Starfire City, Dragon Knight Warrior Academy, Yao Lao's attic.
Yao Lao watched Xiao Yan descend from the sky, his expression complicated. Even after an entire night, he still hadn't recovered from the shock of Xiao Yan breaking through to the Saint Domain.
"You destroyed the Church of Light?" Yao Lao asked, his expression complicated.
Even from several miles away, the Dou Qi palm towering over a hundred meters high had been impossible to miss. Yao Lao had naturally noticed it, too.
"Just one branch in Starfire City. It's nothing worth mentioning," Xiao Yan said, his face calm and untroubled.
"...The younger generation is truly formidable... truly formidable!" Yao Lao sighed deeply.
The Church of Light had hunted him for decades. He had been forced to rely on the Empire's protection, barely scraping by in Starfire City. Even so, the Church of Light had never intended to let him go.
To keep him under surveillance, the Starfire City branch of the Church of Light was far stronger than its branches in other kingdom capitals. It had not only Dialuo, a ninth-level Cardinal, but also a squad of special-grade deacons stationed there year-round.
And now, the Starfire City branch of the Church of Light, which had plagued Yao Lao for decades, had been dealt with so easily by Xiao Yan.
"I never thought that one day I, Albert, would teach a Saint Domain expert." Yao Lao gazed at Xiao Yan, whose face still looked young, his expression hazy.
For a moment, his thoughts returned to an afternoon ten years ago. He remembered leading Xiao Yan into the Dragon Knight Warrior Academy beneath the setting sun.
"Perhaps... giving this child a chance back then was the greatest opportunity of my life!" Yao Lao thought with a sigh.
"Just lucky, just lucky!" Outwardly, when Xiao Yan heard Yao Lao praising him again for becoming a Saint Domain expert, he answered almost reflexively.
"By the way, Teacher, the continent doesn't seem very peaceful lately. The Saint Domain magical beasts, and both the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness, have been making plenty of moves in secret." Remembering what had happened in Wutan City, Xiao Yan's expression turned serious.
"On my way back, I heard that in many regions, the influence of the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness is already on par with the Empire's official forces. And apparently, this has been going on for several years."
"On top of that, the Church of Light openly attacked you in Starfire City last night. That's practically an open show of contempt for the Empire. Something's not right. Has something happened recently?" Xiao Yan asked, curious.
Facing Xiao Yan's puzzled gaze, Yao Lao's expression suddenly grew grave. His answer was startling.
"Actually... things like this began happening more than ten or twenty years ago. They've simply grown worse in recent years."
"What?" Xiao Yan's expression shifted in shock.
"At first, whenever the Church of Light or the Church of Darkness clashed with the Empire, it was just a few low-ranking trainee knights. Gradually, it escalated to white-robed and black-robed clerics, and in recent years, even the cardinals have become involved."
"And according to the Empire's information, the Saint Domain magical beasts that massacred cities weren't particularly powerful among Saint Domain experts. The Empire even killed several of them. Yet ordinary Saint Domain magical beasts still keep appearing and slaughtering cities."
The Saint Domain ranks in the Coiling Dragon World were rather vague.
They could broadly be divided into four tiers.
The first tier consisted of those who had broken through to the Saint Domain in either Dou Qi or magic power (mental strength). These were the most ordinary Saint Domain experts, at the very bottom of the rank.
The Saint Warrior of Light, Theodore, whom Xiao Yan had casually killed, had been at this level.
The second tier was the Saint Domain peak. Most ordinary Saint Domain magical beasts were at this level. It was harder for humans to reach it, as they needed to comprehend a trace of the Laws' Profound Mysteries.
The third tier was the level occupied by Abraham, the Pope of Light. His comprehension of the Profound Mysteries was already considerable, and he had developed a signature move suited to himself. He could instantly kill ordinary Saint Domain experts, and the strongest among them could even trade blows with those at the Saint Domain limit.
The fourth tier was the Saint Domain limit. Those at this level had comprehended one Profound Mystery to its limit, standing just one step from perfection. They could become deities at any moment.
On the Azeron Continent, most Saint Domain experts were ordinary Saint Domain experts. Few had comprehended the Laws, and nearly all of them were concentrated in the three great Empires and the two great Churches.
"Something's wrong. Saint Domain magical beasts are no less intelligent than humans. After the Empire took action, those clever beasts should never have been foolish enough to keep provoking it!" Xiao Yan stroked his chin, his eyes glinting.
"You've guessed it too, haven't you?" Yao Lao said with a bitter smile.
"Someone is behind those Saint Domain magical beasts slaughtering cities. Some force is deliberately using them to test the three great Empires." Xiao Yan sounded certain. His eyes shifted. "Could it be the two Churches?"
"There's no proof, but they're probably behind it," Yao Lao said, offering his suspicion.
"But what are they trying to achieve?"
"Are they simply provoking the Empire?"
"Do they even have the strength for that?"
Xiao Yan couldn't understand.
The Church of Light and the Church of Darkness were both Saint Domain forces, while each of the three great Empires had a deity behind it.
Even if the two Churches had an advantage in Saint Domain-level combat power because of their Descending Angels, once the deities behind the three great Empires intervened, any number of Saint Domain experts would be a joke.
Even a Saint Domain expert at the limit with a three-element soul mutation couldn't resist the weakest Lowgod in the slightest. The Divine Domain could unfold, and one move would be enough to kill them instantly.
Yao Lao remained silent for a long while after hearing Xiao Yan's puzzled question. Then he spoke.
"The last recorded appearance of the three deities was seventy years ago," Yao Lao said meaningfully. "In all these years, apart from members of the Imperial Families who claim to have seen them, no outsiders have ever seen a deity."
"Gasp—"
Understanding the hint, Xiao Yan drew in a sharp breath. "The Church of Darkness and the Church of Light are testing the deities behind the three great Empires!"
How dare they?
If their gamble failed, they'd be doomed beyond redemption.
Even though he was their enemy, Xiao Yan couldn't help admiring the courage of the Church of Darkness and the Church of Light for daring to test deities with Saint Domain experts.
Yao Lao gazed out the window and sighed. "The Church of Light and the Church of Darkness have grown bolder and bolder lately. They even dare to make a move in the capital of a kingdom."
"If this continues... and the deities still don't act, true chaos won't be far off."
"With the two Churches' greed for faith, a war that will sweep across the entire continent is about to begin!"
"It's a turbulent time," Lynn murmured from the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, frowning as he watched the leaves drift past the window.
"I just want to develop in peace, but time waits for no one..."
In the southern part of the Azeron Continent, on an unremarkable mountain.
In the sky, two figures—one bright, one dark—faced each other.
They were Abraham, the Pope of Light, and Philip, the Dark Pope.
"Ke ke ke... Abraham, after all these years of testing, we've confirmed that those three old monsters have left the Material Plane for the God Realm."
"It's about time we prepared for the War of Faith!" Philip's eyes burned with fervor as he spoke.
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