Chapter 181

The four of them stepped onto the intricately carved staircase and made their way up the towering stone platform. The empty, biting wind stripped away the lingering warmth of the sunlight and tossed everyone’s hair into disarray. The four stood surrounding a heavy rectangular stone table, each taking position at one of its four sides.

Pei Xi’s expression was tangled with conflicting emotions. He could never have imagined that he, who had originally intended to sabotage Wen Jian’s ritual, would now be participating in this bizarre ceremony, competing for something called 【Mother of All Things】 that he knew absolutely nothing about.

But he didn’t have a choice. Neither Ye Zheng nor Wen Jian would allow him to leave.

Across from him, Riley rested both hands on the stone table. His composed face carried a faint trace of gloom, yet there was no sign of worry.

He trusted Wen Jian. As the one carrying out the ritual, Wen Jian certainly had a method to transfer the ability to him. More importantly… at this moment, Wen Jian was the only one he could rely on.

Meanwhile, Ye Zheng kept her gaze fixed on Wen Jian standing opposite her. She watched closely as he began arranging the items laid out on the stone table.

At the center of the table sat a half-round loaf of bread, its curved form resembling a small mountain rising from the surface. Beside it were knives, a bottle of wine, a tall goblet etched with intricate patterns, a copy of the 《Divine Revelation》, and a single drop of golden blood suspended within a transparent vessel.

Wen Jian poured the red wine into the tall goblet. Holding the goblet in one hand and the 《Divine Revelation》 in the other, he slowly closed his eyes and began to chant.

“Holy Spirit descend, cleanse the unclean…”

The elderly Pope, clad in ceremonial robes, tilted the goblet, letting the dark red liquid spill over the half-round bread.

After pouring the wine, he continued chanting.

“Holy Spirit descend, cleanse the unclean…”

Ye Zheng’s brows knit together slightly. Wen Jian had begun repeating the chant.

The three people present listened as Wen Jian repeated the chant three times with his eyes closed. Only then did he finally open them, let out a sigh, and shake his head. His gaze shifted toward Pei Xi on his left.

“Child, I need your blood.”

Wen Jian handed over the small knife from the table and coaxed, “Let your blood drip onto the bread.”

Pei Xi accepted the small knife, his expression cautious, and asked, “How much blood do you need?”

“…It shouldn’t be much.”

Hearing Wen Jian’s vague reply, Pei Xi paused with the blade hovering at his wrist. Then he shifted it upward and cut his index finger instead. Blood began to fall drop by drop, slow like grains slipping through an hourglass.

In this ritual, he was the one who had the least reason to rush.

Yet aside from his anger, there was also curiosity stirring within him. What exactly could be worth Saintess Ye Zheng and Pope Wen Jian going to such painstaking lengths?

Riley watched Pei Xi deliberately stalling, and his expression darkened even further. The earlier appreciation and intention to recruit Pei Xi had already disappeared without a trace. Ye Zheng was one matter, but what right did a mere commoner from the lower district like Pei Xi have to stand here and compete with him?

He stepped forward, intending to intervene and push Pei Xi to hasten the ritual, when Wen Jian’s voice suddenly rang out with urgency.

“Holy Spirit above, we gather here in the name of the God of Hope to call upon you. May you bear witness to the inheritance of ancient power…”

The transparent vessel on the table suddenly began to tremble, producing a crisp clinking sound as it struck against the hard stone surface. The divine blood that had been quietly suspended within started to pulse violently, as though it might break free from the vessel at any moment.

“Good, good! The divine blood has already responded to the summons!”

Wen Jian set down the 《Divine Revelation》. His gray, clouded eyes fixated obsessively on the divine blood inside the vessel. Only after a long moment did he reluctantly tear his gaze away and look toward the three of them.

“The inheritance ritual can now officially begin.”

Ye Zheng’s eyes grew darker still. Riley’s expression was filled with absolute confidence in his impending victory.

On the left side of the long table, however, Pei Xi paid no attention to Wen Jian’s declaration. His gaze was nearly locked onto the divine blood. The veins on the back of his hand pulsed visibly, and his body leaned forward unconsciously, as though being drawn in by an unseen force.

Suddenly, a chill brushed against his fingertip. That cold sensation snapped his focus back.

Pei Xi lowered his head to look. The blood had already stopped flowing from his fingertip, and the wound had completely healed.

He turned his gaze toward Ye Zheng. Her attention remained fixed on Wen Jian. She narrowed her eyes slightly and voiced a new demand.

“Pope, tell us the procedure of the ritual. At this point, there’s no need to keep anything hidden.”

Wen Jian smiled. “Of course. I’ll explain it fairly to each of you.”

