Unlike Chen Miemie’s cold expression, Moretti’s face was full of smiles.
“I wondered who it was. So it’s Mr. Chen Mie Mie, representative of the Hengyue clan. Your arrival truly brings honor to the church.”
His reaction was rather different from what Chen Miemie had expected.
“You seem quite happy to see me.”
“Of course I am. This is the Moon Church, devoted to the Three Moons. Members of the Hengyue clan are one of our own, so naturally you’re more than welcome.”
After just two exchanges, Chen Miemie realized that trying to go in circles with a church bishop whose conversational skills were fully maxed out would only bring him trouble. So he changed tactics.
“Do you know why I’m here today?”
Moretti shook his head. “If it were anyone else in this city, I would assume they harbored hostility toward me and had come here looking for trouble. But I’m not sure where you stand.”
“I’m here to look for trouble too.” Chen Miemie made his position perfectly clear.
“Oh? What sort of trouble does Mr. Chen Mie Mie wish to find? I’m all ears.” Moretti’s smile faded.
“You already know that you’ve drawn the hostility of every major power in the city. Do you really need me to spell it out? I took you for a clever man, but you’re still pretending not to understand.”
“No, I’m not pretending. I truly don’t understand. If I’ve done something wrong, then please point it out directly. I’m eager to hear your explanation.”
“Fine, then let me ask you. You require patients who come here to offer their blood, which you use to make ‘Rainbow Light Brew.’ It treats them while also making them addicted, allowing you to control the populace and harvest their faith. Is that true?”
Moretti thought for a moment. “Although your wording is somewhat derogatory and includes a few assumptions, the objective portion is largely accurate.”
“Since you admit it, how can you still refuse to acknowledge that you’re using treatment as a pretext to make people addicted, holding public opinion hostage, and exploiting their faith?”
Moretti did not argue. “Mr. Chen Mie Mie, you and I stand at opposite ends of this issue. In your eyes, anything I say will probably sound like sophistry. Instead, why don’t you sit beside me and watch me receive two patients? You can see everything with your own eyes. How does that sound?”
“Fine.”
And so Chen Miemie took a seat beside Moretti.
The attendant announced, “Next.”
A new patient entered the small room.
He was a middle-aged man dressed plainly. His clothes were dull in color and had clearly been washed many times, having already begun to fade.
“Bishop, my child has broken his leg. It’s a compound fracture. I hope you can help us.”
Moretti smiled gently at the man. “Please, sit down.”
Once the man had taken his seat, Moretti spoke directly.
“This is your first visit, so before we discuss treatment, I must explain the conditions.
“My treatment is connected to my [Mystery]. The patient must contribute blood, which is then fused with moonlight to produce a brew. Drinking it can heal you, but it will also gradually become addictive. After coming here for treatment three times, you will become completely addicted.
“Those who become addicted must believe in the Rainbow Moon and come here regularly to have their blood made into brew, in order to ease their hunger and thirst. This is an extremely serious side effect, and you must understand it clearly.”
The man became agitated. “I know. I know all about it. My neighbors told me before I came. My child and I are both willing.”
Moretti reminded him once again, “You’re trapped in pain right now and are desperately seeking any possible treatment. I suggest you try other methods first. If they don’t work, come back to me.”
“No, there’s no need. Bishop Moliti, please save my child.”
“Go home and think it over for two days. Take a look at the people around you who have become addicted. If you’re truly certain of your decision, bring your child to the church in three days.”
“Thank you, Bishop!”
The man hurried out of the room, overjoyed.
Chen Miemie remained silent throughout.
Soon, the second patient entered.
She was an elderly woman who walked with trembling steps, leaning on a cane.
“Greetings, Bishop Moliti.” The old woman gave a slight bow.
“Please, sit down.”
After the old woman sat, Moretti spoke. “If I remember correctly, this isn’t your first visit.”
“No, it isn’t. I came here two months ago. I’m old, so all sorts of ailments have caught up with me. My heart condition flared up last night, and I nearly didn’t make it to dawn.”
“Ma’am, you should know what I’m about to say.”
“I do. I understand the explanation given before treatment. I know that the blood brew is addictive. I’ve received the grace of the blood light, and even if it had no addictive effect, I would willingly believe in the Rainbow Moon.”
“Very good. Then I’ll draw your blood. Please extend your arm.”
Moretti used a blood-drawing device to take a vial of blood from her artery, then stopped.
