What does this mean for the Holy Church, and for the entire Azeroth Continent?
Many people have already begun to rapidly speculate in their minds about what kind of impact Stábile's appearance will have.
"My child, you've worked so hard these past few centuries." Stabilo gently stroked Batistuta's hair Stábile his thin, bony hand, and said kindly, "Of those children from the choir back then, I'm afraid there aren't many left in this world. You've done very well, extremely well. The [ Black-Robed Holy Temple ] has been revived in your hands, and I am proud of you."
"Sir, the reason you've been missing all these years is...?"
"Eight hundred years ago, I was careless and was ambushed by Blatter and some popes from various sects. Although they couldn't kill me completely, they imprisoned me in Earth's Core Prison in Sicily Island, torturing me with all sorts of magic and methods. I've never seen sunlight since, and every day I'm accompanied only by the alternating cold and heat of the subterranean ice and the mysterious nectar. I can only rely on the cycle of these alternations to judge how much time has passed..."
Stábile and sighed as he recounted his ordeal.
The fact that he recounted this chilling experience in such a calm and nonchalant tone only added to its suspense.
It's hard to imagine that someone Stábile, who had already ascended to the position of God King and possessed extremely profound mental cultivation, could survive and not go mad.
However, eight hundred years of trials and tribulations have ultimately transformed the once the Storm Riders and awe-inspiring Ming Cult into a frail, half-human, half-ghost figure.
"Until a little over a year ago, when Blatter and Platini were locked in a struggle, Platini, in an attempt to defeat Blatter, secretly sent someone to contact me. I pretended to be the snake, and finally, I slowly found an opportunity to regain some of my strength and escape from the Earth's Core Prison."
Stábile said slowly.
"And the Church now..." Batistuta thought of something.
" The Church is now, of course, under my control..." As he said this, a hint of pride finally appeared on Stábile's face, vaguely revealing the former glory of the Zongheng Ming Cult.
Indeed, after eight hundred years, upon his return, he was still able to wrest the papacy back from Blatter in less than half a year. Such methods are simply defying the heavens, considering that Blatter had been cultivating his power for a full eight hundred years.
The only explanation is that the conflict between Platini and Blatter weakened each other's strength, and Stábile may have left behind some extremely terrible methods as early as eight hundred years ago.
True strength lies in the ability to accomplish what others deem impossible.
Sun Fei's gaze lingered on the Old Man's body, which was already decaying beyond recognition.
After hearing this shocking secret, I couldn't help but admire him. Eight hundred years of living in darkness and gloom—anyone else would have been driven mad by the torment. This person actually persevered with such strength. It's terrifying!
The powerful figures watching from the surrounding void couldn't help but discuss among themselves.
On the surface, Stábile's return to power seems to be more beneficial to the Azeroth Continent.
After all, the Holy Church eight hundred years ago, under the leadership of Stábile, was absolutely bright, just, and benevolent. At that time, the Holy Church had an excellent reputation and was indeed earnestly implementing the Church's mission, which was to save all living beings and relieve human suffering. Divine priests walked among the people to relieve illness, and divine knights roared in the sky to eliminate evil.
Eight hundred years ago, the continent was undoubtedly a golden age of peace and civilization for humankind.
It was precisely after the disappearance of Ming Cult Stábile and the rise of Blatter and others that the Holy Church gradually began to degenerate. Corruption, greed, obscenity, money, power... all these negative factors caused the Church to lose its light and develop towards darkness, becoming a violent gambling organization that slaughtered the continent, with no one daring to disobey its will.
Perhaps Stábile's return could reverse this situation.
After all, the culprit Blatter was already a prisoner, and another obstacle—the acting Pope Platini— was directly killed by the Human Emperor of the Northern Region.
Batistuta finally composed himself, slowly stood up, bowed to Stábile, and then retreated to Sun Fei's side.
He was also conflicted. He had initially believed that Stábile had perished, thus allowing the Human Emperor of the Northern Region to seize the position of Pope of the Black-Robed Holy Temple. And he had to admit, the Human Emperor of the Northern Region had done an excellent job in this role, revitalizing the nearly destroyed Black-Robed Holy Temple with astonishing brilliance. But now the problem was, with Stábile's return, how should he relinquish the position of Pope of the Black-Robed Holy Temple?
If a conflict breaks out, it is likely that another war will break out between the Northern Region Empire and the Holy Church.
Batistuta was well aware of just how terrifying the true power of the Northern Region Empire was. The entire continent was unaware of the power possessed by the Human Emperor of the Northern Region, a power that was beyond the reach of any one or two races. Even the Holy Church at its peak would likely not have been able to withstand it for long.
"Child." Stábile smiled as he looked at Sun Fei, took a small step forward, and said, "I think, as an old monster over a thousand years old, I should be qualified to call you child. Now, you should be able to put aside your prejudices and rejection of the Church and have a calm and peaceful chat with this old man?"
Sun Fei stepped down from the [ Throne of Creation ], bowed slightly, and said, "Indeed, I pay my respects to you."
These words brought a sigh of relief to the countless powerful figures who had been anxiously watching the meeting Human Emperor of the Northern Region was indeed the benevolent and magnanimous monarch of legend, and had not become arrogant due to the expansion of his personal strength and power.
Such a slight bow at least shows that the Human Emperor of the Northern Region is also working for peace on the Azeroth Continent.
"Truly, heroes emerge from among the young." The aged and frail Stábile's eyes shone brightly as he looked at Sun Fei, as if looking at his younger self. He sighed, "Back in the Earth's Core Prison, I worried that a greedy man like Blatter seizing the papacy might plunge the entire continent into an abyss of disaster."
Second update <dd>