Zhendong City, the largest city in the southern mainland, is located in the east of the mainland facing the sea, along the Qundu River that spreads from the Dalu Mountains, and develops at the mouth of the river.

There is not a trace of wasteland in the city, and the town construction is mixed with the style of modern China and medieval Europe, which is somewhat chaotic and has some unique beauty. At the same time, this is also the main hall of the Martial God Temple, in the north of Zhendong City, the huge and magnificent temple occupies one-third of the area of the city, becoming a wonder that can be seen at a glance within a radius of dozens of miles.

The most conspicuous thing in the main hall of the Martial God Hall is the towering tower next to the main hall.

This tower is very strange, not so much a tower as a huge iron rod, it has no stairs, no doors or windows, and its outer walls are as smooth as a mirror, and the light of blue and yellow intersects, and its top is not visible from the ground.

Its name is called the Divine Tower.

The reason why it is called the god tower is because in the classics of the martial god temple, this tower was built by the martial god himself, before the martial god fell asleep, the weapon in his hand stood on the earth, and made it bigger than a hundred times with miracles, towering into the clouds, and said: "If I have a divine will, I will use this tower as a medium to spread the praise into the world." ”

After that, the Martial God believers built the first Martial God Temple around the Divine Tower, and later established Zhendong City around the Martial God Temple to suppress the continuous invasion of sea monsters in the eastern ocean.

However, for more than 200 years after that, no decree was handed down from the tower.

Until...... months ago.

It was the day when Breeze City was attacked by two monsters and was almost destroyed.

On that day, the outer wall of the divine tower suddenly flowed with brilliance and clouds and smoke, and countless martial god believers shouted "miracles" and fell to the ground, but less than a minute later, all kinds of visions disappeared again.

Although countless believers soon poured into the Martial God Temple to bow down and pray, the Divine Tower never changed in any way.

Only the highest-ranking popes and Dharma protectors in the Martial God Temple knew that the Martial God had really passed down the decree, but no one except them knew what the content was.

In the next few months, the Martial God Temple was calm, except for the Pope's little apprentice Xu Xian who went out to Linxue City, and the entire Martial God Temple was much quieter, there was nothing special.

No one knew that in the dungeon under the Martial God Temple, there was a special prisoner.

The underground cells were dark, damp, and filled with the smell of blood and rancidity. But in a corner that many inmates and even jailers don't know about, there is a luxurious, comfortable cell.

It has everything you need, including good food, large beds, books, and even a lot of equipment for exercising. This cell area is more than 200 square meters, divided into bedrooms, tea rooms, study rooms, martial arts training rooms, etc., if it were not for the fact that this large room was sealed by dozens of arm-thick special stainless steel and more than a dozen large locks, I am afraid that no one would think that this is a prison cell.

In this luxurious cell, a man with a sturdy body and a sunny face was sitting in his study reading a book, and if it weren't for the horrible scars on his face, it would have been like a middle-aged man passing the time in the quiet of an afternoon.

This person is Hong Xuanwu.

While he was silently reading, there was a steady and composed footstep outside the cell.

Hong Xuanwu raised his head, looked through the iron cage of the cell, looked out, and saw an old man, he was tall, with a straight chest and back, except for the wrinkles engraved on his face and white hair and beard, he couldn't tell that this was an old man.

Seeing this old man, Hong Xuanwu sighed softly, stood up and bowed deeply, and said respectfully, "Protector Ling, you are here." ”

The old man, Ling Protector, shook his head, as if he was expressing some emotion, but his eyes were as calm as a pool of water without ripples, revealing no emotion.

"Xuanwu, has your mind calmed down lately?" Ling Protector asked lightly.

Hong Xuanwu didn't raise his head, maintained a bowed posture, and replied in a loud voice: "Tell the Dharma Protector, whenever I think that my Martial God Temple can't stand with justice, Xuanwu can't sleep and eat, and can't meditate!"

"Stubborn. ”

Ling Protector snorted and said, "You are a bishop, why are you still so reckless in acting and talking?"

Hong Xuanwu raised his head, looked back with a firm gaze, and said: "This has nothing to do with whether I am a bishop or not, our Martial God Temple inherits the will of the Martial God and guards the Southern Continent, just to save the people from fire and water, and drive out all the monsters! That day, the two super-level monsters attacked Breeze City, and it was Master Wanli who saved the entire city, what reason does the Martial God Temple have not to stand with him?"

"I know that his origin is a mystery, his identity is unknown, and he is also the opponent of the Star Tower. However, if it weren't for Master Wanli, we would have all died in Breeze City! If that black-robed monster and the Burning Sea Flying Whale continued to penetrate deep into the hinterland of the continent, who else would be able to contain the calamity except for the Pope's action? At that time, countless people would become charred corpses, and the Southern Continent would become a dead land!"

When Ling Protector heard these words, he quickly rolled his eyes at a speed that no one could notice.

I've heard these words dozens of times. The old man said lightly: "I didn't say what he did wrong, I just told you that if you find this person in the future, you need to invite him to go to the god tower, and there is no malice." ”

Hong Xuanwu shook his head and snorted coldly: "Who can be deceived by this? If Master Wanli doesn't come, what should we do? Hug his thigh and cry and beg? Is it possible? Isn't it to send a master to invite him? What is the difference between this and ingratitude?"

