The villain's way to tame the protagonist

"Go through two more halls and you'll see them."

The young man stood where he was, bowing his head humbly and gently: "That is a sacred ceremony that I cannot participate in yet. Please forgive me for not being able to see you off, Pioneer."

The man waved his hand and continued to move forward. Before he had taken a few steps, he heard frantic prayers behind him.

"Oh God... I actually saw the great pioneer with my own eyes. Is this also your grace, your blessing..."

"The power of faith." The man muttered to himself, "Although there will always be a day when it ends, but... it should be enough."

Soon, he arrived at the meeting place that the young man mentioned. Twelve bishops were sitting at a round table, seemingly discussing something very important. But when the man walked through the door and appeared in the hall, all the noise disappeared.

No one spoke, just watched the man walk step by step to the huge Ouroboros statue.

"When you first decided to use it as a symbol...what did you say?"

It was the pioneer who took the initiative to speak:

"Since we are all scholars at heart, why not use the Ouroboros, which represents the eternal truth, as the symbol of the church, right?"

These twelve bishops were all students of the pioneers. To a certain extent, they were indeed exposed to knowledge and even truth that far exceeded this continent.

"And the saluting gesture." A black-robed bishop suddenly said with a smile, "Zerui suggested that we use the gesture of you pushing up your glasses to salute."

The bishops all laughed, as if they had returned to the first ten years when they were taught by the pioneers. On the contrary, Zerri, who had been the most active before, just smiled gently.

"You have changed a lot, Zerri." The Herald turned to look at his students, then looked at the twelve bishops in black and white robes, and sighed:

"You guys...are much stronger than me."

Regarding this church called "Xie Sheng", the pioneer actually just put forward a concept, the concept that "people need God."

What he wanted to study was too complicated and difficult, and it was difficult for him to devote his energy and attention to building a sufficiently stable society from scratch, but... his students did it.

From the gradual improvement of the image of God, to the proposal of "Assistant Principal" that made the pioneers fear God and laid the foundation of the Holy Church, to the current rock-solid rule, although it is still far from the future that the pioneers want to see, but at least... the disputes on this continent have come to an end.

"Then why did you call me out so solemnly this time?"

Although all directions have been determined and all structures are almost complete, the pioneer has become accustomed to staying in the workshop. If Zerri had not united all the bishops to make a request this time, he would not have come out.

However, the pioneer, who was in a good mood, still joked: "Do you think I can finally enjoy my life now?"

"No, Herald, we want you to see something."

"Same East—"

The Pioneer saw the incomparably pure light blooming in Zerui's palm.

That is the road to heaven he created, the ether that can never be formed.

“This is…” He stretched out his hand in disbelief and touched the holy and pure ether, “Sublimation… the road to heaven… sublimation?”

"I'm sorry, thirty-one years ago, I don't know if you still remember, but you caught me secretly reading your notes."

Ze Rui smiled a little embarrassedly: "Although I only saw a little, I saw something that is extremely important to both you and me."

Important things...

The pioneer who was feeling the pure ether suddenly stiffened. He hadn't lost his composure like this in a long time.

Yes, how could he forget something so important?

The pioneer needed a piece of land that had never been touched by the gods to realize the illusory ideal he pursued, and it was a fantasy to expect the Supreme Flame of Feasting to not touch this continent. Although the founding emperor did not directly incorporate this continent into the empire, it was only a matter of time before his successors did so.

Therefore, he needed to create a reason, a reason for the emperor to watch this continent silently, rather than suddenly wanting to start a war and raze it to the ground.

It is undoubtedly difficult to convince the emperor, but fortunately... their only pain is the best reason.

Before leaving the empire, the pioneers promised the emperor and the eldest prince, the founding emperor Norlanard Caesar, and his successors that they would open up a road with more possibilities than the road to heaven, thereby opening up new possibilities for them to escape from erosion.

The pioneer who opened the road to heaven was qualified to say such words, so Caesar agreed, and he was able to come to this land and change everything here.

But the prerequisite is... after many years, he can really come up with something that corresponds to this promise.

Calculating the time, the eldest prince who has now become the emperor is probably about to enter a stage of deep erosion and is about to enter the end of the most tyrannical and brutal rule. There is almost not much time left for him to create such a miracle.

But a miracle happened right before his eyes.

"It is the soul," Zare replied with a smile. "It is the dormant power in my soul that you reminded me of."

"...Soul?" The pioneer was puzzled for a moment. Just based on these two words, he couldn't understand how his students did it.

——Until he saw a hint of darkness deep in Ze Rui’s eyes.

A loud crash sounded in the hall, and the Herald pressed Zerri's shoulders and slammed him into the bishop's chair.

"What have you done! How could your soul...?"

The infection of the abyss should not appear on those who walk on the road to heaven, and even less on Ze Rui.

Because his soul is incredibly powerful, with the talent and vision of a pioneer, it can be concluded that his soul is so powerful that he can be called the number one person under the gods. This will probably be the case for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

Thinking of that pure light, as a great existence that can open the road to heaven, the pioneer almost instantly understood how this power did it.

"There are no traces of the elements, but the same effect can be achieved. It's not because the elements are not touched, but because the erosion is transferred...?"

The essence of the road to heaven is to avoid the direct erosion of the soul by the abyss through the unity of soul and flesh, but that does not mean that the erosion is completely eliminated. After all, if you want to master the elements, you must come into contact with the abyss that represents the world's information torrent, and contact with the abyss will inevitably lead to erosion.

The imprint and anchoring produced when mastering the elements are the limitations of the road to heaven. Once the elements are determined, it is difficult to change, and it is impossible to master multiple elements. But that ball of light... obviously has an effect, but there is no corresponding element imprint, which means that the erosion that must be endured when contacting the elements... has disappeared.

But the erosion did not disappear. Instead, it directly acted on Zerui's soul in some way, so it looked so pure on the outside.

"What are you doing? The road to heaven is to prevent the soul from being eroded. What's the point of doing this!"

Then, the pioneer saw that such a ball of light appeared in the hands of each bishop.

"That's the point, Harbinger."

A black-robed bishop gave the answer: "Not only can Zerui do this, we can do it too, and all the erosion generated in the process will be borne by Zerui."

"In this way, the 'new possibility' that the emperor wants to see is born. And we can also use this special power to replace the Road to Heaven, completely and totally, making the church's rule truly unshakable."

"Think about it, Pioneer. Isn't this system... exactly in line with the non-existent God you established?"

If more and more people join such a system, and if this system lasts longer and longer, then no matter how powerful Ze Rui's soul is, his ending is predictable.

However, as a victim, as a sacrificer, he did not show any sign of heavy pain. Instead, he was so happy, so... satisfied.

"Only by being eroded by the abyss can the purity and strength of this ether be guaranteed; isn't this equivalent to only praying to God to gain power?"

"There is no possibility of it being cracked and copied. No matter how outstanding a scholar is, he cannot do it. At most, a genius like you can only copy the form, but cannot reproduce the true power. Because after studying to a certain extent, he will find that this is not a different way of controlling ether and elements, but a kind of... hehe, cheating."

Looking at his students, the pioneer was silent for a long time.

He should probably hide his inner sorrow with anger at this moment, but he found that he seemed... not sad.

Instead, he was pleased that his students had such awareness.

But it was precisely this kind of "relief" that made him feel a sense of guilt he had never felt before.

He can devote everything to his ideals, and his students can certainly die for them, so why should he feel guilty?

“You know… this is a trick.” The pioneer’s voice was a little hoarse. “Do you think you can hide it from the eyes of the Old Deus?”

"Why hide it from our Emperor, Herald?"

Zerui replied calmly: "Although it was a trick, it was also a huge achievement - this... special method of transferring the erosion away."

This power system, which seems to be derived from the Road to Heaven but is actually a complete trick, essentially has only two cores.

One is the ability to carry huge corrosive souls for others, and the other is the means to transfer these souls intact and without leaving a trace.

"The founding emperor divided Hydra's head into nine parts and shared the erosion by looking for the covenant heads. But in essence, becoming the covenant head of Hydra means being connected to Hydra's soul. This sharing is nothing but natural. But the way we created it is different. The souls are unrelated. Even people who have never met can transfer the erosion of the abyss to other souls as long as the other party agrees."

This is indeed a miraculous technique, and it was obviously created by Ze Rui and other bishops. It is a magic that can definitely shake the entire supernatural field.

"The Emperor can see through divine arts...ah, that's the name of this power. Even if he can see through the essence of divine arts, so what? Transferring the erosion...isn't that also a way? Although there is no one in this world who can withstand the erosion of the Old Gods, isn't it equivalent to giving the Emperor new hope? This is enough for them."

Being able to divert the erosion and alleviate the pain in other ways was indeed a reason for the emperor to agree to the continued development of the church.

In this way, everything is complete, and we only need to develop in the two directions determined by the pioneers.

Except for one last, extremely important thing.

"So we hope you'll come, to complete the end of all preparations, and... a brand new beginning."

"You know very well that no one—"

"enough."

The pioneer interrupted Ze Rui and said, "There is still time and other ways. There is no need to do this. I have created so many miracles. Why do I still need you? You are doing unnecessary things!"

"You stop maintaining this system right now, and then..."

"You know this is the best option, Pioneer, and you know what needs to be perfected in the end."

Ze Rui looked calmly at his teacher, the man who guided him and guided them step by step to create the great country they have today and bring peace and order, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

“It is us who need to improve.”

No matter how perfect the plan is, once the executor makes a mistake, all will fail. No matter how carefully the pioneers and they plan, as long as one bishop of a certain generation has a different mind... then perhaps all hope will be gone.

"Through this power called [Awareness], the souls of all bishops can be reshaped to a certain extent, and their faith can be increased to the greatest extent."

“Coupled with rigorous education and strict screening of each generation of bishops, it can be ensured that even if they know the truth, they will fight for this ideal until death.”

"And I." Zerui paused, "I will erase my ego and become a pure unconscious soul, only responding to the erosion and handing over part of the control to the bishop to shape the consciousness of each generation of bishops, forming a two-way constraint with the bishops of all generations."

Ze Rui even chuckled as he casually said "erase the self":

"Of course, I know that no matter how powerful my soul is, it can't last for hundreds of years or even longer, so--"

"So, each of us will merge our souls into Zerui's soul body when the bishop changes to maintain the continuation of the divine magic system... Well, it is currently scheduled to be once every fifty years. In the future, depending on the degree of weakness of this huge soul collection, it may be earlier, or it may be changed due to certain things."

A black-robed bishop stroked the Ouroboros pendant around his neck and smiled with great satisfaction:

"The foundation of the church will remain unshakable until our long-cherished wish is fulfilled, Master."

The pioneer's hands trembled slightly as he took off his glasses.

For a transcendent who has reached the fifth level, the supreme leader of a religious country, no matter which identity they hold, it is enough for them to live the most extravagant and dissolute life.

But they chose to sacrifice everything they had for a fantasy that might not be realized in three hundred years, four hundred years, five hundred years, or even longer, and the possibility of it being realized was extremely small.

"The unconsciousness of the soul, which has a special response to the two aspects of abyssal erosion reception and soul shaping, needs your help."

Ze Rui lowered his head, closed his eyes peacefully and whispered: "This is the end, teacher."

"I'm sorry to have to give it to you... No, it has to be given to you."

"Because this is not the end, this is the beginning of redemption."

The pioneer is also inevitably eroded in the process of groping for the road to heaven, and his time is actually running out.

He spent his entire life just to start this great cause as Ze Rui had said.

Is it worth it?

No one knows. After all, from beginning to end, no one even knows his name.

*

The bishops of the church have never been religious leaders; they have always been a group of scholars, a group of crazy...idealists.

Ji looked at Xitana, who was gradually opening her eyes and still looked a little dazed, and knew that she had learned everything from the pioneer's memory.

This memory should have been passed only to the bishop's successor. If it were not for the order from Her Excellency the Saint, Ji would have only intended to describe it verbally.

But it looks like... the effect seems to be good.

"So now, you should understand our mission and ideals, and understand what we...are going to do, Lord Lance. Whether it's Polynya's research on etheric silence or Dormer's experiment on superhuman breeding, the direction was actually determined eight hundred years ago. All I do is continue to explore the possibilities and continue to perfect them... Polynya's experience is all gained from me."

"They exist for only one goal, which is to completely separate the extraordinary from the mortals."

For mortals, simply isolating the ether is not enough. It is necessary to establish an independent environment for mortals to exist without relying on extraordinary people. As for extraordinary people, it is much simpler - just find a method that can ensure 100% birth of extraordinary people among them.

As long as we complete the research in these two directions and finally eliminate the divine species... or more precisely, the threat posed by the emperor, then the separation between the extraordinary and mortal humans will be just around the corner.

The last condition was obviously the most remote, but they actually encountered this opportunity that had not appeared in tens of millions of years.

"You have witnessed the oppression and destruction of the mortals by the extraordinary... not just the city of Ivora, but also the cruelty displayed by the entire North after the former order faded away."

Looking at the silent Xitana, Ji's expression was unprecedentedly compassionate and sincere:

"We have no intention of being enemies with you or Master Hydra. We just want mortals to have dignity and to live like human beings. That's all."

"Lord Lance, you have a truly kind and great soul that can truly empathize with mortals. Therefore, you should be able to understand the enlightenment in that memory better than anyone else."

Then, there was a long silence.