Chapter 59#

His Holiness the Pope, Who Spreads the Holy Light#

When Lu Heng opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a man in resplendent robes kneeling on the ground. Across the man’s broad back, a griffin embroidered in golden thread stood out in lifelike detail. His head was bowed, his right hand placed over his heart on the left side of his chest, assuming a posture of devout reverence.

From Lu Heng’s angle, he could only see the man’s thick brown hair, but he had already more or less guessed who it was. His Majesty Sari of the Bega Empire. Given the crown in his own hands, even though he hadn’t fully sorted through his memories yet, Lu Heng knew that this was Sari’s coronation ceremony.

“The Divine Lord bestows glory upon you.” Lu Heng placed the crown upon Sari’s head, then took the scepter from the cardinal waiting beside him and gently tapped it against Sari’s left shoulder.

“The Holy Light is with the Bega Empire.” Sari lowered the upper half of his body and kissed the surface of the pope’s shoe before him.

Lu Heng wore a gentle yet lofty expression on his face, though inwardly he felt somewhat uncomfortable. In this theocratic world, kissing the pope’s shoe was considered an incomparable honor by all.

Could it be that Sari later recalled this and found it humiliating, and that’s why he had the pope killed? Lu Heng’s thoughts began to wander aimlessly. The remaining proceedings were long and tedious. The seven cardinals began chanting in unison a hymn of over ten thousand syllables. And Lu Heng, as the noble Holy Father, merely needed to sit in the exquisite, magnificent high chair and watch. This also gave him time to sort through his memories.

The time of his arrival this time around was surprisingly early. Sari had just ascended the throne, and it would still be twenty years before the pope was publicly executed on false charges. In this world, lifespan extended as the level of cultivation in combat qi and magic increased. An ordinary person’s lifespan was generally around seventy years, but upon reaching the rank of Martial Saint or Mage Saint, one’s lifespan could reach over a thousand years.

Cultivating divine arts was no different. The pope, who appeared to be a young man in his early twenties, was actually over two hundred years old. Of course, compared to the thousand-year lifespans here, the elven race with their millennia-long lives, or the dragon race with their tens of thousands of years, it was nothing remarkable.

The lengthy coronation ceremony finally drew to its end. Lu Heng rose and prepared to return to his quarters within the temple. Behind him, a cardinal carefully lifted the long papal cape. Just as he was about to step forward, he heard Sari speak from behind: “Your Holiness the Supreme Pontiff, please stay a moment.”

Lu Heng turned around and saw Sari’s appearance clearly for the first time. His Majesty Sari was a warrior who cultivated combat qi, said to have already reached the rank of Grand Swordmaster. Standing there, his presence was as imposing as a mountain, his build sturdy, his features handsome.

Seeing Lu Heng nod slightly in acknowledgment, Sari continued: “Tonight there will be a banquet held at the imperial palace. I humbly invite Your Holiness the Supreme Pontiff to grace us with your presence.”

This coronation ceremony was being held at the temple in the imperial capital, Thunderclap City. The pope did not actually spend that much time at the Holy See each year; most of the time he traveled across the continent, spreading the will of the Holy Light. It so happened that when Sari ascended the throne, the pope happened to be preaching at the temple in the imperial capital.

Wherever the Holy Father was, the coronation ceremony would take place at the nearest temple. Thus the pope issued a decree, summoning all five cardinals who were not by his side to Thunderclap City to perform the coronation ceremony for Sari.

On the surface, the relationship between the Church of Light and both the empire and the republic was fairly harmonious. After all, when preaching on foreign soil and building temples everywhere, one still needed the support of emperors or premiers. Although Lu Heng felt that attending a banquet was far less worthwhile than returning to bitter cultivation, he still had to give some face to the emperor of the empire.

“After completing the evening prayers, I will attend,” Lu Heng said.

“Your Holiness the Supreme Pontiff, I await your arrival.” Sari stepped forward and bowed slightly. “I’ve heard from Lord Randall that even in your exalted position, you never miss the morning and evening prayers. Your spirit of such arduous cultivation is truly a model for all of us.”

After a back-and-forth exchange of pleasantries, Lu Heng finally managed to free himself from His Majesty Sari and returned to the rear hall of the temple. After bathing and changing into casual attire, Lu Heng went to the temple to pray.

Two cardinals stood guard outside the temple doors. When the pope performed the evening prayers, he never allowed anyone to attend him—it had become established custom.

Before him stood the towering statue of the God of Light, holding a scepter, his eyes half-closed, long curly hair cascading over his shoulders, his expression one of boundless compassion for all living beings.

The evening prayers were a daily necessity for every fervent adherent of the Church of Light. As the last sliver of light each day was about to vanish from this world, the faithful would prostrate themselves on the ground in the most devout posture, giving thanks for the light that the gods had granted the continent that day, and praying for the light of the next day to descend.

As the servant of the God of Light and master of all the faithful, Lu Heng should at this moment have been prostrated at the feet of the God of Light’s statue, kissing the surface of the statue’s feet in the most humble posture. Then he would press his forehead against it, and chant a long hymn in elaborate and ornate tones to begin the evening prayers.

But at this moment, Lu Heng simply folded his hands inside the wide sleeves of his priestly robe and looked up at the statue of the God of Light. The instant he beheld the statue, a flood of information surged into his mind.

Perhaps it was the instinct of this body, but Lu Heng murmured softly.

