“Love… is an obligation?”

At this moment, the two had already arrived in front of the hotel where Aemon resided, on a sparsely populated coastal path.

Hearing this, Su Zhou's expression couldn't help but become somewhat subtle.

“Wait, are you saying this is a vow? Elias wrote all this into the ‘vow’?!”

“Love, is an obligation?”

He repeated it once more, turning his head to look at Aemon. Su Zhou repeated, with a somewhat strange tone, “Everyone loving everyone is everyone’s obligation… and, if someone is unwilling to love others…”

“Then that is evil! The Lord of Judgment will punish those evildoers!”

As if it were a conditioned reflex, the grey-haired priest subconsciously took over the words—but as soon as he finished, Aemon immediately realized something was wrong. He turned around somewhat fearfully, clasped his hands together, and half-knelt, bowing to Su Zhou, confessing, “Ah, I have overstepped… My Lord, please punish me…”

“There’s nothing to punish, you people are a little strange.”

Su Zhou frowned slightly, a premonition of whether it was good or bad suddenly arising in his heart.

For some reason, he suddenly recalled some details he had overlooked in the previous incident with the little boy and the merchant.

—You must be careful, don't do it again next time, or the Lord of Judgment will come looking for you.

That was the gentle warning that the merchant had given the little boy at the end.

But… was it really gentle?

After a few seconds of silence, he said in a deep voice, “Aemon, I have a question to ask you.”

“Please test me, My Lord!”

Aemon answered without hesitation, waiting for Su Zhou’s question.

“Like before, that incident where the child spilled fish soup on the merchant’s pants… if that child didn’t apologize, or if he apologized but made the same mistake again next time, then this matter is also under the jurisdiction of the Judgment… also under my jurisdiction?”

“Naturally.” Aemon nodded as a matter of course, “The Lord of Punishment has said: Even the smallest evil is a sin. If one example is ignored today, there will be two tomorrow, and four the day after—if sins are ignored, even by a hair's breadth, after a hundred days, the bitter fruit will surpass the world!”

…Responsible for everything, a true god… I see. Su Zhou’s expression was a little heavy, and he nodded slightly, somewhat understanding what kind of god the Lord of Judgment was.

“But how to carry out punishment for such a small evil?”

After a moment of silence, the youth continued to ask.

The grey-haired priest looked at Su Zhou somewhat strangely—this kind of thing was like a cat asking an ant how it should catch mice. But Aemon thought about it and felt that this might be a test from the god to himself, so he seriously replied, “Lord, I do not know how you will punish the wicked after your divine descent—but before the divine descent, I do know.”

“You will randomly select some wicked people, and then carry out punishment indiscriminately.”

“Whether it’s a child or an old man, whether it’s a scholar or a groom, as long as they make a mistake, they may be punished. And this is also the method by which you guide all living things towards goodness!”

Saying this, the priest's eyes stared at Su Zhou, revealing a hint of fanaticism, “Lord, you are the thunder of judgment, the scales of arbitration, the center of the world—what difference is there between old men and children, scholars and grooms, kings and priests, fishermen and farmers, in your eyes?”

“For the sake of goodness, for the sake of love, for the sake of the righteous law of this world, to adopt the thunderous punishment to destroy all sins, is this not precisely the compassion you are showing?”

Su Zhou fell silent for a long time upon hearing this.

—Love is an obligation. Not loving is a mistake.

If what Aemon said was true, then everything he had seen before…

“Aemon, can I see your catechism?”

How could Aemon say no?

Kneeling on one knee, he used the fastest speed to untie the catechism from his waist, and then was forcibly lifted up by Su Zhou with spiritual power. In this state of confusion, he handed the catechism to the other party.

“It’s actually a fine steel cover, not iron? Interesting, but if you want to use this catechism as a weapon, it’s still missing a ram. If I were to design it, I would definitely design it like that, that would be perfect.”

The large catechism with the fine steel cover was about two circles larger than a human head. If it were an ordinary person, let alone carrying it with them, even holding it up would be difficult. No wonder the selection of priests started from the Awakening stage.

Su Zhou did not hesitate. He directly opened this holy scripture catechism of the Reincarnation World, and flipped through its contents with the fastest speed.

Although the book was heavy, the paper inside was actually very light, and it was not inferior to Earth's technology—after all, there was quite a bit of technology left behind from Nesser City in the past. After developing for hundreds of years, it was not strange to have this level.

