World Version Updates-Chapter 474 - 303: Who Approves, Who Opposes? (Part 2)
Even with the eyesight of the Angel King, one could only see the eerie light reflected from the exquisite gold-rimmed glasses, unable to remember the specific appearance under His hood, as if His very existence was connected with forgetfulness and secrecy.
The Angel of the Night, King of Angels, elegantly raised His hand, gently pushed up the glasses on His nose, and those eyes hidden in the darkness seemed to sweep over everyone present.
His soft voice now carried an unprecedented gravity.
"Ladies and gentlemen, have you yet to discover where the real problem lies?"
The King of Angels of the Night slowly swept His gaze over the six Angel Kings, including Himself, then spoke in a tone almost stating a fact, solemnly saying:
"Do any of you remember how many of us Angel Kings there actually are?"
This question was like a thunderbolt out of the blue, making all the already restless Angel Kings startled.
"Is this even a question?" The Steam Angel King answered almost without hesitation, "Since the mythological era, there have always been six Angel Kings. Isn't that common knowledge?"
The other Angel Kings, including the Angel King of Solar, the Angel King of Knowledge, and others, also instinctively nodded in agreement.
In their deeply ingrained understanding and memory, there have always been six Angel Kings.
However, the Angel King of the Night did not stop there and continued with that calm and icy voice:
"Then, the Seven Great Gods created the Seven Gods Church, and during the True Gods' slumber, it is the Angel Kings who wield the authority of the church on their behalf.
But why are there seven True Gods, yet only six Angel Kings?"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the Angel Kings were stunned!
Yes... Seven True Gods, each of the seven churches exist because of them, so why are there only six Angel Kings?
This huge logical contradiction, like a problem hidden behind a veil of forgetfulness, none of the Angel Kings had realized until the Angel King of the Night pointed it out, as if this very thought had been blocked by some power.
Their minds raced, wanting to come up with an immediate explanation, instinctively fabricating excuses like "one Angel King had long fallen" or "the corresponding True God had not found a suitable candidate or vessel."
But after scouring their memories that spanned the long era of mythologies, they were shocked to discover...
There was no information at all!
Absolutely no information related to a seventh Angel King!
Whether regarding the title, the church they presided over, the reason for their fall, or even the very concept of there ever being a seventh Angel King, it was all a blank in their memories.
As if since the mythological times, there had always been only six Angel Kings, and His Majesty the Storm God had never intended to create an Angel King.
How is that possible?
A bone-chilling fear, like a surging tide, immediately engulfed these six figures standing at the pinnacle of mortality.
They looked around trying to find clues, only to spot in this dilapidated Ancestral Hall, one more prayer mat neatly placed as if suggesting something.
The Six Angel Kings suddenly looked up at Lu Yan, who still sat on the prayer mat with a playful smile on his face, as a soul-chilling speculation surged uncontrollably in their minds.
"In that instant that cannot be remembered, was there truly an Angel King who was completely erased...
Along with all history and memory of His existence?"
Seeing the unmistakable shock and fear on the faces of the Six Angel Kings, Lu Yan understood that they had likely realized the fate of the Storm Angel King through various tiny clues and that inexplicable loss of memory.
Even though they may not know who the Storm Angel King was, it no longer mattered.
The Common World Sword was not created to deal with the first sequence of Angel Kings.
It was created as a Divine Technique to annihilate someone truly standing at the pinnacle of this world, the near-immortal and indestructible Only One of this world.
The reason the Only One of this world is so difficult to completely kill is because as long as any trace of information, a concept, or a fragment of cause and effect persists in the time stream of past, present, or future, there is a possibility they could return from the long passage of time through that trace.
Originally, Lu Yan was considered a cause and effect by Taiyi Immortal, which is why the Common World Sword needed to strike across seven hundred years to kill him. The core of the Common World Sword is to sever and erase all cause and effect and concepts associated with the target's existence, utterly annihilating them from their roots.
