"Thank you for rescuing me from the space pirates." Birmingham made a very solemn Corsican Race gesture of respect.
Logo accepted it calmly. As for who actually rescued the person, that was unimportant; please don't worry about those details.
After expressing his gratitude, Birmingham hesitantly asked, "How is the leader of the Black Sea Star Pirate Group doing?"
Although he was kidnapped by the Black Sea Star Pirate Group, Birmingham received relatively good treatment because the shell-man Kelaio, was a mechanical Transcendent. Apart from the restriction on his personal freedom, he received the same treatment as high-ranking members of the pirate crew in terms of training resources. Furthermore, Kelaio would occasionally discuss mechanical knowledge about mechs with him, which greatly benefited Birmingham.
Therefore, Birmingham's feelings towards Kelaio were very complicated. He wanted him to be punished, but he didn't want the punishment to be too severe. In short, he didn't want Kelaio to die.
"Hehe, don't worry, that space pirate isn't dead. If there's a chance in the future, you might even meet again."
"Is that so?" Birmingham's eyes, framed by his bottle-bottom glasses, brightened slightly, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"What are your plans for the future? Will you continue traveling to different planes?"
In the past, Birmingham would have nodded without hesitation, but this time, his experience with the Black Sea Star Pirate Group gave him some different thoughts. His strength was ultimately too weak. He used to think that High-Rank Transcendent strength was enough, but now it seems that he is still somewhat weak unless he reaches the Legendary.
Moreover, Logo saved him this time, and according to the Corsican Race way of doing things, he must repay the debt before he can leave in peace.
Seemingly sensing Birmingham's hesitation, Logo decisively extended an invitation, "Why don't you work for the Ruibete Group for a while, or become a teacher at the alchemy academy I'm establishing?"
Birmingham knew, of course, that Logo was the chairman of the recently rising Ruibete Group. Although the two didn't have much contact, they had exchanged ideas a few times.
If one were to join the Ruibete Group, the benefits would be undeniable, but compared to the fierce competition within the group, the ivory tower lifestyle of the Alchemy Academy would be far more appealing to Birmingham.
"I think I'll go teach at the Alchemy Academy." Birmingham adjusted his glasses, making his final decision.
To be honest, Logo was quite satisfied with his old friend's decision. The biggest shortage of high-end teachers at the Heavenly Eye Alchemy Academy right now is, especially as time goes by and the younger students gradually grow up and learn more profound and complex knowledge, the current teachers in the academy are no longer up to the task.
Moreover, as Logo's status in the Royal Court rises and his influence expands, the Alchemy Academy he founded will become increasingly attractive to the citizens of the Royal Court. When I chatted with the Left Prime Minister some time ago, the latter even mentioned that he wanted to establish a branch of the Heavenly Eye Academy in the Royal Court. As for the main campus, it will naturally be the one in Sunset Jungle.
The Left Prime Minister also mentioned moving the Alchemy Academy to Origin Island, but after consideration, Logo refused. The original location of the school was very meaningful, and he did not want to touch it. As for the fact that the main campus was located in the Underdark and would affect future development, there was no need to worry at all. Once the Spatial Science level was improved, it would be easy to merge the Underdark with the main space, or carry out other modifications. Logo already had a plan in mind for this.
"In that case, you will temporarily serve as the honorary vice dean of the academy, as well as the head of the Mecha Department. You can arrange the courses yourself. As for your salary, you will receive a research stipend of 300,000 Ta Pound per year, plus..."
Similar to Walpole before, after hearing the Logo made, Birmingham couldn't help but feel like, "Maybe I should just stay." Goodness, with these resources, he felt that it wouldn't be long before he could become a top-tier mech builder (corresponding to Legendary).
After Crassus escorted Birmingham away, Logo drank a vial of potion to replenish his mental and physical strength, and then continued to fully activate his Eye of Insight to analyze spatial fluctuations.
A few hours later, sensing a familiar presence, Logo broke free from his analytical state. The blue light representing rationality in his pupils dimmed and disappeared. Turning around, he saw a graceful girl standing before him, her smile as beautiful as a flower, stunningly beautiful.
"Don't overwork yourself." Qiya gently reached out and massaged Logo's temples.
After closing his eyes and enjoying the moment, Logo grasped Qiya's soft, jade-like hand and asked with a smile, "Aren't you going to ask me why I called you here?"