Aemon stood aside, not daring to move rashly. Although this priest was uneasy in his heart, he couldn't help but have a trace of doubt.

“Aren’t the catechism and holy scriptures personally compiled by the Lords? Every time the Central Sanctuary adds a new rule, it reports to the gods, asks for divine guidance, and only makes changes after receiving permission and suggestions!”

“Does my Lord, the Lord of Judgment, not know this?”

Although Su Zhou sensed the confusion in Aemon’s heart, now was not the time to explain—what's more, he didn't need to explain in the first place.

Using the quantum reading method (pseudo) to quickly browse through the entire catechism, Su Zhou closed this thick holy scripture, and his expression became very subtle.

“This isn’t some kind of scripture, this isn’t some kind of theological classic—this is simply three thousand moral regulations, one hundred thousand rules for conducting oneself in the world!”

“No wonder this Aemon opens his mouth and says that a certain Lord once said, and closes his mouth with a certain Lord’s holy saying—this entire book is all of these contents!”

This was not Su Zhou speaking randomly.

The contents of the catechism could be roughly divided into ‘Five Records’ and ‘Seventeen Books.’

Among them, the ‘Five Records’ were ‘New Era,’ ‘Farewell Record,’ ‘Origin Record,’ ‘Vow Record,’ and ‘Guidance Record.’ They respectively represented the creation myths of the Firefolk, the interactions and movements of the gods after creation, the origin of all races in the world, the initial code established by the gods and humans, and the process of subsequent exploration.

And the subsequent seventeen books were the new content added to the catechism by the seventeen God-blessed ones after receiving divine guidance—in other words, they were version update records.

The current catechism was already the seventeenth version. The rules it supplemented, the explanations it gave, and the words and deeds it required people to do were all detailed to a terrifying degree!

【The Lord of Wind has said: People should only eat organisms that have been confirmed to be harmless. Those newly discovered species should be eaten by priests and transcendents, pioneering the way forward.】

【Eating unknown organisms is like walking in a night forest, not knowing whether there are traps and poisonous snakes ahead, not knowing whether the path ahead is the right path or a fork in the road. Therefore, let the priests and transcendents step forward, they have the power to regret and retreat.】

【The Lord of Punishment has said: You must not steal, you must not kill, you must not commit adultery and plunder, you must not bear false witness, you must not be greedy and envious of others. You must revere death, you must not harbor evil thoughts in all things, you must not give rise to desires for destruction, you must not give rise to desires for greed.】

【If you feel that you can do something because of a small evil, then what is the difference between this and a great evil? Stealing and killing both harm others, which righteous people are unwilling to do.】

【The Lord of Punishment has said: You must respect your parents, respect the elders, respect scholars, respect family members, friends, and all strangers. You must have good intentions, and if someone needs help and you can help, you should help.】

【If you feel that you can refrain from doing something because of a small good, then what is the difference between this and evil? Donating one point or ten thousand is all help, and acting is goodness.】

【The Lord of Fire has said: Unless there is a crisis of life and death, when people are fishing and hunting, they should let go of the mother beast.】

【Heavenly evolution, the weak prey on the strong, but we humans should transcend it, so we should leave a line of life for beasts, for ourselves.】

These were merely some of the basic ‘vow rules’ recorded in the ‘Vow Record.’

In the subsequent seventeen books, there were even more subdivisions and records of these vows.

Take Sunset City, for example—this was the first large coastal city built by the Firefolk, and many new fish and seafood had been discovered here. It could be regarded as an unknown organism… and without exception, all of these organisms were entrusted to priests and transcendents to try out methods of cooking and eating.

Take crabs, sea urchins, and octopuses—just crabs alone, from whether they should be steamed, stir-fried, boiled, or roasted, underwent a long period of experimentation. And in the end, discovering which meat could be eaten and which could not, and how to eat and cook the crab roe deliciously, took a long time and research.

And the sea urchins and octopuses were even more so. There was even an incident where a priest swallowed an octopus alive and almost suffocated. This was recorded in the ‘Seventeen Books’ as a warning not to easily try unknown foods.

In order to ensure that ordinary people could follow the instructions of the ‘rules’ to eat these new organisms in any way, all the priests of the Lord of Wind had to try to eat those ‘foods’ using all sorts of methods, no matter how strange they seemed.