When he said the word "please", he gritted his teeth, and his tone was extremely heavy and full of mockery.

"Stupid!" Ling Protector scolded, "How did I teach such an apprentice as you who doesn't know how to do it!"

Seeing that the old man's words suddenly pointed out the private identities of the two of them outside the official positions of the Martial God Temple, Hong Xuanwu's body couldn't help but tremble.

"Master. His voice was a little lower, and he said, "In the past, you have always taught me that you must have all the people in your heart and forget your own body, so that you can be called a true warrior and protect the side. Now, I'm doing exactly what you taught. Master Wanli saved not only Breeze City, but the entire Southern Continent...... I still can't understand the Pope's directives. ”

Ling Protector wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back.

At this moment, a clear and calm voice came into the dungeon out of thin air, and the sound seemed to be wrapped in a low roaring thunder, penetrating the limitations of distance and the layers of barriers of the building, and sounded directly in the ears of the two.

"Ling Protector, you take Xuanwu to the Divine Tower. ”

Hearing this voice, Ling Protector's whole body tensed and straightened up a little, and Hong Xuanwu, who was still unruly just now, immediately lowered his head at this time, like a frightened rabbit.

It's the Pope!

Only the Pope, who was at the peak realm of an eighth-order thunder whisperer, could have allowed the voice to reach their ears without warning in such an understatement!

Even Hong Xuanwu, who is a bishop, only met the Pope on the day he was ordained a bishop.

On that day, the Pope stood in the light, dressed in the most noble and gorgeous armor of the god of war, and wore a golden mask that symbolized divine power, and was as majestic as a prison and could not be looked at.

He is the first Vajra glazed body recorded in history, raised by the previous pope since childhood, and at the age of sixty-nine he reached the realm of the eighth-order thunder whisperer that no one had reached before, and has never grown old ever since, and now the ninety-eight-year-old pope's fire of life is still vigorous, and it is a true legend.

The only people in the world today who can be called legends are Fan Xing, the master of the Star Tower, the only ninth-order in ancient and modern times, the spirit of the world, Huo Man, the master of the Pope of the Abyss Temple, and the Pope of the Martial God Temple.

In addition, although Bai Jing, the White Dragon King, Li Chengkong of the Hanging Pavilion and others also have legends, it seems that people do not list them as the real top legends. Maybe it's because Bai Jing is a demon and Li Chengkong is too deep in the world, so he doesn't have that mysterious and lonely feeling.

Thinking of seeing the Pope again soon, even Hong Xuanwu, who was shouting different ideas just now, couldn't help but feel his heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

Ling Protector opened the cell door and personally escorted Hong Xuanwu out of the dungeon.

The Martial God Temple is not very splendid, nor is it very antique, but the architectural style here is very rough and atmospheric, occupies a huge space, and uses a large number of large stones as building materials, which is not elaborately crafted, but has a majestic temperament.

Ling Protector led Hong Xuanwu through passages and stone steps to a clean and huge open-air platform. In the center of the platform is the tower.

On the platform, countless martial god believers are kneeling and praying, which is their daily homework, and only in prayer can devout believers get true peace and joy in their hearts.

When Hong Xuanwu saw the pagoda, he knelt on the ground like thousands of believers, closed his eyes and prayed with a solemn expression. Ling Protector didn't stop him, just stood quietly behind him, watching this apprentice he had cultivated extremely attentively and praying sincerely.

After a long time, Hong Xuanwu opened his eyes.

At this moment, among the countless people in the square, he only saw a young man at a glance. The young man, with long black hair and a shawl, a well-proportioned figure, dressed in the most ordinary clothes, and a soft and calm face, was standing at the bottom of the pagoda and looking up.

In Hong Xuanwu's eyes, the other thousands of people lost their voice and color in an instant, and only this young man remained.

At the same time, the young man also turned his face, smiled at Hong Xuanwu, and then opened his mouth.

"Come here. ”

The words containing a low thunderous roar sounded in Hong Xuanwu's ears, his body trembled slightly, he took a deep breath, stood up, and walked step by step in the direction of the young man.

"His Holiness the Pope. Hong Xuanwu seemed to have taken a long, long time to walk up to the young man, lowered his head, and called out respectfully.

At this time, there were still many martial god believers around the two of them praying and reaching out to caress the divine tower, but no one seemed to see them, and no one seemed to hear Hong Xuanwu's "Lord Pope".

Although Hong Xuanwu had long known that at the level of the Pope, his supernatural powers were no longer limited to the infinite improvement of physical strength, but he still felt that this inexplicable and mysterious method was unfathomable and mysterious.

"Xuanwu, come and see. ”

The young Pope smiled and beckoned to Hong Xuanwu gently, like an older grandfather calling for his grandchildren.

Hong Xuanwu looked at the place of the Pope's finger, and saw that on the smooth and mirror-like tower wall at the bottom of the tower, as he looked at it, words appeared. When he looked, the words were there, and when he looked away, the words disappeared.

He read the words word by word, and found that it was a complete sentence, and then, cold sweat began to break out on his forehead, and his breathing almost stopped.

"Qi Wanli's origin involves divine warfare, bring him to see me. ”