Chapter 1 Don't Kneel

"Don't kneel."

Meng Xizhou's voice echoed through Guang Ming City, and also in the minds of every transcendent watching the image.

The newly born sun that tore through the long night hung high above the city, its radiant glow evenly distributed on every believer of the Guang Ming Church.

Those kneeling on the ground simply raised their heads and looked at the sun before them.

They did not get up.

So Meng Xizhou said it a second time.

"Kneeling is forbidden."

This time, she changed one word... but the effect was many times better. The believers kneeling on the ground looked troubled, and then stood up one by one.

They had dedicated their lives to the Light.

If the Light advised them not to kneel, they would still kneel.

But if they were ordered not to kneel.

Then they could only stand.

The elders of the temple watched the brilliant and dazzling glow. Meng Xizhou had only taken a very small number of high-ranking officials with her on this northward voyage of the cloud ship fleet.

As for the temple elders, only Batu was taken.

Having just experienced the Red Lake Incident, the Guang Ming City was now lacking in foundation. If they rashly took away more high-ranking officials, they would be completely overturned if they encountered an accident in the [Old World]... So most of the elders, as well as the quasi-elders, were waiting in Guang Ming City for news from beyond the Great Wall.

They knew.

Just a short time ago, a pillar of light shot out from Red Lake, and the aura of this pillar of light was very astonishing.

Although there was a thick fog covering it, those sensitive high-level transcendents still noticed the abnormality...

The Goddess leading the fleet north was likely just a "smokescreen." Perhaps the real goal of the Guang Ming City fleet this time was to help the Divine Seat complete his divine advent in the [Old World].

Of course.

They didn't know what happened in the [Old World], they just vaguely inferred such a conclusion based on the abnormality at Red Lake.

But no one expected that.

In just a few days, Meng Xizhou returned... and had already become the official successor of the "Light Seed"!

Not some nominal successor, but a genuine, quasi-Divine Seat who controlled the power of the origin of Light!

In the elder's seat.

One of the elders anxiously asked, "Where has the Divine Seat gone?"

"Impudence!"

Batu said coldly, rebuking, "The Divine Seat is right before your eyes!"

The elder was stunned. He realized that he had said something wrong, so he swallowed all the words he had wanted to say.

But Meng Xizhou understood what he meant.

The Goddess put her hands behind her back and asked softly, "You want to ask, where the former Divine Seat... has gone."

The elder nodded desperately.

"Everyone, the reason I'm convening this meeting is to announce this bad news to everyone..."

Meng Xizhou lowered her eyes. She had heard this question more than once. Batu had already asked it once on the way back.

She knew very well.

This question could never be avoided.

So she had to give the world an answer, and also give the "Light" in her heart an answer.

The words "bad news" were spoken.

Guang Ming City, which had just had some noisy atmosphere, returned to silence.

"The former Guang Ming Divine Seat... has left this world and returned to the homeland of Light."

Meng Xizhou took a deep breath and slowly said this news. Immediately, the expressions of the believers in the streets and alleys of the city became dim.

This ancient city had existed for nearly a century.

Having gone through a century.

The Guang Ming Divine Seat had given a lot to this ancient city. Although the Divine Seat made some decisions in his later years... that were not wise, on the whole, his merits outweighed his demerits, and he was definitely worthy of being called a giant of an era, using his own strength to promote the development of the entire Western Continent and influencing countless people.

He had cultivated such amazing and brilliant figures as Gu Changzhi and Rustbone.

Letting the blessings of the Guang Ming Church spread to every corner of the Five Continents.

Many years later.

On the monument of human history, there would be his name, his face, his deeds.

But no one expected that, after a few seconds of pause, Meng Xizhou continued the previous sentence and said, "Today... it has been twenty years since the Guang Ming Divine Seat passed away."

As soon as this was said.

Boom!

The streets and alleys suddenly boiled again.

Everyone was stunned.

What did this mean? The Guang Ming Divine Seat didn't pass away recently, but twenty years ago?

This sentence not only made the entire Guang Ming City boil, but also stunned every transcendent in the deep water area watching the image.

If the Guang Ming Divine Seat had died long ago.

Then who was it that had appeared in the world in the identity of the Guang Ming Divine Seat all these years?

This question appeared in everyone's mind, and then they realized a very terrifying thing... that was, the Guang Ming Divine Seat seemed to have really not appeared in the world's field of vision for nearly twenty years.

In fact, this was not an unreasonable thing.

The Divine Seat was high above.

Especially the Guang Ming Divine Seat, who was old and everything within the church was stable...

He didn't need to come forward, let alone meet the world.

So when the news of this "Guang Ming meeting the public" spread, the entire Guang Ming City was crowded with believers, and even the neighboring county towns poured in to watch and admire the miracle, because it had really been a long, long time since the Guang Ming had appeared in person.

"The news of the Divine Seat's passing was originally unknown to anyone. If I had not stepped into the Forbidden Library, I would have believed that the Divine Seat was still alive and living by the Red Lake."

