Chenshi was the sacred city of the Divine Cult, and every street within it was extraordinarily wide. Yet at this moment, the very streets that could normally accommodate four or five carriages driving abreast were lined on both sides by dense, surging crowds.
Two fine steeds entered through the Eastern Gate Two, trailed by a large retinue of Divine Cult powerhouses. Every pair of eyes fixed upon the young man riding one of the horses.
Those gazes overflowed with reverence and devotion.
On horseback, Ma Chengze and Yang Kai chatted idly back and forth.
"Whose idea was this?" Yang Kai suddenly asked.
"Hmm?" Ma Chengze didn't catch it at first.
Yang Kai gestured toward the crowds lining both sides of the street.
Ma Chengze finally understood. He glanced left and right, leaned in close, and lowered his voice. "It was the Li Banner Lord's idea. Just bear with it for a little while, young friend. The followers simply want to see what you look like. Once we finish this stretch, it'll be over."
"It's fine." Yang Kai gave a slight nod.
From those countless gazes, he could feel the earnest hope radiating from every one of them.
Although he had been in this world for several days, he and Zuo Wuyou had been traveling through the wilderness the entire time. He had only heard rumors about this world's situation, never truly understanding it in depth.
It was only at this moment, seeing these eyes upon him, that he could begin to grasp the depth of sorrow hidden in Zuo Wuyou's words about how the world had long suffered under Mo's tyranny.
Word of the Sacred Son's arrival had spread throughout all of Chenshi, and the city's entire faithful had rushed over for the chance to behold the Sacred Son's visage. To prevent any unnecessary unrest, Li Feiyu had personally mapped out a route for Ma Chengze to lead Yang Kai along, straight to the Divine Palace.
All the followers who wished to pay their respects could wait quietly along the sides of this route.
This way, not only could potential dangers be defused, but the followers' wishes could also be satisfied—killing two birds with one stone.
Ma Chengze accompanied Yang Kai for two reasons: first, to escort him to the Divine Palace, and second, to probe Yang Kai's background.
But by now, he found himself reluctant to ask too many questions. Regardless of whether the Sacred Son beside him was an impostor or not, the countless fervent gazes from all directions were entirely real.
"The Sacred Son will save the world!" A voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.
At first it was barely a whisper, but the words spread like wildfire across dry grass. In the span of a few breaths, everyone was shouting the same phrase.
"The Sacred Son will save the world!"
Wherever Yang Kai passed, the followers on both sides of the street kowtowed and prostrated themselves in a vast carpet of bowed heads.
Yang Kai's expression turned sorrowful. The scene before him inevitably reminded him of the plight of the human race across the Three Thousand Worlds.
This world had a prophecy passed down from the first Sacred Maiden—that a Sacred Son would come to save it.
But among the human race across the Three Thousand Worlds, who could save them?
Ma Chengze suddenly turned his head to stare at Yang Kai. As if from some unseen realm, he sensed an invisible power descending upon the young man beside him.
Recalling certain ancient and distant legends, his face changed involuntarily.
Li Feiyu's plan to have the Sacred Son ride into the city on horseback for the followers to behold had apparently triggered something entirely unexpected.
With this thought, he hurriedly produced his Communication Bead and rapidly sent a message toward the Divine Palace.
Meanwhile, within the Divine Palace, the Divine Cult's senior leadership was waiting. The Qian Banner Lord retrieved his Communication Bead, checked it, and his expression turned grave.
"What happened?" The Sacred Maiden sensed something amiss and spoke up.
The Qian Banner Lord stepped forward and relayed everything—the gathering at Eastern Gate Two and all of Li Feiyu's arrangements—in full detail.
The Sacred Maiden nodded upon hearing this. "Banner Lord Li's arrangements were quite good. Has something gone wrong?"
The Qian Banner Lord said, "It seems we underestimated the influence of the first Sacred Maiden's prophecy on the followers. Right now, that impostor claiming to be the Sacred Son has become the object of the people's devotion—as if he has received the favor of the Will of Heaven and Earth!"
These words sent a shockwave through the assembled crowd.
"Are you certain?"
"Where did you hear that?"
"Obviously, Fatty Ma is right beside him. The news came from Fatty Ma himself."
"What do we do now?"
The group descended into disorderly clamor, suddenly at a loss for composure.
Originally, welcoming this impostor into the city had been nothing more than playing along. The leadership's plan had been to wait until he entered the great hall, then investigate his intentions and unmask his identity.
An impostor pretending to be the Sacred Son was not worth a major confrontation.
Who could have predicted that they would end up lifting a stone only to drop it on their own feet? If this impostor had truly won the hearts of the people and gained the favor of the Will of Heaven and Earth, then the problem was enormous.
This was supposed to be the honor reserved for the true Sacred Son!
Some refused to believe it. Divine Sense surged outward to probe the situation, and upon doing so, they confirmed it was indeed so. From some unseen dimension, that impostor who had already entered the city was truly enveloped in a layer of invisible, mysterious power.
That power seemed infused with the will of the entire world!
Many broke into a cold sweat, feeling that today's events were far too extraordinary.
"The original plan is no longer viable," the Qian Banner Lord said, his expression heavy. "This person has somehow gained the favor of the Will of Heaven and Earth. Whether he is an impostor or not, the Divine Cult cannot deal with him as it pleases."
"Then we have no choice but to stabilize him for now and find a way to determine his true origins," another Banner Lord said.
"The true Sacred Son has already appeared. Apart from the senior leadership, no one else knows about this. Given that, there's no need to expose him just yet."
"That's all we can do."