Chapter 434

Everyone rushed over in a flurry, even Silver Coin dropped what he was doing and ran over, gathering in a crowd to observe Ang.

If the Instant Death Aura can be used now, does that mean other divine arts can be used too? Can Ultimate Transformation be used? This was a question everyone deeply cared about.

Why has Silver Coin become so cautious lately? Didn't Du Luo just mock him for lacking the demeanor of a God of Greed? It's all for Ang's safety.

Back then, he dared to go bluffing elves with just a sapling—his timidity came from insufficient profit; with enough profit, you'd see just how recklessly bold he could be.

If Ang were there to give him courage and let him scream for help, his courage would grow even bigger.

"What's going on? Why can the Instant Death Aura be used now? What about the other divine arts? Your soul shouldn't be able to activate divine arts at all," Nagelis asked.

Ang was also confused; he only felt some strange change in the soul of this body—now the power transmission felt smoother.

"Pfft—you didn't somehow become your own divine favored one, did you?" Nagelis spat out his water.

Besides gods themselves, those favored by divine grace can cast divine arts. Ang absorbed two waves of the God of Undeath's soul flames—so divine grace descended, making him the God of Undeath's favored one?

I favor myself… can that even work?

Never mind whether it works—just that it works. Ang sprinted to a patch of wasteland, stomped hard, and wild grass surged up around him.

Still as effective as ever. Ang was delighted; if Nagelis hadn't dragged him back, he'd have started farming right there.

"Pity, Ultimate Transformation still won't work," Nagelis sighed.

"No problem. If you can use the Instant Death Aura, you'll be able to use Ultimate Transformation. Just have the master absorb more soul flames," Silver Coin was optimistic. Getting from zero to one is hardest, but from one to two is easy—once you break through, the rest is just time and accumulation.

All the refugees received oilseed cake. After one meal, Silver Coin began dividing everyone into teams: men, women, elders, children, assigned in proper ratios, with entire families kept together.

Each person got another oilseed cake; strong men got two, and they were ordered to head west toward Iron Sand Fortress.

"Why do men get two? Are you afraid they won't have enough to eat?" Locke Si asked Silver Coin.

"Yes, if they're hungry, they'll steal from others. So we give them an extra one," Silver Coin replied.

Locke Si quickly pulled out paper and pen to record it, then asked: "Then why give them coins too? And why give them to the whole team—how many arrive, how many coins do they get? What's the reasoning?"

"To prevent them from abandoning the weak, elderly, women, and children—many would die on the road. Those strong enough should care for the vulnerable. If one person drops out, their share of coins is deducted. They only get paid upon arrival. With money at stake, they won't easily abandon others," Silver Coin explained carefully.

Locke Si gasped and quickly wrote it down, then asked: "Why prioritize those with families?"

"With family nearby, people act with restraint and stay stable. Those alone—I have other plans for them. You want to learn? Too bad my skills aren't great. I'm decent at business, but terrible at managing people. If you ever meet a guy named Andong, you can make him your teacher."

Locke Si stared in disbelief. This level is called "not great"?

She'd watched Silver Coin manage city after city—using the fewest people, the least time, keeping three cities running smoothly. Is this "not great"?

Then what would "great" look like?

Facing her question, Silver Coin chuckled: "If it were Andong? He's probably already entered the city, negotiating with the locals. If he can't reach an agreement, he seizes power and becomes mayor himself, then mobilizes the entire city's resources for relief. In a few months, he might be chair of the Necropolis Council."

Locke Si's mouth hung open, as if hearing a myth.

Far away in the Prime Plane, Andong sneezed violently, muttering to himself: Who's cursing me behind my back?

Patrice, newly promoted to Golden Thread Holy Attendant, reported: "Your Holiness, the time has come. Please proceed with the coronation."

"Good." Andong, dressed in a splendid papal crown, leaning on his papal scepter, forced a smile as he allowed himself to be manipulated through the coronation ceremony.

Though he hated such tedious rituals, he knew clearly: without proper coronation, he could never truly become Pope.