In fact, Su Zhou recalled the strange statues next to the square in Sunset City that were stepping on crabs, sea urchins, and other creatures—now that he thought about it, weren't those commemorating the first people who ate crabs, sea urchins, and octopuses?

Su Zhou had even seen small statues and paintings of these people in many places on this food street. The entire Sunset City was worshiping the images of these people.

The hardships they had endured were indeed worth commemorating in this way.

Objectively speaking, Su Zhou had to admit that the theology and catechism of this world were indeed quite interesting.

For example, the ‘Origin Record,’ which recorded the origins of the Firefolk and the Windfolk, was very interesting.

The Lord of Fire, that is, Elias, used a method that even an illiterate old farmer could understand to explain why people should drink water, why they shouldn’t drink seawater, and why they should usually stay away from dangerous water sources.

He even created a series of fairy tales, warning everyone that it was best to drink boiled water, because this could curb the activity of the ‘soul of water,’ so that the water would not move after entering the human body, so as not to cause diarrhea and stomach problems.

For a society that had not yet fully opened its civilization and whose productivity did not allow it, and that did not understand parasites and bacteria at all, it was natural to use myths, legends, and the classics of saints to teach the people.

After all, this was a world with transcendence and gods. If the advantages of the sect were not used well, that would be unscientific.

Su Zhou naturally understood this very well. After all, Elias was not a human-shaped library with 103,000 magical books in his mind. He was only in his teens when he became a god, and he was only slightly better at magic, and he was not very proficient in alchemy. How would he know anything about developing technology?

Being able to compile so many holy words and painstakingly teach the people, so that they could live safely and morally, was enough to prove his intelligence.

However, to compile such interesting things into a whole set, a full five records and seventeen books, nearly two thousand pages of rules, that was not interesting and intelligent, but terrifying!

This guy had woven a whole network for everyone in this world, encompassing all aspects, almost without omission… to put it a bit vulgarly, he even stipulated where people should go to the toilet, what posture they should use, and if they defecated or urinated anywhere, they should be punished by the Lord of Judgment!

Could this be said to be bad?

Of course not!

Defecating and urinating anywhere was not only dirty, but also caused the spread of infectious bacteria. Regulating defecating and urinating anywhere was indeed imperative… but if, if you use the punishment of God to threaten, force… or even threaten with death…

This was a bit like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

And this kind of content of using a cannon to kill a mosquito, the entire catechism, one thousand nine hundred pages, every page was it!

“This Elias… even wrote things like everyone is equal, there should be no discrimination, people should be generous and share with each other into the rules… if you make a mistake, you must apologize, and if you apologize, you must be forgiven, this, this kind of thing, he actually requires mandatory implementation…”

“This completely theocratic world, using ‘obligation’ to force everyone to love everyone in an equal world…”

Recalling the content of the catechism, Su Zhou even felt a chill—because before, the shopkeeper who invited him to drink fish soup, every step of the way perfectly matched the catechism, that is, ‘to show the generosity and kindness that a shopkeeper should have to strangers from other places.’ This point!

And in theory, having received this kindness, then Su Zhou should go to that store for two meals in the future, as a reward for the shopkeeper's generosity!

In this way, are people smiling because of genuine good intentions from the bottom of their hearts, or are they just mechanically following everything in the catechism?

Even if Su Zhou used the supernatural powers of the Devouring Evil Demon Lord to see, I am afraid he would not be able to distinguish it…

“Crack!”

Su Zhou closed the catechism in his hand, making a clang that was comparable to the clash of shields, and even made the Extinction Blade next to him spin dizzily for a while, seemingly looking for where the weapons collided.

“I’ve finished reading.”

He turned his head to look at Aemon. Su Zhou said in a deep voice, with a solemn tone, “Using religious belief to forcibly restrain ‘good’ rules… without talking about whether it’s useful or not, but arranging everything in such detail, then how should it be changed later?”

“For example, a certain organism, at that time because of the breeding method, it was easy to breed germs, so it was judged that it should not be eaten—but later there was a safe breeding method, then what should be done with this rule? Should it continue to be left uneaten, and even if others use safe methods to eat it, should it be stopped?”

“This… My Lord, shouldn’t this be decided by you?”

To this, Aemon put his hands together and prayed in a low voice. He didn’t know what to say, but only said blankly, “You are always right. If the situation changes, then you should issue a divine decree and have the God-blessed ones in the Central Sanctuary revise the catechism.”

