The old man you see with your phone is highly suspicious.

It can be said that even the Ninth Apostle, who is considered the weakest in the council, still has a combat power several times higher than that of a regular 5th-tier apostle.

Does this involve the power of authority?

"Heh, far from it." Number 10 said, but didn't explain his thoughts further to Xue Law, as if he just wanted to show off in front of Xue Law.

This made Xue Dinglu frown. Were they trying to pique his interest and then play riddles?

Riddler, get out of Parliament!

At the same time, through this information, Xue's Law could know that each of the Apostles was no longer an ordinary enemy. At the very least, they were all human beings who held a portion of power, just like himself now, or the demons of hell.

No, the apostles are more like the final form of demons, demons that can break free from their original concepts and transcend.

It is likely that the previous civilization of Hell created "artificial gods" because they had angered other apostles and their followers, and then they analyzed the apostles' plans. Therefore, the essence of artificial gods is actually another kind of apostle, namely, humans who hold power.

However, whether the civilization of Hell went astray or failed, the artificial gods ultimately did not become apostles, but demons.

Could the difference be due to the fruit of the divine tree?

Or perhaps it's the spiritual energy absorbed by the sacred tree?

So, is the reason why the demons of hell are desperately trying to capture humans, essentially to address their spiritual problems?

After all, humans are essentially descendants of the King, and all humans in the universe have evolved in a similar way under the influence of the King. So-called spirituality is the pursuit of the King's original power.

Therefore, Xue's Law may have discovered the essential source of power for the Apostles.

But he just asked quietly, "However, my friend told me not to use this forbidden power, saying that it would make me lose myself."

"Hmph, that's true. As a newcomer, you don't have any prepared fruits, so it's understandable that you'd have such questions. Once you've acquired enough fruits, you won't ask such foolish questions anymore." A mocking voice, like that of a little devil, rang out.

But Xue's pupils suddenly contracted.

In that instant, it was as if all the intelligence and information were connected. Why were the apostles desperately seeking the fruit? Why did even the top apostles who wanted to advance to the sixth-order true god, and even the true master of the Mist Council, treat the fruit as hard currency for trade?

Even an apostle's lifespan would be hundreds of millions of years, spent exploring the cosmos to find more farms to cultivate the divine tree...

By wielding the power of authority, and gradually purifying oneself, one draws ever closer to the power of the King…

Until he becomes an alternative kind of Supreme King, that is, Rank 6!

Is this the essence that the apostles sought?

In an instant, Xue felt as if his brain had undergone a cosmic Big Bang, with countless pieces of information and intelligence connecting and leading to more new guesses and intelligence. Everything seemed to have become forbidden knowledge and been stuffed into his mind.

All I want is the fruit of the sacred tree, just that fruit...

Will one then be free from the influence and constraints of authority, and even gain further power?

"Now you realize the importance of the fruit, right? But right now you only have one planet. I don't know how long it will take to explore new planets. Just wait patiently. Everyone goes through this." Number 10 said.

As Xue Dinglu frowned, she continued to press, "By the way, what kind of power do you wield?"

Xue Dinglu immediately became alert, realizing that the other side was trying to extract information from him, which was definitely a very important piece of intelligence.

However, he still revealed that it was not his true authority, but rather a power that was half-true and more disguised.

"Nothingness," Xue Dinglu uttered silently.

Number 10 seemed to freeze for a moment, then silently kept a certain distance from Xue's Law.

It seems to be fear?

But after instinctively moving away to a certain distance, she moved closer again, as if trying to cover up her fear, or perhaps also annoyed at herself for being afraid after hearing just one word. However, she was still much farther away than before.

Based on this reaction, Xue's Law understood the power of this authority, even though Xue's Law's true authority was not nothingness, but a branch called the self-destructor.

"Then what is your authority?" Xue asked in return.

Number 10 paused for a moment before replying, "Love."

"Huh?" Xue Dinglu was stunned for a moment, and then he only believed half of what he said. Besides, would the authority of an apostle be something like "love"?

Xue Law couldn't believe it. A guy who feeds on billions of humans and treats everyone as his fertilizer claims that the power he wields is love? If you called yourself a monster, Xue Law might believe you even more.

"Now, everyone is here," the host said from the head seat.

Xue's Law then stopped communicating with Number 10 and silently returned to his position.

"This time, the topic remains the feasibility of the 'Hyper-Child Project.' Feel free to discuss."

However, Xue Dinglu completely disregarded the "Xinghai Plan" he had once proposed, feeling that he had found the essence of the Mist Council and the Apostles.

They also discovered the true nature of those artificial gods and demons.

And now, he only possesses the power of the demon, but not the power of the divine tree...

Having never eaten any fruit before, could he really kill the other apostles successfully?

Xue Dinglu began to organize his intelligence and thoughts, while at this time, many apostles in the meeting began to share the changes in the world after they implemented the Xinghai Project.

Sure enough, the population began to increase. This plan was not intended to weaken the apostles; on the contrary, in the long run, it greatly increased their strength.

After all, it takes an average of 50 billion people to produce one fruit. In the world where the Mind-Stealing Demon King planted his fruit, there were only a few hundred million people. How many years would it take to cultivate one fruit?

If it were a super iron curtain, this planet with tens of billions of people would probably only be able to produce one fruit every few decades.

The so-called "Prosperity Plan" aims to provide a better living environment for the humans under its control, allowing the population to grow rapidly. Relying solely on the dead to power the sacred tree may slow down the growth rate in the short term, but in the long run, it is a good approach.

However, when waiting for the population to die naturally, many unexpected things can happen. For example, the dead population may be eaten by wild animals before they can be recycled by the sacred tree, or they may be dissolved by high temperatures, strong acids, or other things. Various other accidents may also cause the recycling to fail.