Even if the Storm Angel King was only affected by a trivial aftershock of the memory-resurfaced Common World Sword, the erasure properties contained within were sufficient to completely wipe out this first-sequence Angel King, leaving no trace from reality to history, from cognition to cause and effect.
Lu Yan is even certain that even those seven lofty Seven Great Gods who usurped the old positions, upon realizing the anomaly, could at most deduce through indirect clues the existence of a Storm Angel King in the past, yet they absolutely could not directly retain or recall any specific memory related to him.
The Position of the Common World Sword exceeds the concept of the Only One of this world; this is the only known means to slay the Only One of this world. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
Feeling the six gazes cast upon him, shifting from initial scrutiny and testing to current trepidation and awe, even carrying a touch of incredulous reverence, Lu Yan understood that he had fundamentally achieved his goal.
Compared to the Seven Great Gods Church, deeply rooted with believers spread across the continent, the Underworld indeed seems like a shell of grandeur undercurrent, lacking the true underpinning and depth accumulated over time.
In such a case, merely negotiating or showcasing strength is far from enough to make the Seven Great Gods Church acknowledge the existence of the Underworld, or even voluntarily yield to allow the Underworld to spread its faith; only by exerting enough deterrence can this be achieved through alternative methods.
However, mere display of power or ordinary threatening means evidently could not genuinely frighten these seven Angel Kings standing at the pinnacle below the divine, having lived countless ages.
They have seen too many tempests, holding enough cards up their sleeves.
Thus, Lu Yan could only take risky actions, turning to forces beyond conventional and even surpassing the comprehension of this world.
By extracting from the depths of his memory that astounding recollection of personally witnessing Jiang Zhiwei slay Taiyi Immortal in the Ancestral Hall of the Taiyi Sect, and temporarily recreating it utilizing the Power of Mediation and Creation, the ultimate goal was to utilize the might of slaying an immortal to forcefully kill an Angel King, borrowing the prestige of annihilating the Only One.
To use this as the most direct deterrence, allowing the remaining Angel Kings, and even the Seven Great Gods Church behind them, to thoroughly weigh the indiscernible foundational strength of the Underworld.
However, this act was not without risks.
One must understand that the piece of memory he extracted involved both Taiyi Immortal and Jiang Zhiwei, two genuine Only Ones of this world.
The level of power and entanglement of cause and effect contained therein far exceeded Lu Yan's control; any slight misstep could result in being counteracted by the power within that memory.
Whether it leads to the unexpected revival of Taiyi Immortal or incurring the hostility of Jiang Zhiwei, both could result in a complete fiasco.
Fortunately, from the change that occurred in that past memory, the playful hint of a teasing chuckle indicated Jiang Zhiwei was aware of Lu Yan's intent to utilize His memory, holding a permissible, even watchful attitude.
Hence the resurfaced Common World Sword would target only the Storm Angel King stepping out of the safe zone without affecting Lu Yan himself.
Were it otherwise, the Common World Sword might have been aimed at the position of Taiyi Immortal in the memory, rather than Lu Yan himself.
Since Jiang Zhiwei, the big shot, had invisibly granted him a favor, equating to allowing this borrowing of momentum, Lu Yan now felt no apprehension.
He continued to sit steadily on the foremost prayer mat, unmoved, yet the aura of his whole being seemed to multiply in magnitude.
He raised his eyelids, his gaze calm yet inherently commanding, in a manner almost overlooking, slowly sweeping over the six Angel Kings below with varied expressions, all having now lost their composure.
"The Underworld intends to establish a Hall in this world, as the Fifth Hall of the Ten Halls of Yama, named the Hall of Yama.
I shall open Yin Division, establish Yama King, and oversee the cause and effects of all beings before and after death, administering rewards for virtue and punishment for vice."
As his words paused slightly, the Yellow Springs outside the Ancestral Hall surged, raising a mighty tsunami, as though the entire world trembled under the majesty of the Underworld.
"Who approves, and who opposes?"
