Xiao Wu

As the Holy Light gradually faded, Qian Renxue—who should now be called Gabriel—slowly opened her eyes. Her once-azure pupils now shimmered with a pale golden glow. Eight wings unfurled behind her, every feather radiating a sacred aura.

"The Lord." Her voice was so ethereal it hardly seemed human. Her fingertips brushed the cross-shaped mark on her forehead. "I can sense power surging within me... What is this?"

Ye Su stood with his hands behind his back as the stained glass beneath the dome of the Pope's Palace cast mottled light and shadow across him. "This is the authority that was always meant to be yours, my child. As one of the Seven Archangels of Heaven, you wield the power of 'Revelation.'"

The system flashed frantic warnings in Ye Su's mind: Host! The Eight-Winged Angel Spirit you enhanced for Qian Renxue has already surpassed the original setting! This will completely destroy the plot!

"Shut up." Ye Su sneered inwardly. "If I was going to play God, I naturally needed miracles to match."

Who cared whether the plot fell apart? Everything should serve me, God!

Ye Su looked at Qian Renxue's exquisitely beautiful, otherworldly face and felt even more satisfied. His spokesperson ought to be like this: beautiful in appearance and sacred in spirit.

Someone like her was meant to become his spokesperson.

Qian Renxue slowly raised her palm. A cluster of pure Angel Sacred Flame danced within it. She stared at this power, which transcended the very nature of Soul Power, while the golden radiance in her eyes grew ever more intense.

Everyone in the hall involuntarily stepped back half a pace. The pressure contained within those flames made even Titled Douluo feel their souls tremble.

"This is Angel Sacred Flame?" Her voice quivered with disbelief.

Ye Su nodded in satisfaction, his gaze sweeping over the conflicted-looking Bibi Dong nearby. "Gabriel, you will serve as my messenger and proclaim God's arrival to the world."

At that moment, the doors of the Pope's Palace were suddenly pushed open.

A youth clad in golden armor strode in, followed by several Spirit Hall elders. The newcomer was none other than the Great Enshrined of Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu.

"Grandfather?" Qian Renxue blurted out instinctively, then immediately realized something and corrected herself. "No, Lord Michael..."

Michael gave Qian Renxue a slight nod, then withdrew his gaze and dropped to one knee before Ye Su.

"The Lord, I am ready to witness all the suffering in this world and spread Your gospel throughout it!" Qian Daoliu knelt on one knee. He had already made every necessary preparation; he had come here only to bid farewell.

"Then go, my child. Remember that the sun and moon are both my eyes. I will always watch over you." Ye Su spoke gently. As he said this, he suddenly recalled that, due to the system's settings, he should be about the same age as Tang San now. He paused before continuing, "Travel west from here, passing through many nations. You may encounter a youth with Innate Full Soul Power and a Blue Silver Grass Spirit. Perhaps you can befriend him."

Having considered Tang San's character, Ye Su added, "Conceal your identity and test him. If he can pass your test, bring him to see me."

"Yes!" Michael respectfully lowered his head beneath the Divine Seat. Qian Daoliu's Favorability had now surpassed 90%. At this level, he was essentially a fanatical loyalist. If his Favorability reached 100%, he would become an unwavering zealot, faithful unto death.

But it should not take much longer.

Once he had finished giving his instructions, Ye Su seemed to sense something. He looked at Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong, then spoke again. "Gabriel, bring wisdom and enlightenment to mortals. Lucifer, you will oversee Spirit Hall's affairs."

Neither of them dared to disobey. They could not even entertain the thought of disobedience, and immediately agreed.

Ye Su did not delay any longer. He took a single step forward, and his figure vanished from the Angel Sanctuary.

In the next instant, he appeared high above the Star Dou Forest.

Judging by the current point in time, it would not be long before the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Xiao Wu, transformed into a six-year-old girl, emerged from this forest.

Ye Su immediately invoked God's omniscient and omnipotent authority to sense the route Xiao Wu would take, then deliberately waited before a lake.

He definitely needed to raise Xiao Wu's Favorability, but he could hardly lower himself to cram into a dormitory with her at Nuoding Academy just to build goodwill. Rather than waste time and effort creating a false identity to infiltrate Nuoding Academy and approach Xiao Wu, he might as well display a miracle and take her away right here.

I'm already God. How could I possibly go around being a simp?

Thus, Ye Su, dressed in white like a holy child, quietly sat by the lakeside.

Deep within the Star Dou Forest, faint ripples spread across the Lake of Life.

Xiao Wu stood barefoot at the shore, her pink hair swaying gently in the breeze. She lowered her head to look at the reflection in the water: the form of a human girl about six years old.

"Are you really leaving?" A deep voice came from behind her. The enormous head of the Sky Azure Bull Python emerged from the lake, its golden vertical pupils filled with reluctance.

Xiao Wu turned around and gently ran her fingers over the Sky Azure Bull Python's cool scales. "Da Ming, I've made up my mind. Mother once said that only by truly understanding humans could I walk that path..."

Her voice suddenly caught in her throat.

The memory of that blood-red night ten years ago surfaced once more: her mother lying in a pool of blood, that bloodstained papal scepter, and those cold, merciless eyes.

The Titan Giant Ape emerged from the forest and carefully touched Xiao Wu's shoulder with his knuckles. "Sister Xiao Wu, that human pope is too dangerous. How about we wait a few more years?"

"No." Xiao Wu wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and stubbornly lifted her little face. "With every extra day I wait, Mother gets one step farther away from me. Besides..." She paused and looked down at her tender human hands. "This rebirth was perfect. My aura is completely concealed."

When night fell, the three soul beasts sat around a campfire. Xiao Wu shared her treasured carrots with her two companions. She had brought them back the last time she secretly slipped into a human village.

"Remember this taste." She forced a smile. "Once I find that pope and avenge Mother, I'll come back and bring you an entire cartload of carrots."

The atmosphere around them turned mournful, as if they were about to suffer a parting of life and death.

Early the next morning, Xiao Wu set off alone. With every step she took, her heart beat faster. This was the first time in her hundred thousand years that she had truly entered the outside world in a human identity.

When sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees and fell upon her face, Xiao Wu suddenly stopped.

Beside a lake at the edge of the forest, a youth in white sat quietly.

His silver hair shone with an unusual luster beneath the sunlight, and he idly played with a lotus flower blooming from thin air.

The youth raised his head, his golden pupils like the blazing sun in the sky. His features were dreamlike in their beauty—he was more handsome than anyone Xiao Wu had ever seen!