"I'll do anything you ask, okay?" Qiya blinked, two dimples appearing on her fair, rosy cheeks, making her look playful and adorable.
Shaking his head helplessly, Logo reached out and tapped the girl's smooth forehead with his finger, then took out a storage ring and handed it to Qiya.
"Send the contents of this room to the Crimson Alliance secretly."
Logo gave his instructions.
"Who exactly is it for?" Qiya asked.
"There's contact information in the ring. Once you arrive at the Crimson Alliance, just contact him using the methods listed on it." Logo didn't mention Lancelot's name.
The main reason for this was to prevent anyone from investigating his relationship with Lancelot later.
After all, as long as the three clones don't die, they will eventually rise to power in the Astral Realm.
When the time comes, people will see that three important figures have emerged from such a small plane, and there must be something fishy going on, so an investigation will definitely follow.
In order to prevent others from discovering that the three of them are actually the same soul divided into different parts, they must plan ahead, because this is their biggest trump card. If they have the opportunity to ascend to the Astral Realm in the future, this move they have left behind may play a crucial role.
Seeing that Logo didn't want to say more, Qiya understandingly didn't press him. She simply nodded obediently, then put away the ring, gently kissed the corner of Logo's lips, smiled sweetly, and turned to leave.
As he watched the girl's graceful figure disappear, Logo was about to continue his study of spatial science when a figure flashed beside him—the Left Prime Minister and the Grand Elder appeared simultaneously.
"Tsk, these two young people are so inexperienced. A relationship should be passionate and dramatic, right? You two look like you met on a blind date, all polite and distant." The Grand Elder teased in a sarcastic tone, but his eyes held a deep smile. After all, he was quite satisfied with this marriage. One was a junior he had watched grow up, and the other was the future king of the Royal Court. In Kim Larken's eyes, their union was a match made in heaven.
Logo simply smiled faintly at the elder's teasing and did not respond, because he knew that the more you paid attention to this old man, the more energetic he would become, and if you ignored him, he would give up.
"Two very busy people like you, arriving at the same time, must have something important happened?"
Logo's eyes flickered slightly as he guessed.
The Grand Elder and the Left Prime Minister had long since given up on his wisdom.
Therefore, the Left Prime Minister stated directly, "Just now, there were some unusual movements from the White Wolf Kingdom."
"Unusual behavior?" Logo was taken aback. The two sides were currently at war; wasn't unusual behavior quite normal?
"It's not about war!" the elder explained.
Logo immediately realized what was happening, his eyes gleaming. "You mean, the Dawn Empire has finally slipped up?"
The Grand Elder nodded with a cold smile. "Yes, your previous prediction was quite accurate. As a theocratic state, if something happens to the Dawn Empire that we cannot understand, we can usually find the answer in heresy."
As a vassal state of the Dawn Empire, the White Wolf Kingdom can essentially be considered a part of the Dawn Empire.
"So, the White Wolf Kingdom's unusual actions this time are also related to religion?" Logo speculated, squinting his eyes.
The Left Prime Minister then directly revealed the answer, "Yes, just now, the White Wolf King suddenly announced that the ' Lord of Radiance ' would be the kingdom's sole faith, and established the Radiance Holy See in the capital. He himself was the first to undergo the ' Baptism of Radiance,' converting to the Radiance Holy See and becoming a devout follower of the Lord of Radiance."
"Lord of Radiance, are you sure you're not the God of Dawn?" Logo asked again to confirm.
"There's no mistake, it's the Lord of Radiance!" the Grand Elder said with certainty, his words filled with excitement, for he had already keenly sensed that a violent upheaval would soon occur within the Dawn Empire.
Upon hearing this, Logo felt a huge weight lifted from his heart, muttering to himself, "So that's how it is. No wonder the Dawn Empire and the White Wolf Kingdom suddenly launched a large-scale attack on us, and even sent Demigod experts to raid the capital."
"The Pope is reducing external destabilizing factors!" The Left Prime Minister sneered. He was an exceptionally intelligent man; the instant he learned of the White Wolf Kingdom's unusual situation, he pieced together all the information and understood the Dawn Pope's scheme—or perhaps he could now be called the Radiant Pope?
"What incredible courage," Logo murmured, tilting his head back. Having learned so many secrets, he understood all too well just how insane the Pope was doing.
However, upon closer examination, the Pope's decision becomes understandable.
