The Parthenon Goddess and the Black Vatican Pope – one a brilliant leader, the other a dark, filthy rat.
Their relationship was completely unrelated.
Almost no one believed Pamir's words that Ye Xinxia was the Black Vatican Pope.
"Hall Mother, what evidence do you have that the Goddess is the Black Vatican Pope?" asked High Priest Falmer.
"Of course, I have evidence."
Pamir confidently approached Xinxia.
Xinxia pursed her lips, and Pamir smiled, saying, "I'm sorry, our new Goddess, but I can no longer keep your secret. The Black Vatican has committed many horrific acts around the world, and I cannot stand idly by."
"Come on, will you admit it yourself, or shall I make you admit it?"
As she finished speaking, Pamir had a look of certainty, her gaze turning to Jiang Yuan, who was still observing from above.
Jiang Yuan wasn't just standing idly; a large white cloud rose beneath his feet, softly supporting him like a sofa.
Seeing no change in his expression, Pamir felt a hint of strangeness.
But it didn't matter anymore.
The Pope's Mark was deeply branded on Ye Xinxia's soul; bearing the name of the Pope, she was destined to face the world's scorn.
"I am not the Pope," Xinxia said slowly.
"You actually say you're not the Pope; am I, then?" Pamir sounded as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world.
Who knew Xinxia would nod, seriously saying, "You are indeed the Pope."
"Heh."
Pamir chuckled, her patience gone. She said directly, "The Pope's Mark is on your soul; I saw it with my own eyes. Can it be fake? Hall Master Hailong, I'll trouble you to examine the Goddess's soul."
Hearing this, Hailong frowned and refused, "This would defile the Goddess and goes against my knightly principles. Please find someone else."
Jiang Yuan, from above, glanced at him. This Hailong had indeed chosen the correct option.
"I will!" an elder from one of the Nine Hidden Families stepped forward.
At this moment, Xinxia said, "You don't need to examine me; I'll do it myself."
A faint light glowed on her forehead, and then her soul, enveloped by divine consciousness, was revealed before everyone.
The crowd looked at her soul but saw no mark of the Pope's Mark, only sanctity and purity.
"Where is your Pope's Mark?!!!" Pamir was in disbelief, widening her eyes, trying to find the Pope's Mark on Xinxia's soul, but she saw nothing.
That day, she had clearly seen the Pope's Mark branded on Ye Xinxia's soul.
How could it be gone?!
Immediately, everyone's gaze focused on Pamir, waiting for her to provide a reasonable explanation.
Even Hailong questioned her, "Hall Mother, even if your status in the Parthenon is lofty, slandering the Goddess is a grave crime that no one can tolerate. Now you have seen that the Goddess's soul does not have the Pope's Mark. What do you have to explain?"
"Impossible, I want to personally examine her soul!" Pamir loudly denied, reaching out to grab Xinxia.
Jiang Yuan instantly appeared from the sky, blocking Pamir's grab, and then said, "I suspect you are the true Pope. Do you dare to reveal your soul for us to see?"
Pamir's pupils contracted sharply.
Her soul indeed had the Pope's Mark; even if she had passed on the position of Pope, the mark would not disappear.
Pamir's original idea was to preemptively push Xinxia into the spotlight, forcing her to reveal the Pope's Mark on her soul.
That way, even if Xinxia retaliated, she would have nothing to fear.
Because there was only one Black Vatican Pope in the world, others would not come to examine her soul again.
But now the situation was different.
Xinxia's soul was pure and flawless, while Pamir's soul...
"What, afraid to reveal it?" Jiang Yuan smiled.
Pamir's eyes flickered; once she revealed her soul, her identity as Pope would be confirmed.
"Where is the person who just said they wanted to examine Xinxia's soul? Come and examine the Hall Mother's soul as well." Seeing that Pamir remained silent, Jiang Yuan sought out the elder from the Nine Hidden Families who had spoken earlier.
That elder quickly said, "Hall Mother has governed the Pathenon Temple for so long, revered by believers. How could she possibly be the Black Vatican Pope? You, a young man from who knows where, what right do you have to slander Hall Mother?!"
His statement received unanimous approval from the other elders and leaders of the Nine Hidden Families, who all came out to support the Hall Mother.
Jiang Yuan memorized each of these Nine Hidden Families members, then said, "Since no one is willing, I'll do it myself."
"Without that Emperor's help, do you really think your power is strong?" Pamir mobilized her power, and the star particles in her spiritual space connected wildly, with magnificent star palaces appearing around her.
The powerful aura of a pinnacle expert surged.
However, before the magic could be fully cast, Jiang Yuan directly threw a punch through space, shattering space inch by inch, instantly drawing Pamir into the spatial turbulence.
"Pfft!!!!"
Pamir's spell was forcibly terminated, and the immense backlash caused her to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Before she could recover, Jiang Yuan directly pulled her over through the air, then pulled upwards with his right hand above her head.
"Ah!!!!!" Pamir let out a shrill scream.
Forcibly pulling out a soul was different from actively revealing it; that kind of pain was unbearable for anyone.
The Nine Hidden Families tried to step forward to help, but Jiang Yuan controlled them with spatial power, making them stand rooted to the spot like bamboo poles.
Everything happened too quickly; in the blink of an eye, Pamir's soul was extracted.
Everyone was initially shocked that Jiang Yuan dared to directly attack the Hall Mother, but when they clearly saw the Pope's Mark on the Hall Mother's soul, they all gasped in surprise.
"It's true, the Hall Mother's soul has the Pope's Mark!"
"The Goddess was right, the Hall Mother is the Black Vatican Pope!"
"God, how can this be?"
"."
Shock, confusion, bewilderment, grief... different emotions swirled over the grand ceremony.
People couldn't believe that the Hall Mother was truly the Pope.
Pamir had been the Hall Mother for several decades, which meant that the Black Vatican Pope, who had caused many shocking major incidents, had ruled the Parthenon for decades.
They dared not imagine how many dark things had happened during this time.
They only felt that the sky was dark, as if the heavens had fallen.
Jiang Yuan put Pamir's soul back, dusted off his hands as if there was dust, and said indifferently, "Alright, now you know the Hall Mother's true identity, and everything should end. Perhaps you still don't know, but Pamir has already gathered all high-ranking Black Vatican members; every single one of them is at this grand ceremony."
As soon as this was said, someone immediately thought of the unknown faces sitting in the VIP section earlier.