Chapter 495: Strengthening Divinity

"What did you just say!?" Zero's tone turned faintly hostile. Su Mu's words had touched a zealot's absolute bottom line—after all, what they valued above all else was the depth of one's devotion.

Su Mu sneered, looking down at Zero with a disdainful gaze. "I said... what is the use of devout faith? Did devout faith help you recruit a hundred thousand Primal Cultists? Did devout faith stop the Temple of God Slaying from trapping you here? Has devout faith managed to awaken the Primal Angel after all this time?"

His words were like a steel blade, stabbing into Zero's heart again and again. With every question, Zero's face grew a fraction paler.

"This is the fatal flaw in how you people of Heaven think. Devotion is important, certainly, but ability matters far more! One capable believer is worth a hundred useless fools who only know how to pray!

"You must understand this truth: the brilliance of God shines upon the world, but is everyone in the world actually worthy of worshipping Him? Ask yourself—are you worthy?

"There are countless millions of humans in Hell, so why did I only recruit one million? Because I recruit on the principle of quality over quantity. A man with faith but no ability is a fool, and a fool's sudden spark of inspiration can cause more destruction than a brilliant man plotting for a lifetime. Bringing such people in will only drag down the growth of the cult.

"That is why I only recruit those who possess both faith and ability."

Su Mu's new concept was something none of the one hundred thousand cultists, Zero included, had ever considered. Was there really a standard for whether someone was worthy of worshipping God? Did it actually depend on their ability?

It made sense. The Primal Angel was so unimaginably great—how could just anyone be worthy of worshipping Him? If any random person could swear devotion, wouldn't that only tarnish the great Primal Angel?

No wonder the Pope of Pride had managed to amass a million followers in the harsh environment of Hell. The profound depth of his thinking and the sheer brilliance of his vision were far beyond those of ordinary people.

People feared comparison above all else, yet they inherently loved to compare.

When the two Primal Popes—one of Heaven, one of Hell—stood side by side, the believers subconsciously began to weigh them against each other.

Zealots were still human. They could have endured their dark lives as despised outcasts, hunted like rats crossing the street—but only if they had never seen the light.

Now, suddenly hearing that the Primal Cultists in distant Hell could preach openly, and had even constructed their own Holy Brilliance City, that psychological disparity was instantly magnified.

People also had another trait: they did not look for the cause within themselves, preferring instead to blame others.

And who were these others? Naturally, it could only be Zero, their Primal Pope.

A strange sentiment began to quietly ripple through the one hundred thousand cultists. Even if none of them voiced it, they couldn't help but wonder—if the Pope of Pride had been leading them, would the result have been completely different?

"Everyone, you are all devout children of God, exactly like me! That is beyond any doubt!" Su Mu's bewitching voice rang out once more.

"Right now, you have simply gone in the wrong direction. But that does not matter, because I am here! Just as I led the believers of Hell to prosper and expand, I can also lead you toward a brighter future!

"First, you must cast aside the flawed concepts in your minds and establish the correct mindset for Primal Cultists. The first point is: think more about what you can do for God, rather than only thinking about what you can demand from Him.

"The second point..."

"Pope of Pride," Zero suddenly spoke up, cutting him off. Wearing a genial smile on his face, he came over and affectionately grasped Su Mu's arm.

"I understand your urgent desire to expand the Primal Divine Cult, and I admire everything you've accomplished in Hell, but our primary task right now is still to awaken the great Primal Angel. Look—ever since your arrival, the congregation's prayers have stopped. Let us focus on business first.

"I believe that with a believer like you joining our ranks, we will surely be able to awaken the Primal Angel at an earlier date."

Su Mu smiled faintly and did not offer any rebuttal. He knew exactly what Zero was thinking; the man clearly did not want him to continue speaking, terrified of losing his position.

He stopped his brainwashing and instead stood at the very front of the procession alongside Zero and Heilong.

Brainwashing was not an overnight endeavor. Zero had been the Pope for so many years; a few words were not going to shake his status. However, the seed had been planted today, and Su Mu's prestige as the Pope of Hell had been firmly established.

The three of them stood directly beneath the Primal Angel. Behind them, the one hundred thousand cultists knelt on the ground in devout prayer.

Heilong quietly sized up Su Mu, their eyes flickering as they harbored unknown thoughts.

Right as Heilong was observing him, Su Mu suddenly turned his head, and their eyes met.

"Heilong, is it? Actually, I used to be considered half a member of the Temple of God Slaying as well."

Heilong snorted coldly. "I have not been a member of the Temple of God Slaying for a long time."

Su Mu smiled faintly. "I know. I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic. After all, our experiences are quite similar. We are both connected to the Temple of God Slaying, and we both... joined halfway."

Heilong gave him a profound look, then fell silent, closing their eyes tightly to feel the power radiating from the Primal Angel.

"Pride, your strength is not weak, but you are ultimately not in the Demigod Realm. Having the chance to listen to the Primal Angel's teachings today, given time, you will surely be able to advance to the Demigod Realm, and the might of our Primal Divine Cult will rise to a whole new level," Zero said with a smile, seeming to hope that Su Mu could become a Demigod soon.

Su Mu nodded and did not say another word, beginning to "listen" to the Primal Angel's teachings.

They called it "listening," but in truth, it was merely absorbing the power radiating from the Primal Angel to strengthen his own Divinity.

With such a good thing, he had not wasted his breath in vain.

He slowly closed his eyes, but the Primal Angel in his vision lingered. Even in the darkness behind his closed eyes, He still stood eternally, radiating a holy brilliance.

Illuminated by that brilliance, Su Mu could feel his own Primal Divinity strengthening at a visible rate.

Was this the mighty power of a True God? The mere energy radiating from Him was so powerful, an existence on a completely different level from the Demigod Realm.

Demigods were strong, but their power was ultimately limited. The Primal Angel before him, however, seemed to possess limitless power, like an eternally burning sun in the cold universe, continuously radiating light and heat without decaying even after hundreds of millions of years.

One day later, Su Mu slowly opened his eyes and stopped "listening" to the Primal Angel's teachings.

He hadn't forgotten what he had come here to do. His true purpose was the Xuantian Origin on Zero's person!

Except, from beginning to end, he had never seen Zero take out that eyeball-shaped divine taboo object.

Snatching it by force was certainly unrealistic. Two Demigods were present, along with a hundred thousand Primal Cultists. Most critically, they had the Primal Angel backing them, allowing them to directly borrow the Primal Angel's power here.

While Su Mu could also borrow it, how could his solitary Divinity possibly compare to Zero, Heilong, and a hundred thousand people?

He had also thought of breaking the illusion formation from the inside, but quickly abandoned the idea. If he made a rash move, he would inevitably be attacked from all sides.

Fortunately, he had an even better method!