Jason had no desire to deal with the demonic sorcerers of the Luo'ao Empire, so he didn't linger within its borders. He visited a few famous sights and then left.
The two were now in a major city in the southwest of the Chaotic Territory, currently within the Radiant Church's sphere of influence.
They had come here at Veronica's request. She wanted to cause the Radiant Church some trouble.
Although she wanted nothing to do with the Baruch Clan, she had never forgotten the grudge over having her limbs severed.
In a luxury suite, Jason was earnestly trying to persuade his wife. "Honey, let's have a child. Our bloodlines are so exceptional that our child will definitely reach Deity-level."
"No. If you want a child, go have one with someone else. Didn't you have two maids before? Ask the empress for two more." Because of her experiences as a child, Veronica was deeply opposed to having children.
"We've been together all these years. If you still won't agree, I'll just have to convince you in bed."
Despite what he said, the decision to have children lay with women on the Yulan Continent. With battle-qi and magic, they could prevent pregnancy directly.
"If you keep this up, I'll use Dragon Transformation!" Veronica threatened.
Jason stopped as expected and said blankly, "Can you undergo Dragon Transformation halfway?"
"Get lost!!!"
As the couple fooled around, a wave of soul force swept over them.
"We only killed one Level Nine angel, and they found us this quickly." Jason sensed the arrival of a Saint-level expert from the Radiant Church and prepared for battle.
Before using Dragon Transformation, Veronica was only Level Nine and couldn't sense the soul search. After Jason warned her, she got dressed.
"They may have discovered who I am. After all, that angel said my name before he died."
Five days earlier, the two had encountered a Level Nine angel who appeared to have been sent by the Radiant Church to oversee a region of the Chaotic Territory.
Veronica had recognized at a glance that the angel's body belonged to an elder of her grandfather's generation.
Without a second thought, Veronica had drawn her sword and cut him down.
She had now comprehended a portion of the Profound Mysteries, so even in her Level Nine human form, she could exchange a few blows with an Early-stage Saint-level expert. The Level Nine two-winged angel had only managed to withstand a few of Veronica's attacks by revealing his true angelic form.
There had been ordinary people nearby at the time, however, and the angel had shouted Veronica's identity before he died. The two hadn't silenced the civilians around them, either. Apparently, someone had passed the news to the Radiant Church's Saint-level expert in the Chaotic Territory.
The Saint-level expert who had located them flew straight onto the suite's balcony.
Jason looked him over. The man's battle-qi clearly showed that he was a Saint Warrior who cultivated the water element, and he held a longsword.
Jason vaguely remembered that the Radiant Church did have a Peak Saint like this, who had even fought Linley in the original story over the five Undying Warriors. But he had forgotten the man's name and didn't know whether this was him.
After all, Linley wouldn't be born for another nine hundred years or more, enough time for a new Peak Saint to arise.
"I hear you two killed an angel of our Radiant Church?" A layer of frost flowers drifted around the man. It seemed he had come to demand an explanation.
The angel had revealed his angelic form before he died, so the Radiant Church had no need to hide it.
When Jason saw that the other man was a Saint-level expert who primarily cultivated the water element, his interest immediately stirred. "Cut the nonsense. You've been staring at my wife this whole time. You must have confirmed her identity by now."
"Hmph, Veronica Baruch. So the Rhine Empire really did rescue you. Then, as a member of the Rhine Clan, are you prepared to face my lord's wrath?" The sinister man opposite them already held his sword in both hands, ready for battle.
"Of course I fear the Sovereign of Light, but they don't have the time to come looking for trouble with me. All I have to do is kill you." Despite his brazen words, Jason took Veronica and Linda and flew straight out of the city.
As a member of the Rhine Clan, he wasn't forbidden from killing on the Yulan Continent as the Violet-Eyed Family was, but he still had to take some care to avoid large-scale civilian deaths.
Jason was much faster than his opponent, even with Veronica and Linda in tow. The Saint-level expert was somewhat surprised.
The Radiant Church kept track of the Saint-level experts from every major power. Apparently, the man before him was a newly advanced Saint, and he had gained such strength so soon after his advancement.
Seeing Jason's speed, Steller grew wary.
