Chapter 549 Quasi-God Asaho

Anyone with a sound moral compass and conscience like Zhu Shi would ultimately choose to defend the lives of eight billion people. No, this kind of "choice" was never even in Zhu Shi's mind. Regardless of who others chose, she would unhesitatingly point her sword at Fukuinho. Asahi would certainly do the same. Chang'an would too.

Unfortunately, I lack sound morals and conscience, so I did think about it for a while.

Little Bowl seemed to sense my emotions. She turned her head and silently looked at me. Although she had said before that she didn't care about the world or the future, and that she would trust me and stand with me, if I really chose the path of slaughtering all of humanity, would she still stand with me?

After a brief deliberation, I decided to abandon this route.

To avert an apocalyptic catastrophe and turn on eight billion mortals... that sounds like choosing an easy and safe route to escape a desperate situation, which is not in my nature.

That's a secondary issue. The more important reason is that it would be fine if I were the only one fighting against all of humanity. To be honest, I often fantasized about romantic scenarios like "fighting against the whole world alone for the sake of my beloved" when I was in junior high school. But if I were to fight against the whole world with some kind of unpredictable, divine, or supernatural force, it just feels a bit strange.

"..."

The little bowl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

So, what choices would the other great impermanent beings make?

The images of the Great Impermanence of Luoshan kept appearing in my mind. In the end, I realized that the only Great Impermanence I was certain of, besides myself, would stand firmly against the Gospel Institute, was Fazheng.

Fa Zheng's friend, Jian Feixian, only supports the cause of governance out of friendship with Fa Zheng. In essence, Jian Feixian leans towards a transcendentalist and neutral stance. He doesn't care about the lives and deaths of ordinary people; if the apocalypse could be prevented simply by sacrificing existing human civilization, he might join the path of destruction or choose to remain aloof.

As for the Diviner, although he is the Great Impermanence who plans to realize his vision of world governance through supernatural means, I cannot be sure whether he will reject the Evangelical House's extermination plan. On the one hand, I can sense that he has a rather profound passion for human civilization and believes that the Great Impermanence is merely the helmsman of civilization at a certain period, believing that civilization will one day reach the stars.

On the other hand, I can also sense his ruthlessness towards humanity. In order to allow civilization to accumulate enough experience during the Enlightenment period, he could even casually say things like, "Let transcendence prey on human society for centuries."

This is the perspective of a transcendent being; he only sees civilization and the "distant future," while the life and death of each individual who makes up civilization, as well as their present joys and sorrows, are of no concern to him. That's why Dongche left his side, because he had no empathy for the masses.

Abandoning everything that human civilization has accumulated to date would surely cause him unbearable pain. However, he might also abandon the current civilization, which has accumulated too many faults and errors, based on a far-sighted idea, in order to restart a civilization in the distant future.

As for Mingzhuo... there's no need to say anything about him; I can't even imagine why he wouldn't switch sides.

There's even less need to discuss the Wheel-Turning King. Now that we know this "end times" isn't the future world, but the afterlife, the Wheel-Turning King appearing at the Gospel House can only be the betrayed and traitorous Great Impermanence Wheel-Turning King of Mount Luo.

I'm not sure what Lao Quan Shen and Liu Shuying, these two people who maintain a neutral stance, are thinking, but one thing is certain... neither of them are, in essence, righteous characters who care about the common people.

The situation is far from optimistic.

Number Seven then offered his own perspective.

“Whether we take action or not, the Gospel House will inevitably come into contact with the Great Impermanence of Luoshan. Those who can be turned will be turned sooner or later, and those who will fight to the end will fight to the end sooner or later,” she said. “What we need to do is to give the latter the intelligence necessary for the battle as soon as possible. Without the means to enter and exit the afterlife, they will only be one-sidedly attacked.”

"Then how can you be sure that I'm not the kind of person who can be turned?" I countered.

After a moment of silence, Number Seven said, "...You've allied with the Great Impermanence Fazheng and supported the social order. The few friends you associate with are all kind people who are willing to stand on the side of ordinary people...Are you trying to say that you will choose the path of the Gospel House? If so, then I have nothing more to say..."

