice suddenly rang out urgently.

"Holy Spirit above, we gather here to call upon you in the name of the God of Hope. May you witness the inheritance of ancient power..."

The transparent vessel on the table suddenly trembled, making a crisp sound as it collided with the hard stone surface. The quietly floating [Blood of the God] began to beat violently, as if it would rush out of the vessel in the next moment.

"Good, good! The [Blood of the God] has sensed the summons!"

Wen Jian put down Divine Revelation, his cloudy eyes staring obsessively at the [Blood of the God] in the vessel. After a good while, he reluctantly looked away and looked at the three people present.

"The inheritance ritual can officially begin."

Ye Zheng's eyes darkened, while Riley radiated a look of inevitable victory.

On the left side of the long table, Percy turned a deaf ear to Wen Jian's words. His gaze was almost frozen on the [Blood of the God], the veins on the back of his hand pulsing visibly, his body leaning forward subconsciously as if attracted by something.

Suddenly, his fingertip felt cold. The icy stimulation called back his attention.

Percy looked down. His fingertip was no longer bleeding; the wound had healed as before.

He looked in Ye Zheng's direction. Her gaze was fixed on Wen Jian. She lowered her brow and made a new request.

"Your Holiness, tell us the process of the ritual. Things have reached this point; there is no longer any need for concealment."

Wen Jian smiled. "Of course, I will tell everyone fairly."

He held the vessel containing the [Blood of the God] with both hands and spoke slowly, "Before the ritual begins, it is necessary for me to tell you—the price of inheritance."

Just then, Percy suddenly interrupted, resting his hands on the stone table.

"Since we are to be fair, please tell me first what exactly the [Mother of All Things] is!"

Ye Zheng looked sideways, thinking that Percy had indeed become smarter after being tricked by her.

Wen Jian at the head of the table chuckled, "Ah, I almost forgot. I do indeed have an obligation to explain its existence."

"The [Mother of All Things] is the greatest secret of the Curia, passed down by successive Popes."

"After the first Pope received the revelation from the gods predicting the apocalypse five hundred years later, he fell into panic and unease. He prayed to the gods for a way of salvation, hoping to save the Empire five hundred years later."

The three listened intently. Riley, however, asked in confusion, "Your Holiness, please wait. The prophecy states that five hundred years later, the incarnation of the God of Hope, the true Godsent, will appear to save the world..."

As he spoke, Riley glanced at Ye Zheng, thinking he was being subtle, and continued, "Why was a method of salvation still needed?"

"Because the prophecy of the Godsent was fabricated by the Empire to soothe the people's hearts."

Ye Zheng looked back at Riley with a smile, her eyes frank.

Riley was stunned. He slammed the table and stood up, staring at Ye Zheng in disbelief—staring at the 'Godsent' in whom all the people of the Empire placed their high hopes.

"Then you, you..."

"Enough, Riley." Wen Jian sternly interrupted the utterly shocked Riley. He glanced at Ye Zheng and continued, "Under the first Pope's days and nights of prayer, the gods were moved by his piety and selflessness and made a pact with him."

"To give him a possibility to save the Empire five hundred years later, the 3S-rank ability [Mother of All Things] he possessed would be passed down generation after generation along with his will, guiding the people five hundred years later to defeat the apocalypse."

Percy revealed a shocked expression. The [Mother of All Things] was actually an inheritable 3S-rank ability, bearing such heavy expectations!

"So, the [Mother of All Things] is a mighty power that condenses the will of successive Popes and bears a glorious responsibility!"

Wen Jian raised his arms, his aged voice sounding exceptionally righteous at this moment.

For a time, the spacious altar was silent. Percy and Riley, having learned the true origin of the [Mother of All Things], were shaken by this heavy duty. Ye Zheng, however, let out an imperceptible chuckle at this moment.

The will of successive Popes—did that refer to the useless and frenzied Hope Project?

Ye Zheng didn't even bother to mock this point. She asked keenly:

"You said this was a pact between the first Pope and the gods. Then, what price did the first Pope pay to the gods?"

Hearing this question, Wen Jian finally fell silent, his expression no longer composed.

"The price is that every Pope who inherits the [Mother of All Things] will have only twenty-five years of life remaining after inheritance... Furthermore, their souls cannot transcend and will coexist with the [Mother of All Things] for eternity."

"Wait, you never mentioned this price!"

Riley strode towards Wen Jian, grabbing his arm, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

He was only twenty. If he inherited this ability, it meant he could only live to be forty-five!

Percy's face also changed, but he soon regained his composure. He had already figured it out: this was a game between Wen Jian and Ye Zheng. The [Mother of All Things] would only fall to either Riley or Ye Zheng. He wasn't very interested in this ability anyway.

His gaze kept shifting to the vessel Wen Jian was holding. The [Blood of the God] jumped like a cluster of golden flame.

In the deadlocked atmosphere, Ye Zheng spoke up, "Alright, we already know its origin. Tell us how to inherit it, Wen Jian."

Wen Jian pulled out his arm which was tightly gripped by Riley and raised the vessel containing the [Blood of the God].

"With the [Blood of the God] as witness!"