“My Lord.”

Rather than calling this a daily communion between the pope and the statue of the God of Light, it was more like questioning himself.

“What does light truly mean? From the very beginning of creation, light and shadow have coexisted. If you take compassion upon all beings, why then do the people of this world engage in endless strife, with every kind of evil running rampant? If light endures forever, my Lord—why then did you fall!”

This was the greatest lie of the Church of Light. Hundreds of years ago, the gods had already perished.

The Divine Realm had long since collapsed.

Hundreds of years ago, a plague swept across the entire continent. Be it the human race, the elves, or the evil and heretical beast race—all had inexplicably and suddenly declined, with no cure to be found. After that plague, the living creatures on the continent had been reduced by half.

At that time, the pope of the Church of Light had learned the truth through a divine oracle sent down by the God of Light. The War of the Gods—that strange plague had been caused by the gods extracting the life force of their believers to replenish their divine power. The ultimate outcome of the war was the fall of the gods and the destruction of the Divine Realm.

Lu Heng closed his eyes briefly and withdrew from the vast torrent of information. He moved behind the statue and pressed the ring on his middle finger into an indentation. The statue that had appeared seamless opened a square opening about a foot wide. Lu Heng reached in and felt around, then drew out an object.

What Lu Heng held in his hand was, remarkably, a statue. With its gentle facial contours and slightly upturned eyes, it was unmistakably a statue of himself—or rather, of the pope.

Behind every statue of the God of Light in every temple across the continent, there existed such a mechanism. This was a secret within the Church of Light that, over the past thousand years, only the pope and the extremely close cardinals by his side had known.

The God of Light had fallen. Without the Holy Light bestowed by the God of Light, where did the pope and the faithful derive their divine power of light? This was the arrangement made by the pope—who had received the last divine oracle before the God of Light’s fall, and who was also Lu Heng’s godfather—to sustain the Church of Light.

Inside the statue of the God of Light, a statue of the pope, carved using divine power, was placed. In this way, when the faithful prayed, the power of faith could be gathered. The pope would then convert this power of faith into Holy Light power, and through the statue, disseminate it among the believers.

This would later become one of the charges upon which Joseph VI Belgaolio was ultimately executed: falsely claiming to act in the name of the gods, deceiving the people and stealing their power of faith.

After taking out the statue, Lu Heng clasped his hands together before his chest and converted the power of faith recently gathered from the various temples into Holy Light.

Within the inner city of Thunderclap City, inside the imperial palace.

Today was the day of the new emperor’s ascension, and all the notable nobles of the Bega Empire had gathered in this banquet hall. Being able to attend this banquet was the highest honor for any noble. It was said that the Holy Father himself would also be making an appearance at this banquet.

In a secluded corner of the hall, a beautiful young woman with golden hair kept glancing toward the main entrance. She appeared to be only a teenager in age, yet her aura was serene and gentle.

“Your Highness, His Majesty said he would invite the Holy Father here, and he certainly will. When has His Majesty ever lied to you?” a maid in attendants’ dress beside her soothed.

“Even though my brother said so, I’m still very nervous. That is the Holy Father whom I admire most of all. If only I could exchange a few words with him this time, it would be wonderful.”

This young woman was the younger sister of Emperor Sari of the empire—Princess Windsor. Princess Windsor had a pure heart, and since childhood she had cultivated the divine power of light, a fervent devotee of the Church of Light. The thing she desired most in the world was to meet the Holy Father. If she could receive even a few words of guidance from him, that would be even better. However, she was merely a novice priestess, and seeing the pope was practically impossible.

Suddenly, the banquet hall fell silent. The crowd parted to clear the central aisle. One glance told Princess Windsor that the Holy Father had arrived. For once, she showed something of the manner of a youthful maiden, lifting her skirt hem and taking small, excited steps toward him.

“Your Highness, be careful—don’t fall!” the maid called after her. Although Princess Windsor only practiced divine arts of light, her constitution was still far stronger than that of an ordinary person, and the maid simply couldn’t keep up with her.

Lu Heng was exchanging pleasantries with Sari when he suddenly heard some commotion behind him. He turned to see a young woman in resplendent robes jogging toward him.

The young woman came to a stop just before Lu Heng, tilted her head back slightly, and gazed up at him with a look of devout reverence.

“Windsor.” Seeing his sister appear dazed, Sari gave a gentle cough.

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Recovering her composure, Princess Windsor quickly performed a bow. “Your Holiness the Supreme Pontiff.”

Princess Windsor performed the rite of the faithful before Lu Heng.

“The Holy Light is with you.” Lu Heng reached out and gently placed his hand on top of her head—this was the gesture of blessing from the Holy Father of the Church of Light to his devotees.

Having received the pope’s blessing, Princess Windsor was so excited that her fair cheeks flushed red.

“This is my sister, Windsor. She is a devoted believer of the Church of Light. She was baptized at the age of eight, and is now a novice priestess.” Sari introduced her to Lu Heng at just the right moment.

The young woman before him was suffused with gentle Holy Light power throughout—clearly, a devout believer with a pure heart.

Lu Heng nodded, and was about to offer a few words of guidance to the young woman who was looking at him with such admiration, when he noticed the crowd suddenly grow frantic.

The captain of the imperial guards rushed over in a panic: “Your M-Majesty! A dragon—it’s a dragon!”