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After the meeting, Ria took an enormous scroll and ran to the Holy Light Platform. She offered a quiet prayer!

"Ria, what's wrong?"

"Holy Light, I obtained an impressive trophy today. Please see whether the Holy Light Clerics can use it." As she spoke, she pushed the scroll from behind her into the Holy Light.

Li Ming looked at the scroll Ria pushed toward him and recognized it immediately. A Summoning Scroll! He had been worrying about mounts for the Holy Knights, and now his lucky little bishop had delivered the solution right to him!

"Well done, Ria. Now the Holy Knights can truly live up to their name as knights! Give me a moment to turn this scroll into a secret realm. After that, level-ten Holy Knights can enter it to find their own battle companions."

After Li Ming spoke, the Holy Light Sub-body emitted a beam that shone down on the scroll.

At the other end of the Summoning Scroll, in the Summoning Beast World, a large pack of Netherwolves was hunting Fire Deer. With the wolf king letting out long howls from time to time, the wolves deftly wove through the herd, splitting it apart. Whenever they caught a lone Fire Deer, they swarmed it, savagely tearing at its neck and legs until it gradually lost the ability to move, crying out in despair for its fleeing companions to help!

As the Fire Deer fell one after another, the wolves excitedly gathered around to feast on the fresh flesh, laying bare nature's law of the strong devouring the weak!

A sudden, brilliant light illuminated the sky. The wolves, still gulping down their meal, were blinded by the glare and let out a chorus of agonized howls.

The wolf king shook its head hard. Tears glistened in its narrowed silver-white eyes as it looked up at the sunlike sphere in the sky and let out a long, furious howl!

Though its intelligence was only that of a four- or five-year-old child, and it had no idea what the sphere was, that did nothing to stop it from wanting to teach the sphere a lesson. With a low growl, a ghostly light gathered in its mouth, and it spat a two-meter-wide wave of dark energy at the enormous sphere overhead!

As the wolves gradually recovered their sight, they sensed their king's fury and fired slightly smaller waves of dark energy from their gaping, bloodstained mouths at the sphere.

Sensing the pack's fierce resistance, the sphere of light that was Li Ming's avatar rippled faintly. The black beams the wolves had spat out seemed to be assimilated, turning platinum-white as the change raced back into their mouths. Wisps of smoke rose with the smell of cooked flesh. The wolves snapped their jaws shut, then howled in pain. An overwhelming pressure suddenly swept over them. Still yelping and desperately pawing at their mouths, the wolves were forced onto all fours, their heads pinned firmly to the ground. No matter how they struggled, they could not lift them, and pained whimpers escaped their mouths.

"Submit or die!"

Hearing the voice sound directly inside their minds and feeling the suppression of a life-form countless ranks above them, the wolves and their king were overcome with terror. They trembled all over, ceased struggling with soft whimpers, and wagged their gray-white tails incessantly like dogs!

Sensing that the wolves were no longer resisting, Li Ming slowly withdrew his pressure. As he looked at their gray-black bodies, he felt that wolves with this appearance simply did not suit the Holy Light Clerics.

Li Ming considered it briefly, then his luminous form rippled and released a scorching white light that bleached the sky. The wolves had only just relaxed when they began rolling across the ground, howling in agony as though flames were burning through their bodies. Their gray-black fur seemed to have been washed from head to tail, turning as white as snow!

Li Ming looked at the pack, freshly baptized by the power of Holy Light, but did not withdraw his avatar. Instead, it hung high in the sky, shedding a soft radiance as it slowly transformed this space, filled with vast amounts of Yin Release, and its many creatures. This should give the Holy Light Clerics more choices of mounts in the future!

He withdrew his consciousness. Under the glow of Li Ming's holy power, the half-meter-long Summoning Scroll slowly shrank into a white crystal.

Ria watched curiously from the side as the Holy Light transformed the scroll. Having just received praise from the Holy Light, she was still glowing with happiness!

"There, Ria. Place this crystal on an altar inscribed with a magic circle, and it will become the entrance to the secret realm. From now on, the Holy Light Clerics can enter to find companions they like!"

"Praise the Holy Light!" Ria happily made the Holy Light salute, then hurried off to prepare the altar!

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. The Holy Light Clerics above level ten formed five teams and quietly offered prayers in the Church of the Holy Light. Then they climbed onto their mounts and waved goodbye to Ria!

Watching the teams depart, Ria felt a pang of reluctance. Of her ten younger brothers and sisters, all but the few who were still too young had joined the teams heading into the countryside to spread the Holy Light. Among them were Axel and Rich, who were growing more sensible by the day!

Clenching her fists, Ria suppressed the urge to keep her younger siblings with her and forced herself to turn back toward the church. She still had to arrange the construction of a level-two Church of the Holy Light. To provide better communication, the level-two church had to be completed as quickly as possible!

With Yui and two fellow Holy Light Clerics, Axel parted ways with another team that had been traveling alongside them and headed toward their assigned village!

On his first journey far from home, Axel was filled with mixed emotions. He could not bear to leave their big sister either, but the Holy Light had only been developing for a short time. There were only about twenty Holy Light Clerics above level ten!

Along the way, the bodies of adults and children lay everywhere, carelessly discarded in rain-soaked mud, alongside villages that had already fallen into ruin. Seeing the horrifying sight of corpses strewn across the land strengthened Axel's faith in the Holy Light.