He held the vessel containing the divine blood with both hands and spoke slowly, “Before the ritual begins, I must tell you—the cost of inheritance.”

At that moment, Pei Xi suddenly spoke up and cut him off, planting both hands firmly on the stone table.

“Since we’re being fair, then please tell me first what 【Mother of All Things】 actually is!”

Ye Zheng cast him a sideways glance, thinking that Pei Xi had finally become a little smarter under her influence.

Wen Jian, seated at the head, let out a soft chuckle. “Ah, I nearly forgot. I do have an obligation to explain its existence.”

“【Mother of All Things】 is the Church’s greatest secret, passed down through generations of Popes.”

“After the first Pope received a revelation from the gods, foretelling the apocalypse five hundred years later, he fell into deep unease. He prayed to the gods for a method of salvation, hoping to save the empire five centuries into the future.”

The three listened with rapt attention. However, Riley asked in confusion, “Pope, please wait a moment. The prophecy states that five hundred years later, the incarnation of the God of Hope, the true God’s Chosen, will appear to save the world from destruction…”

As he spoke, Riley cast what he believed to be a subtle glance at Ye Zheng and continued, “Why would there still be a need for a method of salvation?”

“Because the prophecy of the God’s Chosen was fabricated by the empire to reassure the people.”

Ye Zheng smiled radiantly as she met Riley’s gaze, her eyes open and sincere.

Riley stiffened, then slammed his hand against the table and rose to his feet. He glared at Ye Zheng in utter disbelief, at the “God’s Chosen” upon whom all the empire’s citizens had placed their hopes.

“Then you… you…”

“That’s enough, Riley.” Wen Jian cut off the deeply shocked Riley with a stern tone. He cast a glance at Ye Zheng before continuing, “Through the first Pope’s relentless prayers, day and night, the gods were moved by his devotion and selflessness and entered into a pact with him.”

“By granting him the possibility of saving the empire five hundred years later, the SSS-class ability 【Mother of All Things】 he possessed would follow along with his will and be passed down through each generation, guiding the people five hundred years in the future to overcome the apocalypse.”

“Therefore, 【Mother of All Things】 is a great power that condenses the will of successive Popes and carries a glorious responsibility!”

Wen Jian raised his arm. At this moment, the old man’s voice rang out with an exceptional sense of righteousness and solemnity.

For a while, the vast altar sank into complete silence. Pei Xi and Riley, who had only just learned the true origin of 【Mother of All Things】, were shaken by the sheer weight of this heavy duty. Yet at this very moment, Ye Zheng let out a faint, nearly inaudible chuckle.

The will of successive Popes, was that supposed to refer to the useless and deranged Hope Project?

Ye Zheng was already far too lazy to mock that point. She questioned him sharply:

“You said this was a pact between the first Pope and the gods. Then what price did the first Pope pay to the gods?”

Hearing this question, Wen Jian finally fell silent. His expression was no longer as calm as before.

“The price is that every Pope who inherits 【Mother of All Things】 will have only twenty-five years of life after the inheritance… And their soul will never transcend, instead existing eternally alongside 【Mother of All Things】.”

“Wait, you never mentioned this cost before!”

Riley strode toward Wen Jian, grabbed his arm, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

He was only twenty years old. If he inherited this ability, it’d mean he could only live until he was forty-five!

Pei Xi’s expression also shifted, but he quickly regained his composure. He’d already seen through it, this was a game between Wen Jian and Ye Zheng. 【Mother of All Things】 could only end up with either Riley or Ye Zheng. He himself had little interest in the ability.

His gaze kept drifting involuntarily toward the vessel Wen Jian was holding. The divine blood throbbed like a cluster of golden flames.

　　In the tense atmosphere, Ye Zheng spoke up. “Enough. We already know its origin. Tell us how to inherit it, Wen Jian.”

Wen Jian pulled his arm free from Riley’s tight grip and raised the vessel containing the divine blood.

“With the divine blood as witness!”

He opened the vessel at once and set it down heavily on the stone table with a dull thud. The excited, droplet-shaped blood leaped out of the vessel, crawled across the table onto the bread soaked in wine and blood, and shifted from gold to blood-red, almost melting into the blood-colored bread.

Immediately after, Wen Jian pressed his hand onto the blood-colored bread. Before long, the bread began to swell and pulse, rising and falling like living flesh!

Wen Jian, standing at the head of the table, looked at the three people with their differing expressions and sighed. “The divine blood has built the bridge of inheritance.”

Wen Jian reached out and took the droplet-shaped divine blood from the throbbing flesh on the table. He placed it into a cup of clear water to rinse it, and once it had returned to its golden color, he placed it back into the vessel.

The divine blood, once again sealed within the vessel, continued to throb like a beating heart.

