Chapter 989: Dignified or Reckless?

“Holy Mother, what would you like for lunch today? I’ll arrange it for you right away.”

Bai Xingwei walked into the room and respectfully asked Luo Quan like a maid.

Luo Quan, just out of the bath, lay on the bed wrapped in a towel, scrolling through today’s news.

“What are you acting out for?” Luo Quan looked at Bai Xingwei’s exaggerated posture, utterly speechless.

This title was forced onto me—I still don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse—and now you come here to tease me? You’re literally picking the wrong pot to open.

Bai Xingwei laughed heartily: “You still can’t accept it after all this? It’s just a title—believe it and it exists, don’t believe it and it doesn’t. You really think your belly will suddenly swell one morning?”

“Who knows?” Luo Quan lowered her head and rubbed her belly through the towel. “It’s just that the feeling of being constantly watched is truly uncomfortable. You didn’t see it yesterday during my stream—so many viewers joked about my belly, as if my only value was pregnancy.”

Bai Xingwei’s tone finally turned serious: “It’s normal. People are still full of fresh curiosity—twenty-eight years have passed since the last Holy Mother died, and many young people are seeing one for the first time.”

“So they call me ‘Mom’ online and excitedly beg Mom to dance, is that it?” Luo Quan’s face darkened.

“There’s that too?”

Luo Quan sighed helplessly: “These people seem obsessed with taboo relationships. I don’t know if the internet has amplified their desires, letting them openly come here seeking stimulation.”

“Well, nowadays many people enjoy satisfying their little quirks this way—it is the internet, after all. A bit of looseness is normal.”

Although Luo Quan’s description sounded absurd, Bai Xingwei, after a moment’s thought, could somewhat understand.

In the hyper-abundant universe, people can easily satisfy most of their desires.

But some desires can only be buried deep in the heart, never dared to be openly displayed.

Yet after gaining the title of Holy Mother, Luo Quan became a vessel for these people to project their hidden cravings.

Honestly, if she hadn’t seen it herself, she never would’ve believed so many people were eager to call a stranger girl “Mom.”

Of course, it’s not enough to make her lose sleep or appetite.

She’s simply still in the transitional phase—unwilling to accept this new identity, yet forced to.

Of course it’s awkward—anyone would find it awkward.

Compared to most, her attitude is already remarkably natural; an ordinary girl would likely be mortified to death by constant “Mom” calls.

But after years of streaming, she’s developed immunity to such situations, so she can face fans and viewers without flinching.

Still, in private, she needs to vent to Bai Xingwei for relief.

And Bai Xingwei’s comfort method is blunt and simple: accept your fate.

Because becoming the Dawn Holy Mother is now public knowledge, officially certified—there’s no other option but to accept it.

Luo Quan is now actively working toward that mindset, and progress has been quite good.

At first, she felt some resentment, but now she’s mostly come to terms with it.

But netizens’ antics continue daily; since becoming famous as the Holy Mother, her stream’s viewership has steadily grown.

Beyond her original fans, believers from every country now come to watch, whether they have a reason or not.

The Dawn Church, the faith with the most followers in the entire universe, has a leadership that’s never been close to the people—from the Pope and cardinals down to every parish’s patriarch, they rarely meet believers at all.

The Holy Maiden, though devoted to charity, never liked being in the spotlight. Fortunately, this new Holy Mother seems to have a career as an entertainer and streams daily.

So these believers have finally found a spiritual anchor.

To protect herself, Luo Quan now dresses far more conservatively during her streams.

Before, she dressed however pretty she wanted—showing thighs or belly buttons was normal.

Since going viral, her clothes have become loose, shapeless loungewear, mostly black and white, no longer bright or flashy.

Other streamers chase fame by wearing less and less; she, after becoming famous, wears more and more—it’s kind of funny.

But funnier still: after seeing her attire, believers couldn’t help but feel the urge to pray.

Not joking—genuine prayer.

Facing the Holy Mother, many believers and netizens who had done wrong suddenly confessed their sins via chat messages, trying to ease their guilt.

At first, only a few admitted minor things—stealing as a child, peeking at the neighbor’s sister bathing—and Luo Quan didn’t pay much attention.

But as more and more people came to confess here, she finally decided to adjust her streaming style.

Her current image already restricts her streaming; why not play the role of priest or nun, listen to what netizens have done wrong, and make it entertaining?

So Luo Quan added a new segment to her stream: the Confessional.

To set the mood, she went to Bai Xingwei’s closet and found a Dawn Church mother superior’s robe.

Dressed in the black-and-white robe, dimming the room’s background—wasn’t this exactly a church confessional?

“Come on, netizens—I see you all want to confess your sins. Here’s your chance.”

“Type ‘1’ in chat if you want to speak—I’ll randomly select someone. Those chosen will get a chance to enter the confessional.”

As she spoke, she activated the stream’s lottery system; the “1” chat messages instantly flooded the screen.

Five seconds later, the first lucky viewer was drawn.

“Congratulations to the netizen with the nickname Xingxing Shenzhi Zai. Hello, my child—what do you wish to confess?”

Honestly, Luo Quan knew immediately what he’d say just from the nickname.

But she still underestimated how bizarre some humans could be.

This young man, with a deep, magnetic voice, told tens of millions of viewers the entire love-hate story between him and a pork leg.

She’d only ever seen this in jokes—never imagined someone actually did it.

After listening, Luo Quan, expression blank as a subway elder, asked the stream: “Viewers, should this gentleman go to heaven or hell?”