As the ceremony dragged on and everyone was exhausted, desperate to collapse and go home, Andong suddenly stood, tapped his papal scepter, and his voice echoed through the hall: "The god says: Your labor is His test. May you all find reward."

As he spoke, a holy light spread from Andong's body. Bathed in it, everyone felt their fatigue vanish, their spirits refreshed, strength flooding their bodies—even old ailments seemed to ease.

"P…P…Great Wish Spell!?" A shocked voice rang out. Everyone turned—it was Archbishop Dai Sen.

Great Wish Spell?! So this is what it looks like! No wonder the back pain and fatigue vanished!

For years, the Three Divine Arts had only appeared in sacred texts: Great Wish Spell, Great Prophecy Spell, Great Echo Spell—no one had ever successfully cast them. No one knew what they looked like.

Now it's been certified by Archbishop Dai Sen—definitely no lie.

Amazing! Pope Andong truly is the one chosen by the gods—he's already mastered the Great Wish Spell right after ascending.

Andong smiled mysteriously, casting a approving glance at Dai Sen. Though he'd hinted beforehand, the man's startled cry, trembling voice, and genuine shock made the exclamation far more powerful and convincing—immediately making everyone believe.

Of course, this wasn't the Great Wish Spell. The Three Divine Arts cannot be cast by mortals—at least not without the gods descending and channeling divine power.

No gods have appeared in a thousand years, so no one had ever seen the Three Divine Arts. What he just cast was merely a large-scale Purifying Spell—those touched felt healed, hence refreshed and pain-free.

All this setup was for what came next: "For a thousand years, the gods have fallen. Heretical gods stole the power of Light, elevating the Fire Thieves and Gulianni. Until the Rebirth of the Goddess of Equality and Balance."

"I know some among you still follow the Fire Thieves. I won't name names. I, in the name of Light, forgive your sins. Your past transgressions are redeemed. From now on, let your faith belong to Light."

"The Goddess of Balance is wise, mighty, her gaze piercing through all illusions, reaching the shore of Light…" (omitted ten thousand words)…

"To prevent heretical gods from rebirth through fallen divine essences, from today, the Church of Light abolishes all other divine positions, recognizing only the God of Light and the Goddess of Equality and Balance as co-primary deities."

"This is the Supreme Edict of Hope. Pope, Saint Andong."

The crowd erupted in uproar. Everyone stared, disbelief turning to restless murmurs and whispered exchanges.

Because this was explosive: Andong had abolished all divine positions, honoring only the Goddess of Balance and the God of Light—and elevating the Goddess of Balance to primary deity?

Good heavens, can you even do that? What about the God of Arbitration? The God of Light and Darkness? The Goddess of Redemption?

This wasn't just removing a divine position—it would trigger a cascade of changes. Each divine position came with entire departments and vested interests.

Take the God of Arbitration—he alone oversaw the Tribunal, with a powerful Tribunal Army and courts in every city. Would those be abolished too?

Or the Goddess of Redemption—her name allowed priests to collect hefty healing fees. If her divine position is removed, what happens when believers stop coming for healing?

Some whose interests were threatened began stirring, forgetting that if Andong had no confidence, he wouldn't make such a massive, church-restructuring move in this very setting.

Chants rose. Countless angels spread their wings and soared into the sky.

A massive luminous figure appeared to Andong's left, its solemn gaze sweeping over everyone. Those under its gaze felt boundless authority.

"L…Lightface God?!" someone gasped.

A goddess landed to Andong's right, one hand holding a hammer, the other a rope, her loving gaze fixed on all.

"Hammer of Redemption! Rope of Salvation! Is that the Goddess of Redemption?!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! All Holy Knights pounded their breastplates, roaring in unison: "We obey! We obey! We obey!"

Two divine beings presided. Angels and Holy Knights watched intently. But everyone knew this wasn't Andong's full strength.

Realizing the vast power gap, even the most resentful had no choice but to kneel and chant: "We obey the Pope's decree!"

Next came revising the sacred texts, smashing statues, rewriting scriptures. From now on, the Church of Light recognized only two primary deities: the God of Light and the Goddess of Balance.

