Picking Up Attributes From Today c1-406

by Panda Reunion, 团圆小熊猫

  “Lord Conant!”

  The Light Church masses’ expressions couldn’t help but change greatly as shock and disbelief filled them.

  That was Lord Conant, one of the church’s strongest ascetic cultivators! Yet he had died just like that?

  “Why is this happening?”

  “How did Lord Conant die?”

  None of them could accept such an outcome.

  “Sir, that’s exactly the kind of attack he had used!”

  The Holy Maiden of Light had an awful look on her face. She said, “It’s neither a physical nor a power of divinity attack. Nor is it a divine spirit attack, yet its power is on the level of a true god. It’s extremely bizarre!”

  Pope Hayes nodded slightly, his brows drawing together into a frown. Meng Lei was stronger than he had expected. Things would be tough for them today.

  “Has Conant died just like that?”

  The remaining eight true gods looked fearful. As they gazed at Meng Lei, their eyes were full of shock, horror, and wariness.

  The Angel Battle Formation jointly formed by the nine of them was capable of trapping the vast majority of lesser deities.

  But Meng Lei?

  He had actually destroyed their Angel Battle Formation and killed Conant so casually. How strong must he be?

  “A pinnacle-level lesser deity!”

  “He’s definitely a pinnacle-level lesser deity!”

  The eight true gods exchanged looks with one another, communicating swiftly with one another via their divine cognition.

  “Everyone, the other party is too powerful. His strength far surpasses what we had expected. What should we do?”

  “There’s only that one move left if we hope to defeat him. Otherwise, we won’t be his match at all!”

  “That move? Is there no other way?”

  “Yes, do we absolutely have to use that move?”

  “Unless we flee, that move is the only one we can use. Otherwise, we won’t be a match for him at all!”

  “Flee?”

  One must admit that thoughts of fleeing had indeed occurred to the few true gods. They were true gods; as long as they focused solely on fleeing, they would definitely be able to get away.

  But the problem was—if they fled, then what about the church?

  The Light Church had groomed them ever since they were young. The church was their origin. Even if they must die or be killed, they couldn’t just abandon the church and make a getaway on their own!

  “One down, eight to go.”

  Meng Lei gazed at the remaining eight true gods and said, “I will kill all of you, flatten the Holy Mountain of Light, and completely erase the Light Church now. All of you... Are you ready?”

  The eight true gods shuddered the moment the words left his mouth. Looks of hesitation and internal struggle flashed across their eyes. Unless they absolutely had to, they really didn’t want to resort to that move!

  “The first one!”

  Meng Lei locked on to one of the true gods and slowly reached out his right index finger. He said, “I pick you!”

  “Damn!”

  The true god’s expression changed drastically, and he instinctively wanted to dodge. To his horror, however, he discovered in this instant that he actually couldn’t move!

  “Damn! Move! Hurry, mov—”

  He bellowed madly inwardly. However, he felt an intense, piercing pain in the middle of his brows at this moment. It instantly swept through his nerves and his brain...

  Then, he stiffened and crashed straight onto the ground. His eyes were widened big and round—evidently, he hadn’t died in peace.

  “The second one!”

  Meng Lei turned to the remaining seven true gods. His gaze swept to and fro among them, frightening the seven true gods out of their wits.

  Six of them were still caught in their internal struggles and hesitating, but one of them actually began to flee into the distance without even so much as a look behind him. He moved extremely swiftly, crossing ten miles in a breath. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished into the horizon...

  The six remaining true gods’ eyes widened big and round as they stared in stunned silence at the other true god’s back. Torrential waves churned in their hearts—they really felt like breaking into expletives at this moment!

  “Jarpet!”

  “That bastard!”

  “He’s actually fled!”

  “He’s actually abandoned his faith and deserted the Light Church and chickened out!”

  “A disgrace! He’s a disgrace to the church!”

