Abundant Martial Arts Virtue
Chapter 140 - 113: Snatch the Staff!

Chapter 140: Chapter 113: Snatch the Staff!

Wu Xiaode squinted, taking in his surroundings with a careful glance.

The red scepter lay in the bosom of the Pope.

The congregation murmured prayers under their breath.

Everyone here was a believer, no one would expect someone to dare to steal the scepter.

——In fact, he could go up and grab it right now.

But the Pope was the representative of the One-eyed Giant in the prison of sin, and the One-eyed Giant guarded the path of death.

Could it be that the Pope would just leave a mess behind and walk away?

Regardless, he must have made some arrangements.

As Wu Xiaode mused over this, the Book of the Dead suddenly fell open, rapidly revealing a line of ice crystal letters:

"The current scepter is under the seal of a curse, unusable."

Wu Xiaode scratched his head.

Damn it, the scepter really was sealed.

Was it to prevent it from being stolen?

It seemed he would have to think of another method.

Beyond that——

Was there also a white scepter?

His gaze shifted, sweeping over the crowd in the cathedral.

It was now the final moment of destruction.

All that was left of the Holy Sect was squeezed into this place.

If the white scepter hadn’t been lost——

It should be here as well.

Wu Xiaode’s gaze wandered around, finally settling on a corner.

The white scepter from this parallel world leaned against a wall, its only companion a bishop with a despairing demeanor.

"White, destroy that scepter later," Wu Xiaode whispered.

"Okay," the White Tiger responded.

"Do you need to eat something first?" the bishop in white robes asked.

"What have you got?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"Some cured human flesh—we haven’t had any other food for a long time," the bishop in white robes said.

"Where did the human flesh come from? Is it enough?" Wu Xiaode asked with concern.

"All the non-believers in the city were killed, those not Pure in faith were turned into pickled meat, it can sustain us for quite a while," the bishop in white robes said with a twisted smile.

Wu Xiaode’s expression remained unchanged as he whispered, "They deserve it, that’s the fate of those who don’t believe."

"That’s right, they can only be eaten," the bishop in white robes said.

"By the way, I do have a question—how does a new Pope emerge?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"God will appoint a new Pope."

"How will he be identified?"

"He will be the strongest among us."

"Really?"

"Yes, next we’ll move on to the trials of strength, and he who is the strongest, surely blessed by Divine protection, is entitled to the authority of the Pope."

At this moment, the prayers of the believers had come to an end.

A bishop called out loudly, "A nation cannot be without a leader for a day, nor can Deity be without servants to guard by its side."

"Come forward, if you believe yourself to be the strongest, please stand in the center of the cathedral, and accept the challenge."

As the words faded.

Wu Xiaode leaped lightly, landing on the table in the center of the cathedral.

"I am the Chosen One, I shall lead you all to follow in God’s footsteps, to walk God’s path upon this earth!"

He exclaimed loudly.

Everyone fell silent.

A tall priest stepped out from the crowd, with a grave countenance, he said, "Stop fooling around, I am the one chosen by the Divine."

"Come and defeat me," Wu Xiaode said.

"You’re obstinately ignorant!" the priest stepped toward him step by step.

A nameless authority radiated from the priest.

Wu Xiaode, having clashed countless times with the One-eyed Giant, recognized the emerging authority immediately.

Yes.

This priest indeed was the person chosen by the One-eyed Giant.

But could he back down?

He drew the National Guardian Blade from his waist—

"Shatter," the priest enunciated.

Clang, clang, clang!

The long blade instantly shattered into pieces of iron scrap on the ground.

This was the National Guardian Blade of the Fu Xi Empire!

And it had been so easily broken...

"He has Divine Power, he is the chosen one of God!" someone in the crowd cried out excitedly.

Wu Xiaode’s gaze grew stern.

No.

The Pope was still waiting to trap him in the real world.

No matter what, he had to get his hands on that red scepter today!

But how?

Sword Intent?

He had no sword, had never controlled Sword Intent, and besides, it was not the style of combat familiar to the Holy Sect, making it less likely to be accepted...

An idea surfaced in Wu Xiaode’s mind.

Yes.

Actually, he could do it this way...

"You must believe that with this move from God, you’re the designated choice," Wu Xiaode said.

"What else?" the priest said haughtily.

"In fact, I too have received the power of the Divine," Wu Xiaode said.

The priest paused, his face turning dark.

"That’s impossible... No matter, I intended to let you die outright, but now you’re still in my way, I will sacrifice your soul to God!" he declared.

"White," Wu Xiaode uttered in thought.

"I’m here," the White Tiger arrived quietly.

Wu Xiaode said, "The moment I say Dead Man Resurrection—"

"I’ll release the Chang Ghost," the White Tiger said.

That was the plan!

"Do not be angry, we are all servants of God."

Wu Xiaode looked at the priest opposite him and earnestly said, "You have the power to shatter weapons and possess formidable combat abilities, but now is not your time to be Pope; actually, you’re the next Pope."

"The next one? Are you serious?" the priest scoffed.

"Yes, because I must first become the Pope to carry out the divine will and resurrect my comrades," said Wu Xiaode.