This requires the roots of the divine tree to be spread to every corner of the world, and the apostles to cultivate the divine tree to an extremely high degree. Even so, the recycling efficiency is only about one-tenth.

However, even with only one-tenth the efficiency, it is usually several times faster than a planet with only a few hundred million people constantly reproducing.

In fact, the apostles at the back of the sequence were not very interested in this plan. On the contrary, the apostles at the front of the sequence were very interested in it. For example, at this moment, the first few apostles began to use diagrams and formulas that they could not understand using Schrödinger's law to calculate the benefits that this plan would bring if it could be truly realized.

After all, this plan was proposed based on the Super Iron Curtain. When Xue Law mentioned that the Super Iron Curtain had 260 billion people, all the Apostles were actually stunned for a moment.

According to their calculations, with the implementation of this plan, after only a few hundred years of drastically reduced profits, the fruit cultivation progress could be achieved at a rate 2 to 4 times faster than before.

The specific benefits depend on the original size and environment of the subordinate life-bearing planet, but at the very least, the benefits will definitely not be lower than the current situation.

This is the best news for them, who have been waiting for a long time.

This meeting was spent with the first few apostles building social models and constantly calculating the benefits.

The person who proposed the Xue Law project remained silent.

As the meeting was about to end, Number 10 suddenly said to him, "Isn't it hard to have empty power? Do you need some fruit to tide you over? I can provide loan services here, and I'll give you a discount for now, no interest."

"No need, I have a backup," Xue Dinglu refused directly.

Number 10 clicked his tongue, as if he wanted to say another sarcastic remark about Xue's law.

However, when the meeting ended, Xue Dinglu left directly, leaving only his back view.

Back in his room, he instantly found Fafnir on his bed.

He didn't say much, but left completely concealed. It was now around 3 a.m., and he was silently staring at the ceiling on the sofa in the living room.

Should I really try using the fruit?

Do we really want to use something that was cultivated using the lives of billions of people as nourishment?

Using the power of authority will distort oneself, so wouldn't using the power of the Divine Tree's fruit distort oneself?

Xue Lude thought of the apostles. Whoever they were, they had no reverence for life whatsoever. What did they take life for? Just numbers that could provide them with power?

In that case, it's better to be corrupted by power, at least power is just a pure force without good or evil.

Xue Luding's heart was not at peace. This was the first time since he had seized power that he had experienced so many emotions, emotions that even power could not suppress.

Chapter 373 Solutions to the Effects of Nothingness

The next morning, when Fafnir opened her eyes, she was startled awake from her bed.

She had originally planned to wait for her teacher to return in the room. Based on her guess, her teacher must have been teleported away to other places and was not in the room. However, she waited in bed for quite a while, so she drifted off to sleep.

Now, it's already broad daylight, teacher?

She got up in confusion and found herself covered with a quilt. The weather was getting cooler and cooler, with the temperature dropping to as low as ten degrees Celsius at night. She hadn't gotten into bed when she came here to wait.

However, with the blanket covering her, Fafnir felt a dazed and confused feeling. Then, her toes, clad in white stockings, instantly curled up, as if she could carve a three-bedroom apartment out of the bed with her toes.

When she hurriedly left the room, she saw Xue Daolu already washing up, his mouth full of toothpaste foam, mumbling, "Are you awake?"

"Mmm..." Fafnir's voice was very weak. She felt her face burning hot, as if it were steaming.

"Don't go to the wrong room next time. Also, it's a bit chilly lately, remember to cover yourself with a blanket," Xue Dinglu reminded him.

Although I don't think Fafnir will catch a cold, after all, she has a body that has been able to fight the Shub insectoids for more than ten years. The little girl is in great health and is the kind of person who wouldn't catch a cold even if she were placed in Siberia.

But not catching a cold doesn't mean you won't feel uncomfortable. Low temperatures can still cause some discomfort. Just like Xue's Law can survive in a vacuum for more than an hour, he won't go crazy and suffer by deliberately going to a vacuum to experience life.

Fafnir nodded silently. At that moment, she could only look down at her shoes and ankles, feeling utterly pathetic...

“Teacher, I’m going to make breakfast,” Fafnir said.

"Hmm." Xue Dinglu held water in his mouth and continued to brush his teeth as usual.

It was only at times like this that he realized how useful the Cleansing spell was, but unfortunately, with the disappearance of the Evil Eye's power, the Cleansing spell could no longer be used.

Unconsciously, Xue's Law reminded him of old Green again.

He really wanted to carry on old Grimm's last wish and establish a magic academy. The school had even been built for quite some time, but unfortunately, he was still not skilled enough. In terms of magic proficiency, he had only barely reached the fourth level.

Furthermore, his abilities are limited to Holy Light magic; he struggles even to reach the legendary level in other types of magic. It's fair to say that he's a complete novice when it comes to magic.

His main expertise lies in ritual studies and conceptual studies.

He embarked on a completely different path from the Great Sage. The old man was mainly proficient in magic, and could reach the near-5th rank with magic alone, while he devoted most of his energy to ritual studies.

It seems that I am more of a mystic than a magician.

It's just that his mysterious academic method is Genesis.

His thoughts drifted a bit, and Xue Dinglu thought of many other things. If he really wanted to establish a magic academy, he would need teachers. Who were the right people to become teachers?

Old Barack? He could be a physical education teacher at best.

As for other acquaintances, they may not necessarily like teaching, and many are not suitable to be teachers, such as the Greek prisoners. Xue's Law is afraid that they might give their students an ultimate insult while teaching.

He didn't want his magic academy to become a holy site for male cults.

After thinking it over, it seems that only the old undead can be recruited as a laborer. If only old Green were here, he would be a great person. He is the principal of a magic academy and has a deep understanding of this.