Purification

Doehring Cowart had died.

The battle had taken place outside the rear gate of the estate Sha Ke had purchased.

When Liewen arrived at the estate's front gate, the system notified him that he had entered the witnessing range.

As his strength grew, the range in which he could witness events also expanded.

Liewen completed the witnessing from outside the estate's front gate.

It stirred an odd memory within him.

In his previous life, whenever he was about to be late for work, he too would open the attendance app from far away and try to clock in remotely.

"Witnessed the death of Doehring Cowart. Body potential enhancement count +1."

"Liewen Andrew."

"Strength: Rank Nine Warrior."

"Potential: Highgod capable of fusing two profound mysteries."

"Body strength: Rank Seven Warrior."

"Body potential: Median Divine Artifact."

Liewen's potential had improved, reaching the level of a Highgod capable of fusing two profound mysteries.

Once one comprehended all the profound mysteries of a single set of Laws, one could become a Highgod. However, such Highgods were merely ordinary ones. To become a powerhouse among Highgods, one had to fuse profound mysteries of the Laws.

After completing the witnessing, Liewen quietly left.

According to the system's prompt, his next witnessing would take place nine years later, when Linley reunited with Delia in the imperial capital of the O'Brien Empire.

Delia had been Linley's classmate at the Ernst Institute and came from the Ryan Clan, one of the Yulan Empire's top noble families. This reunion would also determine where Linley's heart belonged.

"Nine years is plenty. I'll cultivate properly in Hess City for the next few years."

Since there were no witnessing missions, Liewen had no intention of following Linley.

Hess City was the Holy Union's front-line bastion against beast tides. Having obtained the Bo Lei Clan's secret technique, Liewen needed Magical Beast Essence Blood and Magical Crystal Cores for cultivation.

The most convenient place to obtain Magical Beast Essence Blood and Magical Crystal Cores was Hess City.

Liewen returned to his own estate and cultivated in peace.

Fifteen days later, Hess City fell into chaos.

The Magical Beasts launched an offensive toward the Hess Kingdom's border. The two sides battled bitterly for three days, and the casualties were appalling. The Holy Union suffered three hundred thousand dead and wounded before it was finally forced to withdraw a hundred li.

After that retreat, the battlefield was already very close to Hess City.

Many people in the city chose to flee once more. Linley and Bebe also entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range to train. Afterward, Linley would head to the O'Brien Empire and begin his vengeance against the Holy See.

The people of Hess City were filled with fear.

The servants in Liewen's estate were worried as well. They had assumed Liewen would flee like everyone else, allowing them to leave with him.

Yet Liewen immersed himself in cultivation every day, showing no intention of leaving at all.

As the beast tide drew ever closer, some servants finally could not endure it any longer and secretly fled.

Liewen knew, but he had no intention of interfering.

Servants could always be hired again after they left. Familiar with the original story, he knew that the Magical Beasts would ultimately fail to take Hess City.

Liewen sat cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, feeling the sunlight's warmth on his body as he continuously pondered and comprehended the Laws of Light.

Suddenly, white radiance began to emanate from his body.

Centered on him, the white light slowly spread outward. A flying insect accidentally entered it and was instantly burned to ash.

The white light faded. Liewen opened his eyes, which shone brightly with overwhelming excitement.

Just now, another profound mystery of the Laws of Light had reached the introductory stage.

These past days, he had been studying light-element magic, trying to find a point of entry into the profound mysteries of the Laws of Light.

At last, he had found inspiration in the light-element forbidden spell, Light of World Purification.

"Since this profound mystery was comprehended from Light of World Purification, I'll call it 'Purification.'"

There had been no detailed description of this profound mystery in the original Coiling Dragon novel, so Liewen gave it a name himself.

Liewen had now reached the introductory stage in both the "Light Element" and "Purification" profound mysteries. Of course, he was still far from fully comprehending them.

In comparison, Liewen found that the "Purification" profound mystery was far more powerful than the "Light Element" profound mystery.

