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*****
"No wonder he dares not let the Churches know."
George became even more certain of his own speculation.
Christay had told him during their conversation that the Seven Great Churches uniformly stipulated that the kings of all nations in this world could be Beyonders, but absolutely could not exceed Sequence Five.
If the Sequence level exceeded Sequence Five, they must abdicate for the next successor.
The reason given by the Churches was that once one surpassed Sequence Five and became a Demigod, they would no longer be human, possessing a lifespan beyond that of ordinary humans.
The lifespan of a typical Demigod is around three hundred years; those with special pathways would live even longer. In that case, the populace would discover that their king simply didn't age, which could easily arouse public suspicion.
It must be known that although most ordinary people worshiped the deities, they were unaware of the existence of Beyonders.
However, this was merely the Churches' rhetoric. George felt those were secondary reasons; the main objective was still to counterbalance the royal family.
If the king occupied the position for too long, they would inevitably harbor other ideas, making them difficult to control.
Therefore, if George III wanted to switch pathways and advance to become the Black Emperor, he must first break the Churches' rules, surpass Sequence Five, and advance to Sequence One of the Arbiter pathway.
Such a matter naturally had to be carried out in secret, hidden from the Churches.
But thinking about it, as the ruler of a nation, anyone with ambition wouldn't want to be constantly suppressed by the Churches.
As long as he advanced to Black Emperor, he would be on the same level as the Seven Orthodox Deities, and the Churches would no longer be able to control him.
At that point, the situation could be restored to how it was in the Fourth Epoch. The Emperor would be the supreme ruler of this world, and the Churches would also have to obey the Emperor's commands.
"If that's the case, then I'm afraid I can't oblige."
For this king who shared the same pronunciation of his name, George originally held a shred of goodwill, thinking he was a good king dedicated to reform for the populace.
But now, it seemed that was not the case at all.
He was merely a tyrant with no moral bottom line, acting solely for his own rights and interests.
Whether it was the reform policies or the human trafficking, everything was aimed at allowing himself to advance to Sequence Zero Black Emperor.
Of course, none of this really had anything to do with him.
After all, the things the other party was doing did not infringe upon his interests, and he held no personal grudges against him.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't interfere with the other party's plan to become a god unless there was a huge incentive.
However, there was no choice. Bernadette offered him the Divine Lamp as payment to help rescue Roselle.
And Roselle was also a Sequence Zero Black Emperor.
There could only be one True God per pathway. As soon as he rescued Roselle, it would mean that all of George III's preparations would be completely wasted.
Having prepared so much, for so long, and having expended such immense effort, only to find out that advancement was utterly impossible. George III would probably vomit blood in anger upon learning the truth.
Oh no, under normal circumstances, George III would switch pathways from Sequence One of the Arbiter pathway and advance to the Black Emperor pathway. The moment he completed the ritual and consumed the potion, he would instantly die due to the sheer impossibility of advancement.
"That sounds quite interesting. I must go and observe when the time comes. Perhaps I can even salvage a Sequence One Arbiter Beyonder characteristic."
The corner of George's mouth lifted slightly.
As for whether George III could advance before Roselle's return, that was naturally impossible.
On the one hand, even if Bernadette couldn't find the location of the nameless island in time, it would only take him a few days to convert the tracing magic.
On the other hand, based on the current situation, George III's ritual preparations were clearly still insufficient.
Duke Negan had only just died. Although many reform plans had been pushed forward, they still required more time.
Even if George III advanced prematurely without sufficient ritual, it wouldn't matter.
As long as he transformed into a random passerby, A, B, C, or D, and destroyed any one of George III's nine mausoleums, the advancement ceremony could be interrupted.
Meanwhile, George III was secretly meeting with Adam in a dream.
"The Three Churches have already discovered clues. Although I used the fantasized Blood Emperor's relic to deflect them, I doubt we can conceal it for much longer."
When he was still a prince, he had accidentally joined the ancient and powerful organization, the Twilight Hermit Order.
Of course, he now knew it wasn't an accident; Adam had deliberately lured him in.
But it didn't matter; it was a win-win situation anyway.
Adam recruited him to complete his own plan to become a God, and with the help of the Twilight Hermit Order, George III successfully eliminated the other princes and ascended to the throne.
Afterward, thanks to the Arbiter Sequence potion formula provided by Adam, he secretly advanced to Sequence One Hand of Order, acquiring the possibility of switching pathways to advance to Sequence Zero Black Emperor.
Knowing that he had the potential to advance to Black Emperor, his family ancestors, who had previously always feared resisting the Churches, changed their attitude and were willing to fully support and protect him.
Originally, according to the plan, the ritual would be completed in a few more months, allowing him to secretly advance successfully. He never expected the Churches to discover his human trafficking ahead of schedule, raising their suspicions.
"How could it be this early!"
Adam frowned upon hearing this:
"Duke Negan has already been dealt with ahead of time. You must quickly seize the opportunity to complete the ritual. I have sensed some unforeseen crises.
If we continue exactly according to the previous plan, I fear it won't proceed so smoothly."
Although because the barrier was about to disappear, under the pressure of the Outer Deities, the Seven Gods would likely not prevent George III from advancing to Black Emperor even if they knew the truth.
But there are accidents in everything.
Moreover, his spiritual intuition had anticipated certain things.
"It seems I must make the people of the Demoness Sect act ahead of schedule."
Hearing Adam's warning, George III had already made a decision.
He had secretly cooperated with the Demoness Sect, using a Sequence One Conqueror Beyonder characteristic of the Red Priest pathway as payment.
Since Duke Negan was dead and the Churches were suspicious, he decided to simply have the Demoness Sect manufacture a catastrophic incident in Backlund that could wipe out tens of thousands of civilians.
This way, it could both expedite the passing of the reform policies and attract the Churches' attention, covering up the number of missing persons and the secret construction of the mausoleums.
As for the tens of thousands of civilians who would die, they should feel honored to dedicate their lives to the advancement of their King to a True God.
"That is acceptable. The Evernight Goddess should not be able to spare the effort to stop it right now."
Adam nodded, agreeing with George III's idea.
According to his understanding, the Evernight Goddess should currently be focusing all her energy on accommodating the Uniqueness of the Death pathway, and would not be free to intervene and stop the disaster created by the Demoness Sect.
As for the Lord of Storms, that fellow focuses primarily on the sea and wouldn't easily interfere.
Furthermore, he knew that George III was not only cooperating with the Demoness Sect but also with the Aurora Order. It was just that, due to Adam's attitude toward the True Creator, George III hadn't told him.
(End of Chapter)