For all of the remaining Generals, perishing in front of the gateway would be the most tragic fate imaginable. Even those from the main church didn't dare to come out. Judging from his track record, he clearly didn't care if his victims came from the main church or not! Fang Che was feeling very disappointed, but he still hadn't lost hope, continuing to subtly scour his surroundings as he complained, "We're all going to be comrades from now on, so I was hoping that I would get to leave with everyone, and we could all exchange some pleasantries and put the past month behind us." In spite of what he was saying, the gleaming saber held in his hand clearly betrayed his true intentions. Yan Beihan was completely speechless. It looked like he wanted to wait in front of the gateway and make sure that no one could leave this place alive! "Piss off!" Yan Beihan snapped with an exasperated roll of her eyes. "Even if you continue killing, your Five Spirit Parasite won't be able to devour any more. Don't you know that?" "Really? What the hell am I still doing here then?" Fang Che exclaimed in a disappointed manner. "That's why I'm telling you to piss off!" Yan Beihan snapped. "What about you? You're not coming out?" Fang Che asked. She had to ensure that the remaining Generals from the main church left this place alive, and she didn't trust Fang Che not to kill them in her absence. "Fine," Fang Che relented with a resigned sigh. "Are you sure I can't claim any more Five Spirit Parasites?" "The project is over! These are the rules! Leave!" Yan Beihan yelled in disbelief. Fang Che finally believed her, and he took one final disappointed glance back at the Parasite Ascension Domain as he heaved a forlorn sigh, then yelled, "Let's all be friends after we leave this place!" The disappointed look on his face gave way to a warm smile as he gave everyone a friendly parting wave, then stepped out through the gateway. Yan Beihan couldn't help but shudder at the sight of his friendly display. Only after Fang Che had vanished into the gateway of light did people finally begin shuffling out of the surrounding forest with sheepish looks on their faces. Yan Beihan couldn't help but feel amused by the sight of all of the cowardly Generals coming out of hiding. She turned her gaze to the gateway of light, and the image of Night Demon stepping out into the open on his own resurfaced in her mind. Even she couldn't help but be stunned by the backward glance he had taken, a silent challenge to all of the remaining Generals. It was such a breathtaking display of absolute self-assurance and ruthlessness, challenging anyone to stand alongside him while confident in the knowledge that no one would dare. Once again, Yan Beihan found herself lamenting the fact that a man of his exceptional talents was from a subsidiary church. All of the Generals who had survived to this point were victors in their own right, but they felt like a colony of ants scurrying out after a giant dragon. A hint of disdain flashed through Yan Beihan's eyes. Several Generals from the main church made their way to Yan Beihan with looks of sheepish embarrassment in their eyes, yet before they had a chance to say anything, she had already turned and departed. It was the final day, and the elevated platform had already been cleaned up. Some spectator stands had been set up in the surrounding area, and they were all packed with people. This was no surprise, given that this was a grand triennial festival of sorts for the Church of the Self-Righteous. On this day, it would be decided which popes of the subsidiary churches would have the privilege of sitting, and which of their peers would have to stand or kneel. It was certainly not every day that the opportunity to see kneeling popes arose, and many were eager to capitalize. In contrast with the excitement of the spectators, Yin Shengong was staring at the gateway of light with his heart full of dread. His palms were sweating profusely, and his heart was beating like a drum. His fate was about to be decided. Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang were by his side, and they were feeling just as anxious. "I'm sure Night Demon won't let us down," Qian Sanjiang, but it sounded more like a wishful prayer than a statement of conviction. Yin Shengong took a deep breath and didn't say anything. Night Demon was his only hope. The only other thing that he could hope for was that all of the One Heart Church Generals had been wiped out. In that case, he would gladly go and kneel. Alternatively, even if Night Demon were dead, he would be fine as long as none of the other One Heart Church Generals managed to secure a top-ten finish. As for a scenario in which Night Demon had survived and secured a top-ten, even top-three finish... Yin Shengong didn't even dare to hope for such a wonderful outcome. He banished the thought from his mind, refusing to get his hopes up. If he allowed himself to hope, then the ensuing despair would only feel more crushing. The sun rose up over the horizon, and a single figure with an unmatched aura emerged with the first rays of light from the rising sun. "Welcome, Deputy Pope Bi!" Everyone knelt down in unison. It was the third-in-line deputy pope, Bi Changhong. An elevated platform then rose up from the ground along with a staircase, and on the platform was a single chair, on either side of which was a slightly lower tier, which was where the two guardians of the deputy pope were to stand. The staircase led down to the lower elevated platform, where the popes of all of the subsidiary churches were to be situated. Only the pope of the General that secured the first-place finish would get to ascend that staircase to claim their reward, and all of the popes had turned to stare at the staircase with looks of yearning in their eyes. That was the stairway to heaven of the Church of the Self-Righteous. For the first-place finisher, not only would they be paving a bright future for themselves, they would also be winning their pope unmatched glory. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novelFɪre.net The pope that received the honor of ascending that staircase had to do so very slowly, reveling in their glory and superiority over the other popes for as long as possible. The popes of the most powerful subsidiary churches were all gazing upon the staircase with looks of fervent excitement in their eyes. Some of them had already ascended it many times in the past, but it was certainly not an experience that one would ever grow weary of. Yin Shengong also took a longing glance at the staircase, only to quickly look away again with a dejected sigh. He had never had the honor of ascending that staircase before, and he knew that such an honor would never belong to him. It was often the case that he was forced to watch someone else ascend the staircase from a kneeling position. For this particular edition of the Parasite Ascension Project, being forced to kneel would be one of the best outcomes that he could hope for. All of the popes had arranged themselves into two even groups, in between which was a wide path, along which a dazzling red carpet was unfurled. It was a brand new red carpet that was completely pristine, and all of the popes backed up a little further for fear of accidentally glancing the red carpet with their feet. There had been past examples of popes unfortunate enough to have touched the red carpet with the tip of their foot. All of them had been administered a brutal beating on the spot, following which the red carpet was replaced with a new one. All of a sudden, a burst of energy fluctuations swept through the air, following which a gateway of white light emerged. The gateway instantly became the center of attention for all of the popes, including even the despairing Yin Shengong. Before long, around ten minutes had already passed, yet not a single person had emerged from the gateway. This was a very long wait compared with the past editions of the Parasite Ascension Project. All of the popes had begun exchanging bewildered glances, and even Bi Changhong was looking rather surprised. Right at this moment, a figure appeared within the gateway, and all of the popes looked on with wide eyes and bated breath. It was a brawny man with a square face and a thick beard. His entire body was covered in blood, and he was carrying a saber on his back. In the instant that he appeared, all of the popes felt a hostile wave of baleful qi sweep over them. They couldn't imagine how many people a mere General would've had to have killed in there for such immense baleful qi to be emanating from his body. Yin Shengong's eyes widened in shock, convinced that his mind had to have been playing tricks on him. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, then focused his gaze on the lone figure again. Before he had a chance to register what he was looking at, Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang had already erupted into excited cheers. Yin Shengong had finally realized that it wasn't a figment of his imagination, and he was so overcome by emotion that tears were beginning to well up in his eyes. I'm saved! Night Demon is the first one to come out! For all of his poise and composure, he was rendered completely speechless by the overwhelming waves of relief and elation that were washing over him. I've retained my position as pope! It's over for you, Ren Zhongyuan! And I won't have to kneel, either! An enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders, striking him with the urge to burst into tears. Fang Che had only just set foot on the red carpet when he stopped in his tracks, taken aback by this grand reception. He then heard Qian Sanjiang call out to him. "Just look directly ahead and walk forward! Don't worry about anything else!" Fang Che immediately cast his gaze forward, holding his head high and proud as he walked down the red carpet. Countless flower petals came raining down from above, every single one vibrant and fragrant. A thunderous chorus of applause rang out from the spectator stands, but as the applause gradually subsided, everyone realized that something wasn't right. It had been some time since Fang Che had emerged from the gateway, yet not one else had come out after him. At this point, Fang Che had already made it to the end of the red carpet and stationed himself behind a sign that read "One Heart Church," and many people turned to look at him in bewilderment. Where's everyone else? Surely he can't have killed them all!