"It seems this 'Purification' profound mystery is at least a middle-grade profound mystery. It may even be a high-grade one."

Liewen immediately decided to focus on the "Purification" profound mystery.

However, he did not abandon the "Light Element" profound mystery.

Liewen remembered that in the original story, after Linley became a Lowgod through the Laws of Wind, the earth-element profound mystery, "Pulse of the Earth," had also reached its final bottleneck. He had only needed one final step to become a Lowgod.

At that time, Linley had received guidance from Bluefire, the master of Tongluo Mountain.

Bluefire had advised him to try comprehending the "Earth Element" profound mystery. Since elements existed everywhere, the "Earth Element" profound mystery was the foundation of the Laws of Earth. Once he grasped the foundation, comprehending other profound mysteries would become much easier.

Liewen felt that if this was true for the Laws of Earth, then the Laws of Light should be similar.

The "Light Element" profound mystery was most likely the foundation of the Laws of Light. Comprehending the "Light Element" profound mystery would certainly help him comprehend the "Purification" profound mystery as well.

And indeed, that was the case.

Whenever Liewen encountered something difficult to unravel while comprehending the "Purification" profound mystery during his later cultivation, he would switch to comprehending the "Light Element" profound mystery and would often find inspiration.

In the blink of an eye, another month passed.

During that month, the Holy Union's army clashed with the beast tide once more.

The Holy Union army retreated again, withdrawing completely into Hess City.

Nine out of every ten homes in Hess City stood empty, as most people had fled north.

The servants in Liewen's estate had all run away as well, leaving only him and little Laina.

Little Laina was nearly a year old. She looked like a porcelain doll, her fair skin flushed pink and so tender that one could not help wanting to take a bite.

Little Laina could already say a few simple words. Facing Liewen, she called out in her babyish voice, "Geh geh."

The strange pronunciation made the corners of Liewen's lips rise despite himself.

Liewen moved his fingers slightly, and Light Element gathered around his fingertips, forming a white rattle.

His "Light Element" profound mystery had improved somewhat, and he could now condense quite a few objects.

Liewen shook the rattle, making little Laina giggle.

Little Laina reached out with both hands, wanting to take the rattle.

Liewen placed the rattle in little Laina's hands. Under his control, the Light Element would not harm her.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Liewen sensed something.

Carrying little Laina, he left the estate and leaped onto the roof.

Beast roars continuously echoed from the direction of the southern city gate.

"Looks like the Magical Beasts intend to attack the city," Liewen muttered.

The Holy Union had long since made full preparations as well.

The city walls were packed with warriors clad in armor and armed with weapons.

The Holy See's Holy Knights Order, along with its powerful mage corps, had all entered combat readiness.

The siege began.

Earth-Walking Dragons, Velociraptors, Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls, Wind Wolves, Fire Lions—Magical Beasts from every race, numbering in the thousands upon thousands, launched a fierce assault on Hess City.

The Holy Union forces atop the walls were not to be outdone. Hess City was only slightly smaller than Fenlai City and was one of the Holy Union's largest cities. So long as Saint Realm experts did not intervene, taking Hess City was nearly impossible.

Using the towering walls to their advantage, the mage corps completed their chants.

Ice spears, earth spikes, and magic of every element rained down upon the Magical Beast hordes.

The first wave of charging Magical Beasts fell, but those behind them did not stop. They continued their charge.

A dark cloud swept toward Hess City. It was the wyvern race.

Wyverns were all Rank Eight Magical Beasts, and some of the stronger ones were even Rank Nine.

Red Dragons, Green Dragons, and dragons of every element unleashed dragon breath toward the city walls.

The warriors of the Holy Knights Order released battle-qi to block the dragon breath and protect the mage corps.

The city walls could not stop flying Magical Beasts. Many wyverns flew above Hess City and began wreaking havoc within the city.

Streams of dragon breath destroyed countless buildings.

Standing on the roof, Liewen saw a group of Fire Dragons flying toward him.