Qin Ran wore an expression of disbelief.
Though he rarely heard the old nun mention the Shadow Church, that did not mean Qin Ran was unaware of its influence in this dungeon world.
During the age of church rule, the Radiance Church had failed to achieve total dominance precisely because of the Shadow Church's existence.
Certain doctrines made the two sides natural enemies.
And with neither side lacking fanatics, overt clashes and covert struggles had never ceased.
But...
The fact that the Shadow Church had originated from the Dawn Church still struck Qin Ran as inconceivable.
"That really is astonishing."
After staring blankly for two seconds, Qin Ran offered that assessment.
"Believe me, you aren't the first to be surprised, and you won't be the last. The Shadow Church began with a single Dawn Knight's ideal: 'Protect the faithful through shadows!' Over time, that ideal gained recognition and developed further. Especially after several holy wars, many Dawn Knights could not accept their own helplessness in the face of innocent believers' deaths, so they chose a more extreme approach."
The old nun explained with a kindly smile.
"Is that why Gonglansen had such excellent stealth skills?"
Qin Ran recalled the old knight's performance when they first met.
"Yes."
"But Gonglansen wasn't outstanding. Compared with a true Shadow Knight, at least, he was merely average. You read Gonglansen's notes. Do you remember [Dark Stealth Art]?"
Faced with the old nun's question, Qin Ran immediately nodded.
How could he not remember the only secret art whose name had been left intact in those notes?
"When [Dark Stealth Art] is cultivated to its highest level, it allows one to traverse shadows."
The old nun's description immediately made Qin Ran's eyes widen.
Traverse shadows?
With Transcendent-level [Stealth] and personal experience of [Stealth] beyond Transcendent, Qin