Material Plane, Zhongyuan Continent:
Inside a church in Shengyue City, home to the Radiant Church, a black-eyed, black-haired boy who looked to be in his teens entered a mysterious hall, guided by one of the church's clergy.
"Your Holiness, Mr. Sean is here," the clergyman said to the blond man seated at the head of the hall.
"Oh, the most talented boy Zhongyuan Continent has seen in five thousand years. I've heard your name many times," the blond pope said with a smile. "Have a seat."
"Thank you, Your Holiness!" Sean bowed slightly, then sat down in a chair made of nanmu wood.
Since coming to this world, this was Sean's first time meeting the legendary pope.
He wasn't from this world. He had come from Earth. After falling asleep one night, he had woken up as a baby in a forest. He had thought he would starve to death or be eaten by some animal, but a church-affiliated adventurer passing by had found him and brought him back to the church.
The church's people had discovered that his spiritual power was far stronger than that of an ordinary baby. So they had taken him to Shengyue City and named him Sean Walker.
Six years later, Sean had undergone tests for spiritual power and magical affinity. His spiritual power was eighty times that of a child his age, and he had an extraordinary affinity for Earth magic.
The church had naturally begun to train Sean as a priority. Having transmigrated, Sean knew how important strength was. In his previous life, it had been power and money; in this Western fantasy world, it was strength. With strength, he could have everything.
Now, nine years later, his Earth magic had already reached the eighth rank.
"Sean, you're only seventeen, aren't you? To be an eighth-rank mage at such a young age—you're even more talented than I was," the pope said with a smile. Then he asked, "You have battle qi in your body. What rank is it?"
"Your Holiness, I'm only a seventh-rank warrior," Sean replied.
In his previous life, he had read many novels about Western fantasy worlds. He knew that although mages were powerful, a weak body could be a fatal flaw.
So he had also worked hard to learn warrior skills. He simply wasn't as gifted in that area as he was with magic, and even with the church's abundant resources, he had only reached the seventh rank.
"An eighth-rank Earth mage and a seventh-rank warrior, all at just seventeen. Sean, you really are a genius. With your talent, as long as nothing goes seriously wrong, reaching Saint-level is only a matter of time," the pope said with a nod.
"Thank you for the praise, Your Holiness," Sean replied politely. He had a favorable impression of the church. After all, they had raised him and trained him. Otherwise, he would probably have died in that forest long ago.
"Are you curious why I called you here today?" Pope Urban asked.
"Yes," Sean replied with a nod.
As an eighth-rank mage, he had attained a very high position within the church. But compared with the pope, he was still far below. As far as he knew, even ordinary Saint-level experts had a hard time getting an audience with Pope Urban.
"I called you here to tell you something very important," Urban said.
"Normally, I would have waited until you reached the ninth-rank peak or Saint-level before telling you. But our church may face a crisis in the future, and I can't be sure what will happen. So I need to tell you now."
"The church will face a crisis?" Sean's expression shifted. "Your Holiness, what kind of crisis? Could it be the Darkness Church?"
Zhongyuan Continent stretched for millions of miles. The Radiant Church was its most powerful force, controlling nearly half of the land. The rest was divided among several other powers, including the Darkness Church, the Water God Church, the Nature Church, and the Death Temple.
The Darkness Church was the strongest among them. The other powers had even begun to show signs of joining forces against the Radiant Church, though they were still no match for it.
As far as Sean knew, the conflict had lasted for tens of thousands of years, and the Radiant Church had always had the upper hand.
"You don't need to ask. This matter can't be disclosed yet, and telling you wouldn't help anyway. When the time comes, you'll understand," Urban said, shaking his head. "I called you here today to tell you about the true nature of this world."
"The true nature?" Sean's heart stirred. He had always suspected something like this, but with his limited abilities, he had no proof.
