Desri

Time passed quickly. Before long, it was already eight o'clock in the evening.

Suddenly, the highest point of the palace lit up.

Emerald-green light radiated downward, and a faint halo shimmered around the enormous statue in the center of the square. The statue depicted Kolan, revered as the God of Life and Death, who governed life and death.

At the same time, beautiful divine music echoed across the entire square.

The palace gates opened. A group of guards in golden armor marched forward in perfect formation, their steps like those of a vast army.

The entire square fell silent.

Leo, dressed in imperial robes, and Amansa walked toward the enormous statue, holding Blake's hand.

The ceremony to appoint the crown prince was underway!

Everyone in the square, including the Royal Imperial Guard, knelt.

Then they bowed to the crown prince.

Being appointed crown prince made an enormous difference to one's status and influence.

Before the appointment, he was merely a prince, with no title. Afterward, he stood just below the emperor as the heir to the throne and the future ruler of the empire. Even the prime minister had to bow to him. The crown prince was the sovereign; everyone else was a subject.

At that moment, the enormous stone statue suddenly spoke.

"Bless all the people!"

The vast voice resounded in everyone's mind.

Then a fine rain began to fall from the sky. The raindrops were emerald green and contained life energy.

The gentle rain covered every city, town, and village.

Everyone hurried into open spaces to stand in the rain.

Many even opened their mouths to catch the drops.

In an instant, everyone's illnesses were cured.

Even their wounds healed.

"Thank you, God of Life and Death, for your blessing!" Everyone cried out spontaneously.

They all knew this was a blessing from the god they worshipped.

Such blessings did not come often.

The last time had been when the eldest prince was born and received a divine blessing.

The gentle rain lasted only three minutes. But everyone was satisfied. Some people recovered from illness, healed their wounds, or had their hidden injuries cured—and even made breakthroughs.

At Life Castle, Kolan smiled. As a Mid-God of the Life Law, with the Tree of Life assisting him, accomplishing this was easy.

His divine sense effortlessly covered the entire empire.

The Death Rules are still so difficult to break through. I feel like I'm almost there, and then I hit a wall, Kolan thought.

His Saint Domain True Body and Death God Clone were both studying the Death Rules.

As a Mid-God of the Life Law and a Low-God of the Death Rules, the fusion of his divine powers was very ineffective.

Only once the Death Rules reached the Mid-God level would the fusion of his Life Mid-God power and Death-Life divine power truly become formidable, increasing his strength at least tenfold.

Perhaps devoting myself entirely to cultivation isn't good for my progress. A change of scenery might help me draw connections and gain some insight, Kolan mused.

With that thought, Kolan's Saint Domain True Body flew away from Life Castle.

The Radiant Church.

The ninth floor of the Radiant Temple.

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, Pope Kahn wore a troubled expression.

Ever since taking over as pope, Kahn had felt that things weren't going smoothly.

Kahn was indeed a Saint Magus of the Light Element, but his strength was only at the peak of the Saint Realm. He was no match for Ernst, and his prestige naturally fell far short of Ernst's.

After spending decades getting the entire church in order and establishing some authority, Kahn had run into another problem.

The Holy Union's territory was limited. How could the Radiant Church expand its influence?

Expanding across the Magical Beast Mountain Range was unrealistic. The range stretched from north to south across the entire Yulan Continent and was home to countless magical beasts. The central region even contained Saint Realm magical beasts. It was simply impossible for an army to cross it.

Besides, even if they somehow managed to open a route for moving troops, the O'Brien Empire and the Yulan Empire lay on the other side of the range!

The O'Brien Empire had the War God behind it, while the Yulan Empire had the High Priest.

The Radiant Church could afford to offend neither.

There had once been the Chaotic Territory to expand into, and the Radiant Church had set its sights on it. But then a god-level powerhouse appeared and established an empire there.

The only territory left for the Radiant Church to expand into was the Dark Alliance.

The Dark Alliance faced the same predicament as the Holy Union. Both sides wanted to expand their territory and increase their Power of Faith, so they had clashed in wars from time to time over the years.

But the front lines had barely shifted.

The two sides were evenly matched.

The Radiant Church had its Light Angels, but the Dark Church had Fallen Angels too.

"Ah, if only a god-level powerhouse would appear in the Radiant Church!" Kahn rubbed his aching head.

According to the rules, a pope served for five hundred years. He still had a long time before stepping down.

"Your Holiness, I've come to bid you farewell." Just then, someone appeared on the ninth floor and spoke.

Kahn's expression changed at the words.

He knew who it was: Desri, the leading figure among the church's Ascetics!

Desri had once founded the Radiant Church alongside Ernst. Before Ernst left the Yulan Plane for the Light Divine Realm, Desri had been the church's strongest figure.

Desri's support had been essential to Kahn's successful takeover of the church.

"Lord Desri, is there something wrong with the church?" Kahn asked, trying to persuade him to stay.

"Your Holiness, the church is fine. But my goal is to pursue godhood." Desri's voice was calm.

He had been close to Ernst back then, and the two of them had founded the Radiant Church together.

After Ernst left the Yulan Plane, Desri felt as though something was missing. He also wanted to explore the Necropolis of the Gods.

But to explore the Necropolis of the Gods, he had to pledge himself to a god to obtain the qualification.

He had no chance of doing that while remaining in the Radiant Church.

His only option was to leave it.

Desri had also realized that his strength had been growing very slowly in recent years. He hoped to leave the secular world behind and find a quiet place to cultivate in seclusion.

"You can cultivate in peace here, too. We won't disturb you without good reason!" Kahn said hurriedly.

"No." Desri refused.

Then Desri left.

Kahn looked dejected.

The church's strongest Saint had left.

Desri didn't linger. He left with his followers.

Several close friends who had adventured with him also didn't want to remain in the Radiant Church. They followed him out, and the group went into seclusion together.

Desri was resolute: he would pursue godhood.

But he was still a considerable distance from the limits of the Saint Realm.

He would have to cultivate in seclusion and grow stronger.

He left the Holy Union, crossed the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and arrived in the Kolan Empire.

"Big brother, will Lord Kolan really be willing to take us in?" asked a middle-aged man with striking golden hair.

Desri replied, "There shouldn't be a problem. In any case, I've met him once before, at Baruch's place."

"If he's unwilling, we can try our luck with the High Priest or the War God!" Desri said.

To enter the Necropolis of the Gods, one had to pledge oneself to a god-level powerhouse.

Of the three god-level human powerhouses, Kolan was the only one he knew.