"Are all your people all right?" Chen Rui glanced at the Church members below as they boarded the small boats in orderly fashion. The unspoken meaning was clear: one crown in exchange for a cardinal, two Saints, and the lives of so many Church members—consider the debt settled, then?
"That is all thanks to you, sir." Gralin was no stranger to the ways of the world. He suddenly smiled. "Could you display the sacred power of the Crown of Thorns? That is my only request concerning the Crown of Thorns."
"Only?" Chen Rui gave Gralin a somewhat surprised look, then waved a hand. The Crown of Thorns above his head released a gentle white radiance that flew toward Gralin. Gralin neither dodged nor resisted. At once, he felt a sacred power envelop his entire body, echoing his own light-element power. The residual negative energies from the earlier battle were swept away, leaving him refreshed and full of vigor.
"So it truly is the power of 'Divine Favor'!" Gralin drew a deep breath and steadied his emotions. Seeing how relaxed Chen Rui appeared, he was startled anew and cautiously asked, "Sir... do you feel any discomfort?"
"Discomfort? Of course not." Chen Rui shook his head and pointed at the Crown of Thorns. "This crown has already acknowledged me as its master."
The meaning of those words was obvious: the crown was his.
In fact, that was exactly what Chen Rui did. The Crown of Thorns flashed and vanished, stored away in the Super System like the other divine artifacts that had been analyzed.
This sight made Gralin's heart jolt. Yet to Chen Rui's surprise, not only did the cardinal refrain from demanding it back, he instead revealed an excited expression. "Good, good! Wonderful! Truly the protection of the God of Light!"