First, to truly understand this matter, one must understand the relationship between the God of Faith and believers in the Third Astral Realm Age.
In the Second Era, magical and technological civilizations, along with other types of civilizations in the Astral Realm, united to defeat the gods of faith, creating Dusk of the Gods. Since then, the influence of the Divine Realm over the Known Cosmic Sea (the Astral Realm) has greatly diminished.
The most direct manifestation of declining influence is the believers' attitude towards the deity.
Aside from the planes directly under the control of the Divine Realm, other planes in the Astral Realm, especially those connected to the Astral Realm, have witnessed the vibrant colors of the Endless Cosmic Sea, the scenes of countless powerful civilizations vying for supremacy, and the extraordinary brilliance of various civilizations. This inevitably means that the believers in these planes, even those God of Faith, are mostly seeking psychological comfort. The proportion of true believers is very low, let alone fanatical believers or saints at higher levels.
This is why the gods in the Divine Realm pay very little attention to believers in non-directly subordinate planes. After all, the Power of Faith Power of Faith by an entire non-directly subordinate plane is not even as abundant as that provided by an ordinary kingdom in a directly subordinate plane.
In such cases, the relationship between the divine and the Holy See is more akin to a transaction than one of subordination.
The Holy See spreads divine faith, and the gods accept this faith through the Divine Realm. The Divine Kingdom System then transforms the Power of Faith into Divine Power. Through divine Divine Power channels permeating the Astral Realm rules of the Divine Realm, a portion of this Divine Power is transmitted to the Holy See in various planes. The Holy See uses this Divine Power to create various "divine professions," such as [divine warriors], [priests], [clerics], [bishops], and [priests]. Furthermore, Divine Power can be transformed into Transcendent resources such as "holy water" and "Divine Power crystals." The former cures all diseases, while the latter is equivalent to "elemental crystals," a near-omnipotent energy source. Thus, an extremely strong Community of shared interests is formed.
In this system, the Divine Realm is a crucial transit point and also the Cornerstone for balancing and limiting the power of the gods. If a god does something that harms the believer, the believer can switch gods, and the process is not complicated. It only requires closing the channel of faith and then connecting to the New God's Divine Kingdom.
This system is a Divine Realm order jointly created by the Mother of Earth and the Sun God after the end of the age of gods. Even the Supreme God dare not disobey it.
Of course, while "changing gods" itself is not complicated, the risks involved are enormous. First, one must face the potential wrath of the "Old God"; second, the stubborn believers within the Holy See; and third, the questioning of the entire nation's people...
It can be said that if any link in the chain goes wrong, the entire country will be plunged into severe turmoil, or even directly erupt into civil war.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, it is rare for the Holy See to choose to change its beliefs.
Ultimately, the reason Dawn Pope did this boils down to those two words: "Heresy."
In other words, Sebawen Faith.
Sebawen Faith originated a thousand years ago, calling itself "Dawn Protestantism." Its core belief is that God of Faith requires only piety, without the need for offerings or sacrifices, nor the establishment of a lavish and ineffective Holy See; a single Bible is sufficient.
This idea might be popular in technologically advanced nations like the Crimson Alliance, but in the theocratic Dawn Empire, it is undoubtedly appalling, as it would legally destroy the rule of the Dawn Holy See.
Therefore, the moment Sebawen Faith emerged, the enraged Holy See rulers immediately mobilized their forces to destroy it.
But an unexpected scene unfolded: the God of Dawn personally issued a divine decree, ordering the Holy See to cease all actions against Sebawen Faith.
This is because Sebawen is a fanatical believer who is about to enter the stage of "sainthood." He is extremely devout in his faith in the God of Dawn, but his beliefs differ from those of the Holy See.
At that time, the authority of the gods was still strong, so the higher-ups of the Dawn Holy See had no choice but to reluctantly agree, preparing to wait until the gods' favor towards Sebawen disappeared before taking action.
No one thought Sebawen would actually become a "saint".
Even in a plane directly under the control of the Divine Realm, the birth of a "saint" is as difficult as ascending to heaven and depends entirely on luck. In a non-directly controlled plane like the Elven Plane, the atmosphere of faith is far inferior to that of a direct plane, making the probability of a "saint" being born even lower.
Once someone fails to become a "saint," a mere fanatic can be killed without consequence, and the gods will not say much.
But the final outcome greatly surprised the Dawn Holy See.
In just ten years, Sebawen was canonized!