"Our Zhongyuan Continent is about three million miles across. To those below Saint-level, it's so vast that they may never explore all of it in their lifetimes. But what they don't know is that this tiny Zhongyuan Continent is no more than a drop in the ocean of our world. The boundless South Sea and East Sea are more than a thousand times larger than the continent." Urban paused, then continued:
"You may already know some of this. But what I want to tell you is that the entire world you know is what we call a plane. The place we live in is the Zhongyuan Continent Material Plane, just one of the many planes between heaven and earth. Above the Material Plane are the four Higher Planes and the Seven Divine Planes."
"..." Sean seemed too "shocked" to speak.
What Urban didn't know was that Sean had suspected long ago that this was the world of Coiling Dragon, a novel he had read in his previous life. He had simply lacked proof. At the eighth rank, he hadn't been able to reach a high enough level to confirm it.
Now, with the pope's confirmation, he finally knew for sure.
The moment Sean learned that he really was in the Coiling Dragon World, a book radiating holy light appeared deep within his soul. The words "Coiling Dragon" were naturally written on its cover.
Could this be my cheat? Sean was thrilled. The greatest advantage of coming to the Coiling Dragon World was that reaching Saint-level meant eternal life. That was far better than the "shocking the universe, overpowering the Supreme, ten-thousand-year-old emperor" stuff next door.
But if he wanted to thrive in the Coiling Dragon World, he needed a cheat. Never mind the Sovereigns and Paragons—just becoming an independent Highgod was already a feat so rare that the odds were beyond astronomical.
He was a transmigrator, and although he had some talent in the Earth Laws, there was no telling how far he would ultimately go. Super-geniuses in Material Planes usually only reached Saint-level. Whether they became gods depended on all sorts of fortunate circumstances.
When the book titled Coiling Dragon appeared in his mind, it had bound itself to his soul. Its ability was to manifest ownerless treasures that appeared in the book as text, provided Sean had reached the same level as the protagonist, Linley.
Urban continued to explain the basic structure of this world: Lowgods, Midgods, Highgods, Sovereigns, and Overgods. But with only his Saint-level-peak understanding, he knew little more than the basics.
Sean also noticed a few errors, but didn't point them out. For instance, when it came to Laws, Urban clearly didn't know about fusion. Not only a Saint-level expert like him—even most gods from Material Planes might not know.
After a while, Urban said, "Sean, once you reach Saint-level, becoming a god isn't a matter of cultivation. It depends on comprehending the Laws of the world. You cultivate the Earth Laws, so study the magic you use most often in greater depth. There's nothing else I can teach you.
"If the church remains safe, you can take your time and explore step by step. But if something unexpected happens, I hope what I've told you today will help you avoid a few detours."
"I understand. Thank you, Your Holiness," Sean said, bowing. In the original story, the church in the Yulan Plane was the final boss, but this wasn't that plane. At least, not for him.
"Go back for now. Think carefully about how you want to proceed," Urban said, waving him away.
"Then I'll take my leave, Your Holiness," Sean said, and withdrew.
Afterward, he took a carriage back to his residence without haste. It was a detached house less than ten miles from the Radiant Church headquarters in Shengyue City. Ordinarily, even money couldn't buy a place like this; only important church officials could live there.
After sending everyone away, Sean went to his bedroom and activated the surveillance Magic Array. It had been crafted by a Saint Magus of the church who specialized in wind magic. Based on the Wind of Perception, it had been reverse-engineered into a Magic Array that could detect when others were trying to probe the area.
Once he reached his secret chamber, Sean hurriedly used his soul power to communicate with the Coiling Dragon book in his mind. He flipped to Volume One, Chapter Seven: "The Coiling Dragon Ring (Part Two)."
As soon as Sean's soul saw the words "black ring," highlighted in red, he immediately thought, Manifest.
Suddenly, a black ring appeared out of thin air in the empty space before him. It quickly fell under the force of gravity.
Seeing the ring, Sean was overcome with excitement. He hurriedly wrapped it in his soul power and drew it toward himself. This black ring was the most central treasure in the original story: the Coiling Dragon Ring.
A Soul-Protecting Sovereign Artifact, though damaged.
Before you continue