Under the bright crystal chandelier Headquarters the Vatican Holy See, a group of bishops dressed in crimson robes sat around a round table, holding an internal meeting.
In order to appease the True God, the Holy See not only built new idols, but also changed the clothing style of believers, with the symbolic color changing from pure white to blood red.
"This return of the True God to Earth has shocked the world, and the revival of the Holy See is just around the corner!"
The smiles on the faces of the bishops never faded as they looked at the various documents in their hands.
The sensation caused by the previous descent of the True God not only made believers fanatical, but also prompted many royal families, nobles, and wealthy people from all over the world to send their congratulations, expressing their great admiration for the True God and their desire to join the religion and receive the True God's blessings.
In the past, the Holy See, which was gradually declining, would have been very happy to welcome these people into the church when they suddenly received the attention of so many important figures.
But times have changed. Miracles have reappeared, and the high-ranking officials of the Holy See have all acquired divinely bestowed supernatural powers. The once great figures have become like ants in front of them.
Those people who want to join the religion don't genuinely believe in the True God; they just want power, to regain their youth, and to live forever!
The Holy See's higher-ups don't think much of them, but they won't reject them all; they'll select the best candidates.
As for the admission criteria?
That depends on their "sincerity." The blessings of the True God cannot be obtained by simply saying a few nice words. If their sincerity is insufficient, then all we can do is apologize and tell them to get lost.
There are too many lost sheep in this world, suffering and in need of listening to the teachings of the True God.
A middle-aged bishop with long brown hair spoke solemnly, and everyone else present nodded in agreement. Now that they all possessed "divine power," those with power would not be content to remain stagnant.
"The True God is watching over humanity. As True God Executor on earth, we have a responsibility to save those sheep who have strayed into heresy, thus proving our loyalty to True God."
Another bishop then spoke up. Although they already possessed divine power, only Pope Richter had regained his youth; clearly, the others' divine power was inferior to Richter's.
With Richter's successful example of Rejuvenation before us, who wouldn't want to go further and receive even more divine blessings?
On the day of the celebration, they received their divine gifts only after burning the former pope and crucifying Carlos. Therefore, they speculated that the True God might prefer... sacrifices.
More accurately, it should be... a blood sacrifice.
Whether it's to advance their own careers or to cover up the fact that the Holy See has "recognized the enemy as its father," they must do something significant to expand the influence of the True God.
Pope Richter, wearing a crown and holding a scepter, sat at the head of the round table, listening to the discussions of the crowd. After a long while, he finally coughed lightly.
The meeting fell silent instantly as everyone looked up at the new pope.
Richter's gaze swept lightly across the faces of everyone present, and he said, "We have a responsibility to spread the glory of the True God to every inch of the earth, but we must never be greedy or complacent."
"The True God has just reappeared in the world, Holy See's resources are not yet sufficient to combat heresies worldwide. If we stray from the right path and betray the True God's trust, that would be the real sin!"
Richter's voice carried a sinister undertone, like a bucket of cold water, quickly bringing the others back to calm after they had been caught up in the moment.
During this period, they were somewhat blinded by the blessings of the True God and were eager to make great contributions immediately. Now that they think about it, they were indeed a bit too hasty. If their impulsiveness causes unpredictable consequences, they probably cannot bear the responsibility.
Fortunately, Richter was both intelligent and clear-headed. The sudden rise to a high position, the gain of power, and the Rejuvenation —all these buffs combined did not make him arrogant; on the contrary, they made him more cautious than before.
Although the Holy See gained many divinely gifted superhumans overnight, greatly enhancing its overall strength, it is clearly impossible to contend with the entire world with just these.
In particular, the five leading powers, as well as some countries with long histories, must also have resurrected heretical deities, and the Holy See, with its current strength, is not yet able to confront them head-on.
As for requiring the great True God to personally intervene?
Richter had never considered this possibility. As a smart man, he had already guessed that the True God might be an evil god in essence, and might not play by the rules.
Whether it's a righteous god or an evil god, Richter felt he had made a profit. He was originally just an old man who was on his deathbed, but a gamble brought him his current glory, power, and status. No matter what the future holds, he's not at a loss now.