All the noise vanished.

The entire church was silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was staring at Wu Xiaode.

"Resurrect? You mean, you’ve acquired the ability to resurrect believers?" the priest asked in surprise.

"Yes, our departed comrades will return to us, following God’s will," affirmed Wu Xiaode.

The priest was about to speak, "You’re not serious—"

"Dead Man Resurrection!" Wu Xiaode chanted directly.

In an instant, a person emerged from the Void, standing before everyone.

He donned a long, deep red robe, with the Holy Emblem hanging on his chest. His expression was grave, and his body radiated fluctuations of power.

—A Cardinal!

Everyone was stunned.

The priest’s mouth hung open, and he was momentarily lost for words.

"I have been slumbering in the realm of death, but God says—you need me," said the Cardinal with a smile.

In the ensuing silence, he bowed to the crowd and then stood beside Wu Xiaode.

"One is not enough, we need more help," Wu Xiaode declared.

Before his words faded, another person appeared in front of everyone as the Void flashed.

The Archbishop!

Noise erupted among the crowd.

The Archbishop approached the priest, patted his shoulder, and said, "The Divine and the believers need you, but now is not the time for you to become the Pope."

Wu Xiaode was a bit surprised.

It seemed they were old acquaintances.

That was good, familiar faces were easier to talk to, and it might be possible to persuade the priest directly, avoiding any confrontation.

After all, he possessed the power granted by the One-eyed Giant, and should he die, it would be problematic if the One-eyed Giant lashed out.

The priest studied the Archbishop carefully for quite some time before he suddenly asked, "What did you tell me on the day I joined the church seven years ago?"

"I told you that from now on, I would take care of you, that you would learn everything about the Holy Sect, and that the Holy Sect would become your home," the Archbishop replied.

The priest let out a long sigh, "It really is you."

"Of course, it’s me, and not just me," the Archbishop said.

He then turned and went to stand behind Wu Xiaode.

The priest’s eyes met Wu Xiaode’s.

"I want to become the Pope and gain greater power to help more of the dead return to life," said Wu Xiaode with sincerity.

"However, according to the divine oracle, only the strongest among us is qualified to become the Pope," the priest said unwillingly.

The crowd suddenly became boisterous.

Many had already knelt down, facing Wu Xiaode and reciting the scriptures aloud.

More and more people joined their ranks.

The resurrection of the dead!

If everyone could come back to life after death, what was there to fear?

They could even rush into battle against the monsters!

The priest looked around at the crowd and sighed to himself.

If no one supported him, what was the point of becoming the Pope?

"Just like I said before, once I finish resurrecting the dead, I will step down, and the position of the Pope will naturally be yours. I will assist you," said Wu Xiaode.

"Really? You understand, everyone is listening to your promise," said the priest.

Wu Xiaode spread his arms and addressed everyone, "I hereby promise that once the task of resurrecting the dead is completed, I will pass on the position of the Pope to him! Because he is the strongest!"

Cheers erupted among the people.

With this, there would no longer be any discord within the Holy Sect!

Finally, they could all unite!

A smile appeared on the priest’s face.

If that was the case, there was no point in contending for anything.

"Since you have such an important mission, then, I too hope you can fulfill it," said the priest.

Wu Xiaode nodded.

"Everyone, given the dangerous situation at hand, I suggest we immediately commence the Pope succession ceremony," one of the bishops said.

"Yes, the transference spell requires the recitation by nine of the most devout believers to activate the ceremony," another believer said.

"Not only nine people, all of us should chant," the priest volunteered.

With his future position secure, there was no point in doing anything else; it was rather a moment to show magnanimity.

He walked to the Pope’s corpse and joined the group chanting the spell.

As everyone chanted, the red scepter gradually lifted from the Pope’s body.

It gently floated upward, sending out waves of light in a consistent rhythm.

Ice crystal words emerged on the Book of the Dead:

"With the devout blessings of all the believers, dissolve the vile curse entwined around the scepter, allowing the power of the scepter to awaken."

"However, it is bound by another curse."

"This curse is wrapped around the scepter and will only take effect under extremely special circumstances, so there’s no need to worry."

"Now you can obtain it."

Another curse?

But since it’s extremely special, it can be ignored.

I’m not special at all.

Wu Xiaode stepped forward and grabbed the scepter.

At the same moment.

The White Tiger lightly pressed its paw against the ground.

...

Outside the city walls, on the battlefield.

A dead monster suddenly opened its eyes.

It was confused for a moment before it gradually understood something.

The creature rose from the ground and dashed toward the distant mountains, quickly reaching the summit.

Within this great mountain, a group of powerful monsters was resting.

In a depression, there was a gigantic snake hundreds of meters long.

"Roar—roar roar roar roar!" the creature shouted.

The resting giant snake slowly opened its eyes.

"Hiss?" the giant snake asked, flicking its tongue.

"Roar!" the creature yelled excitedly.

After a moment’s thought, the serpent began to slither away.

It crawled out of the ravine and swiftly made its way toward the town at the foot of the mountain.

The other monsters, though not as fast, also started to move.