The Goddess of Redemption didn't care—she vanished the moment the ceremony ended. But the Darkface was indignant, muttering: "You made us show up to help you destroy our divine positions? That's too cruel. Can't we just keep our divine positions?"

The Lightface had already perished in the faith storm—the figure appearing here was naturally the Darkface. Light's opposite is Dark; Dark's opposite is Light. So it perfectly impersonated the Lightface.

"No. You're fine as a subordinate deity. Want to split the faith? Honestly, you can't handle it. Just stay a subordinate," Andong said.

If not for the Church of Light's foundation being Light, Andong would've abolished the God of Light too—switching entirely to the Goddess of Balance, to avoid diluting Ang's power.

After the coronation, the Church of Light was firmly under control. Earlier, he'd already placed his loyalists in key positions. Even if Darkface and Redemption hadn't appeared, no one could stir rebellion during the ceremony.

Bringing them out was merely Andong's kindness—he didn't want to see too many die.

After finishing all this, Andong shed his crown and instantly teleported to the Holy Heaven, finding the sleeping big cat: "Big Cat, Big Cat, hurry and send me over."

Big Cat knew exactly where to send him. For this period, its only task had been transporting people to the Black Crystal Bones. Now it was free—it pointed its giant paw at the teleportation array.

"The teleportation array is built?" Andong sprinted back, adjusted it, and zipped away in a flash.

The end of the Eternal Path had become a massive construction site, with countless buildings rising from the ground.

To make it habitable for living beings, the Witch had brought over a Farm Boundary Marker, which generated air and allowed construction nearby—the teleportation array was built beside the farm.

As soon as Andong stepped out, he saw two figures cuddled together.

Seeing them clearly, Andong exclaimed in disbelief: "Witch? Grand Sage?! You… oh, so you two have been having an affair!"

The Witch blushed and quickly pulled away. The Grand Sage wasn't fooled: "Enough. I don't believe you didn't know. You've planted spies everywhere—someone must've told you. And don't think I'm giving you any gifts or favors."

"Uh, Grand Sage, that's not very generous. Such a big occasion, and you won't even prepare a gift for everyone to celebrate with you?" Andong cried out, trying to rally others to pressure the Grand Sage.

Unfortunately, Lisha looked up from her work and didn't respond. Luna turned and looked at him—no response. Xiamala turned away—also no response.

"I get it. You've already given them gifts ahead of time! You're biased, Grand Sage!" Andong complained loudly.

The Grand Sage snorted, pulled out a tongue flute, and tossed it to him.

Andong caught it, frowned, then his eyes widened: "The legendary Echo Tongue Flute?!"

"I heard you were crowned Pope. What's on your mind will echo. This Echo Tongue Flute will help you cast the Great Echo Spell more smoothly," the Grand Sage said.

Andong rubbed his nose, embarrassed: "But I don't even know how to cast the Great Echo Spell yet."

"Idiot. The Great Echo Spell isn't for you to cast. You're just the echo—repeating Ang's divine decrees." The Grand Sage sighed impatiently.

"Oh! I get it now." Andong suddenly understood. That's why it's called the Great Echo Spell—it echoes the Lord's divine words.

"How did you know about this?" Andong asked curiously.

The Grand Sage said: "I beat up a Pope who could cast the Great Echo Spell."

"I know who it was. This flute wasn't stolen from him, was it? I won't take something someone else's mouth has touched," Andong laughed.

The only Pope recorded as capable of the Great Echo Spell was Cosimo.

"Take it or leave it," the Grand Sage snapped, and began brawling with Andong.

After the scuffle, Andong walked toward the Black Crystal Body. The Grand Sage returned to the Witch's side.

The Witch studied the Grand Sage, then smiled: "Have you noticed how much you've changed? You've become more playful. I didn't understand why before—but now I think I do."

"Heh. Maybe everyone's just feeling more relaxed, less pressure," the Grand Sage smiled.

Andong approached Ang's physical body, clenched his fists, and muttered: "Master, I've finished here. Summon me to the new world soon. I'll spread your glory across the new world."