"More important than distant places, we should stand firmly on our own feet. The Vatican should not be merely a country within a country. Italy has always been a land illuminated by the glory of the True God, yet it has been divided by heretics—this is a great disgrace!"
"The believers in Italy should return to the embrace of the True God, therefore, I, the Pope, have decided to immediately launch a holy war! Centered on the Vatican, we will gradually liberate the whole of Italy and save the lost sheep suffering in dire straits!"
At this point, Richter stood up abruptly and delivered a passionate speech.
The others present also immediately stood up, clutching their chests and shouting "Amen!"
A fierce holy war was thus launched, but this victory was not as bloody and deadly as imagined; it was more like a war without gunpowder.
In Italy, in many cities near the Vatican, countless people have witnessed miracles, and those believers who have received True God's blessings are displaying their divine power like celebrities.
In just a few days, these cities were gradually taken over and controlled by the Holy See, and even the city officials had no choice but to embrace the True God.
As for the opponents?
The smarter ones, sensing the danger, immediately fled the country; the foolish opponents, however, were bound to the stake by their fanatical followers.
There were also some opponents who, under the prevailing trend, had no choice but to go with the flow to save their lives, hiding their true thoughts and being forced to join the church as false believers.
We need to return to the embrace of the True God, Amen!
The Holy See was spreading its faith with impunity, and the cities were filled with burning pyres and people being burned alive.
Fanatical believers ruthlessly judged heretics, washing away their sins with sacred fire.
Each time someone was burned at the stake, the area was packed with onlookers. Living in a society governed by the rule of law, they were experiencing the power to decide the life and death of others for the first time, and they couldn't help but feel extremely excited.
Believers whose consciences had not yet been extinguished could not bear to watch living people being burned to death, yet dared not show the slightest sympathy. At this moment, Italy seemed to have returned to the medieval witch hunt era, where believers who did not show enough fanaticism were likely to be labeled as heretics and then subjected to trial.
Among them are many believers who use the holy war to settle personal scores, retaliating against their own parents, and some even report their own parents in order to gain favor with the Holy See.
Italy laws and regulations have become completely ineffective; the law is considered a set of rules made by heretics that believers should not follow. They only need to believe in the True God and obey the rules of the Holy See.
When police or military personnel try to maintain order, they find that the gathering of believers is full of their own relatives and friends.
Most importantly, the Italy capital is embroiled in supernatural events, and government officials and members of parliament from all parties are too preoccupied with their own problems to care about the jihad.
Thus, the holy war launched by the Holy See intensified and quickly spread to other cities in Italy. Some political parties even sided with the Holy See, raising the banner of justice and claiming they would overthrow the brutal Italy government.
--Some high-ranking officials and wealthy individuals, who were either ill or elderly, were completely unable to resist the temptations of the Holy See.
Moreover, they felt they had made the right choice. After all, the relationship between the Vatican and Italy was far too close, and Italy's fall was inevitable. It was better to pledge allegiance to the Holy See sooner rather than later, as this was truly for the sake of the country and its people.
Italy was in chaos, and its appeals for international aid received almost no response. As other countries were also suffering from supernatural events, they could only offer verbal support, allowing the Holy See to dismantle Italy's existing regime in a seemingly mild manner.
Some people have also fueled this flames, wanting to test the True God and the Holy See.
"What? You mean the god who appeared in the Vatican is actually a Fierce Ghost!"
The air in the conference room was so heavy it was almost palpable. Wen Jingyan leaned against the wall in the corner, coldly watching the visibly distraught faces of these important figures who had maintained their composure even during the disaster.
The walls of the temporarily requisitioned meeting room still bore a slogan from an insurance company. "Integrity and Win-Win Cooperation," which looked particularly ironic under the stark white light of the emergency lights.
"Mr. Wen, please sit in the middle." A high-ranking official with graying hair wiped the sweat from his brow and gestured for him to sit. "You are our only hope now."
Wen Jingyan didn't move, only slightly raising his eyelids. "Hope? You have no idea what you're facing."
