Everyone ascended, but I didn't get on board

Chapter 204 The Temple's Invitation

"The saintess and saints are the most favored messengers of the gods among all people. Once chosen as a saintess or saint, one is equivalent to the pope in the temple." The bishop explained with a look of longing and worship. "It can be said that as long as one becomes a saintess or saint, one becomes the leader of the temple and even the entire temple."

"..." So it was the national leadership election?

"It is thanks to the guidance of the gods that the temple has achieved what it has today. Of course, as long as someone is chosen by the gods, we will do our best to support their growth." He glanced at her meaningfully and said seriously, "The temple will provide assistance for any needs, provided that one becomes a priest of the temple."

Liu Tianze stepped forward and sincerely extended his hand, saying, "Miss Chu, we sincerely invite you to join the temple and become the thirty-seventh priest."

"What if I refuse?" Qiu Ci asked directly, taking a step back.

The two exchanged a glance, but showed no surprise. They maintained their previous friendly expressions and smiled, "May I ask for the reason?"

"Didn't you say that those who are bound to the system are destined to become immortals?" she smiled and said, "If that's the case, why should I bother joining you?" Anyway, it's all about becoming immortals, so what difference does it make where I become one?

The bishop smiled even more deeply and said slowly, "It's normal for you to think that way. However, even the chosen ones are not omnipotent and there are always things they can't do. Only by joining the temple can your path to immortality be truly guaranteed. The power of the temple is beyond your imagination, and we can solve all your problems."

Qiu Ci was taken aback, not understanding his meaning for a moment. She glanced at Liu Tianze beside her before suddenly realizing what he meant. Could the help they were talking about be system tasks? After all, every system she had encountered would assign various tasks to its host to improve their cultivation.

Of course, aside from the dog system on her body, it doesn't deserve it.

What these two meant was that as long as she joined the temple, they could cooperate to complete any task the system issued in the future.

She suddenly thought of Miao Jia, that unlucky guy who had been dragged over from another continent, and said angrily, "Is Huo Yanting also your chosen one? Did you also provide him with help?"

If that's the case, she suspects that the mastermind behind Huo Yanting is the Temple.

“That is naturally different.” They clearly knew Huo Yanting. “He is not the true chosen one, nor is he a member of the Temple. We have never interfered, let alone helped him. As for his specific situation, I’m sorry, that is a secret of the Temple and can only be told to you after you join the Temple.”

What do you mean? Does that mean the bug system is fake?
“I don’t think I need any help,” Qiu Ci refused again, as she had no tasks to complete and no need to join the temple.

The two men were not angry; on the contrary, they seemed to have expected her rejection. The bishop even chuckled and said, "You will need it."

“Miss Chu, there’s no need to make a decision now. You can consider it for a few days and then give us your feedback,” Liu Tianze said at the opportune moment. “During this time, we will not interfere with any of your choices.”

"You mean I can leave now?" she asked tentatively.

“Of course!” he nodded. “Under the protection of the gods, everyone is free.”

"Where is my friend?" She hadn't forgotten why she came, so she asked about Juanshan. After all, they knew her identity and should be able to guess who she had come for.

As expected, Liu Tianze did not show the slightest surprise. "He is indeed in our temple. If needed, I can take you to see him now. Don't worry, he is safe."

As he spoke, he turned to the side to lead the way.

Although Qiu Ci had doubts, she still followed. She glanced back at the bishop behind her, who had already turned around and continued to kneel before the statue.

She became even more wary, but to her surprise, Liu Tianze led her to a reception room where the old man from Juanshan, who had been missing for almost a day, was sitting.

"Shang... why are you here?" The old man from Juanshan was also surprised to see her.

"I only came here because you didn't answer the phone," Qiu Ci said casually.

"A phone call?" He paused for a moment, then realized what it was. He reached into his pocket and took out his phone, and sure enough, there were no missed calls.

"Temples are places of worship for gods, and they have signal jamming facilities, which is why we can't receive signals," Liu Tianze explained.

Juanshan paused for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but then stopped talking.

"Can we leave now?" Qiu Ci knew this wasn't the place to talk, so she asked directly.

"Of course!" Liu Tianze nodded. Then, he escorted them out of the temple, and no one came out to stop them or make any other demands along the way.

The two were quite shocked when they walked out of that strange blue building. How could they have been let out so easily?

But Qiu Ci didn't linger. He took the old man from Juanshan with him and left quickly.

------

At this moment, inside a laboratory somewhere in the temple.

The large screen displayed a picture of the old man and the young man leaving the temple; it was Qiu Ci and Juan Shan.

A dozen or so people in white coats were sitting inside, all watching the large screen. Only after the two people on the screen stepped out of the frame did they start discussing.

"How many Chosen Ones have been discovered so far?"

"It should be the thirty-seventh, and the person next to her is the thirty-sixth, and this person is very likely to be bound to a high-level system."

"Thirty-seven already! The number of Chosen Ones has suddenly surged. What could be the reason? In previous temples, there were no more than ten Chosen Ones at any one time, right? What's going on now? Could it be... that the gods are really returning?"

"It's unlikely. Although we all know that the gods do exist, they haven't appeared in tens of thousands of years, so it's impossible for them to appear at this time."

"But there must be a reason for the large number of Chosen Ones. Could there be something wrong with the Upper Realm?"

"But our people did not sense any chaos in the heavenly secrets."

"Whatever the reason, this might be our opportunity?"

"You mean..."

"Wouldn't it be more beneficial to our research if we had more chosen ones? Systems and such are secondary; let's not forget what we truly need?"

"But after thousands of years of research, we still haven't been able to figure out its structure. Can we really succeed if we continue?"

"Perhaps this really is the authority of the gods, which we mortals have no way to touch, let alone understand."

"You don't understand because the research hasn't touched the core yet. I never believe anything is unbreakable. Don't we already have partial access now?"

"That's just a tiny bit of authority that we barely gained through the system on the Chosen One; we can't completely control it."

“We need more authority. This is the land of divine glory. We are the masters of this continent, and it must be used by us.”

"But...it doesn't belong to us."

"It must belong to us; a sword is only a weapon when it is in our hands."

"Perhaps we can try to invade the core and completely overwrite the original genetic code with our own genes, perhaps..."

"But this is theft!"

"Hasn't it been ownerless for a long time? We are believers in the gods, so isn't it only right that we receive a gift from them?"

"I think it's worth a try. Who agrees and who disagrees?"

The entire room fell silent for a long time before people started raising their hands.

"Perhaps... we have no choice but to give it a try!"