He suddenly opened the vessel and slammed it heavily onto the stone table with a clatter. The excited teardrop-shaped blood jumped out of the vessel, climbed from the stone table onto the bread soaked in wine and blood, turned from gold to blood-red, and almost melted into the bloody bread.

Immediately after, Wen Jian pressed his hand on the bloody bread. After a while, the bread swelled up, actually breathing and rising and falling like a piece of living flesh!

Standing at the head of the table, Wen Jian looked at the three people with different expressions and sighed, "The [Blood of the God] has already built the bridge of inheritance."

Wen Jian reached out and took the teardrop-shaped [Blood of the God] from the rising and falling flesh on the stone table. He placed it in a cup of clear water to cleanse it. After it returned to its golden color, he placed it back into the vessel.

Once confined back in the vessel, the [Blood of the God] continued to beat, pulsing ceaselessly like a heart.

Ye Zheng withdrew her gaze from observing the [Blood of the God] and cast it upon the undulating mass of flesh on the stone table. She could be certain that it was absolutely no longer bread, but something possessing life. The moment Wen Jian pressed down on it, he had activated the [Mother of All Things]!

Ye Zheng looked at the rising and falling flesh with amazement; it was almost like an unformed fetus.

But she was still puzzled. How were they supposed to inherit it through this lump of flesh?

She wasn't the only one with this doubt.

Facing their grave gazes, Wen Jian spoke up in time. He said, "Next, the [Mother of All Things] will leave my body. It will carry the will of the Popes of past generations into this lump of flesh."

"It will choose one of you, devour you, and give birth to you. Do not panic; the [Mother of All Things] brings new life!"

"You only need to gaze upon it. It will respond to the true successor!"

Wen Jian's voice became increasingly agitated and trembling. One of his hands pressed against his own heart, like an old man trying to calm his excited body, but his cloudy, shadowed eyes burst with astonishing light at this moment.

From an angle invisible to the three of them, his fingers dug into his chest cavity, piercing through flesh and bone, and gripped his own heart!

He stared at Ye Zheng, who was gazing intently at the blood mass on the table, so excited that his body seemed to return to his ambitious youth.

After each Pope reached the end of their life, their soul would coexist with the [Mother of All Things], and their will would gradually be devoured by the [Mother of All Things].

When he was thirty-two, after Wen Jian inherited the [Mother of All Things], the previous Pope remained in his spirit for about a month, guiding him like another personality, even able to influence his mind and actions. Fortunately, he soon disappeared.

Wen Jian had researched it. The duration of the will's retention seemed to be related to the remaining lifespan. The previous Pope chose death when he had one month of life left and handed over the [Mother of All Things], so his will stayed in the [Mother of All Things] for about a month.

Today was not the day Wen Jian's life ended at all; he still had one week of life left!

This meant he could dominate the [Mother of All Things] and the successor for a week, or even longer.

Because of Wen Xiaoxing, the time in his body was flowing rapidly, but once he separated from this body, it would be equivalent to stopping the curse of time disappearing at variable speeds. He might be able to maintain his consciousness for more than two years!

Wen Jian revealed a crazy smile. His fingers instantly tightened, crushing his own heart alive!

From now on, the [Mother of All Things] is him, and he is the [Mother of All Things]!

At the moment Wen Jian's fingers tightened, Ye Zheng seemed to sense something and looked up, her gaze extremely cold.

At the same time, water lines so thin they were almost invisible moved in an instant, striking towards both sides like swimming snakes!

The will of successive Popes? After hearing Wen Jian's explanation, Ye Zheng already had a premonition that Wen Jian could decide the choice of the [Mother of All Things].

[You harmed the protagonist Percy, deducting 50 Action Points!]

On the left side of the stone table, Percy's pupils constricted. His neck instantly metallized, barely stopping the water line from penetrating and saving his own life.

[You killed the supporting character Riley, deducting 400 Action Points!]

On the right, Riley, who had been focusing his attention on the blood mass, never expected Ye Zheng to attack suddenly. When the water line slit his throat, his consciousness was still stuck on Wen Jian's speech.

It wasn't until he fell onto the table that he suddenly realized he had made a grave mistake. No matter where, the inheritance game was always a life-and-death competition. That was why his mother had disguised him as a girl and raised him in the Lower District...

Ye Zheng didn't give the loser a glance.

The blood-stained water line returned to her hand, then tentatively extended towards the violently heaving and constantly growing blood mass.

Once Wen Jian died, the blood mass on the table seemed to be injected with life again. It began to grow wildly, already occupying the entire stone table and continuing to grow at an astonishing speed.

Ye Zheng knew perfectly well that Wen Jian would certainly not choose her.

He had spent so much effort to stop her from getting involved in the inheritance ritual. The moment he proposed the so-called fair competition, Ye Zheng had no doubt that Wen Jian had a sure-fire method he believed in.

However, sometimes the more people schemed, the easier it was to create flaws that led to failure.

Ye Zheng's solution was simple. Wen Jian didn't want to give the [Mother of All Things] to her?

—Then she would make herself the only option for the [Mother of All Things]!

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