"You, who dwell in the afterlife, seem to know quite a lot. Perhaps you even inquired about my true nature from the Lord of the Divine Seal?" I said.

Number Seven didn't respond, so I continued, "Don't worry, I won't side with the Gospel House. Tell me your specific plans first."

"Let me attack the Yomi Gospel Church, no problem. But do you know how to get there? And when should the operation begin?"

Number Seven breathed a sigh of relief and then replied, "Don't worry, I have already scouted the area around the Yellow Springs Gospel Temple beforehand. I can draw a map to get there, and I can also use my abilities to teleport you and the Tai Sui Army there at any time."

"Since we don't know if Huang Quan is there, if he is, please deal with Huang Quan first, while Tai Sui Jun and I will take this opportunity to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold and search for the technical data of the life-and-death teleportation array 'Du Shuo Mountain', as well as the fragments of the divine seal hidden there."

"The completed 'Mount Dushuo' is located at the headquarters of the Gospel Institute, and we can try to return to the world of the living through there. However, to activate 'Mount Dushuo,' we must first go through an unknown process. The requirements for completing this process should be written in the technical documents, so even if we just want to return to the world of the living, we must get our hands on those technical documents."

After listening, I asked, "—There's even something about fragments of the Divine Seal?"

"The foundation for realizing 'Dushuo Mountain' is the power of the Divine Seal Fragment. That's why I initially wanted you to hand over this technical information to Yuchi..." Number Seven patiently explained, "Only Yuchi, who is both a super array master and a Void Realm Apostle, can master and utilize this technical information in the fastest way possible."

That makes sense, actually. The gate to life and death, which Luoshan couldn't find any sign of for over a hundred years, could be opened by the Gospel House under the harsh conditions of the afterlife, which could only be achieved through that kind of irrational power.

Thinking about it this way, it was absolutely the right thing for Mingzhuo to ask Shenzhao to help him research how to use the power of the divine seal fragments to open the gates of Naraku. It's just a pity that Shenzhao died too young.

Although Number Seven said she was practically begging me to join the operation, I had no reason to refuse her request. Obtaining the technical data on the life-and-death teleportation array "Dushuo Mountain" was something I had to do. The difference was that in this cooperative relationship, I was the stronger party, so she needed to adopt a humble attitude beforehand.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?" Number Seven asked.

Xiao Wan glanced at me, then raised her hand.

"What's your problem?" Number Seven asked.

“Ms. Seven, I’d like to ask you about someone,” Xiao Wan said solemnly. “Have you ever heard of the name ‘Ma Zao’?”

Upon hearing this, Number Seven's expression changed slightly.

It was only belatedly that I realized what had happened. The information Number Seven had given me was so incredibly important that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it changed the way I viewed the world from that point on. My attention was inevitably completely focused on it, to the point that I momentarily forgot I should have asked Number Seven about Asahi.

Number Seven was a close confidant of Tai Sui, a high-ranking official in the Fukuinin, and also a demigod, while Asahi was also one of the demigods in the Fukuinin. It's impossible that Number Seven didn't know about Asahi.

In fact, these two people might have been old acquaintances, with some past stories that neither Xiaowan nor I knew.

“Mazao… what a nostalgic name,” Number Seven said with a complicated expression. “…Yes, I know about her.”

Xiao Wan became a little nervous, and asked tentatively, "Would you mind telling me what you know about her?"

"This is also my request," I added.

At the same time, he observed Number Seven's reaction, strained his ears, and told himself not to miss a single word that followed.

Number Seven nodded, a look of reminiscence on his face, and replied, "Huang Quan has a large number of students in the Gospel Academy, and Asahi is the most outstanding among them, considered Huang Quan's personal disciple. To this day, in terms of progress, no one in the Gospel Academy can compare with her. Before I became Tai Sui's confidant, she was already Huang Quan's confidant, holding an extremely high position and authority in the Gospel Academy."

"Before her betrayal, the Gospel Institute only had three gods: Yama, Yomi, and Tai Sui. Many people believed that she was the most likely genius to become the fourth god."

(End of this chapter)