Xiao Xun felt a slight surprise, but showed no expression on his face. "Those are things mortals do. The territory you must expand is within people's hearts and minds, do you understand?"
Claire gently shook her head, indicating she didn't know.
Xiao Xun touched his face. "It's alright, you will understand."
"Then what should be my first step?"
"Develop your apostles."
"What are apostles?"
"Those who believe implicitly in your thoughts, obey your words, and can spread your ideas verbatim are your apostles. I suggest you start with pastors; they are more likely to identify with you."
"But why do I need to be the Pope and develop followers, to make people accept my ideology?"
"Because only then can humanity truly defeat the demons."
Saying this, Xiao Xun squatted down. "Do you understand?"
Claire looked down at the cross on his chest and nodded, as if understanding. "I understand, but what should I do now?"
Xiao Xun pointed at the twelve angels behind him. "Remember our appearances, our voices, and our teachings well, then go down the mountain and preach."
Then Xiao Xun said to Aries, "All of you, give him a parting word. Don't say anything trivial."
Aries walked over. "May the glory be with you."
Claire nodded. "Thank you."
Taurus walked over. "We angels are eternal enemies of demons. They are darkness, we are light. Light will prevail."
Claire nodded along and said, "Thank you."
After everyone had spoken, Xiao Xun took out three gold coins. "These three gold coins are your seed capital. Now, I ask you, what will you do after you go down the mountain?"
"Preach!"
"Preach what? Why preach? How to preach?"
Claire thought for a long time. "I want to spread light throughout the world. I want humanity to fear no darkness. I want to lead people to overcome evil and drive away demons. My religion is the holy religion, and my words are sacred."
Xiao Xun looked at the child in front of him with astonishment, but inside he was filled with joy. The child was teachable; it seemed he had found a treasure.
"On this journey, through mountains high and waters long, you will encounter all sorts of people and all sorts of events. As long as you hold onto your beliefs, you can overcome them all. Remember, whatever suffering you face is a test I have set for you. If you cannot even pass a small test, how can you be a Pope for others?"
"Yes, I will strictly follow the teachings of the Divine Emperor."
Xiao Xun pointed below the clouds. "Now, go down the mountain!"
Claire looked at the towering mountain disappearing into the clouds, shivering in the wind. "I dare not."
"You are the Pope, sacred and holy. No one can harm you."
Claire gritted his teeth and went down the mountain.
Aries walked to Xiao Xun's side. "Your Majesty, why don't you preach yourself? With your influence, you could instantly gain countless followers."
"I admit, with my influence, I certainly could. But how many of those who join the faith because of my fame truly follow my beliefs? Their purpose in joining is merely to find a status for themselves. Do you believe that if all the rulers in the world opposed my establishment of a church, then, apart from true martyrs, no commoner would say a good word for it?"
Saying this, Xiao Xun took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "This is human nature."
Then he turned to look at the twelve people with their wings exposed. "From now on, this is how it will be. You will follow me wherever I go. Do not hide your wings anymore."
"Yes!"
Xiao Xun entered the Temple of Time. It was as usual, as if time was still, and everything appeared as it did when it was just bought, never affected by the slightest passage of time, not even a speck of dust.
He went to the computer to check, mainly for information about the original humans, as well as problems that had not yet been solved in the original world, and also about the central nervous system and bioelectricity.
They were all scientists. If he, as the chief supervisor, had not researched anything, it would be a great loss of face.
Finally, he found a liquid that could directly supply oxygen to the lungs, slow down physical impacts, isolate mental attacks, and serve as life support. It was called Connection Fluid, but the internet only had the name, not the formula.
At least he had a research direction. He photographed the specific attributes and all sorts of formulas that were like heavenly scripts.
After doing all this, he used the spatial ring to return to the original world. He glanced at his phone; it had been almost blown up.
Xiao Xun set the teleportation location back to this town. He circled the town and surprisingly found no church.
He stopped an uncle. "Uncle, I'd like to ask, where is the church in your town?"
The uncle looked at him as if he were crazy. "We don't believe in that here. If you want to find a church, you can go to the city. Maybe there's one in the city."
After speaking, he left on his own.
Xiao Xun, relying on his memory, found Su Xiang's car. Seeing that the car was still there, he nodded, then went directly to the plaza. It was morning, and the breakfast vendors were starting to set up.
He found a clean-looking stall and sat down. "Boss, one bowl of old tofu and two fried dough sticks."
"Coming right up! Please wait a moment!"
The boss brought over the old tofu. "The fried dough sticks will take a while; the oil hasn't heated up yet."
"Boss, I have a question."
The boss was about to leave, but when he heard the question, he stopped, his expression a little displeased. "What do you want to ask?"
"There used to be two old ladies setting up tents to sell noodles in this plaza. Are they still here? The ones who had noodle shops by the roadside before."
When the boss heard the question, his expression returned to its previous state. "You mean those three? One of them didn't make it through this winter. There's still one left, in the town's nursing home. The state pays for her upkeep."
Xiao Xun nodded and said nothing more. After finishing his meal, he got into the car, preparing to start it.
A faint voice came from behind the car. "Boss Xiao has a good appetite!"
Xiao Xun turned around and saw a woman with a stunningly beautiful face and a cold expression in the back seat. It was Secretary Fan.
"Why are you here?"
"How dare you ask! I was working properly, and I received a call saying you were missing, asking me to find you. Where could I possibly look? I searched for three days..."
Saying this, she clasped her hands together towards Xiao Xun. "Please, my little ancestor, could you let me know where you're going? Don't you know how important you are now?"
Xiao Xun raised an eyebrow. "You say three days? I've been gone for three days?"
"Do you think the entire outdoor team of the Gatekeeper organization was mobilized? They started from the villa district and watched frame by frame. Those who were checking the surveillance almost went blind just looking for you."
Xiao Xun didn't hear a word of it, thinking to himself, "Has the timeline changed again?"
Secretary Fan took out her phone. "Hello! He's been found. Hi! Don't even mention it. Where was he found? He came back on his own. Okay, I understand."
After finishing, Secretary Fan handed the phone to Xiao Xun. "The leader wants to speak with you."
Xiao Xun took the phone. "Hello?"