Chapter 360: Win-win means I win twice

Ah, you like to kneel, huh? Consider it done!

Ji Ming wasn't in a hurry; instead, he thoughtfully let this group of believers fully display their loyalty and sincerity.

He stood there without reaction until they felt their bodies could barely hold on, then he raised his hand.

"Please, there's no need for extra courtesy; everyone, please rise."

"Ah, ah..."

Amidst hardship and imminent collapse, he spoke loudly.

"You must all be wondering why, though I am clearly the Holy Light Divine Chosen and closely related to the Lord of All Beings, and previously I fiercely provoked your church, I would now be a genuine Shadow Divine Chosen, right?"

"... Huh?"

The shadow believers, already confused beyond measure, didn't have the curiosity Ji Ming expected; instead, they froze, pondering what that long string of words meant.

Only after a full five seconds did their sluggish brains finish processing the information, and then the eager voice surged in like a tidal wave.

"We want to! We really want to! But we want to!"

"Hmm, I knew you were all loyal subjects and capable generals of my teaching!"

Facing the crowd's doubts, Ji Ming, his words full of relief, gave the explanation he had long prepared.

But now, under the gaze of all, even a steady crosstalk performer ought to pull off a stand‑up‑comedy‑level stunt, so he opened his mouth with a line.

"Do you really think that, so brazen as to provoke the Divine Lord's cunning evildoers, you could leave Sunlight City unscathed?"

Worried that this sentence wouldn't revive the weakening atmosphere, Ji Ming added another sharp question.

"Are you doubting the Divine Lord's power?!"

Having said that much, the believers had no time to think and could only shout in unison,

"No!"

"Shadow is my father!"

"The Divine Lord's wisdom is infinite!"

But aside from the stirred‑up blind faithful, the crowd was not lacking in smart people.

They pondered briefly, guessing that the so‑called Shadow Divine Chosen daring to say this meant the next line would likely be an ultimate shocking bombshell that could rock their mother for a whole year.

Sure enough, as the raging storm finally eased, the Black Shadow figure swept his arm and spoke loudly.

"Actually, 'Ji Ming' was long ago assassinated by the Divine Lord's hidden hand! I took his place! I am the great Shadow Divine Chosen! The Divine Lord planted a poisonous thorn in the Holy Light Heresy!"

Ah?

No, your outrageous theory…… can't be that outrageous…… this…… is too much, uh……

Believers have lives too; their frail bodies can't withstand Ji Ming playing like this.

In an instant, screams and shrieks erupted, countless were stunned, and some even fainted dead on the spot, unconscious.

Finally, the concealed archbishop stepped forward, using a wide‑range soothing magic to calm the scene.

He then went to Black Shadow's side, released a seal that blocked sound and detection around the two, and only after ensuring safety did he speak cautiously.

"Divine Chosen Lord, do you mean that the so‑called Ji Ming is actually long dead, and you have been disguising yourself as him under the Divine Lord's arrangement?"

Black Shadow gave a slight nod.

"Not bad."

"Good heavens, I actually didn't know this was such an important matter……"

The Archbishop, feeling as if his heart were being cut by a knife, still couldn't hold back; after a moment of anguish he continued speaking.

"Sorry, Divine Chosen Lord, today's incident is our fault—we failed to contact our superiors in time and didn't know there was such an important personnel change, but now that you're here we will surely cooperate fully!"

Black Shadow nodded again upon hearing this, and his attitude softened considerably.

"Hmm, I trust your ability and loyalty; this is also why I'm willing to play along and come here to meet you face‑to‑face."

"But……"

However, the Archbishop who had just openly offered goodwill suddenly shifted his tone.

"I hope you understand—this is a major matter; we can't take just one side's word. I will quickly, no, I will immediately contact the Divine Lord! Only after confirming your identity is genuine will we begin cooperation—does that work for you?"

Although this speech almost maxed out the Archbishop's emotional intelligence, there's no doubt that, having operated in the Hui Guang Kingdom for years and experienced many events, he clearly did not fully believe Ji Ming's explanation.

Thus, in a silent smile, the tension between them rose again.

If this were a film or TV show, the background music would already be incredibly urgent, as if the next second would set everything ablaze.

But in the end they still didn't come to blows; Black Shadow shook his head and let out a wry laugh.