…………

The audience was wildly excited:

“Holy shit, hell doesn’t even take just anyone!”

“This is insane—you’d actually go for a pork leg?”

“Low human content, but perfect match for the nickname.”

“You’re here to confess, not to share your crime log!”

“After reading the chat, I strongly suspect more than one person has done this.”

“I think someone in this stream is even worse than this guy.”

“The world is vast—anything is possible.”

………………

That last line was probably the true reflection of Luo Quan’s and many netizens’ feelings right now.

After a brief shock, Luo Quan drew the second lucky viewer for confession.

Meanwhile, in the Dawn Church’s holy city, Difanxi.

This is the capital of the Dawn Papacy, the divine land promised by the Lord of Light—once fallen seven times under enemy boots, yet always reclaimed by Dawn believers, restored to its former glory.

More than three thousand years have passed since the last fall of the holy city; prolonged peace has made it more prosperous than ever before.

As the religious center of the Divine Alliance, Difanxi is also one of the universe’s top economic cities, housing countless interstellar merchant guilds, with hundreds of millions passing through daily.

As ruler of this city, Pope Benjamin III was currently listening to Cardinal Fa Xia’s report.

Or rather, a complaint.

Ever since the Holy Mother’s identity was confirmed, this trusted cardinal had been constantly grumbling to him about how reckless and unsuitable the choice was.

But the Holy Mother wasn’t his choice—it was all the Light’s design. What could he, even as Pope, do?

“You can’t imagine what the Holy Mother is doing now—she’s streaming in a nun’s habit, daring to hear confessions without even reading the Dawn Scriptures. This is pure nonsense!”

Cardinal Fa Xia’s voice echoed through the hall. Benjamin III sat quietly, listening, then shifted in his seat: “Isn’t this a good thing?”

“Even without studying the Dawn Scriptures, the Holy Mother still possesses a heart that guides people toward goodness—doesn’t that perfectly embody the core teaching of the Scriptures?”

“But the content in her stream is utterly filthy! How can the Dawn Holy Mother discuss such topics in public?”

Fa Xia’s face flushed with anger as he stared at Benjamin III: “Besides, her previous streaming style was already bold. Even though she’s slightly restrained now, I fear she’ll revert—this is too improper, completely at odds with the Holy Mother’s dignified, elegant image in our doctrine.”

Benjamin III could no longer hold back: “Which doctrine says the Holy Mother must be dignified and elegant? Tell me the exact line—I’ll flip through it right now!”

“Ah… this…” Fa Xia opened his mouth, frozen in place.

“The Holy Mother is barely twenty. A young, vibrant girl—do you really want her to become as stiff and lifeless as the Church’s old nuns? Would that make you happy?”

“I think this Holy Mother is quite good—beautiful, cheerful, bringing positive influence to the Dawn Church. Your worries are all baseless.”

“So I say, Fa Xia, take a break. Stop being paranoid. What’s ‘dignified’? Wearing less during a stream makes her undignified? Then show the faithful the beauty of youth!”

“Studies show a church full of beautiful women is far more popular than one full of old ladies—this is data-backed!”

“But shouldn’t faith come first?” Fa Xia was stunned by his Pope’s words.

Only the Pope could say such things.

If anyone else had, the Inquisition would’ve been dispatched.

“Faith is important, but people can’t live on faith alone.”

Benjamin III patted the cardinal’s shoulder, speaking earnestly: “Times have changed. How many people today truly believe in the Light for faith’s sake alone?”

Among the twelve cardinals, fewer than five would say that. The rest are far more interested in the Dawn Church’s vast business empire.”

“Even I—when I took this position from the old Pope—I was told: expanding the diocese doesn’t matter. What matters is growing the Church’s profits.”

“With money comes influence. Believers will naturally come.”

Fa Xia anxiously asked: “But doesn’t that make us believers in money?”

“What do you think supports the hundreds of millions of clergy in the Dawn Church?”

Benjamin III stood up, his voice booming: “Do you think donations alone can afford clergy a lifestyle better than many middle-income workers?”

“Use your brain—without the universe’s top-tier commercial power backing us, how could we enjoy such privileges?”

“Fa Xia, you’ve studied Church history—you know how poor past priests and nuns lived, don’t you?”

“If you think our current comfort is bad, then I can only say your thinking is far too narrow.”

…………

As Pope, Benjamin III was not skilled at much else, but he was absolutely masterful at swaying hearts and minds, turning white into black with ease.

But this time, he was not lying—he was stating facts.

It was precisely because the Church engaged in commerce that everyone had come to enjoy a better life.

Yet now to condemn such behavior was truly like lifting the bowl to eat, then putting it down to curse the one who served it.

As a young Pope, Benjamin III did not believe he could achieve anything meaningful by studying the Church’s scriptures to add bricks and tiles to Dawn Theology.

But helping the Dawn Merchants’ Guild expand its territory was well within his capability—and what he now needed to do was change the minds of these old-fashioned fools within the Church, so they would not drag him down with blind conservatism.

So far, the hardliners led by Archbishop Zifa Xia remained far too sluggish in accepting new things.

Their excessive criticism of the Holy Mother was one such example, yet Benjamin III actually quite liked this extraterrestrial Holy Mother named Luo Quan.

Not only was she stunningly beautiful, but her figure was flawless—if all the nuns in the Church were like her, he was confident he could make the Dawn Church the largest religion in the universe!