“…What do you mean I am always right? And if you say that, if I don’t say to change it, you won’t change it yourselves?”

Hearing this, Su Zhou finally realized what was wrong with the people in this world, and the detailed-to-an-absurd catechism—

All believers, and even the gods themselves, all defaulted that God, their Lord, was the incarnation of eternal correctness!

If God does not correct the mistakes, then the mistakes will continue, and people themselves will never correct the ‘mistakes’!

“You should have your own ideas, and not rely on divine decrees in everything—if you encounter something that doesn’t have rules, what should you do?”

Handing the catechism back to Aemon, Su Zhou’s tone was serious, “Moreover, such detailed rules cannot satisfy everyone, right? If you accidentally make a mistake, then must you also be punished? If someone questions certain rules, and thinks that this one is wrong, and wants to correct it, then is it considered evil?”

“If someone makes a mistake, but is not discovered by anyone, what will happen to him?”

The youth’s tone became increasingly heavy, “And if, if it’s just thinking in your heart, but not actually doing it?”

“This, this is natural, My Lord… Things that don’t have rules should not be done, that is also evil.”

For Su Zhou’s so-skilled questioning, Aemon, who had never thought about these aspects, couldn’t help but get stuck. There were no relevant holy words or vows in his mind, so he could only answer somewhat stumbling, “If someone makes a mistake, then they should be punished. If someone actively violates it, then they are heretical evildoers! And not informing God, and questioning the precepts without permission, that is naturally an extremely evil person!”

As he spoke, his words became fluent instead.

At this moment, Aemon recalled the grievances his family had suffered when he was a child, the unjust accusations they had suffered.

Indeed… even if the Lord racked his brains and arranged a path of goodness for everyone, there were always born evildoers who took pleasure in harming and deceiving others.

Even if God made a vow with everyone, there were still people who risked being punished, who still made mistakes, still did evil, and still hated others.

Just like those giant merchants and officials who framed his family in the past, and… those pirates overseas who would rather leave the continent and live in the sea than abide by the precepts and vows!

Those true heretics, their mere existence caused Aemon to feel anger in his heart!

“Therefore… My Lord, strict punishment is necessary!”

Clenching his fists, Aemon raised his head and looked at Su Zhou, whose expression was serious. His tone was even more pious, and even had a hint of fanaticism, “It is precisely because people always accidentally make mistakes that your existence is needed, so that you can judge good and evil, so that you can punish. Sanction those evildoers who have violated the covenant between God and man, and tell everyone what kind of bitter fruit they should swallow if they do not walk on the right path!”

“Just thinking in your heart, but not actually doing it, there is no way to do anything about that—The Lord of Fire has said: Evil is proven by actions, and good is based on the heart first. Since you haven’t done it, then it doesn’t count as evil. So we must all try our best to improve our hearts, to get close to God, this is walking on the right path, a lifelong test!”

“As for doing it, but no one knows.”

Saying this, the grey-haired priest smiled. At this moment, the eyes of this middle-aged man in his fifties seemed to be overflowing with light, “In this world, there may indeed be crimes that no one knows about, but there are no crimes that you don’t know about!”

“No matter who it is, as long as they commit a crime, they are destined to be punished—it may be after a moment, it may be after a quarter of an hour, it may also be after a few years or decades. As long as someone sees this scene, or even the criminal himself sees this scene, everything will inevitably be known to God—unless the criminal runs to the sea beyond the reach of your divine domain, otherwise as long as they are on land, any criminal will inevitably receive the punishment they deserve!”

Speaking of this, Aemon couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed. He once again put his hands together and prepared to kneel to Su Zhou, admitting his ‘mistake.’

—The duty of the God of Fire is to maintain the rules.

—The duty of the God of Wind is to explore the unknown.

O Lord Judgment God, your duty is to punish all mistakes!

“…I forgive you. It’s not your fault.”

Judgment, punishment—

Su Zhou had heard these words many times in Aemon’s heart.

What kind of judgment was this judgment? What kind of punishment was this punishment?

It was not written in the catechism, and Su Zhou himself could not ask such questions.

After all, he himself was the God of Judgment… at least theoretically.

Looking at Aemon, who was in high spirits and wanted to show his god the current prosperous age, Su Zhou was embarrassed to break his believer’s fantasy, and say something like ‘Sorry, I’m not your god’ ‘Your god’s prototype is me, I came here mainly to see what He is like, and how in the world He could come up with such a god.’

