On the border between the Luo Ze Empire and Wansheng Country, atop a high mountain, a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy was moving along the rocky mountain path with his parents.
They were victims of the war between the Luo Ze Empire and Wansheng Country. Their hotown had been destroyed due to a counterattack from Wansheng Country and had ultimately beco a stronghold for mountain bandits.
Relocating was their only hope of survival.
Generally speaking, moving deeper into the Luo Ze Empire towards the larger cities was the best option, but unfortunately, due to the Empire’s terrain and rugged roads, they didn’t know if they would survive the journey to a big city.
Besides, settling in a big city required a substantial amount of money. As civilians, their possessions had long beco scattered and lost during the escape. Even if they were to reach the city, a destitute life of struggling for each al awaited them.
After much consideration, the family’s patriarch decided to head to a small town in the high mountains.
It was said that nurous refugees converged there, and there was also an incredibly compassionate and generous individual who could ensure that everyone had enough to eat and drink, free from the worry of losing their lives.
Shaky and unsteady, the young boy and his family finally arrived at the town situated atop the mountain, known as Da Fang City.
As they entered the town, nurous residents stood by the streets, seemingly waiting for sothing.
The boy didn’t care what they were waiting for; he was only concerned about whether he could get a full al. His father had once told him that as long as they could reach this place, they would be able to have their fill at every al.
Thus, during the journey, the boy endured the hunger, helping his father push the cart, hoping to get to the town sooner.
As long as they could have a full al every ti, he and his family had the confidence to weather the harsh winter that was about to descend.
Suddenly, the young boy saw pedestrians on the street, one after another, devoutly kneeling on the ground.
The boy didn’t understand this behavior, wanting to ask his father what was going on, but his father was just as puzzled, hesitating whether to kneel down reverently like the people around them.
At this mont, soone rushed over to the family of three, telling them not to block the main road, for it was almost ti for the generous handout.
After speaking, the person led them into an alley, had them set down their belongings, and then, along with the family of three, devoutly knelt on the ground.
Before long, the sound of loud horse hooves ca from the main street. A majestic middle-aged man was slowly arriving down the street on a luxurious golden carriage.
He had a pair of bushy eyebrows and wore large golden earrings. His red undergarb was adorned with various dazzling treasures, and a white cloak fluttered lightly in the wind, glimring in the sunlight, clearly of great value.
The man spread his arms, his fingers adorned with various gemstones shining with a strange light in the sunlight. He opened his mouth wide with laughter; a gold tooth in his amiable face did not look out of place but instead gave off the impression of a nouveau riche.
Above his open hands were two colossal Magic Arrays. Wrapped in white cloth, they fell from the sky into the hands of people by the street.
The boy also received one of these wrapped cloths. The first thing he felt was warmth; then a rich aroma hit him. Upon unwrapping it, he discovered a steaming Big Pancake.
Unable to control his hands, the boy lifted the pancake and started devouring it. The delicious juices flowed freely. He had never eaten such scrumptious food before—and to his slight embarrassnt, found himself tearing up.
While eating, the boy bit into sothing hard and nearly chipped a tooth. Upon inspecting it, to his surprise, it turned out to be a three-centiter-long gold brick.
The person who had helped the boy smiled and said he was quite lucky; he could keep the gold brick or use it to directly join the association—an opportunity many dread of.
The boy didn’t know what the man ant, when at that mont, he saw the other villagers who had finished eating, one by one, walking toward the town center. Following the crowd, he too entered the city center.
He saw the man who had just distributed the food to them, laughing heartily as he gave an impassioned speech to the people around him:
"Each one of us should live in this world as equals. Yet, the goddess has divided us into different classes. The reason all of you have fallen on hard tis is entirely the goddess’s fault. Why should we still believe in the goddess!"
The boy, hearing the middle-aged man’s words, was dumbstruck. His family were all believers of the Goddess Sect, especially his mother. His mother would pray to the goddess every day, hoping for their family to be safe and sound.
Not just them, most people in this world should be devoted believers of the Goddess Sect. Yet here, to utter such blasphemous words, even though he had given them food, the man was a heretic...
While the boy was thinking this way, he heard intermittent voices of agreent around him,
"Generous Gao Fang is right! I believed so much in the goddess, yet I still lost my husband and children in the war!"
"The goddess is utterly useless, inactive. My property, everything I owned, just disappeared! I support Generous Gao Fang!"
"The Goddess Sect has been a lie from the start. They’ve tricked us with sweet words. There is no goddess in this world!"
The boy was completely unaware that the people here had such a strong resistance to the goddess.
On stage, the voice of one of the Seven Great Disciples of the Curse Sect, Reflective Gao Fang, continued,
"What we should believe in is not a capricious goddess, but sothing that can truly respond to us. The goddess only leads to our continual loss.
If we are to lose either way, we might as well hand over what we’re going to lose to the demon, to let the demon fulfill our wishes!"
Below the stage, responsive echoes arose again.
"That’s right! We’d rather believe in demons than in the goddess anymore. This so-called goddess is just a slut! She has no scruples around handso n, shalessly opening her legs!"
"Why didn’t the goddess help when I’m clearly better than my brother? If it weren’t for the goddess’s favoritism toward my brother, I wouldn’t have ended up like this!"
The boy was plunged into deep shock. To slander the goddess so loudly was such a sin. Before, even so much as a single complaint about the goddess would earn him a long scolding from his mother, yet everyone here was questioning, condemning the goddess with deafening voices as if it all made perfect sense.
The boy looked worriedly at his father and mother, only to discover that at so point his mother had joined the shouting crowd.
His mother, who should have been more devout than anyone, was now shouting louder than anyone else.
This city seed to have a special magic power that ensnared every person within it.
The boy tightly gripped the gold brick in his hand but felt no weight. He slowly opened his mouth and began to shout loudly, releasing all the pent-up emotions that followed the crowd.
"If there really is a goddess in this world, then let her bring down her so-called divine punishnt here!
Otherwise, let lose that so-called faith!"
The boy thought to himself.
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