Hearing Su Mo's words, the World-Honored One was momentarily silent. He did not refute, nor was there any need to.
The reason the hundreds of millions of god-groups had changed their attitude so quickly was not only because of Su Mo's victory but also because of his permission and facilitation.
Otherwise, with his authority as the head of the god-groups, at least the Buddhist pantheon would not have dared to openly defy his previous orders.
After Azi Dahaka was successfully defeated by Su Mo, he immediately realized the error in his previous calculations.
To prevent a certain unsettling possibility from occurring, he immediately ordered and instructed his subordinates to jointly support Su Mo, making him the savior of Little Garden.
The hundreds of millions of god-groups naturally went along with his proposal.
The god-groups had always been waiting for someone to overcome the Eschatology theory and lead them to avoid the Last Embryo, the Wind of Decadence.
Now that Su Mo had done it, they had already wanted to side with him.
It just so happened that the World-Honored One was willing to take the blame for the previous opposition to Su Mo.
They only needed to shirk some responsibility to complete their turncoat move. Why wouldn't they?
The god-groups who thought this way clearly had not expected that, faced with such a reasonable request from hundreds of millions of god-groups, Su Mo would not agree immediately, but instead look at the World-Honored One, who had previously opposed his ideas.
And what they had not expected even more was that the World-Honored One's expression at this moment was surprisingly grave. Although there had been opposition before, it had not developed into an actual conflict.
Logically speaking, he should have been relieved by the current development, just as Su Mo had said.
For Little Garden to have a way out should be a good thing for both human history and mythological history. What was the World-Honored One worried or anxious about?
Under the cautious and puzzled gaze of the vast majority of gods, the World-Honored One stared intently at Su Mo, thought for a few seconds, and then spoke calmly. "Indeed."
"If you are willing to fulfill your final mission, the future of Little Garden can be confirmed, the future of human history can be continued, and the final Eschatology theory can be overcome."
"No matter what kind of cosmology you intend to use to cover the center of Little Garden, the world will have a perfect ending. The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss of Buddhism, the Garden of Eden of Christianity, the Paradise of Zoroastrianism... these are all the same future, a future that only you can achieve."
"At that time, you will become the savior of Little Garden, the source of the savior Divinity for all god-groups. If you wish, the position of the future master of Buddhism should also belong to you, and the same goes for other god-groups. You will become the true master of Little Garden, not just an honorary title. All the gods will become your vassals."
Oh, this!
Hearing what the World-Honored One said, and seeing him lavish praise on Su Mo's potential achievements, the hundreds of millions of god-groups were stunned.
No one had expected the World-Honored One to speak in such a low posture.
No one had expected the World-Honored One's skill in flattery and praise to be so high, so sincere, and so unique. What a guy!
Even the gods who had wanted to gain some merit by endorsing him just now were far inferior to the World-Honored One in the art of flattery.
In terms of the ability and boldness to make grand promises, they were on a different dimension.
The greatest honor the gods could imagine for Su Mo was the title of "Master of Little Garden." After all, for hundreds of millions of god-groups to collectively choose to submit was almost unprecedented.
This was the limit of their imagination.
But in the field of boasting, one had to admire the people around India. What "nominal Master of Little Garden"? If you're going to be it, be the real Master of Little Garden, not only the ruler in name but also possessing an absolute status like the head of a god-group.
The World-Honored One had even gone so far as to promise away his own position as the head of Buddhism, and he seemed very serious about it.
Even the gods who had intended to flatter him just now were stunned, feeling that they had been crushed.
No, is it necessary to be so obsequious? Is it necessary to even give up your own position? If you're so competitive, won't the heads of other god-groups also have to give up their positions and all submit to Su Mo?
While the hundreds of millions of god-groups were shocked by the World-Honored One's incredibly generous promise, a few gods still noticed a problem.
"No! That's not right!" Maitreya Buddha carefully observed the World-Honored One's expression and shook his head, muttering to himself.
Hearing him speak, the Buddha beside him couldn't help but comfort him. "It's alright, Maitreya! Even if the World-Honored One is willing to give up his position, His Excellency Su Mo may not be willing to accept it. You don't have to worry too much!"
According to Buddhist mythology, the World-Honored One, Shakyamuni, is the present body of the three Dharma bodies of the past, present, and future.
In the past, the ancient Buddha Dipankara was in charge of Buddhism, and in the future, Maitreya Buddha will be in charge.
In other words, Maitreya Buddha is the designated next head of Buddhism, with a status equivalent to that of a crown prince.
