As the curtain rose, Hudson quietly returned to Snow Moon Territory. The loss of the Inheritance Divine Artifact, compounded by the establishment of a separate Church, shocked the entire continent.
The much-discussed Heresy Scandal was immediately overshadowed. Compared with the first two major events that would shape humanity's future, blasphemous remarks were hardly worth mentioning.
Similar remarks surfaced almost every year. The Arcanists, who were wholly devoted to pursuing truth and could be considered harmless to man and beast, became heretics mainly because of their mouths.
In fact, that was the key distinction between Arcanists and mages. Both pursued truth, but Arcanists were more radical.
They not only dared to think, but also dared to put their ideas into practice. Worse still, they often could not keep their mouths shut.
In cultivation, arcane arts and magic were still very similar. At least in Hudson's view, these two seemingly different professions shared the same core essence.
A mage might not necessarily be an outstanding Arcanist, but an Arcanist was certainly an outstanding mage. Especially old mages who had reached the end of their cultivation and struggled to make further breakthroughs—many chose to cross over.
The steady influx of fresh blood was why Arcanists had endured despite the Church's suppression.
By comparison, other heretical professions had declined over the years.
A major reason why the Frankish Kingdom and the Alpha Kingdom supported the Arcane Academy was that these wild Arcanists
were all high-ranking figures within the major domestic factions.
After all, aside from occasionally shooting their mouths off, Arcanists spent most of their time conducting research and rarely had the leisure to stir up trouble.
That was something other heretical professions could not compare with.
Aside from a small number of heretical professions that the Church had branded as such merely to