“Forget it, asking you is meaningless… when the time comes, I’ll ask Elias myself.”

Wanting to say something, but in the end just letting out a long sigh, Su Zhou shook his head slightly, he waved his hand, and said helplessly, “Thank you for your hard work, Aemon, I will go and see this city by myself next, if you have anything to do, go and rest.”

“By the way, don’t talk about me with others.”

“What hard work is there, My Lord? All problems are just your tests for me, I am willing to endure them.”

Aemon shook his head from the bottom of his heart, denying the ‘hard work’ point. He took a step back, giving Su Zhou a way to leave, “I will definitely keep my mouth shut, even if the Lord of Fire comes in person, I will never let go!”

“…I didn’t say it had to be to this extent, if the Lord of Fire really asks, you can tell him.”

Su Zhou was dumbfounded by this, then turned his head and slowly walked towards the alleys on the street, while Aemon nodded seriously in response, “Yes! My Lord!”

Watching Su Zhou’s leaving figure, the grey-haired priest gave birth to love and respect from the bottom of his heart.

Then, another trace of doubt was born.

—The Lord is so approachable and full of vitality.

But, it is not the same as the Lord of Judgment that I thought of in my heart in the past…

In my heart, the Lord of Judgment should be just, majestic, and impersonal. Like the gallows, like the execution platform, straightforward, clean, and without tolerating any sin or any mistakes.

“Why… is the Lord so gentle? Isn’t the Lord a giant dragon that devours all evil? Why would He tolerate those evildoers who are unwilling to abide by the rules?”

“The Lord of Devouring Evil, the God of Judgment, isn’t this the Lord’s power and divine name? Why…”

Thinking about it, Aemon couldn’t find the answer.

And at this moment, he saw Su Zhou’s figure suddenly stop.

“Aemon, is the execution platform in the city center used for judgment?”

The priest heard the voice of his god, so he answered seriously and loudly, “Yes, My Lord, that is precisely the place used to judge the wicked, heretics, and unjust!”

“My Lord, there will be a judgment tomorrow, you are asking about this, could it be that you want to personally carry it out? Please do not do so! Those dirty criminals who have already been brought to justice should be handled by us.”

“…How will you punish them?”

“Those who steal will have their hands cut off, those who rob will have their legs cut off, those who spread rumors will have their tongues cut off, those who desert will have their thumbs cut off, those who intentionally harm others will be beheaded.”

“Unless they are hated by everyone, and everyone prays together, begging you to take action and destroy the evildoers with lightning, otherwise, the Lord does not need to take action.”

Aemon smiled, his tone carrying a justice that could not be more just, he said decisively, “All of this is your grace, My Lord, we humans may not be able to judge whether some people are evil, but you are the embodiment of justice, no matter who commits a crime, whether it is known or not, he will endure absolutely certain judgment.”

But Aemon did not see that Su Zhou’s face was changing slightly at this time, and finally, he finally understood.

—I see, I understand!

He turned his head and looked at everything.

Su Zhou looked around at the scenery of Sunset City, and finally understood in his heart, “This God of Judgment, this punishment that punishes all ‘mistakes,’ frankly speaking, what difference is there between it and the heavenly tribulation system depicted by destiny?”

“And this world, although it looks beautiful and perfect, with everyone equal and without discrimination, but the precepts have become like this… Isn’t this the prelude to the ‘most happy future’ depicted by destiny?!”

At this time, Su Zhou had already taken another step. He said goodbye to Aemon, but his face was deep.

—Could it be that my derivative has been eroded by destiny, so He has been speaking in the void?

And was the ambiguous attitude of the Lonely Sovereign before also like this? Did He also realize the erosion of destiny, so He was preparing to change His attitude and plan?

No, destiny and reincarnation were originally an ancient combination…

“Yala, what do you think of this world?” After thinking for a while, Su Zhou couldn’t help but ask the snake spirit in his soul space.

But the scarlet snake spirit, who had been watching all of this, shook his head slightly, revealing a subtle look, “I won’t say it, Su Zhou, this time, it may really be a trial that belongs only to you.”

“Is that so… that’s indeed the case, I would definitely not like other people’s answers, and even if it was yours, Yala, I’m afraid I wouldn’t agree with it.”

“It’s good that you understand this.”

Thinking like this, but there was no answer in his heart.

Su Zhou had already made up his mind to make plans when the judgment came tomorrow.