  Pope Hayes had an extremely dark and sinister look on his face. Jarpet had always claimed that he wouldn’t hesitate to do anything and would go through the hardest of trials for the church, yet now, in the face of danger, he had actually fled so resolutely. This was an utter embarrassment to the church!

  “Someone has actually fled?”

  Ol’ Amos also looked taken aback. He said, “Every one of those quacks from the Light Church has always adopted an attitude as if they were full of compassion and pity for mankind, and acted as if they would sacrifice themselves for their faith anytime. I’d never have thought that they would actually make a run for it the moment trouble actually knocks on their door. What a jaw-dropping surprise!”

  A smiling Meng Lei shook his head at Ol Amos’ comment. Then, he said, “It’s already remarkable that only one of them has fled. After all, which among those that could cultivate all the way to become a true god isn’t a person of determination and strong will? How would they possibly truly worship someone else?”

  “That’s true.”

  Ol’ Amos agreed with his statement. He said, “Be it half-deities or true gods, they are usually all selfish people that can bring themselves to abandon anything during moments of life and death.”

  “The six of you are the only ones left now,” said Meng Lei as he turned to the six remaining true gods.

  The six true gods shuddered all over upon noticing Meng Lei’s gaze. Then, they did something shocking—they took off at once without even so much as a look behind them and disappeared into the far horizon in the blink of an eye...

  Meng Lei, “...”

  Ol’ Amos, “...”

  The Light Church masses, “...”

  “All of them ran away, Ol’ President!” Meng Lei found this hilarious. “We were wrong—their faith in the Goddess of Light isn’t that pious after all!”

  “Yeah, we were wrong!”

  Ol’ Amos didn’t know what to say anymore. “As expected, humans are selfish. And the more powerful and the higher of a status a deity is, the more selfish they usually are, too.”

  “Exactly!”

  Meng Lei nodded slightly. Then, he turned to Pope Hayes and said, “Your Holiness, the talents that the Light Church has groomed sure are astonishing.”

  “Bastards! Those seven selfish and mercenary bastards! They are all sinners! Sinners!”

  Pope Hayes could no longer maintain his compassionate and merciful attitude. His whole face had become incredibly distorted, and even his eyes were red.

  “They’ve abandoned their faith and betrayed our Lord, as well the church. They are even more abominable and deserve death even more than those wicked heretics!”

  “What do we do now, sir?”

  The Holy Maiden of Light also had an icy look on her face. She had never thought that things would reach such a point.

  Two true gods had fallen in battle while the remaining seven had fled from battle and abandoned them!

  The Light Church had landed itself into an incredibly embarrassing and perilous situation.

  “We can only risk our lives and fight!”

  Pope Hayes instructed, “Activate the light shield. Nothing must happen to the Shrine of Light!”

  “Yes, sir!”

  The Holy Maiden of Light nodded slightly and relayed his order.

  Buzz...

  A gentle milky-white glow formed around the Shrine of Light
before swiftly spreading and turning into a milky-white shield that isolated the whole Shrine of Light from the outside world.

  “The light shield is formed from power of faith that the Shrine of Light has accumulated over the years. It can endure several attacks from an intermediate deity.”

  Pope Hayes let out a sigh of relief as he gazed at the light shield enveloping the Shrine of Light. He said, “With the light shield, the Shrine of Light should be safe and secure. Now, I can battle with peace of mind.”

  “Sir, you—”

  A huge jolt went through the Holy Maiden of Light.

  “Altacia, blasphemy toward our Lord’s faith cannot be condoned. The Light Church will not stand for anyone challenging its authority. Keep this firmly in mind, and you’ll become a qualified pope.”

  Pope Hayes gave Altacia a deep and meaningful look. Then, he took off the pope’s hat he was wearing and personally placed it atop the Holy Maiden of Light’s head.

  “Sir, no! Don’t!”

  The Holy Maiden of Light shook her head vehemently, choking up as tears welled up in her eyes.

  “Altacia, do not grieve for me. It is my utmost honor to be able to sacrifice myself for our Lord.”

