“Your Holiness!”
“His Holiness Pope Steven has returned!”
The believers present burst into cheers, some immediately kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly: “Oh God… I have sinned, I shouldn’t have believed in that heretic Jay’s temptation!”
Having experienced the apocalypse and ten years of religious indoctrination, these believers were, without a doubt, extremely devout.
Especially after Wu Ming, the divinely recognized first Pope, descended and displayed the power of divine punishment, all the bishops, except for a few staunch loyalists of Jay and Gandalf, almost prostrated themselves completely before Pope Steven to express their submission.
In a single night, the entire church had changed hands.
“What a… lively night indeed!”
At the headquarters of the Church of Redemption, Wu Ming pulled open the curtains and immediately saw the devout believers gathered outside.
“All of this is due to Your Holiness’s glory!”
Robin, now wearing brand new silver armor and a white cape, spoke with a tone full of reverence.
“Perhaps…”
Wu Ming was well aware that among the believers outside, there were certainly those who had come for the legendary divine realm—Eden.
After all, after ten years of living, anyone could tell that the planet had already become a hell.
Naturally, everyone wanted to leave for a safe and prosperous place. When the church relocated before, countless believers regretted bitterly, so this time they definitely wouldn’t miss the opportunity.
Anyway, no matter where they went, it couldn’t be worse than their current situation.
“And you, Evan?”
Wu Ming looked at the page beside him, the still somewhat shaken rookie paladin Evan: “You really want to go to God’s kingdom with your family, right? Now, do you still stick to your idea?”
Evan was almost ready to answer affirmatively.
What did this wasteland have? Barren land, ubiquitous pollution, harsh climate, and savage mutated beasts.
Even for psychics, life in the camps was precarious, only slightly better than that of ordinary new humans, and vastly inferior compared to the pre-apocalyptic days.
“Your Holiness…”
Evan spoke, his voice dry: “This land is indeed filled with sorrow and pain, but no matter what, it’s my homeland…”
For other adults, the cities before the apocalypse were their homelands, but Evan was merely an infant back then, with hardly any memories.
In contrast, the post-apocalyptic wasteland was where he had grown up and spent his childhood.
Now, when an opportunity to escape this purgatory was presented before him, Evan hesitated: “This place not only has my family, but also my friends… I believe this world will gradually become better.”
“Excellent!”
Wu Ming nodded, smiling: “Believing in the true God and redeeming oneself, Evan, I’m very pleased with your thoughts. I wonder if you’d be willing to stay and strive for a great cause?”
“What cause?”
Evan, having just finished speaking and feeling somewhat nervous, saw Wu Ming encouragingly looking at him and couldn’t help but ask.
“Redeeming this world!”
Wu Ming’s voice was solemn: “Yes! Although this planet is now riddled with wounds, you’ve all underestimated its adaptability. Life always finds its own way. By now, a new ecosystem has basically been established, it just needs a period of integration and adaptation!”
“And now, I entrust you with the seed of the new world!”
He smiled and handed Evan a golden seed.
“Huh?”
As soon as the golden seed touched Evan’s skin, it melted and entered his body. Evan screamed: “Oh no, Your Holiness… it… it’s gone!”
“Cough… cough…”
Robin finally couldn’t stand it any longer and sternly coughed: “Evan, this is a divine seed. Close your eyes and meditate, can you sense something new in your mind?”
“Yes!”
Evan complied, closing his eyes and murmuring: “I seem to have gained a divine spell, and it’s permanent, called ‘Environmental Modification’!”
“Exactly! This is the fruit of my travels across the entire world. I have offered this divine spell template to my Lord. From today onwards, all priests of Redemption will possess this divine spell, and its effect is to transform a certain area, making the soil fertile again and suppressing pollution…”
This spell template originated from the priest’s “Endure Elements,” but Wu Ming had slightly altered its concept.
He had long discovered that although this world was gradually changing, many subtle aspects still remained discordant, which was the cost and growing pain of its evolution.
The divine spell he had developed was specifically for this situation, helping the entire ecosystem better adapt to the new changes.
Moreover, this was not about completely eliminating the influence of the supernatural and nuclear pollution, but rather reducing their harm to a minimum, without altering the world’s path or nature.
“In the future, let’s have a hundred thousand priests green and redeem the entire world… why does this sound a bit like druidism…”
Wu Ming wore a sacred expression, while silently making a mental comment.
