A Deity Who Has Not Appeared for Decades (Please Follow)

Starfire City, Dragon Knight Warrior Academy, Yao Lao's attic.

Yao Lao looked at Xiao Yan descending from the sky with a complex expression. Even though an entire night had passed, Yao Lao still hadn't recovered from the shock of Xiao Yan having broken through to the Saint-level.

"You wiped out the Church of Light?" Yao Lao's face was complicated.

Even from several miles away, that hundred-meter-tall battle-qi palm had been incredibly eye-catching, and Yao Lao had naturally noticed it.

"It was just a Starfire City branch, it doesn't amount to much." Xiao Yan looked calm and indifferent.

"...The younger generation is to be feared... truly to be feared!" Yao Lao let out a long sigh.

In his life, he had been hunted by the Church of Light for decades, forced to rely on imperial protection to barely survive within Starfire City. Even so, the Church of Light had no intention of letting him go.

To monitor him, the Starfire City branch of the Church of Light was more powerful than those in other kingdom capitals; not only did it have a ninth-rank Cardinal named Dialuo, but it also permanently stationed a squad of elite deacons.

And now, this Starfire City branch of the Church of Light that had plagued Yao Lao for decades had been removed by Xiao Yan just like that.

"I never thought that I, Albert, would one day be able to teach a Saint-level expert." Yao Lao looked at the still-youthful face of Xiao Yan before him, his expression somewhat dazed.

His thoughts drifted back to an afternoon ten years ago, and Yao Lao recalled the scene of him leading Xiao Yan into the Dragon Knight Warrior Academy under the setting sun.

Perhaps... giving this child a chance back then was the greatest opportunity of my life! Yao Lao sighed inwardly.

"Just luck, pure luck!" On the surface, hearing Yao Lao praise him for becoming a Saint-level expert again, Xiao Yan replied almost reflexively.

"By the way, Teacher, the continent doesn't seem very peaceful lately. Whether it's Saint-level magical beasts or the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness, both are making many small moves in private." Recalling his experience 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 no longer inferior to the imperial authorities, and it is said that this situation has been going on for several years."

"Coupled with the fact that the Church of Light openly moved against you here in Starfire City last night, it's practically a blatant show of contempt for the Empire. This is very wrong. Has something happened during this time?" Xiao Yan looked curious.

Facing Xiao Yan's puzzled gaze, Yao Lao's expression suddenly became incredibly grave, and he dropped a bombshell.

"Actually... similar things have been happening for ten or twenty years, it's just that it has intensified in recent years."

"What?" Xiao Yan looked startled.

"At the very beginning, the conflicts between the Church of Light or the Church of Darkness and the Empire were all caused by the lowest-level probationary knights. Later, it slowly developed into white-robed and black-robed priests, until the Cardinals of recent years."

"As for those Saint-level magical beasts that slaughtered cities, according to information from the Empire, they aren't considered strong among the Saint-level. The Empire has even killed several of them, but even so, the situation of ordinary Saint-level magical beasts slaughtering cities still occurs frequently."

The classification of Saint-level in the Coiling Dragon World is very vague.

It is roughly divided into four levels.

The first type is when either battle-qi or magic power (spiritual energy) breaks through to the Saint-level. This is the most common Saint-level and belongs to the very bottom tier.

The Saint-level light warrior Theodore, whom Xiao Yan killed with a casual strike, was at this level.

The second type is the peak of the Saint-level. Most ordinary Saint-level magical beasts are at this level of strength. It is difficult for human Saint-level experts to reach this, as it requires comprehending a trace of the Laws and Mysteries.

The third type is the level where the Pope of Light Abraham resides. He has a high level of comprehension of the Mysteries and has developed unique techniques suited to himself, allowing him to instantly kill ordinary Saint-level experts. Some particularly powerful ones can even trade blows with the limit of the Saint-level.

The fourth type is the Saint-level limit, where one has comprehended a Mystery to its limit, just one step away from perfection, and could become a god at any moment.

On the Azeron Continent, most Saint-level powerhouses are ordinary Saint-level. Those who comprehend the Laws are extremely rare and are almost all concentrated within the three great empires and the two great churches.

"Something is wrong. The intelligence of Saint-level magical beasts is no less than that of humans. Logically speaking, after the Empire has taken action, these clever Saint-level magical beasts would never be stupid enough to continue provoking the Empire!" Xiao Yan stroked his chin, his eyes flashing with sharp light.

"You guessed it too, right?" Yao Lao gave a bitter smile.

"These Saint-level magical beasts that slaughtered the cities have someone behind them. There is a force deliberately using these Saint-level magical beasts to test the three great empires." Xiao Yan said with certainty, his eyes darting around.

"Could it be the two great churches?"

"Although there is no evidence, it should be them." Yao Lao stated his suspicion.

"But what is their purpose in doing this?"

"Simply to provoke the Empire?"

"Do they have the strength to do so?"

Xiao Yan was puzzled.

Whether it was the Church of Light or the Church of Darkness, both were Saint-level forces, while each of the three great empires had a god behind them.

Even if the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness had a certain advantage in Saint-level combat power due to the descent of angels, once the gods behind the three great empires took action, any number of Saint-level experts would be a joke.

Even a Saint-level limit with a three-element soul mutation could not resist a weak low-level god in the slightest; once the Divine Domain was expanded, they could be killed in one move.

Listening to Xiao Yan's puzzled questioning, Yao Lao remained silent for a long time before suddenly speaking.

"The last recorded appearance of the three great gods was seventy years ago." Yao Lao said pointedly. "In all these years, apart from the royal families of the various empires claiming to have seen the gods, no outsiders have ever seen them."

"Hiss~"

Understanding the implication, Xiao Yan gasped. "The Church of Darkness and the Church of Light are testing the gods behind the three great empires!"

How could they dare?

If they lost the gamble, it would mean total destruction.

Testing gods with Saint-level power—even as an enemy, Xiao Yan felt admiration for the courage of the Church of Darkness and the Church of Light.

Yao Lao looked out the window and sighed softly. "The Church of Light and the Church of Darkness have become increasingly bold lately; they have even dared to take action within the capital of a kingdom."

"If things continue to develop like this... if the gods do not intervene, true chaos is not far off."

"Given the greed of the two great churches for faith, a war that will sweep across the entire continent is imminent!"

"What a troubled time." Far away at the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, Lynn watched the falling leaves drift outside his window, his brows knit tightly together.

"I just want to develop in peace, but time waits for no one."

In the southern part of the Azeron Continent, on an ordinary mountain peak.

High in the sky, two figures, one radiating light and the other darkness, stood in confrontation.

The two were the Pope of Light Abraham and the Dark Pope Philip.

"Hehehe... Abraham, after all these years of probing, it has been confirmed that those three old things have left the material plane and headed to the God Realm."

"It is about time we prepared for the War of Faith!" Philip said, his eyes filled with burning intensity as he finished.