In this world ruled by ninja, only the Holy Light offered hope. One day, the Holy Light would illuminate not just Huayu Town, but the skies over the entire Land of Rain!

After traveling for an unknown length of time, Axel and the others spotted a village veiled in light rain. They urged their mounts toward it at full speed!

The villagers working in the fields saw Axel and his companions riding enormous wolves and dropped their tools in terror, running toward the village. As they ran, they shouted, "The ninja are here! The ninja are here again!"

Hearing them, the people in the village quickly took their children home and shut their doors tight.

Axel had been about to call out a cheerful greeting to the villagers, only to be met with this scene! His lips parted slightly, but the words he had been about to shout died in his throat!

The group put away their mounts and walked silently into the village, looking at the tightly closed doors of villagers who acted as though a formidable enemy had arrived. Yui could not help asking, "Axel, what should we do?" The other two also looked silently toward him.

Axel thought for a moment before saying, "Let's knock on each door and explain why we're here! As for whether the villagers believe us, that will take time. Remember to speak gently. If they won't open the door, move on to the next house. We'll take this slowly!"

"All right, Axel!" Yui replied, while the two team members answered, "Yes, Captain!"

"Hello, is anyone home? We're from Huayu Town. We're not ninja, but Holy Light Clerics here to help solve your troubles and spread faith in the Holy Light! Could you open the door? Is anyone in your family ill? Our team has a priest who specializes in treating the sick, and we can provide treatment free of charge! Please open the door so we can talk!" Axel and the others kept going from house to house, knocking, greeting the residents, and explaining their purpose, but they achieved very little!

The group gathered together dejectedly. "Captain, this isn't working! Nobody will open their doors. We don't even get a chance to explain! Why don't we try forcing a door open?" one team member complained, sounding disgruntled.

"Shuizhi, calm down. The villagers are terrified because they think we're ninja. If we force our way inside, how would we be any different from actual ninja? You used to be an ordinary civilian too. You know how it feels to face ninja. Please remember the teachings of the Holy Light! Since the villagers don't trust us, we'll take our time. Spreading the Holy Light takes time! Nothing happens overnight!" Shuizhi lowered his head, his face flushing with shame. "Sorry, Captain. I was just getting a little anxious!"

Axel gently patted Shuizhi, who was slightly taller than him, and smiled. "I know. Everyone's anxious, but the more anxious we are, the more carefully we need to do things and let the villagers see our sincerity! For today, let's find an open spot sheltered from the rain, pitch a tent, and make do for the night!" The others all nodded.

Early the next morning, Axel woke according to his dependable internal clock. He rubbed his eyes and opened the tent, about to check the situation outside, only to discover a crowd of villagers armed with hoes and sickles surrounding their tent!

Axel froze for a moment, then hurriedly smiled. "Does this mean you believe we're not ninja now?" Seeing the smiling, golden-haired Axel, the villagers all took a step back and exchanged glances. Then a white-haired old man, hunched over and trembling as he leaned on a walking stick, stepped out of the crowd. "Lord Ninja, have you come to Peace Village on some mission?"

"Hello, elder! We're not ninja. We're practitioners of the Holy Light. We've come here to recruit believers and help everyone deal with dangerous matters! Oh, and our team has a priest who can treat illnesses. If anyone falls sick in the future, please come to us!" Axel smiled and patted his chest.

The old man briefly sized Axel up, then said softly, "Then thank you for coming, my lord. We have no dangers here! Sorry for making you come all this way for nothing!"

Looking at the wary old man, Axel felt the conversation lapsing into silence. He was about to scratch the back of his head out of habit to ease the awkwardness.

At that moment, Yui, who had already gotten up as well, quickly took over. "Could we trouble you to find us somewhere to stay, elder? We plan to rest for a few days before leaving!"

The old man looked at the pink-haired girl, who appeared to be in her teens. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but he held back and swallowed his words. Finally, he said with a hint of resignation, "Then please follow me, my lords. A family at the edge of the village is gone, so you can stay in their house!"

With that, the old man turned to lead the way. The crowd behind him looked somewhat nervous. Seeing everyone still gathered around, he said evenly, "Go about your work, everyone. These lords will leave after a few days!"

After hearing his words, the crowd murmured cautiously among themselves, then silently cleared a path.

They had not gone far when the old man stopped in front of a somewhat dilapidated house. He gently pushed open the door, and a faint musty smell drifted out. "Nobody has lived here for about half a year," he said in a low voice. "You'll need to tidy it up a little."

Seeing the old man turn to leave, Axel hurriedly called out, "Elder, what happened to this family?" The old man shook his head and sighed. "They saw something they shouldn't have. The entire family, young and old, was brutally murdered!"

Axel fell silent at those words. After a moment, he said firmly, "Whether you believe us or not, elder, we truly aren't ninja. And we'll find a way to stop things like this from happening. We will protect this village! The Holy Light will give everyone the strength to protect everything!"

The old man turned to look at Axel's resolute face and said calmly, "I hope what you say is true, my lord. We only want to live in peace, even if it means barely scraping by!" Shaking his head, he slowly walked out of the house!

Watching the retreating figure, Axel remembered his former self and clenched his fists. "Yes! Staying alive, even living like filth in the mud, is so hard!"

"Don't worry, elder! The Holy Light won't let everyone down!" Axel shouted after the old man, who was still in sight, venting the indignation in his heart.

The old man paused briefly in the rain, then continued into the curtain of falling water until Axel could no longer see him!