Chapter 8: A Gathering of Experts (Part 2)
Linley was momentarily stunned. At this moment, he hesitated, his mind racing through many thoughts, but he still nodded. "Yes, her name is Alice."
Dylia's eyes reddened instantly. "Congratulations to you."
Dylia quickly turned around, unable to hold back her tears as they streamed down her face. She then ran swiftly out of the reading room.
Linley himself didn't notice Dylia's tears.
"Whew." Having said those words directly to Dylia, Linley felt both a sense of frustration and a bit of relief.
After this incident, Linley had no mood to continue reading. He mentally noted the name of this magic book and returned it to its shelf.
Walking back to the dormitory, Linley felt somewhat troubled.
"Boss, I know, you like this Dylia too, don't you?" Bebe said gloatingly. "I think Dylia is pretty good, better than Alice."
"Shut up," Linley scolded through soul transmission.
"Heh heh, hit the nail on the head, huh?" Bebe said smugly.
Linley took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Forget it. Since I've made it clear to Dylia, there's no heavy burden on my mind anymore. Hmm, I'm meeting Alice tomorrow, so I should prepare a gift."
Thinking of Alice, Linley felt much lighter.
...
On the evening of December 29th, Linley parted ways with Yale and the other two, heading alone to Ganmo Street to meet Alice. This time, Linley spent a longer period with Alice.
Because the first of January every year is known as the 'Yulan Festival,' the biggest holiday across the entire Yulan Continent. On this day, the Radiant Church also holds its most grand mass.
Fenlai City, as the 'Holy City' of the Radiant Church, houses the Church's headquarters in the West City. Naturally, the mass in Fenlai City is the largest-scale mass on the entire Yulan Continent. The Radiant Pope himself would preside over it—a truly grand spectacle. The number of people coming to watch would be immense.
January 1st.
Fenlai West City, the Radiant Church headquarters—the Radiant Temple—was a massive building nearly a hundred meters tall, clearly visible from anywhere in Fenlai City.
In front of the Radiant Temple was a large square several thousand meters in length and width, paved with smooth white stone. At this moment, the square was packed with a sea of people, Linley and Alice among them.
Knights from various Church knight orders orderly maintained control over the square, and the gathered crowd was very disciplined.
"Brother Linley, at eight o'clock, a group of high-ranking figures from the Radiant Church will come out, including the Radiant Pope himself," Alice whispered to Linley.
Linley nodded and glanced at the knights maintaining order. "Alice, judging by the number of knights here, there must be at least several thousand. It seems these knights are all quite powerful."
"Of course. Today is the Yulan Festival, and the ones keeping order are the Radiant Temple's elite knight order. Every single knight is at least a rank five warrior," Alice said. Having grown up in Fenlai City, she clearly knew much more than Linley.
Linley was startled.
Rank five warriors? At minimum, rank five warriors. A knight order composed of such powerful knights—their strength was unimaginable. As a rank five magician, he was nothing in front of them.
Alice pointed to some lavishly dressed people in the distance. "Look, many great nobles have come today. Later, the royal families of our six Sacred Alliance kingdoms will all arrive."
Time passed quickly, and soon it was eight o'clock.
Suddenly, the spire of the hundred-meter-tall Radiant Temple lit up, radiating white light downward. The massive angel statue in the center of the square shimmered with a halo, and the entire square echoed with a divine melody as if from the realm of the gods...
At that moment, a group of people emerged from a side hall next to the Radiant Temple. At the front were rows of Temple Knights in white battle armor, their helmets adorned with red plumes. Each of these Temple Knights exuded the aura of a true expert. Especially as the hundred or so knights marched forward in unison with steady steps, the oppressive pressure silenced the entire square.
"I didn't expect the Radiant Church's strength to be this formidable. Those hundred or so knights are probably at least rank seven warriors," Delin Cowart said, appearing beside Linley and staring intently at the group. "Today, even a Saint-level expert has appeared. I'd better return to the Coiling Dragon Ring."
With that, Delin Cowart vanished.
"A Saint-level expert?" Linley couldn't help but scrutinize the group closely.
Behind the hundred or so Temple Knights in white armor were over a dozen priests in white robes. Following the white-robed priests were several Red Archbishops, flanking a bald, silver-robed old man.
"The Pope!"
This bald, silver-robed old man was clearly the central figure of the group. Linley focused all his attention on him. The Radiant Pope had a tall, slender build, nearly two meters in height. In his left hand, he held a scepter about as tall as himself.
Behind the Radiant Pope and the Red Archbishops were four black-robed old men and over a hundred warriors in purple robes. This large group walked orderly down the central path. The square, packed with hundreds of thousands of people, dared not make a sound.
"Grandpa Delin, you mentioned a Saint-level expert. Who is it?" Linley asked mentally.
"I can tell at a glance. The Radiant Pope and one of the four black-robed old men behind him are both Saint-level experts. They're confident enough not to conceal their auras. Over five thousand years, that little church once holed up in the Pru Empire has grown to this extent," Delin Cowart said with a sigh.
"Not concealing their auras?"
Linley stared blankly at the group. To be honest, he could only feel their majesty from the Red Archbishops, the Radiant Pope, and the four black-robed old men, but he couldn't sense any trace of an expert's aura.
Yet Delin Cowart said... two Saint-level experts weren't hiding their auras?
"Linley, you're still far off. A rank five magician is nothing on the Yulan Continent. Only by reaching rank seven can you be called an expert. And rank seven experts are mere small fries in front of a behemoth like the Radiant Church, which dominates one side of the continent."
"On this continent, there's the Radiant Church, the Dark Church, the four empires, and countless mysterious organizations. The number of experts on the entire Yulan Continent far exceeds your imagination. You're still weak now and haven't touched that level yet. You'll understand when the time comes," Delin Cowart said cheerfully. "Your greatest advantage is your youth. Those experts' strength comes from years of hard training. You'll become an expert too someday."
Linley nodded slightly.
Being called a genius at Ernst Academy, Linley had indeed started to think he was somewhat impressive. But now, he was awakened. On the entire continent, Linley was nothing at all.
After the Pope and his group had passed, the people in the square began to murmur softly.
"Brother Linley, look, the six royal families are coming. The one at the front is our Fenlai Kingdom's royal family. That golden-haired man is our king, also the strongest warrior in Fenlai Kingdom—a rank nine expert," Alice whispered in Linley's ear.