The Magnolia Festival

Time slipped through his fingers like sand. In the blink of an eye, four months had quietly passed.

It was already December 30, 9997, according to the Yulan Calendar.

That evening, at Dormitory 1987.

"Third Brother, tomorrow's the Magnolia Festival, and Fenlai City will definitely be bustling. We four brothers should go join in the fun." Yale worked out his chest muscles with a dumbbell as he spoke to Lin Feng, who had just returned from the back hills.

The first day of every year was known as the "Magnolia Festival," the biggest holiday across the Yulan Continent. The Radiant Church also held its grandest mass on that day.

As the "Holy Capital" of the Radiant Church, Fenlai City was home to the Church's headquarters in the western district. Naturally, its mass was the largest in all of Yulan. The Pope of the Radiant Church would preside over it in person. It was an extraordinary ceremony, and huge crowds would turn out to watch.

January 1.

In Fenlai City's western district stood the Radiant Temple, headquarters of the Radiant Church. This enormous structure was nearly a hundred meters tall and could be seen clearly from all across the city.

In front of the Radiant Temple lay a vast plaza, several thousand meters across. Its level ground was paved with white stone, and now it was packed with people. The four brothers of Dormitory 1987 were among them.

Knights from the Church's various orders kept the plaza orderly, and the people gathered there were well-behaved.

"The Radiant Church sure knows how to make an impression." Lin Feng was shaken to see that these knights were all at the fifth rank. Fifth-rank strength was nothing to him, but it was still quite formidable.

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was already eight o'clock.

Suddenly, the spire of the hundred-meter-tall Radiant Temple lit up. White light streamed downward, and a faint halo seemed to shimmer around the giant angel statue in the center of the plaza. At the same time, a beautiful hymn that seemed to come from the divine realm echoed throughout the plaza.

Just then, a group of people emerged from a side hall beside the Radiant Church. At the front marched rows of Temple Knights, clad in white armor with red plumes on their helmets. Each radiated the bearing of a seasoned knight. When a hundred of them advanced in step, the pressure they exuded silenced the entire plaza.

"I never imagined the Radiant Church had grown so powerful. Those hundred or so knights must all be at least seventh-rank warriors." Doehring Cowart appeared beside Lin Feng and studied the group closely. "There's even a Saint Realm expert here today. I'd better return to the Coiling Dragon Ring."

With that, Doehring Cowart vanished.

"A Saint Realm expert?" Lin Feng stared intently at the group.

Behind the hundred-plus Temple Knights in white armor came a dozen priests in white robes. Behind them was a bald old man in silver robes, surrounded by several Cardinals.

"The Pope!"

The bald old man in silver robes was clearly the central figure in the group. Lin Feng focused his attention on him. The Pope of the Radiant Church was tall and slender, probably close to two meters tall. In his left hand, he held a scepter almost as tall as he was.

Behind the Pope and the Cardinals were four old men in black robes and over a hundred warriors in purple robes. The group proceeded in orderly fashion down the middle of the avenue. With hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the plaza, no one dared make a sound.

"Grandpa Doehring, you said there was a Saint Realm expert. Who is it?" Lin Feng asked silently.

"I could tell at a glance. The Pope of the Radiant Church is one, and one of the four black-robed old men behind him is another. They're confident enough not to conceal their auras. More than five thousand years have passed, and that little church that once holed up in the Puang Empire has grown to this." Doehring Cowart sighed.

After the Pope and his entourage passed, people in the plaza began whispering.

"Third Brother, look. The six royal families are here. The ones at the front are the royal family of the Fenlai Kingdom. That blond giant is the king, the strongest warrior in the kingdom—a ninth-rank expert." Yale leaned close to Lin Feng and spoke quietly.

"The king?" Lin Feng looked over.

The burly, middle-aged man wore dazzling golden armor and had a mane of golden hair like a lion. He was none other than the king of the Fenlai Kingdom.

At the sight of Clayde, Lin Feng's gaze turned cold. Clayde was the one who had plotted against his mother, Lina, and the man he would one day take revenge on.

But Lin Feng wasn't reckless enough to charge over and kill Clayde there and then. With his current strength, he might well be able to kill Clayde in a surprise attack. But afterward, the Saint Realm experts of the Radiant Church would surely capture him—or even kill him.

Tens of thousands of people stood in orderly rows across the plaza before the Radiant Temple. In front of the angel statue stood the Pope, the Cardinals, the priests in white, the Temple Knights, and the rest of their entourage. Surrounded by them all, the Pope of the Radiant Church was undoubtedly the most dazzling figure.

The six royal families of the Holy Union and the grand dukes of numerous principalities stood solemnly as well.

Suddenly, a clearly visible, milky-white ripple spread outward from the Pope. In an instant, the plaza, filled with hundreds of thousands of people, fell utterly silent. Nearly everyone wore a peaceful smile, and their hearts were calmer than ever before.

"To cast holy light over hundreds of thousands so effortlessly—this is terrifying." As a mage, Lin Feng could tell how formidable the Pope of the Radiant Church was.

The entire plaza was so quiet that the only sound was the breeze.

"In the name of the Lord!" the Pope of the Radiant Church said calmly, yet his voice resounded through heaven and earth, shaking the soul.

Everyone present felt an immense pressure radiating from the Pope. Lin Feng, too, bowed reverently, unable to resist in the slightest. The pressure was even more terrifying than that of the two Saint Realm experts he had encountered in Wushan Town, or the magical beast known as the "Black Dragon."

This pressure did not need to force anyone to submit. It inspired worship from the depths of the soul.

Divine pressure!

Apart from the Pope of the Radiant Church, all the hundreds of thousands in the plaza bowed their heads reverently to listen to his words—from the Cardinals and the kings of the six kingdoms down to the common people.

"May the Lord's love, holy grace, and blessings be with you."

The Pope's voice seemed soft, yet it resounded through heaven and earth, shaking the soul.

Waves of holy light spread from the spire of the Radiant Temple, covering everyone. Nearly everyone present felt their hearts grow peaceful, and their bodies felt better than ever. They bowed with utmost reverence.

"May the Lord grant you grace and peace."

At the same time, a peaceful radiance shone from the Pope. "People of the Lord, let us confess our sins and sincerely repent for the faults in our thoughts, deeds, and words. May the Lord take pity on us, forgive our sins, and grant us eternal life."

In an instant, holy chants echoed through heaven and earth. The faithful of the Radiant Temple joined in devoutly, their voices harmonizing with the chants that filled the air. Everyone was reverent and sincere.

The mass was an elaborate affair, proceeding from confession to supplication, praise, prayer, thanksgiving, and finally hymns.

Most of the people in the plaza were followers of the Radiant Church, and most were immersed in the Radiant Temple's light. Even those who weren't particularly devout were swept up in the atmosphere. By the time the hymns ended and everyone came to their senses, it was already noon.

The mass ended, and the people left in an orderly fashion.

Watching the Pope and Clayde disappear into the distance, Lin Feng's resolve to grow stronger only deepened.

The mass presided over by the Pope of the Radiant Church had little effect on Lin Feng. He had merely used the ceremony to lay eyes on the man who would one day become his enemy.