“Ma’am, you may come to collect your Rainbow Light Brew tomorrow evening or the morning after.”
“Thank you, Bishop. Praise the Rainbow Moon.”
The old woman bowed again before leaving the room.
After watching both patients, Chen Miemie and Moretti resumed their conversation.
“So, Bishop Moliti, what you wanted me to see was that you make these disclosures beforehand, proving that you act openly and honestly, and that the people come here of their own free will?”
Moretti shook his head.
“No. What I wanted you to see wasn’t their ‘free will,’ but their ‘unwillingness.’
“Mr. Chen Mie Mie, do you really think that just because they say they don’t care about becoming addicted, they truly don’t care?
“How could they? People aren’t fools.
“If they know there are side effects, then as long as they have any other choice, who would choose this kind of treatment?
“Would any father willingly let his child become addicted? Would an old woman of such an advanced age suddenly develop a genuine faith? Of course not.
“They’re clearly ‘unwilling,’ yet they still come here. They even have to say things against their own hearts, pretending that they’re volunteering and pretending to be devout.”
Chen Miemie was silent for a long while before asking, “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“The Rainbow Light Brew isn’t actually as miraculous as people think. It can’t cure terminal illnesses or restore flesh to bare bones. At most, it’s comparable to the treatment offered by an ordinary clinic.
“People come here for treatment not because I possess exceptional medical skills, but because they can’t afford treatment anywhere else and have already been driven into a corner.
“In the end, what the Rainbow Light Brew cures is nothing more than the disease of poverty.
“Whether it’s faith or manipulation and coercion, they offer up the only bargaining chip they possess—something they cannot turn into money anywhere else—in exchange for the hope of preserving their lives.
“That is their true ‘free will.’”
Moretti continued:
“Every major power in the city is hostile toward me. Mr. Chen Mie Mie, what do you think they’re afraid of?
“Are they really afraid that I’ll gather a group of ordinary citizens and cause trouble?
“What a joke. This is a world of [Mysteries]. No matter how many ordinary citizens there are, how much military force could they possibly possess? Who could they threaten?
“The so-called powers are the people who already stand high above everyone else. They don’t need to trade blood for their lives. They eat delicacies at every meal, and when they fall ill, they receive the finest medical care.
“What they fear is that I’ll allow people at the bottom to enjoy the same quality of treatment as they do.
“Besides, there’s something about you I can’t understand, Mr. Chen Mie Mie.”
“Oh? What is it you can’t understand?”
“The powerful figures of Six-Image City are hostile toward me because they fear I’ll control the public, guide public opinion, and manipulate faith.
“But the problem is that even if I harbor malicious intentions, I haven’t actually begun to act on them. As long as I haven’t truly done anything, it remains only a possibility.
“To treat someone as a criminal simply because they might commit evil—that conforms neither to the law nor to logic.
“So, what they really care about isn’t whether any actual wrongdoing has taken place. They care about whether the power is in their own hands and whether it can be controlled.
“And in their eyes, I’m someone they cannot control.”
“The same goes for you, Mr. Chen Mie Mie. You represent a new species, which is just as far beyond their control. Right now, it’s only because the species behind you is powerful and hasn’t shown any weaknesses. But the day you decline, you and I will be treated the same way.
I might be able to control my followers, and you might likewise be able to manipulate anomalies into committing evil deeds. Even if you never actually do so, as long as the threat exists, it’s all the same to them.
“So when you criticize me, you’re criticizing yourself as well.”
Chen Miemie: ...
As expected, not a single bishop in the Church was a pushover.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
+ Slow Paced + Main Character Thrives Together with His Disciples】 Transmigrated into a cultivation world, Chu Xingchen awakens a discipleship system that reveals the tags of his disciples! Starting from scratch, he builds the strongest sect. Disciple One: Li Yingling 【Gold Tag: Genius Cultivator】【Purple Tag: Extremely Lucky】【Blue Tag: Bewitchingly Beautiful】 Disciple Two: Li Hangtian 【Gold Tag: Reincarnated】【Purple Tag: Ruthless and Decisive】【Blue Tag: Loyal and Noble】 Disciple Three: ??? 【Orange Tag: Alluring Demoness】【???】【???】 Thus, in the cultivation world, an unremarkable little sect appears out of nowhere, but little do others know that each member of this sect is a powerhouse in their own right. The book is also known as: Cultivation? It's Exactly Like This!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