The Radiant Church's Peak Saints took turns standing guard in the Chaotic Territory, and Steller happened to be on duty for this fifty-year period. The major powers across the continent had all learned of the recent unusual personnel changes within the Rhine Empire.
The powers of the continent had all taken the same attitude toward the matter: "Stay away from that bunch of Abyss demon descendants for now." They all knew about the Rhine Empire's demonic bloodline and had some idea that several old fellows were hidden in Bloodshadow Valley. They were normally wary of the Rhine Clan, so naturally they didn't dare provoke it while it was behaving abnormally.
But Jason and Veronica had killed one of their angels right off the bat, like mad dogs. Steller simply couldn't stand by and ignore it.
The Chaotic Territory was less densely populated than those stable nations, and Jason easily found a stretch of barren mountains.
Setting Veronica and Linda on the ground, Jason faced his opponent with a slender, straight blue blade in hand.
Since his opponent was a water-element Saint-level expert, Jason planned to use him for practice. If he could, he didn't mind killing him.
Jason didn't dare oppose the other major powers, but when it came to the two churches, he would never pass up a chance to cut them down.
First of all, Beirut himself disliked the two churches and was even the sworn enemy of the Sovereign of Light behind the Radiant Church. Jason knew this very well. Besides, Beirut had some connection to the Four Divine Beasts Clan, and as a son-in-law of the Azure Dragon clan, Jason had a bit of standing with him. Beirut might even be delighted if he killed people from the church.
Secondly, the Yulan Continent's two publicly known Deity-level experts, the War God and the High Priestess, had no fondness for the two churches' religious charlatans. The Rhine Clan's intelligence organization had received clear information to that effect. If Jason killed someone from the Radiant Church, he definitely wouldn't face hostility from the Yulan Continent's native experts.
Thus, Jason had no intention of holding back against Steller.
He launched a brutal charge. With the defense provided by the Profound Mystery of Roundness and the physical strength and recovery granted by the Water Body Technique, Jason was confident in his defense even against a Peak Saint of the second tier.
Rather than growing angry at the water-element Profound Mysteries Jason displayed, Steller was delighted. He swept his longsword, and the surrounding temperature plummeted. Frost flowers swirled, and ice crystals formed even on Jason's battle-qi shield.
The longsword met the straight blade, and ice crystals spread along Jason's weapon toward his body. Jason immediately pulled back and dispersed the foreign battle-qi.
"Profound Mysteries of Ice?" It was the first time Jason had seen a Saint-level expert cultivate that particular mystery.
The Profound Mysteries of Ice ranked among the high-level mysteries of the water element's six Profound Mysteries. They were also the only ones that directly increased physical attack power. Together with Mist Illusion, which increased soul attack power, they were the only two water-element mysteries that provided offensive power.
In the early stages, the Profound Mysteries of Ice imbued a cultivator's attacks with the ability to freeze, slowing opponents and slightly increasing attack power. In the later stages, the freezing ability continued to grow stronger, and attacks gained the property of "ice's sharpness," greatly increasing physical attack power.
Few Saint-level experts cultivated these Profound Mysteries. At least, Jason had never met one.
Steller's cultivation of the water element's Profound Mysteries of Ice was as rare as Linley's cultivation of the earth element's Earth Pulsation.
"Unfortunately, your understanding isn't very deep. At most, you've barely begun. If the Profound Mysteries of Ice weren't a High-level Profound Mystery, you might not even have made it into the third tier of Peak Saints," Jason remarked.
Steller frowned slightly but remained composed. As a Saint-level expert over three hundred years old, keeping an opponent from provoking him was a basic skill.
He charged at Jason, thrusting his longsword straight ahead. Steller could already see that his attacks effectively weakened Jason's defense. As long as he could suppress Jason's speed, the battle would be his.
Jason made no attempt to dodge, instead meeting him head-on using only his water-element Profound Mysteries. He wanted to use a life-and-death battle to make a breakthrough in the water element.
Steller's Profound Mysteries of Ice clearly suppressed Jason. The Profound Mystery of Roundness's ability to overcome hardness with softness was almost useless. The strength and recovery granted by the Water Body Technique barely allowed him to contend with Steller, but there was a major drawback: the Water Body Technique increased the damage the Profound Mysteries of Ice inflicted on Jason.
