A dozen minutes later, the holy silver flames on Garcia's body gradually subsided, and the pair of [ Wings of Divine Grace ] seemed to have a life of their own as they gradually shrank back behind him.
The severed-legged master in his arms had already scabbed over at the cuts in his legs. Thanks to Garcia's treatment, he was no longer in danger. The wounds looked as if decades had passed, but it was obviously impossible for new limbs to grow back. Such heaven-defying abilities were not even possessed by Great Sun Class Venerable; that was the realm of gods.
"You... all of you, get up." Garcia knew that now that he had revealed his strength, it was impossible to remain low-key. Looking at his kneeling comrades from the Divine Judgment Squad, he sighed softly and explained, "Actually, you don't need to do this. I haven't hidden anything. My true position is indeed just a lowly apprentice Judgment God Master in the Judgment Department of the Northern Region Church Judgment Division. As for my strength... that's because I come from the Black-Robed Holy Temple."
" The Black-Robed Holy Temple?" Someone in the kneeling crowd exclaimed instinctively, "That's the branch of the cult abandoned by the gods?"
A commotion immediately erupted.
The knights of the Divine Judgment Squad no longer looked at Garcia with the same reverence and awe as they had a few seconds before; their expressions now contained a hint of Taunt and relief. Some of them simply stopped kneeling and stood up abruptly. The red-robed deacon Pellegrini also felt a sense of relief; the immense unease and apocalyptic feeling vanished instantly. With the help of several quick-witted priests around him, he stood up, holding his golden scepter, a hint of embarrassment on his old face.
He was already starting to regret his overreaction; he had actually knelt before a follower of the Black-Robed Holy Temple like a frightened bird, making a huge fool of himself.
The expression on the face of the Divine Knight Alan changed several times, finally settling into an irreplaceable sense of regret.
He truly hadn't expected that this kind and incredibly powerful young divine master would actually come from the Black-Robed Holy Temple.
The Black-Robed Holy Temple is a branch of the Holy Church that many people are reluctant to mention.
A hundred years ago, this branch of the Church enjoyed unparalleled prestige and power within the Holy Church, reaching the pinnacle of any other branch of the Church in history. Four out of six consecutive popes were from this branch, and the previous pope, Nicholas CXXX, was from the Black-Robed Holy Temple. Five of the eight patriarchs of the Church's Ten Thousand Streams Peak —including the Holy Church for Judgment Division, the Department of Sacraments, and the Knights—were from the Black-Robed Divine Temple. Within the Holy Church, almost no other branch could rival the Black-Robed Holy Temple. In that era, almost every priest and knight of the Church considered it an honor to be from the Black-Robed Holy Temple. To exaggerate slightly, even a gatekeeper from the Black-Robed Holy Temple was more prestigious than high-ranking priests from other branches.
However, everything changed a full hundred years ago.
Perhaps in accordance with the ancient philosophical saying that things reach their extremes and then decline, a hundred years ago, Pope Nicholas CXXX and the " Son of God " of the Black-Robed Divine Temple inexplicably disappeared at the same time in the Holy Mountain Ten Thousand Streams Peak, the headquarters of the Church, shocking the entire continent.
The news caused a bloodbath. At first, no one could believe it. Pope Nicholas CXXX was one of the most powerful martial arts masters on the entire continent, and the Black-Robed Divine Temple's [ Son of God ], who was hailed as the future successor to the Pope, was also Great Sun Class martial arts master. It was simply unbelievable that such two experts could completely disappear from the heavily guarded main temple of the Church headquarters Ten Thousand Streams Peak, which was said to be impenetrable even to gods.
However, with the dramatic shift in the power balance between the Church headquarters and the various factions in the four major religious domains, and the frenzied investigations and retaliatory actions launched by the other giants of the Black-Robed Holy Temple, the Church attributed this mysterious disappearance to an attack by remnants of the Death Temple. A brutal Bloody purge of Undead Magic swept across the continent. But soon, some wise individuals realized something was amiss. While countless necromancers and Church dissidents were eliminated in this continental massacre, several of the Church's top figures, who originated from the Black-Robed Holy Temple, inexplicably perished one after another during this campaign.
This turmoil on the continent, caused by the pope's disappearance, lasted for a full twenty years.
Twenty years later, Pope Blatter CXXXI, who came from a different faction of the Church that had always been at odds with the Black-Robed Divine Temple, was crowned and assumed divine authority.
A new pope represents the rise of new power.
As the biggest rival of the current pope's faction, the Black-Robed Holy Temple, which at the time could barely be considered the largest branch of the Church, suffered heavy losses in this catastrophe. The previous pope disappeared, and the patriarchs who held power over other departments of the ecclesiastical authority fell one after another, causing the Black-Robed Divine Temple's strength and influence to decline rapidly. If they could initially rely on their historical foundation to make their voice heard within the Church, with the passage of time, under the combined and ruthless suppression of the current pope and his faction, as well as various emerging powers, the Black-Robed Holy Temple's influence declined at an almost precipitous rate.
