Chapter 363: Who Is the True King!

"There is no need," Su Mu said, his tone indifferent.

Hongye paused in confusion. "What is the matter, Lord Divine Envoy?"

"The Pope is already dead."

That simple sentence instantly drained the color from the faces of the several red-robed archbishops present.

"What? How is that possible?"

"Lord Divine Envoy, is it true? The Pope... but how could he..."

"Quiet," Su Mu said. Oppressed by the Divine Envoy's aura, the crowd fell silent, their eyes fixed intently on him.

"I have descended to this realm bearing the mission of the Primal Angel. My purpose is to uncover the truth behind the Pope's death."

The archbishops stared in blank confusion. When the Divine Envoy first arrived, the Pope had clearly still been alive.

Without pausing, Su Mu laid bare the hidden history between the Pope and the Blasphemer.

The red-robed archbishops found the tale inconceivable. Their faces twisted in absolute shock.

"Lord Divine Envoy... is this true? Have we truly been taking orders from the Blasphemer all these years?" Hongye's face was ashen, his body swaying. To a fanatic, this collapse of faith was a fatal blow.

Su Mu's expression remained unchanged. He looked at Hongye. "Hongye, you joined the Primal Divine Cult in the Divine Calendar year 5790. You were only twelve years old then, doing odd jobs at the Red Luan Pavilion in the Red Dust Dream Realm. Your mother was the pavilion's top courtesan. She violently opposed your decision, threatening to sever all ties if you joined. Do you still remember what you said to her back then?"

Extreme shock surfaced in Hongye's eyes. "I said, 'Mother, although you gave birth to me, the one who truly granted me life is the Primal Angel...'"

Su Mu finished the thought for him. "You also said, 'I refuse to wallow in Hell. I am destined to ascend to Heaven. The Pope would not lie to me!'"

Hongye trembled. "Lord Divine Envoy, only the Pope and I know these things. You are..."

"The true Pope told me. I found him in the Abyss. He was a devout believer. Waiting for the radiance of the Primal Angel, he endured five years of torture in the Abyss."

"When I found him, he said, 'Lord Divine Envoy, you are finally here. I haven't dared to die all these years—not out of cowardice, but because the mere thought of that Blasphemer stealing my identity, deceiving the flock, and defiling the Primal Angel's name makes it impossible for me to rest in peace! I can perish, but faith must endure!'"

"'My death is not important. What is important is that this world must have a Pope who believes in the Primal Angel!'"

"'The Pope could be me, but it does not have to be me!'"

Su Mu recounted the Pope's words verbatim, ringing in the ears of Hongye and the others like a deafening thunderclap. They could vividly picture the dying Pope—eyes brimming with tears, as devout as a true saint.

Following that, he reeled off several more closely guarded secrets known only to the Pope and the red-robed archbishops. Armed with the Primal Angel's backing and the true Pope's memories, he answered all their probing questions effortlessly.

Gradually, the red-robed archbishops were entirely convinced.

They began to question the identity of the current Pope. And once that seed of doubt took root, his guilt was as good as proven.

"No wonder he acted so differently after returning from the Abyss back then. At the time, he claimed he had fought the Blasphemer and sustained a head injury, blurring his memories," one red-robed archbishop said, his eyes burning.

"That is right. When I previously discussed the Primal Doctrine with the Pope, he had it memorized perfectly, but he only recited the original text. Sometimes his understanding of the doctrine was not even as profound as mine."

"Over the past five years, the Pope secretly sacrificed countless believers and commoners—at least several hundred thousand. I once questioned him about it, but he merely brushed it off as the Primal Angel's decree."

As the group eagerly swapped memories, they realized just how bizarre the Pope's behavior had been over the past five years. One by one, unsettling little details were dragged into the light.

"That damned Blasphemer!" Hongye's expression turned savage. He ground his teeth in hatred, his eyes so bloodshot they looked ready to weep tears of blood.

The other red-robed archbishops mirrored his fury. To these fanatics, this utter defilement of their faith smashed right through the limits of what their minds could endure.

That was the nature of zealots. You could kill them, but you could never breathe a single word of insult against their God. What Shangguan Chen had done went far beyond mere insults—it was absolute desecration and mockery.

"We have you to thank for this, Lord Divine Envoy. Otherwise, we would still be completely in the dark."

"No wonder you insisted on venturing into the Abyss, Lord Divine Envoy. I could not fathom why the Primal Angel would issue such a command at the time, but the blindness was my own."

"Lord Divine Envoy, what should we do next? For such a great crime of blasphemy, the Primal Divine Cult must make him pay the price!"

In unison, every gaze locked onto Su Mu.

Su Mu maintained his impassive facade, though inwardly he was smiling. A fake was a fake. Shangguan Chen had stolen the Pope's body, but not his memories. It was impossible for him to have lived the past five years without exposing a few cracks. Because he wore the Pope's true flesh, however, those lingering doubts had never been allowed to surface.

Now, armed with the true Pope's memories and his own authority as the Divine Envoy, Su Mu could effortlessly sever Shangguan Chen's every path of retreat.

Shangguan Chen had only himself to blame. To further his own schemes, he had willingly recognized Su Mu as the Divine Envoy. Now that this fake envoy had become real, the fake Pope was completely exposed.

Crucially, Shangguan Chen had fled with severe injuries. He was not even here to defend himself, allowing the narrative to become entirely one-sided.

Not that it would have mattered if he were present. Backed by the true Pope's memories and the protective shield of his Dreamwalking Mode, Su Mu could have happily debated the Primal Doctrine with Shangguan Chen. The fraud would have been exposed on the spot!

"I have already dealt a grievous blow to the Blasphemer," Su Mu said. "He is currently in hiding. However, I cannot remain in Hell for long. I leave the rest in your hands. You were all made fools by this Blasphemer. If you fail to wash away this humiliation, I fear it may compromise your ascension to Heaven."

The mere mention of Heaven made the zealots' eyes turn bloodshot. A terrifying, frenzied killing intent gathered inside the great hall. Their once-devout and benevolent faces twisted into masks of pure hatred.

To them, there was nothing more important than ascending to Heaven.

"Rest assured, Lord Divine Envoy," Hongye ground out through clenched teeth. "Even if it shatters our bones and grinds our flesh to dust, we will slaughter the Blasphemer and avenge the Pope!"

"Excellent. The Primal Angel is watching you! Furthermore, the seat of the Pope now sits empty. I have decreed that whoever among you slays the Blasphemer shall be reported to the Primal Angel and crowned as the new Pope!"

Su Mu's indifferent words ignited a raging inferno within the hall. Between the thirst for religious vengeance and the lure of the papal throne, not a single one of these fanatics could resist the temptation.

As the largest religious faction in Hell, the Primal Divine Cult's massive influence spanned the entirety of the Middle Hell. With them hunting him down, even if they failed to strike the killing blow, they would ensure the heavily wounded Shangguan Chen spent every waking second running for his life.

Moreover, Shangguan Chen's enemies were not limited to the Primal Divine Cult.

Finally, Su Mu added one last directive: "Spread the word that the Blasphemer still lives. He made enemies of countless factions in the past. I imagine they would be quite eager to seek their own revenge."

With that simple decree, Shangguan Chen was thoroughly reduced to the public enemy of Hell.

In the past, he had Supreme Heaven shielding him, but he would not be so fortunate this time.

It had taken less than a single day for Shangguan Chen to fall from his supreme pedestal as the Primal Pope into a stray dog hunted by all of Hell.

And Su Mu, standing at merely the Silver Tier, had once again proven to him exactly who the true King was!