“Our Lord, the God of Redemption, You who were born from chaos, are the guide of light, the place to which our souls belong…”
“Your Word shall accomplish eternity in the future!”
“Your Kingdom shall be our place of rest!”
…
Inside a grand hall in the city of Caspar.
Over a hundred believers gathered together, praying aloud. Leading them was Wu Ming, dressed in a white priest’s robe, with Lina and Carter behind him, both wearing expressions of deep devotion.
After successfully recruiting Carter, Wu Ming’s “Church of Redemption” officially opened for business.
Wu Ming himself arrogantly proclaimed the title of “Pope”—undoubtedly the deity’s representative on earth and the supreme authority of the Church.
Lina and Carter were each given the title of apprentice priest and began recruiting new members.
In this area, Lina had a slight advantage because she had frequently participated in religious activities before. Carter, on the other hand, excelled at organization and management. For instance, this temporary religious venue was arranged by him contacting the landlord, after which Wu Ming stepped in to rent it.
“It’s just that… most of the people Lina recruited were former peripheral followers of the God of Suffering…”
At this moment, the holy and solemn Pope Steven (Wu Ming) was internally grumbling quite a bit: “Essentially… half of my current church members were once cultists?”
For now, it was necessary to develop discreetly. Except in front of core members, Wu Ming had no intention of displaying miracles or divine powers on a large scale.
Therefore, at the beginning of their proselytizing efforts, aside from Lina’s recruitment, they could only choose to invest money—distributing flyers, offering free holy water and communion meals to attract people, and then gradually drawing them in.
After presiding over a ceremony, the believers began sharing the free communion meal. Wu Ming provided white bread and fried bacon, which was quite a decent meal. Recently, quite a few “pseudo-believers” had come merely to get a free meal.
Meanwhile, he himself was receiving several key members of the Church inside the Church’s office.
“Your Holiness!”
These individuals had all witnessed actual “divine magic” and thus possessed a high level of faith—thanks to the Master God Space, Wu Ming could accurately judge their devotion based on the amount of spiritual energy they contributed.
“The Church’s development has been going quite well recently. Lina, your efforts have been seen by our Lord!”
Wu Ming looked toward Lina, who seemed to have grown significantly younger, appearing to be only around twenty years old, and nodded with a smile.
Undeniably, although most of the people Lina recruited were former cultists, their spiritual power was genuine. Emotions like obsession and madness could also generate enormous spiritual energy.
“It is my honor to work for spreading the glory of our Lord!”
Lina now looked almost like a fanatic believer. After receiving the grace of the “God of Redemption,” her faith had become unshakably firm.
It’s said that everyone has spiritual energy, much of which dissipates every day through random thoughts.
Wu Ming collected this faith, accumulating this spiritual energy, and provided feedback and blessings to the devout believers.
Spiritual energy cannot directly affect matter, but after being transformed through the Master God Space, it can.
As a result, true believers would gradually find their spirits becoming more vigorous and their physical strength increasing, making it easier for them to succeed in life and work, which in turn would strengthen their faith.
Of course, for several individuals like Lina, whom Wu Ming intended to cultivate into priests and priestesses, the return rate of this spiritual energy was significantly increased.
Especially for Lina, her transformation was almost visible to the naked eye, serving as tangible proof of divine power.
“Your Holiness!”
When Carter called this title, his expression was still somewhat unnatural.
After all, his former junior classmate had suddenly risen to become his superior, which felt quite strange.
However, after witnessing the power of divine magic and personally experiencing the effects of “divine power,” he dared not harbor any other thoughts.
“I’ve obtained the city’s permit for proselytizing, but the authorities remain quite vigilant toward us, imposing numerous restrictions!”
He explained his difficulties to Wu Ming: “Moreover, due to the popularity of radio and science, the citizens view us as if we were frauds…”
Wu Ming nodded; this was within his expectations.
The development of science had gradually weakened traditional religions; what chance did a new religion have?
Unless they displayed “miracles” on a large scale and passed scientific scrutiny… but that would be tantamount to seeking death.
Although a true god could develop gradually, Wu Ming could not afford to wait such a long time.
Speaking of which, the current development of the Church of Redemption was largely due to Lina’s support and hard work.
“Since most people don’t believe in gods, we should start from those who already do…”
Wu Ming glanced at Lina and got an idea: “There isn’t only the God of Suffering among the cults in the Kingdom of Golden Oak. How about we recruit from those groups?”
This was a last-resort measure. In the face of a shortage of quality believers, even former cultists would have to be accepted. After all, with proper management, they might end up being more devout than ordinary people, providing even more spiritual energy.