Of course, the Black-Robed Divine Temple was once a super-branch sect with a deep foundation and had also rebelled before.
Fifty years after the disappearance of Nicholas CXXX, the loyal followers of the Black-Robed Divine Temple also nurtured a peerless " Son of God," Platini. This " Son of God " advanced to the Great Sun-Rank Venerable at the young age of twenty-five, demonstrating unparalleled talent. His brilliance overshadowed any other young master of his time, and he was favored by the gods. Countless loyal followers of the Black-Robed Holy Temple, who had endured hardship and remained steadfast in their loyalty, regarded him as the hope for the resurgence of the Black-Robed Holy Temple.
However, who could have known that the Black-Robed Holy Temple's last hope for resurgence would be destroyed by the very [ Son of God ] who had placed such high hopes on it and nearly exhausted its last reserves? The day after ascending to the Great Sun Class Sovereign, [ Son of God of God] Platini immediately declared that he could not accept the Black-Robed Divine Temple 'Black-Robed Holy Temple doctrines, renounced the Black-Robed Holy Temple, and converted to a branch of the sect of Pope Blatter.
This sudden blow was devastating and fatal to the Black-Robed Holy Temple.
Although some loyal followers of the Black-Robed Holy Temple later sought out and nurtured some " Son of God " with Golden Holy Power, these efforts were more like a final burst of energy before death. Without exception, none of these " Son of God " grew up and they all perished for various reasons. In the end, the Black-Robed Divine Temple did not have its own " Son of God " for more than forty years. Without a " Son of God," it was impossible to compete for the papacy, and it was excluded from the mainstream branches of the Holy Church, becoming a marginal figure.
For forty years, no " Son of God " of their own had appeared. The Black-Robed Holy Temple was gradually seen as a symbol of misfortune and doom within the Holy Church. This once coveted branch of the church had fallen to the level of a beggar that everyone avoided. In the end, only a few hundred of the most steadfast older generation believers remained.
Without the influx of fresh blood and the support of its own top experts, the Black-Robed Holy Temple was ostracized by the other powerful forces on Ten Thousand Streams Peak. It suffered heavy losses in factional struggles, continuously losing various rights, and ultimately was stripped of its right to reside on the Holy Mountain. It was forced to close its Black-Robed Holy Temple on Black-Robed Peak of the Holy Mountain Church, Ten Thousand Streams Peak withdraw from the Holy Church's sacred Holy Mountain to avoid further trouble.
From that day on, all 113 believers of the entire Black-Robed Holy Temple branch of the sect fled to a desolate place in the Northern Region Church, where they lay dormant and barely survived.
It is truly lamentable that such a once glorious and unrivaled super sect has come to such an end.
Over the years, there has never been any sign of the Black-Robed Holy Temple's resurgence. They have been excluded from the power circle of the Church, and there are even faint signs of them being forgotten. Many members of the Church even believe that this once illustrious branch of the sect has been extinct. When the name of the Black-Robed Holy Temple is mentioned, people are often driven by a desire to kick them while they're down and to take advantage of their misfortune, making it the object of ridicule for countless people and a tragic footnote in the stories of wandering poets.
Unexpectedly, a young divine master with Half Moon Class strength suddenly appeared today, and he actually came from the Black-Robed Divine Temple.
The mood of the divine masters and knights of the Divine Judgment Squad had undergone an unprecedented change. Just minutes before, they were horrified by Garcia's extremely terrifying strength, filled with deep regret, believing him to be a rising star from some powerful religious branch, and greatly revered him, wishing they could grovel and lick Garcia's toes for forgiveness... But now, since this young divine master was from the Black-Robed Holy Temple, which had fallen so low that it didn't even qualify to participate in the pilgrimage gathering of the Northern Region Diocese, then he was completely insignificant. Moreover, the words "Black-Robed Holy Temple " were more terrifying to them than a plague; no one in the Church wanted even the slightest connection with them.
That's right, within the Church, power is equivalent to status.
But that also depends on one's background.
As for someone like Garcia, despite his youth, strength, and exceptional potential, everyone understands that he has absolutely no chance of entering the core of the Holy Church. The name "Black-Robed Divine Temple" no longer represents Glory and splendor; it has become a taboo word among the various factions of the Church, and an object of rejection by all forces. Everyone knows that the current Pope, His Majesty Blatter, dislikes the Black-Robed Holy Temple. If it weren't for the countless merits the Black-Robed Holy Temple had rendered to the Church See throughout history, and the fact that it still had some followers among ordinary people, and now posed no competition or threat to His Majesty the Pope, it might have been wiped out from the factions of the Church long ago.
Second update.
Thanks to the strong and courageous, you know, you know, free-spirited little snail (apology, I never saw the last word "cow" on the reward list on the right, and kept saying the wrong ID) for the reward.
I apologize for the instability in updates these past few days due to my father's health issues.