Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
The moment the divine artifact of life—the Life Codex—was brought out. Its life divinity immediately resonated with the divinity on Loli. Shirley, the true Goddess of Life, also resonated. She was intimately familiar with the Life Codex, having crafted the divine artifact herself.
“You actually found the Life Codex!?” Shirley was somewhat surprised. Her primary mission after awakening within Loli was to find the Life Codex. Unfortunately, she was completely suppressed by Loli and Xi Wei. Furthermore, after experiencing the sensation of six times normal speed thousands of times, she now lacked the ability to resist. Simply looking at Xi Wei caused her internal ocean divinity to feel like a raging mountain flood.
Fortunately, she was within Loli’s consciousness space. All of this was well concealed.
“That’s right, I found this thing. Now my life divinity is completely replenished. Will Loli be able to ascend to godhood?” Xi Wei couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. That was godhood! The ultimate power on the entire Cain Continent. He already found life difficult to bear before Loli became a god; if she ascended, he could die and be resurrected as many times as he pleased every day. Ah~ I’m dead~ Oh hey, I’m alive again~ I just can’t die.
“Hmm… it does seem possible to progress to the Ignite Divine Fire step…” Shirley’s voice held a mixture of complex emotions. The position of Goddess of Life was originally hers. However, this was also good. When Loli ascended to godhood in the future, she would become a part of Loli’s divine soul. This way, she could experience worldly bliss every now and then, and it wouldn’t be a loss. The former Goddess of Life had long forgotten why she had come.
Quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes. Her divine soul was already stained and corrupted, marked by Xi Wei. Under Loli’s influence, she had also developed an indescribable feeling towards Xi Wei.
“Using the true spirit as the foundation, the soul as the source, faith as the application, and divinity as the protection is sufficient to ignite the divine fire. The burning of the divine fire consumes energy and requires at least ten fanatically devoted followers of Loli to provide faith to sustain the stable burning of the divine fire until it is fully ignited. So… does Loli have any followers?”
Xi Wei and Loli exchanged glances. Loli did have followers. Many people in Winter City had been treated by Loli in the past. Later, all the patients in Winter City were cured, and Loli’s small clinic became deserted. What used to be a half-day clinic now only opened for two hours. She treated people if there were any, and didn’t bother if there were none. However, those people who were extremely grateful to Loli were merely general believers, and Loli had not actively recruited followers. Therefore, there was naturally no channel to provide faith.
No, wait… It seems Loli really does have one fanatical follower. Xi Wei gently held Loli’s hand. If one were to ask who Loli’s most fanatical follower was, it would undoubtedly be him, the King of Winter. Who could be more fanatical than someone who created dolls with Loli every day?
“How about you see if my faith in Loli is enough?” Xi Wei straightened his collar, putting on a nonchalant air.
“You?” Shirley was stunned. Xi Wei’s idea was rather interesting. However, there was no rule preventing a husband and wife from being fanatical followers. Moreover, Xi Wei was quite eccentric among the men on the entire continent. In this male-dominated world, she hadn’t met another man who treated women so well. Although(‘,’) Xi Wei had many women, each one received sufficient love from him.
“Even if you are indeed Loli’s fanatical follower, it’s probably not enough…” With Loli’s consent, Shirley took over her body. Immediately, a destructive light, like stars, lit up within those ruby eyes. Shirley saw it, and her expression turned blank. She saw a towering knight made of faith, thousands of feet tall, enveloping the entire Winter City. The knight’s light wings behind him were like clouds touching the sky. His left hand held a spear of war, and his right hand gripped the King of Conquest Long Sword behind his back. His face was hidden within his helmet, making it impossible to see clearly, but it was almost certain that the knight’s face was that of the King of Winter.
What immense faith this was. Shirley also discovered that this faith was connected to the strangely shaped statue outside Winter Fort. Simultaneously, the entire Winter City, and even the horizon far beyond, was continuously channeling faith towards Xi Wei. This faith originated from the entire Wintery Empire! Cainan and the Medon Empire also had statues of Xi Wei, from which faith continuously generated.
With the implementation of newspapers, public notices, and various beneficial policies, the majority of residents in the entire Wintery Empire began to abandon their faith in ethereal gods and instead erected statues of the King of Winter in their homes, praying day and night. In the eyes of these ordinary people, praying to gods was useless. The gods had too many followers and didn’t lack one more person. But by praying to the King of Winter, the taxes next year might be reduced by another layer. Every day, they could see in the newspapers what the King of Winter had done for the entire empire, what policies he had enacted, what technological advancements the Wintery Empire had made, and what breakthroughs the Wintery Empire’s army had achieved. Everything was clearly presented to these people, making them believe that their faith was in something real and happening around them.
“You indeed have a lot of faith, but this faith is directed towards you. For Loli, it’s not…” Shirley’s words were cut short as her eyes widened in surprise. As Xi Wei looked at her, or rather, as his gaze towards Loli became increasingly fervent. The knight statue representing the King of Winter actually gradually transformed into Loli’s appearance. Terrifying faith swept towards Loli like a tide. The entire room was instantly covered by a vast ocean of faith, turning milky white.
“How about it? Is my faith in Loli enough for her to become a god?”
“E-enough… enough…” Shirley nodded with difficulty. Let alone enough to ignite Loli’s divine fire, it would be enough for two more gods. Such immense faith suggested an unknown number of fanatical followers. Shirley naturally couldn’t comprehend the influence of newspapers on the residents of the Wintery Empire, especially in the most populous Eagle Territory and Most Territory, and the former Royal City. Under the subtle guidance of public opinion, it was normal for residents who benefited from the new policies to worship the King of Winter as a god. Not to mention, the newspapers mentioned the King of Winter every day, along with his various life philosophies and toxic chicken soup. For the people of this world, it was simply a dimensionality reduction attack. The players also wondered why the King of Winter was creating newspapers. Later, they stopped thinking about it. Scheming Frog created plays, Nobody Does Human Things created cement, and it was normal for the King of Winter, at the suggestion of a player, to create newspapers and various forms of toxic chicken soup.