“The development of the Church cannot proceed without official support! Here’s what we’ll do!”
Wu Ming tapped the table: “Carter, you go and bribe some officials, and tell them we are willing to investigate and eliminate internal cult problems in the city and take over the task of saving those loosely affiliated believers!”
A bunch of minor religious sects, especially ones like Redwin’s God of Suffering, were indeed quite a headache for the Kingdom’s Religious Affairs Office.
Wu Ming intended to align himself with the authorities, aiming to eliminate all cults within the territory while simultaneously taking over their territories and forces to rapidly develop the Church.
After dealing with the core members, handling the remaining loosely affiliated believers was a major hassle that others would avoid like the plague, but the Church of Redemption was perfectly positioned to take them in.
Wu Ming spoke in a very mystical tone: “Rescuing those poor cultists from the hands of false gods—that is the path and mercy of our Lord!”
“Praise be to the great God of Redemption!”
Lina was the first to express her support after hearing this, moved to tears—she was certainly someone who could deeply relate to this.
Carter, on the other hand, thought of more practical aspects.
Cult leaders like Redwin were highly vigilant, and their members were brainwashed, making it difficult for the police to find clues or evidence of their activities.
However, the Church of Redemption, being part of the religious community, was well-versed in such matters and was thus particularly suited to this kind of work.
“This way, we can strike potential competitors, develop the Church at the same time, and gain the favor of the Kingdom… indeed, a good idea!”
Carter nodded repeatedly.
He deeply understood that with the current strength of the Church of Redemption, challenging established religions was definitely unrealistic. The only viable path was to seize believers and territory from other cults.
If they could gain the support of the Kingdom, their chances would be even better.
As for whether the Kingdom would agree?
Carter, having read the Church doctrines compiled by Wu Ming, didn’t even consider this an issue. After all, the content was simply too gloriously righteous. As Wu Ming had said, the God of Redemption required only faith; everything else in the mortal world was insignificant.
Such a requirement was quite rare even among major religions.
“Bob!”
After reaching a consensus, Wu Ming immediately called out one person’s name.
“Your Holiness, please give your orders!”
This man named Bob was over two meters tall, a muscular man like a black bear, with a beard on his face like steel needles, someone who naturally inspired awe at first glance.
He was a “talent” personally discovered by Wu Ming among the believers! Not only did he have a high level of faith, but his combat ability was also quite impressive, and he was even a retired military instructor from the Kingdom’s army.
After Wu Ming once displayed divine magic, Bob became completely devoted. By peering into Bob’s heart through the Master God Space, Wu Ming learned his deepest wish: “Wishing to resurrect his beloved daughter? Another greedy one…”
Resurrection was not only a tremendous challenge for the secular world but also a challenge to the basic rules of the world. Before the Master God Space could develop to the point of breaking the cycle of reincarnation, Wu Ming didn’t even consider such matters.
As for Bob, after joining the Church, he clung to it like a final lifeline and refused to let go.
“To fight against other false gods’ churches, we should also establish our Holy Warrior Order…”
Wu Ming pointed at Bob: “You go and select ten adult male believers to train them. As for the name, let’s call it the ‘Punishment Corps.’ I will provide the venue and equipment, and our Lord will bestow blessings!”
The so-called “blessings” referred to the high proportion of spiritual energy returned daily, which was rumored among the believers as “divine power.” Bob had personally experienced its effects.
At the very least, since believing in the God of Redemption, the old injuries he had accumulated during his long military career had become much less burdensome. His body no longer felt like the broken-down machine it had been before, as if it might fall apart with any movement.
“I will definitely train them into qualified warriors!”
Bob puffed out his chest and promised loudly.
In his heart, Wu Ming couldn’t help but indulge in a bit of dark humor, wondering whether this Punishment Warrior Corps would eventually evolve into something like the infamous Inquisition of his past life.
Inside the Master God Space.
Wu Ming immersed his consciousness within, and a luminous screen immediately appeared:
[Master God Space]
[Controlled Areas: AI Zone, Divine Realm Zone, Unnamed Zone]
[Number of Petitioners: 3,367]
[Spiritual Energy Reserves: 200,892 units]
…
Seeing these figures, he was immediately very satisfied.
“Indeed, the spiritual energy provided by the living far surpasses that of the undead. This is still just with the current small church. Once it develops worldwide…”
Wu Ming couldn’t help but feel excited. The abundance of spiritual energy in this world was clearly exceeding his expectations.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage