A surging divine power arose from above Wang Lan's head, instantly gathering into a glowing white, gigantic axe blade above him. The axe blade seemed to exist in a void, hidden within a mirage.
As the axe blade appeared, time and space seemed to freeze. The sky turned into transparent ice crystals. In that instant, the whole world was frozen.
Shock flashed across Lucifer's face, but his expression was instantly locked in place by the freeze.
The terrifying sharpness spread wantonly, stinging Lucifer's cheek. Wang Lan controlled the axe blade, his Star Power seemingly drained in an instant.
"Slash!"
With all his might, Wang Lan swung down the axe blade ferociously.
Lucifer, still immobilized in the void, didn't move. The axe blade descended fiercely upon the top of his head.
BOOM—
The crystal shattered explosively, breaking the stillness of the world.
AHH—
Only then could Lucifer let out a gut-wrenching scream. Terrifying energy surged into his body, countless Heavenly Dao Laws transforming into sharp blades that sliced through his flesh.
BOOM—
Like fireworks erupting in the sky, Lucifer's body instantly scattered into myriad shimmering lights, flying in all directions.
"Did we win?"
"Is he dead?"
In the Underground Twelve Palaces, the bishops looked up at the void in disbelief. In the void, stars rained down, the sky turned blue once more, and the sun hung quietly on the horizon.
Wang Lan was breathing heavily, his Star Power severely overdrawn. Beads of cold sweat dripped from his temples, his chest heaving with each labored breath.
But the next moment, Wang Lan's expression changed abruptly.
Because there was no notification in his mind of having slain Lucifer, it indicated that Lucifer might not be dead.
Gentle arms wrapped around Wang Lan's arm, and a fragrant breeze wafted by as Jiang Xinyu appeared beside him. "How are you? Are you in much pain?"
"It's alright..." Wang Lan gave a bitter smile and managed two hoarse words.
"We won—"
"That's great, the Evil Demon has finally been eliminated—"
The Holy Knights underground erupted into a cheer that echoed through heaven and earth, but Wang Lan's heart was filled with deep unease.
In everyone's eyes, Wang Lan had slain Lucifer with a single axe strike. Even in Wang Lan's eyes, Lucifer should have been slain, dead beyond any doubt. Yet, the prompt in his mind had not sounded.
He closed his eyes, trying to sense any killing intent in the world, but still, there was nothing.
Could the notification be delayed? Or is Lucifer truly not dead?
The news of Lucifer's slaying spread instantly through the network to all parts of the world. Leaders of nations, the United Nations, and the International Security Council all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
The weight that had hung over everyone's heads for a year could finally be lifted.
In the Cathedral, where only four people were present, Wang Lan voiced his concern, "Lucifer seems to have been slain, but I have an ominous premonition."
"An ominous premonition? What is it?"
"I suspect that Lucifer isn't dead." Wang Lan's words made the other three present change their expressions.
"Wang Lan, don't joke about such things," the Pope pleaded, his face mournful.
"It's just a hunch. Maybe Lucifer really is dead." Wang Lan couldn't be sure. He understood the horror of the Break Sky Slash he had just unleashed.
To call it the first and foremost slash capable of sundering Heaven and Earth would not be an overstatement.
Just then, the voice of the Judgement Bishop was heard from afar. "Lord Pope, I have something to report."
"Come in."
The Judgement Bishop, in a red cloak, walked slowly into the Pope's Palace. "Lord Pope," he said, "we have just discovered a hidden compartment in Mr. Martin's house. Within it, we found a diary belonging to the former Lord Pope."
"The former Lord Pope's diary? Why didn't I know about it?"
As the current Pope, how could I not know the former Pope had the habit of keeping a diary?
"Bring the diary to me."
The Judgement Bishop pulled out a thick diary from his bag and handed it to the Pope. The Pope flipped through it and confirmed, "Indeed, this is the former Pope's handwriting."
"Your Holiness, may I have a look?" asked Wang Lan, his heart stirring.
The Pope's diary wasn't written in every day, but he had been quite diligent, jotting down notes every few days.
""It is truly sinful of me; how could I have done such a thing? Today, I developed the Mirror Light Technique, a Star Martial Skill. Now, even from within the Pope's Palace, I can see every corner of the City of Angels.
"This is a genius invention! Without stepping outside, I can oversee the entire city, casting light into every corner. This feeling is simply wonderful.
"But why did I let the Mirror Light Technique sweep over the Holy River Bathing Place? The water of the Holy River Bathing Place is so white... Sinful, sinful! God, please forgive me. I am willing to recite the Bible ten times as penance.""
""It rained the whole day again today, the nineteenth day in a row. The Holy River Bathing Place hasn't been open for nineteen days. Although the proprietress is pretty, her figure is too plump for my taste.""
""I didn't expect to be so popular with young girls at my age. It seems that 'maturely handsome,' trending online, must be referring to someone like me. Today, I gave a speech at Holy Light Middle School. I intended to gauge the students' impressions of my speech, but they ended up discussing my appearance instead.
"As the distinguished Pope, good looks are a basic requirement. How can students be so shallow these days? Not just shallow, but also vulgar! Liking me is one thing, but some go too far, even wanting to sleep with me. You few, don't expect to graduate this year!""
""God, I've been feeling weak and lacking in energy recently. The Saintess actually said that I'm suffering from a deficiency in both qi and blood! Strange. I haven't been injured lately, nor have I fought with anyone. Why would this be? Could someone be plotting against me? I must have the Judgement Bishop investigate this thoroughly.
"I'll check on the Holy River Bathing Place first to calm my nerves and relieve some stress. Hm? A nosebleed again? Could I really be ill? God, I haven't been sick in fifty years. Could this be a sign from You?""
""Today I had a dream… I dreamt that the God of Heaven turned into a woman! It must be because I've visited the Holy River Bathing Place too often, and the God of Heaven is warning me. But… why would the God of Heaven be a woman? God, give me a sign.""
""I dreamt about God again today. Although the Divine Light was dazzling, it was indeed a woman… Perhaps my condition is worsening.""
""That woman came again—no, that female God of Heaven came again! She said she left the Genesis Bible there… Go look for it. My recent dreams are getting stranger and stranger.""
""Alright, I've decided to check the place God guided me to, at the end of the Rhine River. If there's nothing there, the next time I dream of that being who blasphemes my God's image, I'll definitely give them a beating!""
The next page, however, was torn out. What followed were the Pope's records after retrieving the Genesis Bible.
Wang Lan's expression grew serious as he looked at the torn page. "This page must have contained very important information. I wonder if it was Martin or the Pope who tore it out."
"Wait, I think… I think I've seen it before." Yulia's face lit with recollection as she examined the diary. "This kind of diary is quite special; you can't buy it in stores. I remember when I was very young, I saw paper like this at my teacher's place. My teacher was sitting in a chair, looking at it. At the time, I thought my teacher was reading a letter from afar."
"Are you sure?"
"Certain. It's definitely this kind of paper, this format."
With that, Yulia stood up and hurried to the storage room, rummaging through boxes and cabinets. Yulia's teacher had been the former Saintess, and her relics had all been stored by Yulia in that room.
If this torn page had been in the hands of the former Saintess and contained important information, then the former Saintess would definitely not have lost it. It would have been carefully preserved.
And in that instant, Yulia also remembered that the former Saintess had indeed, unintentionally, once entrusted her with some matters. But she had become the Saintess in such a rush, and the former Saintess had died in battle without formally conveying her last words.
However, relying on fragmented memories, Yulia still found the former Saintess's dressing table. Behind the mirror, she discovered a sealed plaque. Yulia used her magic to undo the seal on the plaque, and to her surprise, items related to the Saintess's succession were sealed within it.
Yulia quickly sifted through the items and finally found, among the pile, the very page that had been sealed in her memory.
Without taking the time to look at it, Yulia hurried back to Wang Lan's side and carefully aligned the page with the torn edge in the diary. The tear marks matched perfectly—this was undoubtedly the missing page.
""Following God's guidance, I arrived at the banks of the Rhine River and indeed sensed a spatial ripple. I broke through the space and entered. To my astonishment, I found the legendary Temple! My God of Heaven, have I actually found the lost Temple of the Papacy, missing for ten thousand years?
"From this moment on, I believe that the God of Heaven in my dreams is truly a real deity. Please forgive Your devotee's ignorance for mistakenly casting You in the image of a man. I was wrong, but… I am afraid we must continue to be wrong.
"If I were to declare that the God of Heaven is a woman, I imagine I would be stoned to death by angry devotees, wouldn't I?
"The legendary Cathedral was indeed as splendid as the legends claim, filled with the divine radiance of the God of Heaven. I walked through the Twelve Palaces and entered the Pope's Palace, where I felt a subtle call from God.
"Following this call, I finally discovered, in the center of the great hall of the Pope's Palace, the Genesis Bible, which had been lost since the Mythical Era!
"My God of Heaven, this is truly the Genesis Bible! I have actually found it!
"Next to the Genesis Bible was a raw stone as large as a wheel. This is a type of stone that exists only in the divine realm, rumored to allow life to transcend the river of time, to freeze time itself.
"Within the raw stone, I vaguely saw an infant.
"Beside the raw stone lay a gold brick, upon which was inscribed a mysterious string of numbers: 120220707. I knew this was a sign from God, but I could not, for the life of me, decipher the meaning of these numbers.
"When I gently touched the raw stone, suddenly, cracks appeared on it, as if it were an egg being broken. My God of Heaven, I swear I only touched it lightly; I did not use any force!
"But the raw stone shattered, and the sealed infant began to cry. It was a beautiful baby girl. I picked her up, uncertain whether she was an Angel left to humankind by the God of Heaven, or a Demon sealed by the God of Heaven.
"But regardless, since she appeared before me, all of this was God's guidance.
"So, I gave this baby girl a name: Yulia. Yulia Yalehua.""
Upon reading this, Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu both looked up simultaneously to stare at Yulia. She stood there in a daze, the mystery of her origin finally unraveled.