Jason changed tactics, attacking in place of defending. Steller's attacks were fierce, but his defense was low, far inferior to Jason's.
Steller clearly lacked the resolve to stake his life on a desperate gamble.
As a senior member of the Radiant Church, he knew of its darkness, yet he remained with it. It wasn't because his faith was steadfast, but because he couldn't bear to give up the pleasure that came with power. Having grown up an orphan, he found it hard to abandon the feeling of being feared and respected by those around him.
For that very reason, after becoming a Saint-level expert, he had lost the courage to risk his life in battle. Otherwise, with his comprehension of a High-level Profound Mystery, his aptitude would have been more than enough to reach the Saint-level Limit and attempt to break through to Deity-level.
In truth, when Jason searched his own heart, he didn't have the courage to fight with his life on the line either-he had trump cards, and plenty of them.
The speed granted by the Lightning Element's Profound Mysteries allowed Jason to leave the battlefield at any time. The Edicts of Death could kill a Saint Warrior like Steller, with his high attack and low defense, almost instantly. The Dark Warrior Lumba had also broken through to Saint-level some time ago and comprehended a little of the earth element's Profound Mysteries, so Jason could summon him to help. Veronica, behind him, disliked using Dragon Transformation, but she clearly wouldn't stand by if Jason were in danger. She too was now a Peak Saint.
Faced with Jason's willingness to trade injury for injury, Steller began to consider retreating.
"Sir, our Radiant Church and the Rhine Empire have no longstanding grudge. Why don't we both take a step back?"
"No." Jason refused outright. All he wanted now was to improve his strength. As for a dispute between the two powers? The Violet-Eyed Family wanted to ascend as a whole, so why should he care what international disputes the Rhine Empire had?
Jason fought with growing vigor, and as they exchanged blows, he instead forced Steller into a rage as well.
Their blades were no longer clashing. Instead, each used his battle-qi shield to withstand the other's weapon, to see who could outlast the other.
Then Jason delivered a slash that caused Steller's battle-qi shield to freeze and shatter.
Badly wounded, Steller swung his sword in a full-force slash, driving Jason back.
Jason was stunned for a moment too. That last strike seemed to have contained the Profound Mysteries of Ice!
The Profound Mysteries of Ice offered no improvement to defense at the introductory stage. Steller's defense was merely a shield formed of battle-qi. If Jason's Profound Mystery of Roundness hadn't been suppressed by the Profound Mysteries of Ice, Steller could never have traded injuries with him.
Sensing that Jason had just made a breakthrough, Steller's expression darkened, and he immediately threw out a scroll.
As the scroll shattered, the surrounding light-element particles rapidly gathered. In a dazzling blaze of light, a holy light-element angel appeared between them.
The light-element forbidden spell, Angelic Descent!
The Radiant Church had received a gift from the Light God Plane that allowed it to inscribe this powerful light-element forbidden spell onto a scroll. Naturally, such scrolls were expensive, and even Steller had only one.
"Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish!" Having used a forbidden-spell scroll, Steller couldn't simply flee.
He had to do more than kill Jason. He also had to eliminate Veronica, who had clearly already mastered the Dragonblood Warrior transformation. Only then would the scroll not have been wasted.
Jason glanced at Steller, who was charging toward Veronica. In Steller's view, Jason was no match for the light-element angel, and he didn't want to put himself at risk.
Elemental summons were strengthened by the summoner's comprehension of the Profound Mysteries of their own element. If Steller cultivated the light element, then the light-element angel he summoned would receive an additional boost from the Profound Mysteries he had comprehended.
Steller cultivates the water element's Profound Mysteries, so the light-element angel he summoned shouldn't be too strong.
With that thought, Jason turned and rushed to intercept Steller, only for the light-element angel to leave a trail of white afterimages and block his path. The light-element angel was far faster than Jason.
Jason raised his blade and took a thrust from the light-element angel's sword of light head-on. As he retreated, he summoned Lumba. "Keep it busy for ten seconds."
As undead directly contracted to Jason, Lumba required very little spiritual energy and time to summon.
Lumba didn't hesitate and charged straight at it.
An earth-element shield spread open as he charged with his shield raised. Having comprehended the "Earth Element" Profound Mysteries, Lumba was highly skilled at defense.
Jason immediately pulled out three Level Nine water-element magic cores. "He's already used a forbidden-spell scroll, so how can I not spend a little myself?"
The three Level Nine Magic Cores burst apart, turning into pure Water Element particles, and Jason seized the opportunity to chant an incantation.
Jason's Water Element magic power was currently only Level Nine. To cast a Saint-level forbidden spell, he had to rely on an outside source of magic power in addition to his own spiritual energy.
Among the ice-element forbidden spells, Absolute Zero was the most formidable, but Jason had only just touched upon the Profound Mysteries of Ice and lacked the corresponding boost.
He chose Summon Water Dragon. Having comprehended the Water Body Technique, Jason could shorten the casting time and conserve spiritual energy when using this forbidden spell. Steller was still waiting for him to deal with afterward.
Lumba lasted only three sword strikes against the light-element angel before his elemental shield shattered. His black bone shield was driven straight into his body, and the undead warrior was sent flying.
At that moment, Jason's water dragon also gathered into form.
The water-blue ice dragon charged straight at the light-element angel, and the two elemental summons became locked in combat.
Jason cut off his soul support, and the gravely injured Lumba swiftly returned to the Netherworld.
He circled around the light-element angel and rushed toward where Steller and Veronica were fighting, only to find that the battle wasn't going too badly.
Jason had been suppressed earlier because the Profound Mysteries of Ice countered his own Profound Mysteries. Moreover, relying solely on his comprehension of the water element, his attack power was low, and he couldn't break a Peak Saint Warrior's battle-qi shield in a short time.
In fact, just as Jason had initially judged, Steller's understanding of the Profound Mysteries of Ice was only at the introductory stage. Veronica had gone even a little further with the Fire Body Technique.
With neither of their Profound Mysteries countering the other, Veronica hadn't even used Dragon Transformation. She and Linda, a human and a beast, two Level Nine fighters, could hold their own against the Peak Saint Steller for a while.
(In the original story, this was how strong Steller was. He couldn't even kill a Level Nine Corpse Fiend in a single strike.)
Steller was very cautious. When he had become a Saint-level expert, the Saints of the Dragonblood Warrior Clan had only recently left. He had heard about Dragonblood Warriors: at Level Nine in human form, they became Saint-level after transforming.
So when he saw that Veronica had also comprehended the Profound Mysteries and hadn't transformed, he had held back twenty percent of his strength to protect himself, guarding against a sudden attack from her. But in less than a minute, he saw Jason summon a water dragon!
Steller recalled the rumors about the Rhine Clan: "All the Rhine Clan's Saint-level experts are Saint Magi. Even its Saint Warriors can cast Saint-level magic!"
Knowing full well that he could never match Jason's speed, Steller regained the ruthless drive he had possessed when struggling through the lower ranks in his early years. Leaving his back unguarded, he decided to risk serious injury and use all his strength to capture Veronica. As long as he took her alive, he would have a chance to escape.
The sharp longsword swept toward her with all his strength. Veronica's longsword was knocked away, and the blow continued unabated, severing her right arm.
But just as Steller rejoiced at having deprived Veronica of her ability to resist, a feeling of weakness swept through his soul, followed by a violent tremor in his spiritual ocean.
His soul had yet to take solid form, so Steller couldn't observe the state of his spiritual ocean. But he knew he had suffered a soul attack, which was also his greatest weakness.
Jason had just expended too much spiritual energy casting the forbidden spell, which was why he hadn't crushed Steller's soul outright.
Even so, Steller had no room left to maneuver. A blade rose diagonally through his back and cut his body in two.
"Why didn't you transform?" Jason demanded, a little angry.
"I wanted to see if I had Saint-level strength now." Veronica picked up her severed arm and pressed it against the stump. As her battle-qi surged, the wound quickly healed. The greatest benefit she had gained from activating her Dragonblood Warrior bloodline with Silver Dragon blood was a greatly strengthened ability to recover.
"Relax. If I'm really in danger, I'll transform," the beautiful red-haired woman playfully reassured her husband.
"I'll deal with you later." Jason turned and flew toward the battlefield behind him.
Even with Steller gone, the light-element angel summoned by the scroll would remain for a while. But with the help of the Water Element dragon, defeating it was no great difficulty for Jason.