Ye Zheng withdrew her gaze from the divine blood and shifted it toward the pulsating mass of flesh on the stone table. She could tell with certainty that it was no longer bread at all, but something alive. The moment Wen Jian had pressed his hand onto it, he had already activated 【Mother of All Things】!

Ye Zheng fixed her eyes on the rising and falling mass of flesh, a trace of wonder stirring within her. It looked almost like an unformed fetus.

Even so, she couldn’t help but wonder, just how was one supposed to inherit through this mass of flesh?

She wasn’t the only one harboring this doubt.

Under the weight of the three solemn gazes, Wen Jian spoke at the right moment. “Next, 【Mother of All Things】 will leave my body. It will carry the will of the successive Popes and enter this mass of flesh.”

“It will choose one of you, devour you, and give birth to you. Don’t panic, 【Mother of All Things】 will grant new life!”

“Watch it carefully. It will respond to the true successor!”

Wen Jian’s voice grew more and more excited and unsteady. One of his hands pressed tightly against his own heart, as though the old man were trying to steady his agitated body, yet his murky and dim eyes burst with a startling brilliance at this moment.

From an angle the three of them couldn’t see, his five fingers pierced into his chest cavity, pushing through flesh and bone, and clutched his own heart!

He stared straight at Ye Zheng, who was fully focused on the mass of flesh on the table. His excitement was so overwhelming that it felt as though his body had returned to the vigorous youth of his prime.

After each Pope’s lifespan came to an end, their soul would remain alongside 【Mother of All Things】, and their will would gradually be consumed by it.

In the year he turned thirty-two, after inheriting 【Mother of All Things】, the previous Pope had lingered within his mind for about a month, guiding him like a second personality and even affecting his sanity and actions. Fortunately, that previous Pope had soon vanished.

Wen Jian had studied this phenomenon. The duration for which a will remained seemed to be connected to the remaining lifespan. The previous Pope had chosen death when he had only one month left, passing on 【Mother of All Things】, so his will had persisted within it for roughly a month.

Today wasn’t the day Wen Jian’s lifespan was meant to end. He still had one week remaining!

This meant he could control 【Mother of All Things】 and the successor for an entire week, or possibly even longer.

Because of Wen Xiaoxing, the flow of time within his body was accelerating at a rapid pace. But once he left this body, it would be as if the curse of accelerated time had come to a halt. He might even be able to preserve his consciousness for more than two years!

A manic smile spread across Wen Jian’s face. His five fingers clenched without hesitation, crushing his own heart into fragments!

From this moment onward, 【Mother of All Things】 was him, and he was 【Mother of All Things】!

At the very instant Wen Jian’s fingers tightened, Ye Zheng seemed to sense the shift and lifted her gaze, her eyes turning cold and razor-sharp.

At the same time, nearly imperceptible streams of water shot outward like nimble serpents, streaking toward both sides with deadly precision!

The will of the successive Popes? After hearing Wen Jian’s explanation, Ye Zheng had already foreseen it. Wen Jian could determine 【Mother of All Things】’s choice.

【You have injured the protagonist Pei Xi. 50 action points deducted!】

On the left side of the stone table, Pei Xi’s pupils shrank violently. His neck metalized in an instant, barely managing to halt the water stream from piercing any deeper and narrowly preserving his life.

【You have killed the supporting character Riley. 400 action points deducted!】

On the right side, Riley had kept his focus entirely on the writhing mass of flesh, never expecting Ye Zheng to strike without warning. When the water stream sliced open his throat, his consciousness was still lingering on Wen Jian’s words.

Only after he collapsed onto the table did he abruptly realize his fatal mistake. No matter the place, the inheritance game had always been a struggle to the death. That was precisely why his mother had disguised him as a girl and raised him in the lower district…

Ye Zheng didn’t spare the defeated even a single glance.

The blood-stained streams of water flowed back into her hand, then cautiously stretched out toward the violently throbbing, rapidly expanding mass of flesh.

The instant Wen Jian died, the blood mass on the table seemed to receive a fresh surge of vitality and began swelling uncontrollably. It had already engulfed the entire stone table and was still expanding at a shocking pace.

Ye Zheng understood this clearly. Wen Jian would never have chosen her.

He had gone to such lengths solely to prevent her from interfering with the inheritance ritual. The moment he proposed the so-called “fair competition,” Ye Zheng had been certain that Wen Jian believed he held an absolutely foolproof method of victory.

But sometimes, the more calculating a person was, the easier it became for them to create fatal flaws that would lead to their own downfall.

Ye Zheng’s solution was simple. Wen Jian didn’t want to hand 【Mother of All Things】 over to her?

Then she would make herself the only possible choice for 【Mother of All Things】!