"Archbishop, do you think you don't know of my existence because the Divine Lord doesn't trust you?"

"Let me tell you, this is an absolute secret mission! It concerns the Divine Lord's conflict and essence; anyone drawn into it could face mortal danger!"

"Especially now that it has just begun, even the slightest mistake could cause us to lose everything, so the Divine Lord told only me about this."

"And when He ordered me to do this, He told me that when I eventually go to the Hui Guang Kingdom, I should first come to the Wind Shadow Territory to find you; the Concealed Archbishop possesses absolute loyalty and wisdom, is a secret agent He planted in advance, so that one day this plan can be carried out smoothly!"

Having said that, Black Shadow's tone shifted from helpless to questioning.

"Concealed Archbishop, you should be clear about the Divine Lord's trust in you, right?"

If anyone else dared to speak to the Archbishop like that, he would surely have slapped them.

But since every word they utter is tied to the Divine Lord, it's like chain after chain locked onto him, leaving him only able to stammer.

"Exactly, it's because the Divine Lord trusts me that He should have told me this—why……"

"Stupid!"

However, Black Shadow still wasn't satisfied; he again interrupted the Archbishop's spell and violently seized the right to speak.

"Don't you get it? The Divine Lord didn't inform you to protect you! Even when I speak with Him face‑to‑face, I set up layers of shielding before daring to speak!"

Saying this, Black Shadow grabbed the Archbishop's wrist and, as if fearing something, pointed at the ceiling.

"Three feet above your head there is a deity; my lord has already provoked the Holy Light God, who has long cast down a gaze full of wrath!"

Floating at the edge of the Sky Island, looking at the scenery, upon hearing the words he turned back and glanced at the old sun on the semi-transparent screen. jpg

Ahhhhhhh!

If he weren't being held right now, the Archbishop would have been scared so much he'd jump three feet high, and his speech would become incoherent.

He... he... he... He found me!?

……

Eh?

Saying that, he really seems to have noticed—after all, there are only three viewers in my livestream right now. Aside from Yangyue Will and Earth Mother, the remaining little one is Him.

But Ji Ming also feared his tactical intimidation might scare the Hidden Archbishop to death on the spot, so he didn't dare tell him that cruel fact, instead quickly stuffing him a sweet date.

Yes! But He isn't here!

Heiying's speech began to speed up.

Archbishop Sir, although you say you're a very important member of our church internally, we haven't yet officially stepped onto the world stage, so you may not know much about the deity.

But in order to play the role of Holy Light Divine Chosen well, with the help of Lord Shadow I've crammed a lot of related knowledge; as a mortal, you must remember the following points!

First, the deity is inscrutable; any misunderstanding could only bring retribution upon mortals.

Second, the deity must not be provoked; the difference in transcendent life forms is a chasm mortals cannot cross.

Third, the deity must not be insulted; He can hear, they can hear, but out of mercy They pretend not to.

And most importantly, the deity must not be gazed upon directly!

【Uh……】

【Savior, excuse me, I just realized that aside from the last point, you've done the other points several times on the Wendigo, not just once or twice.】

He... What a joke, what level is He to go toe-to-toe with me? Besides, I'm a High God masquerading as a mortal; the premises differ, so your reasoning doesn't hold.

This theory was obviously made up on the spot by Ji Ming; the deity isn't that formidable—basically, They're just a company CEO gradually climbing up the organization.

No amount of gilding can change that essence.

After all……

Yo, now you all sit there prim and proper, shouting five and six? Back when the God Slayers came knocking with knives, didn't you all kneel without hesitation?

But the Hidden Archbishop, an honest-to-goodness Heretic Cult Leader, is solely focused on doing evil—how could he possibly know this?

So he's been thoroughly convinced by Ji Ming's lies and threats, chanting these four iron laws over and over like an elementary school student in language class, wishing he could carve them straight into his forehead.

After mumbling the scripture for a while like that, he finally lifted his head.

So……

So the fewer people who know about this, the better! And we absolutely cannot use remote channels, especially the special communication magic that would involve the deity's true form.

After a brief pause, Heiying emphasized his pronunciation.

Remember! As long as we communicate, the Holy Light God will surely find us! Lose, we just lose outright!

Really... really that terrifying?