The position that the World-Honored One had casually promised away just now should have belonged to him. The Buddha beside him naturally thought that Maitreya Buddha was concerned about this, so he comforted him.
He will be the Master of Little Garden by then, he might not even care about the position of the head of Buddhism.
"Thank you for your unnecessary comfort, but that's not what I mean," Maitreya Buddha explained with a slightly speechless expression. "What I mean is, don't you think there's a problem?"
"It's a consensus that should be reached naturally. Why did Shakyamuni suddenly add so many promises, as if... as if he's afraid that His Excellency Su Mo will refuse!" Frowning, he stated a possibility that even he didn't quite dare to believe.
"How could that be!" The Buddha beside him also didn't believe it. "With His Excellency Su Mo's heroic style, although he is indeed a bit too sharp at times, he is undoubtedly one of the good gods. The only way to save Little Garden is right before him. How could he refuse?!"
"Theoretically, that's true, but His Excellency Su Mo is really not an object that can be predicted by theory," Maitreya Buddha shook his head and stared intently at the World-Honored One. "Otherwise, what is Shakyamuni so nervous about?"
Under the expectant, puzzled, or worried gazes of the hundreds of millions of gods, faced with the World-Honored One's generous promise, Su Mo still calmly gave the same reply as before. "So, what's the price? What is the price?"
"The price is a stable and harmonious future. Isn't that enough?" the World-Honored One asked back.
Su Mo asked sharply.
"..." The World-Honored One did not speak.
"Submitting the mythological cosmology as the standard answer will indeed get you everything you mentioned."
"Power, glory, status, and the future," Su Mo said to himself. "I will obtain a supreme status and lead the gods to continue to stand in the heavens."
"The Eschatology theory of Little Garden will be temporarily erased by me, and the human-god paradox of Little Garden will also be resolved. Since human history relied on the mythological cosmology to overcome the Eschatology theory, the answer to the paradox is naturally clear: the gods created the world, the gods created humanity. If human history wants to continue, it must advance under the guidance of the gods."
"Thus, divine creationism will be the final answer of Little Garden. Humans and gods will restore the harmonious relationship you envisioned, and before the next danger arrives, Little Garden will become a true paradise dominated by the gods."
At this point, Su Mo paused and looked at the Buddha before him. "For you, this probably doesn't count as a price, right? It's just letting me choose the position of the candidate for the god-side original scripture and representing the gods to declare victory in the final paradox game."
With the conversation having reached this point, what both sides were concerned about was already clear.
Although the vast majority of gods still had not realized the problem and still felt that this was a matter of course, a small number of people had realized Su Mo's inclination.
Canary's eyes widened, a great light bursting from them. She finally confirmed that the name Su Mo had chosen back then, "Anti-God-Group Alliance," was really not just a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Even Shiroyasha realized the problem and subconsciously held her breath, listening to the conversation between the two.
"For you, this shouldn't count as a price, right?" Hearing Su Mo's words, a shadow was cast over the World-Honored One's wise eyes, but he still tried his best to persuade the other party. "After all, when you defeated Azi Dahaka, you also used the mythological cosmology of Zoroastrianism."
Su Mo clearly had the qualifications of a candidate for the god-side original scripture.
"But I completed the trial as a human," Su Mo said in a calm tone. He also had the qualifications of a candidate for the human-side original scripture.
"This is not a conflict," the World-Honored One continued. "Between humans and gods, you can completely make a more appropriate choice."
"Since you know it's a choice, why say more?" Su Mo asked back. "Whether to choose divine creationism or human creationism, the standard of judgment is not your so-called stability and appropriateness."
"Then what is your standard of judgment?" the World-Honored One asked with great confusion.
"Of course... it's as I please," Su Mo gave a rather subjective, yet irrefutable reason.
"..." The World-Honored One was speechless for a moment.
And at this time, the gods finally understood Su Mo's meaning and burst into an uproar. They finally realized this possibility: Su Mo actually wouldn't accept their request, didn't want to submit the answer to the center of Little Garden as a candidate for the god-side original scripture?
What was the difference between this and figuring out the answer but deliberately not filling in the answer sheet?
More importantly, the results of this exam were shared collectively.
If Su Mo insisted on refusing, the consequences might be even worse than they imagined.
After realizing this, the atmosphere emanating from the hundreds of millions of god-groups suddenly changed.
The atmosphere of the entire battlefield, from the previous joyful flattery and praise, instantly became sinister and turbulent.
The invisible pairs of hundreds of millions of golden pupils emanated an undeniable pressure.