“Environmental Modification?”
Both Robin and Evan showed surprise on their faces, which soon turned into joy.
“Your Holiness…”
Even Robin’s voice now trembled slightly: “You… you mean… is there still a possibility for our planet to recover to its former state?”
“Returning to its former state is impossible, but at the very least, making most parts of the continents suitable for human habitation and animal reproduction is certainly achievable!”
Wu Ming nodded.
“How magnificent…”
Evan wiped his eyes, his eyes red: “So that’s why Your Holiness traveled the world before—it was for this great undertaking!”
“Yes, compared to the well-being of all humanity and the planet, a mere church is nothing!”
Wu Ming spoke with a calm tone, but at this moment, Robin and Evan’s eyes were filled solely with pure admiration.
“Do you all understand?”
Wu Ming spoke solemnly: “Although the God of Redemption loves every one of His believers, He is not a nursemaid. Ultimately, a happy life must be earned through the hard work of the believers’ own hands.”
“God has already given you the entire world; what comes next is up to you!”
Wu Ming patted Robin on the shoulder: “Starting tomorrow, Robin, you will be the new Pope!”
“What?”
Robin was stunned by this news: “Your Holiness, what did you say?”
“Ha ha… My era has already passed. Now, the world belongs to you young people!”
Wu Ming looked at Evan, speaking with heartfelt sincerity.
Since the Core Space no longer required much faith power, he was also unwilling to get involved in such troubles.
Moreover, after accomplishing what he had just done, he had already sensed a tremendous change beginning to unfold in the world.
“The Force is surging, all because of something not yet implemented. It seems this step was indeed the right one!”
Wu Ming mused silently, glancing again at Evan and Robin: “Besides, these two are the protagonists of this era, generating the greatest impact…”
…
The next day, after crowning Robin in front of many believers and announcing his new position as Pope, Wu Ming, despite the church’s senior leaders’ desperate attempts to persuade him to stay, left without hesitation.
Once Robin took power, he would certainly reform church doctrine and purge Jay’s former allies.
Such matters could be intervened by a Pope but not by a god, after all, original sin and religious reformation were all issues of doctrinal disagreement.
The position of a deity should remain high above, acting as an arbiter overseeing the entire scene, granting glory only to the victor in the end.
Getting personally involved? That would mean losing from the very beginning.
…
After leaving Kaspar Camp, Wu Ming’s figure instantly vanished, reappearing high in the sky.
He soared higher and higher, suddenly breaking through the atmosphere and reaching the outer universe, where countless stars formed the shimmering Milky Way, filled with a sense of solitude, with only the planet beneath him still brimming with life.
Numerous mysterious forces and radiation beams filled the surroundings; without the protection of the Core Space, even an immortal would struggle to survive for long.
Yet at this moment, an inexplicable transformation was taking place on the planet.
Wu Ming stood amidst the cosmic river of stars, his eyes seemingly seeing once again the vast cycle of reincarnation and the crimson flood that protected the entire sub-universe.
“The world’s evolution… has begun!”
Everything before had been the world’s will preparing for a restart and evolution. Wu Ming’s previous actions had finally completed the last missing piece.
Now, the world’s ascension was unstoppable.
“I can see… the world of the future…”
Wu Ming reached out with both hands, and countless fragments of light and shadow, spanning past and future, gathered before his eyes.
“In the future world, psychics and steam power will merge, and the supernatural will become the elite class… in forty years, this will appear on this planet…”
The Core Space roared, with threads of the world’s primal energy descending, continuously enhancing its power.
After all, Wu Ming’s role in this world’s ascension had been immense, especially his final Redemption Plan. Without it, the world might have taken centuries to adapt to each other, but now the progress had been greatly accelerated.
Just this one point was a great contribution to the world, and the rewards were well deserved.
At this point, the primal energy of the world was no longer what Wu Ming valued most.
What delighted him the most was that during the world’s ascension, he gained insight and understood the mysteries of the Da Luo.
“Da Luo is unique, bearing a singular and unique mark across past, present, and future! Precisely because of this, when advancing towards Da Luo, one must achieve completeness, uniting everything into one!”
The path of Da Luo is a universal position, permeating all universes. Past, present, and future naturally cannot tolerate division.
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