Exactly that terrifying!!!

After all that talk, Ji Ming was actually just trying to probe whether the Archbishop had direct contact with the Holy See, and looking for a way to ban it.

After all, even if his lies were wildly successful, using the Nine Truths to cover a falsehood and making the setting and logic seamless, he still couldn't withstand even a single reckoning from them.

But he doesn't think there's a lie in this world that could last forever, so as long as it persists a while longer, letting him gain more benefits from the Shadow Church is enough.

And the Chief Archbishop sighed, then after spreading his arms and drawing a circle, he clasped his hands together.

Ah, I see—so this is the wisdom of the Lord Deity? Your ignorant flock has once again realized its insignificance!

Heiying reached out and patted his shoulder, comforting him.

Don't sell yourself short—you remain an important pillar for the Lord Deity!

Now that we've said all this, Ji Ming thought his deception should have been a complete success.

But he had already been thinking, after gaining the Shadow Church's support, what dirty work he could have them do, when he heard the Archbishop ask another question.

"Divine Chosen, you just said these matters are all top secret, right?"

"Yes…… uh, no!"

Ji Ming instinctively expressed agreement, but suddenly realized he had misspoken.

"There really are a bit too many people here…… but don't worry! We can afford this price—I'll make sure they all stay silent forever!"

Good heavens, are you being a bit too extreme?

The congregation present numbered not a thousand but several hundred, and their ranks were not bad; with proper command, they could easily overthrow a viscount's or even a count's fief.

To understand that Ji Ming painstakingly told such a big lie is to realize he felt his influence in the kingdom was rather thin.

Although he could direct the players, he could only have them do good deeds.

As for bad deeds, they should still be left to professionals to handle.

—So if you kill everyone who helps me do the dirty work, what point is there for me to have come all this way to deceive you?

Ji Ming hurriedly stopped his crazy behavior and advised.

"Archbishop, they're all our dear brothers—how can we cruelly kill them just because of our mistake?"

If the Archbishop's wit were still intact and he hadn't been addled by Ji Ming's deception, he should right now retort, "Isn't this all your fault?!?"

But now he has been afflicted with a wit‑draining aura, so he never even considered that, merely gripping his scepter with whitened knuckles.

"Your mercy and benevolence leave a deep impression, Divine Chosen, but as you said, this matter is of utmost importance—we absolutely cannot be soft‑hearted!"

"Stay calm, the Almighty naturally considered this as well and has taught me a way to deal with it!"

The Archbishop himself has been so sincere, calling all the capable Shadow cultists from the surrounding dioceses here—how could Ji Ming let them off?

"Please bear in mind, since shadows can conceal our forms and muffle our voices, they can naturally also shroud our uneasy hearts."

Please remember, since shadows can conceal our bodies, can mask our voices, naturally they can also cover our uneasy hearts.

Now, give me everything.

Now, hand everything over to me.

That day, nearly all the senior leaders of the Radiant Kingdom diocese under the Shadow Church were wiped out, having all been hypnotized by the Holy Light Divine Selection at the covert archbishop's command.

On that day, almost all the high-ranking officials of the Hui Guang Kingdom diocese belonging to the Shadow Church were wiped out, and they all received the hypnosis of the Holy Light Divine Selection under the orders of the Hidden Archbishop.

On the surface, it looks like they merely had tonight's memories deleted and replaced with a passionate sermon by the archbishop, but in fact...

On the surface, it seemed they had merely had tonight's memories deleted and replaced with a passionate lecture by the Archbishop, but in fact……

If making is worse than buying, and buying is worse than renting, then Ji Ming must add 'renting is worse than borrowing' to the saying.

If making is inferior to buying, and buying is inferior to renting, then Ji Ming must add a 'renting is inferior to borrowing' after that.

The jungle has an intelligence network; if I borrow it and make it mine, then I'll have two more intelligence networks than they do.

The Deep Forest has an information network; I will borrow it and make it mine, and with this loss and that gain, I will have two more information networks than the other side.

Shadow has a violent division; if I borrow it and make it mine, then I'll have two more violent divisions than they do.

Shadow has a violent department; I will borrow it and make it mine, and with this loss and that gain, I will have two more violent departments than the other side.

This is a win‑win—I win twice!

This is a win-win—I win twice!