  Then, Pope Hayes gave her a kind and benevolent smile and said, “Besides, your teacher won’t die so easily.”

  Then, Pope Hayes slowly rose into the air. Without the pope’s hat restraining his hair, his head of white hair now fluttered in the breeze. His snowy-white robes were clean and spotless. Flames of fury burned within his small and skinny frame like a volcano that might erupt any moment.

  “Your Holiness, you’re finally out.”

  Meng Lei looked at the Pope of Light with a smile. He said, “You’re very brave. I’m even somewhat admiring you now!”

  “For our Lord’s glory, what is there to fear about death?”

  Pope Hayes’ voice turned cold and emotionless as he said, “Your Holiness, leave at once, and I’ll take it that nothing had ever happened. Otherwise—”

  “Your Holiness, from start to finish, there’s something you actually still haven’t understood.”

  Meng Lei flicked his fingers and said with a shake of his head, “This existential plane belongs to me. I will not permit other types of religious faith to exist here. Do you understand?”

  “Let’s fight!”

  Torrential power of divinity gushed into Pope Hayes’ pastoral staff as he brandished it. His voice thundered in the sky, “By Our Lord’s Decree—Let There Be Light!”

  Buzz...

  Dazzling golden divine light spilled from the sky, melting the void inch by inch and creating pitch-black fissures everywhere it passed through. The terrifying divine light had actually obliterated even the dimension itself!

  Boom!

  Divine light instantly enveloped Meng Lei.

  Chapter 292: Crushing The Pope, Immolation

  “Your Holiness!”

  “His Holiness has finally made his move!”

  “His Holiness is a lesser deity and the top expert in Light Continent. With him around, that evil deity is doomed!”

  “Your Holiness, you must kill that evil deity...”

  Everyone in the Light Church went into a frenzy the moment Pope Hayes launched his attack.

  Their eyes, full of anticipation, shone brightly and keenly as they watched the pope in the sky.

  “Sir, you’ll definitely beat him! Definitely!”

  The Holy Maiden of Light’s expression was filled with hope, too.

  Now that things had come to such a pass, the Light Church could be said to have revealed all of its trump cards. If even the pope couldn’t defeat Meng Lei, then only one outcome awaited the Light Church—annihilation.

  Therefore, everyone had pinned all their hopes on Pope Hayes.

  At the same time, while all these happened, the seven true gods that had previously fled actually hadn’t completely left yet. After fleeing for a distance that they felt was safe enough, they stopped to observe the battleground from a far distance.

  All of them wanted to know how the battle today would conclude and who the victor would be.

  Boom!

  Golden divine light shone down from above, instantly shrouding Meng Lei within. Fearsome power capable of melting things assaulted him and began to furiously dissolve his body.

  Meng Lei’s clothes had been fully dissolved in the blink of an eye, revealing his long, slender, and well-built physique—including his shaft.

  “As long as you’re a lesser deity, you’ll definitely perish under my attacks!”

  Pope Hayes watched Meng Lei closely. He was fairly confident in his abilities.

  After all, he was a pinnacle-level lesser deity. On top of that, his By Our Lord’s Decree secret arts even had its origins from the Celestial Realm. It was ten times more powerful than pure light-elemental divine techniques.

  How could lesser deities possibly withstand attacks like that?

  However, one second passed... Three seconds passed... Ten seconds passed... Half a minute passed...

  Yet Meng Lei remained well and intact. Aside from his clothes that had dissolved, his divine body showed no signs of dissolving at all. In fact, every strand of body hair was standing tall and proud.

  “So, that’s what your attack is like, Your Holiness?”

  Netherworld Divine Fire rose around him and covered his “vital parts”. Meng Lei looked at Pope Hayes and said dispassionately, “Isn’t it a little too weak? It can’t even count as a tickle.”

  “Why is this happening?”

  Pope Hayes was filled with disbelief. He exclaimed, “My divine technique attacks are capable of inflicting grievous wounds on lesser deities. You can’t possibly be unaffected at all! Absolutely not!”