The conference room fell silent instantly, and more than twenty pairs of eyes turned to the young man in the black trench coat.
A few days ago, it was he who repelled the terrorist Bai Jingjing in that eerie black fog and rescued this group of municipal officials.
After that, these people clung to Wen Jingyan and followed him around.
Wen Jingyan dealt with some of the ghosts and barely cleared out a safe area. Currently, the entire Jing City is paralyzed, with communications cut off and transportation disrupted. However, in this safe area, life safety is guaranteed, and even mobile phones can intermittently receive external signals.
That's why all the government officials present knew what was happening in the Vatican.
They convened an emergency meeting. The God of the Holy See had already appeared, so would the gods and Buddhas of their own country appear to save the people from suffering? After all, the mythological system of this land was older and more complete than that of other countries.
But Wen Jingyan bluntly poured cold water on their enthusiasm, telling them that the so-called "god" was essentially a ghost!
When he revealed the truth, a chill swept through the conference room. Feng Qian sat in the corner, a golden glint occasionally flashing in his eyes.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" someone asked cautiously.
Wen Jingyan finally straightened up and slowly walked to the conference table. His shadow was stretched long under the emergency light, like a crawling snake.
"What you call 'supernatural events'..." His voice was eerily calm. "To be precise, all supernatural phenomena are Supernatural events, the work of resurrected Fierce Ghost killing the living."
"A... Fierce Ghost?" A female official's voice trembled. "You mean... a ghost? The kind of ghost that people become after they die..."
"No," Wen Jingyan denied categorically, "Not the kind you see in horror movies, nor are they ghosts that people turn into after death. The Fierce Ghosts I'm talking about have no emotions, no consciousness; they are merely... the embodiment of killing rules, some inexplicable anomalies."
He looked around and saw a series of confused and fearful faces.
"Perhaps you can't understand or accept this right now, but I just need you to remember that all the extraordinary and supernatural phenomena in this world are caused by the supernatural Supernatural of Fierce Ghosts."
"The rules of killing by Fierce Ghosts are sometimes simple, sometimes complicated. For example, if you encounter Looking-Up Ghost, it will kill you if you make a gesture of looking up in front of it. But if you don't trigger this killing rule, you will escape."
What Wen Jingyan just said was indeed very unbelievable, but when everyone present recalled the image of the "True God" that appeared in the Vatican —a blood-red figure hanging upside down on a cross—it didn't look like a proper deity at all, and it wouldn't be incongruous to call it a "ghost".
At this point, someone asked, "Mr. Wen, since you say that all supernatural events in this world are caused by Fierce Ghosts, then what about those with extraordinary abilities?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's discreet gazes darted back and forth between Wen Jingyan and Feng Qian.
Wen Jingyan also turned to look at Feng Qian and explained, "The 'superhumans' you speak of are actually Ghost Tamer. In layman's terms, they are possessed by ghosts, with Fierce Ghost parasitizing their bodies, allowing them to use some of the Fierce Ghosts ' power."
He raised his hand, and a greyish-white path appeared in his palm. "But using this power comes at a price. Once a living person controls Fierce Ghost, their body will be corrupted by the Fierce Ghost, rapidly depleting their life force and leading to death."
"Every time Ghost Tamer uses the power of a demon, the Fierce Ghost within them is stimulated and becomes more active, further intensifying its corruption of the Ghost Tamer until the Ghost Tamer finally dies completely, at which point the Fierce Ghost revives on the Ghost Tamer's corpse."
The conference room fell silent. Feng Qian noticed the suspicious looks in the eyes of the high-ranking officials, who were clearly trying to determine whether Wen Jingyan's words were true or false.
Feng Qian felt that Wen Jingyan was telling the truth. The various abnormalities exhibited by Zhang Suyuan, the superhuman in the Supernatural Investigation Bureau, matched Wen Jingyan's description perfectly.
Every time Zhang Suyuan used his Ghost Hand, he would suffer greatly, and his mental and physical condition would decline simultaneously. Moreover, he did indeed rise from the dead and massacre the Investigation Bureau.