Chapter 185 Approaching the Divine (Part Seven)
Not only did the Emperor see it, but the five examiners in the Examination hall also saw it.
“Her Spiritual Qi is so low, even connecting with a Divine Being is almost impossible, let alone being a born Divine Being,” Li Shangshu mused.
“But she cultivated,” Hanshan Jun reminded him, “and miraculously connected with a Divine Being.”
“Moreover, her Comprehension Ability is very high,” Yan Xueshi mentioned, “With her unique Comprehension Ability, isn’t it surprising that she comprehended the divine book when connecting with a Divine Being?”
“After all, the divine book was only bestowed recently, so it’s not strange if there are mechanisms we don’t understand,” Ling Shangshu uncharacteristically spoke up.
“That makes sense.”
“Ling Shangshu is right.”
“Let’s continue watching,” Mei Yuanzheng said.
At this moment, he still appeared indifferent to these arguments, only deeply engrossed in the progress within the mirage.
“Old Mei, you’re strange. You were initially reluctant about this change in the Imperial Examination, so why are you suddenly so concerned?” Li Shangshu still smiled amicably, but his words carried a hint of Yin and Yang.
“Shh, keep watching,” Mei Yuanzheng didn’t answer, instead finding him noisy.
Li Shangshu seemed unfazed, his smile still amiable: “Listen to Old Mei, let’s continue, we’ll talk less.”
…
The Grand Divine Official only asked this one question.
But this question was enough, because he merely wanted to know how this newly promoted probationary priest understood the Supreme God.
Only with a correct understanding could she be trusted with the tasks ahead.
“Not bad, it seems you have indeed studied diligently,” the Grand Divine Official smiled kindly, the wrinkles on her face gathering like chrysanthemums, “Then I believe you can try to go out and preach for the Supreme God.”
“Ding-dong, main quest triggered — Preaching!”
A cold female voice Liu Sheng had never heard before echoed in this space.
“You are a probationary priest, assigned to this place by the temple.”
“Finally, after thoroughly studying the divine book, you can go out and officially preach!”
“In this space, you have thirty days to preach. For every believer you develop, your temple will gain one point of faith. The final Examination results will be determined by ranking faith points from highest to lowest.”
After listening, Liu Sheng’s eyes deepened a few shades.
She hadn’t expected such an Examination, it seemed similar to the game in Yi Yu’s world.
There was a lot of implied information in those words that needed careful consideration.
The thirty days here certainly weren't actual thirty days, otherwise, she'd starve to a crisp. It should just be a kind of illusory time flow effect.
The Grand Divine Official had just frozen for a moment, and as the female voice ended, she continued to speak as if she hadn’t heard anything: “As you know, now weird objects are everywhere, the human world is in chaos, and the end is nigh.”
“Only by believing in the Supreme God can all living beings be saved.”
“As you said—let us find salvation from the manifestation of sin, that was truly well said.” The Grand Divine Official sighed with emotion, “The weird objects are the manifestation of our sins. We must gather more power to pray to the Supreme God, so that He may hear our devout calls, descend upon this world, unleash Divine Might, cleanse human sins, and revive the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.”
“Therefore, you must let the world understand and believe in the Supreme God, and let more people join us, so that the Supreme God may bless the human world.”
After listening to this long speech, Liu Sheng finally understood what it meant.
This was also what had been said since God Manifestation First Year: the Supreme God bestowed Spiritual Qi and expelled weird objects.
However, what was different was that at the time of God Manifestation, the Supreme God directly descended upon the human world; according to the Grand Divine Official, the Supreme God in this world actually needed to gain more faith to descend.
Why was there such a difference?
And why was such a matter being discussed during the Examination?
Although Liu Sheng appeared pious on the surface, her heart was full of doubt and confusion.
From the sudden change in the Examination direction to this unique Examination format, Liu Sheng always felt that everything exuded an unnatural deliberateness.
Also, she no longer cared about being reasonably anxious.
【It’s useless to think so much.】
【Only by going along with it can I know the Supreme God’s true purpose.】
【But, I don’t want to preach for the Supreme God…】
Liu Sheng felt that if she didn't believe in the Supreme God herself, yet still propagated for Him, it would be too hypocritical.
She could accept a split personality, but not a split worldview.
The World appeared at the opportune moment and said: 【Don’t worry, just getting faith points is fine, I know what to do.】
But the World didn’t explain how it planned to do it, though Liu Sheng could vaguely guess.
With the “Work Log,” the World could do many things.
Now, what was more important was to clearly understand this task.
“May I ask who you are?”
Liu Sheng tried to ask the cold female voice with her consciousness. Fortunately, she was already very skilled at this, and could precisely control whether her consciousness asked the World or her countless selves.
“Hello, Xuan thirty-nine candidate, I am your Test Assistant! You can ask me any questions, as long as they don’t violate Examination rules, fairness principles, or the will of God, I can answer them.”
“How do I develop believers?” Liu Sheng asked first, as this point was very vague in the “Test Assistant’s” description.
“Apologies, this question violates the principle of fairness. Please explore it yourself.”
As expected, this should be a core Examination point, Liu Sheng thought silently.
“May I ask what my current faith points are?”
“Please pay attention to the question, this question is inaccurate.”
Liu Sheng smiled: “Yes, my question was inaccurate. What is the faith value of the temple I belong to?”
“Three faith points.”
“How many people are in the temple I belong to?”
“Three people.”
Liu Sheng was speechless. So, these three faith points were from the Grand Divine Official, the Dawn Priest, and herself. What exactly were those two doing every day before she arrived?
At this moment, Liu Sheng heard the Grand Divine Official ask her: “Now that you are going out to preach, you need a formal spiritual name. Have you thought of what you want to be called?”
【Spiritual name?】
【There are Buddhist names, Daoist names, and now spiritual names?】
【The setting is a bit plagiarized, huh!】
【And spiritual name? Ling…】
Liu Sheng shook her head, quickly dismissing the inappropriate thoughts from her mind.
“Grand Divine Official, what is your… spiritual name?” Liu Sheng thought it would be good to hear it and take it as a reference.
“Taking a spiritual name is because we, as the Supreme God’s representatives walking among humans, should be distinct from the secular world when preaching, so it’s best not to tell others your mundane name,” the Grand Divine Official said. “Mine is called Withered Wood. However, mine is too melancholic; a girl should be more vibrant. You can also be like Dawn, and choose a name that symbolizes the rising sun and a grand, vigorous spirit.”
So “Dawn” was also a spiritual name.
Presumably, the Withered Wood Divine Official had said something similar to Dawn at the time, which was why the Dawn Priest had a name so unrelated to her bitter and dispirited appearance.
Liu Sheng pondered for a moment, and a name flashed through her mind.
“I’ve thought of it!”
The Withered Wood Divine Official said in surprise, “That quickly? Aren’t you going to think about it properly? This is a name that will follow you for life.”
“Yes, I’ve thought of it,” Liu Sheng said with certainty.
“I’ll be called…”
“Earth Mother.”
The embarrassing name reappeared in the Jianghu (⁄ω⁄)