  “Your Holiness, you might be mistaken about something,” Meng Lei shook his head, “I’ve never said that I’m a lesser deity.”

  “Not a lesser deity? Could you be—”

  Pope Hayes’ expression changed drastically. Meng Lei teleported right in front of him at this moment and dealt a light palm strike against his chest.

  “Ugh!”

  Pope Hayes coughed up blood and fell backward, crashing violently against the milky-white light shield.

  “Sir!!”

  “Your Holiness!”

  The expressions of everyone from the Light Church changed greatly as they stared at the sight in disbelief.

  A single move!

  He had defeated the pope with just a single move!

  Just how frighteningly strong was he?

  “An intermediate deity! He must be an intermediate deity!”

  Fear and horror surfaced in the Holy Maiden of Light’s eyes as she murmured, “O noble Lord, he’s actually an intermediate deity! How can he be an intermediate deity?”

  Intermediate deities were absolute invincible existences on the Heaven’s Vault Continent existential plane. There was no way they could defeat an intermediate deity even if they were to amass all of the Light Church’s power. The gap in strength was too great!

  “A miscalculation! I’ve made a miscalculation!”

  An unsteady Pope Hayes flew back into the air. There was blood at the corners of his lips. He said, “I didn’t expect Your Holiness to be an intermediate deity. I was blind!”

  “It’s not too late to become aware of it now.”

  Meng Lei flicked his fingers and said dispassionately, “Your Holiness, I admire your strength and courage very much. I’ll give you a chance to live—submit to me and become the Meng Lei Holy Cult’s pope!”

  “I’m afraid I’ll have to let you down, Your Holiness.”

  Pope Hayes coughed up a mouthful of blood and said, “As our Lord’s servant, I will only worship our noble Lord for all of my life. It’s impossible for me to change my faith to worship someone else.”

  “What a real shame!” Meng Lei was rather regretful. “In that case, sorry about this!”

  Meng Lei slowly raised a finger. Netherworld
Divine Fire burst forth from his fingertip, and a black spear aimed from a distance at Pope Hayes quietly formed.

  “Netherworld Divine Fire!”

  Pope Hayes’ pupils constricted. He could sense great danger approaching. He hastily wielded the pastoral staff in his hand and commanded, “By Our Lord’s Decree—Let There Be Light!”

  Whoosh!

  Surging golden divine light gushed from the pastoral staff, forming a golden wall in front of him as he prepared to block Meng Lei’s attack.

  “This move again? Looks like you’ve exhausted all your abilities, Your Holiness.”

  The black spear formed from Netherworld Divine Fire shot out like a piercing arrow with a casual wave from Meng Lei and instantly appeared right in front of the golden wall.

  Splurt!

  It pierced through the golden wall with barely any obstruction before, subsequently piercing through Pope Hayes’ chest and coming out from the other side.

  “Ugh!”

  Blood spurted from Pope Hayes’ mouth. He stared at the black hole in his chest in stunned silence, all his fighting spirit and determination turning into despair and a sense of powerlessness at this moment.

  “It’s too great! The gap between the two of us is simply too great!”

  Pope Hayes let out a resigned laugh and said, “Now that things have reached such a pass, I can only resort to that!”

  Then, he looked at Meng Lei and then at the Shrine of Light and the Light Church masses shrouded by the light shield. He let out a hoarse shout, “The Light Church lives on! Our Lord’s brilliance will shine upon the world for all of eternity!

  “Immolate!”

  Dazzling flames of light suddenly burst forth from all over him. Then, the originally holy and sacred flames of light began to burn Pope Hayes furiously.

  His life force began to wane at a terrifying speed, like water rapidly flowing out of a bottomless bucket.

  “This is... An immolation spell?”

  Ol’ Amos’ expression changed drastically at the sight. He shouted, “Meng Lei, stop him! He’s immolating! He’s summoning the Angels! Things would become troublesome once the Angels descend!”

  “Immolating? Summoning the Angels?”

  Meng Lei raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t that surprised, though.