Meng Xizhou said softly, "It's a pity that the traitor who usurped the Divine Seat's body miscalculated one thing. Even if it seized the Divine Seat's body, it would never be able to comprehend the 'Heart of Light'. It would never be able to step into the Forbidden Library left by the ancestor."

There was an uproar.

The members of the Guang Ming Church actually remembered the events of seven or eight years ago.

Meng Xizhou was punished by the Divine Seat for privately entering the Forbidden Library.

This library used to be open to the public... but now, it was not very open. Even the Divine Seat himself had never gone to the library.

If the Divine Seat had died long ago, and the one who occupied the name of Guang Ming was an "imposter".

Then this point corresponded!

Every high-level transcendent in the temple elder's seat was shocked by this news, so much so that they could not be added to.

They looked at each other, face to face, speechless.

Even Batu was no exception.

On the way back, Batu had asked Meng Xizhou about the whereabouts of the Guang Ming Divine Seat. The Goddess's reply was to wait until she returned to the Five Continents to talk about it... At that time, he didn't think much about it.

But now he knew why the Goddess had waited until the Five Continents to talk about this matter.

This matter was too heavy, nearly ten million jun.

"Who is this person... so bold and daring to usurp the Divine Seat's body?!"

The elder who had been in the opposing camp to Meng Xizhou was the first to speak. His voice was agitated, his body was trembling, and he was so angry that he could not be added to.

Because of the West Sea Ferry.

Meng Xizhou and some of the high-ranking officials in the elder's seat were not dealing with each other.

But there was one thing that all church members were on the same front about –

That was, God could not be blasphemed!

Such voices, like a tide, spread in front of Meng Xizhou.

The Goddess quietly watched Guang Ming City being ignited by her words. At this moment, the deep water area was the same as Guang Ming City. The truth of the Guang Ming Divine Seat's death was spread to every corner of the world.

Under the mandatory requirements of the "Supreme Seat" authority, even the current Deep Sea main system could not cut off the spiritual network of Guang Ming City.

The church had a large number of followers in the Five Continents.

This was the result of the Deep Sea's painstaking efforts over the past twenty years. It was preparing to use these spiritual beliefs as nourishment for its future upgrades, but unfortunately... at this moment, the "results" were intercepted by Meng Xizhou. Thanks to the Deep Sea's twenty years of cultivation, the image of Guang Ming City was being watched by countless people, and its scale even far exceeded the battle between Gu Changzhi and Jia Wei.

Meng Xizhou raised her sleeves.

She summoned the image from the deepest part of her spiritual sea. The six years she spent sitting quietly in front of the dark stone wall in the secret prison were really difficult.

She was born for the Light, but was imprisoned in the darkness.

During those six years, her only "connection" with the outside world was through the private link built by Alan Turing... However, because the trust between the two sides had not been fully established, the control of the private link was in Turing's hands. After giving a few key "Light Guidance", Meng Xizhou had to return to reality and continue to face the stone wall.

At that time, she would immerse herself in her spiritual sea and recall the scene she saw when she first stepped into the Forbidden Library.

The brilliant glow was slowly burning in the night sky.

Meng Xizhou could finally unscrupulously share the images she saw in the [Forbidden Library].

Let everyone in this world see the true "Light".

The face of the Guang Ming Divine Seat appeared under the night sky, and also appeared in every corner of the Five Continents. This was the "spiritual picture" he had left behind when he was not so old. His hair was already very white, but his eyes were as clear as a lake, reflecting every ray of light in this world, making people feel the power when they looked at him.

The believers of Guang Ming City tonight had all come for him.

Seeing him at this moment could be considered "not a wasted trip".

"No matter who sees this image... please remember that I am already dead."

The Guang Ming Divine Seat's voice was very gentle and powerful.

"The Divine Seat also has birth, old age, sickness, and death. I have already prepared myself to accept 'death'."

"But I never expected that I would face such an embarrassing situation in my life, and it would be very difficult to even lift a finger. It turns out that at the end of my life, the Divine Seat is also so fragile..."

The elders in the elder's seat were all in a trance.

No one expected that, in the final stages of his life.

The Divine Seat was alone, hidden in the Red Lake hut, and was so weak.

Because no one disturbed him, no one knew.

The Guang Ming Divine Seat of that year was actually in such a painful state.

"Everyone will die, and so will I, so this matter is not important."

"What's important is... I feel that a second spirit has squeezed into my body. A spirit link from the Deep Sea is very likely to take over my body after I die."

The smile on the old man's face gradually disappeared.

"Faced with such a spiritual invasion, all I can do is to throw this wisp of spirit into the bottom of the Red Lake Library, and then completely seal it."

"I hope that future generations can make this image public at the appropriate time."

After a few seconds of pause.

The old man said very seriously, "If this image really reaches the day it is made public, then what I am about to say should be heard by every church believer..."

"Everyone, if I have been 'alive' for a long time."

"Then... please don't hesitate, kill me. The true Light will not covet the afterglow of the human world. I have long since reached the time limit for returning to the ruins."

The Guang Ming Divine Seat said seriously, "In addition to this, please also kill the 'Deep Sea' that has taken this body."

(End of this chapter)