# Chapter 1: The Hope of Survival
Hearing the words "what a pity, such a genius," Clyde felt a surge of joy in his heart.
He already understood the choice of the Holy Emperor of Light, Heith.
"You may withdraw." Heith waved his hand and said calmly.
"Yes, Your Holiness." Clyde bowed respectfully, then left the top floor of the Radiant Temple. Only the Holy Emperor of Light, Heith, remained alone in the grand hall of the top floor. Heith walked to the window, looking down at the entire city of Fenlai below, maintaining his silence.
A long time passed—
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!* The sound of knocking came.
"Enter." Heith said flatly.
Stepping into the hall was Gilmore, dressed in a red robe. Gilmore glanced at Heith's back and could sense that Heith was in a bad mood, so he spoke respectfully in a low voice: "Your Holiness, how should we persuade Linley now?"
"Persuade? No." Heith said calmly.
Gilmore couldn't help but look up at Heith in surprise. If they wanted Linley to serve them, they should at least try to persuade him now. After all, not long ago, Heith had severely wounded Linley. Moreover, Linley had a deep grudge against Clyde.
"Gilmore, do you know who Linley's mother is?" Heith turned to look at Gilmore. Gilmore was stunned and asked in confusion, "Linley's mother? Didn't she die from complications during childbirth when Linley's younger brother was born?"
"No."
Heith shook his head and said, "When you investigated Linley's mother's information back then, you didn't uncover the truth. Linley's mother is actually the woman we obtained twelve years ago."
The woman from twelve years ago!
Gilmore immediately remembered, because that woman had a significant impact on the upper echelons of the Radiant Temple.
"Ah, his mother was already killed by us, so...?" Gilmore instantly understood the Holy Emperor's worry.
A genius like Linley was indeed very appealing. But in the future, once Linley discovered the truth about his mother, the threat to the Radiant Church would be enormous.
"Gilmore, the 28th of this month is when the glory of the Lord of Light shines brightest, isn't it?" Heith said rather abruptly.
"Yes, it is." Gilmore was somewhat puzzled as to why Heith was saying this.
"Prepare. I intend to pray for the Lord to bestow a Divine Pet on that night." Heith said calmly.
"Divine Pet?" Gilmore was shocked. But he immediately understood Heith's intention. He sighed inwardly, "His Holiness is probably going to perform the Divine Pet bestowal for Linley. Although Linley's future achievements will be limited, with his talent, he won't turn out too badly. It's just a pity about his talent."
The Divine Pet was actually a strand of the Lord of Light's own faith power descending.
The Lord of Light, as a peak-level deity, had a strand of faith power from his essence that could completely wash a person's soul, making that person absolutely faithful and loyal to the Lord of Light. Unless that person's soul reached the Saint-level and solidified, they could resist the washing of the faith power.
Otherwise... there was absolutely no resistance!
However, having his soul washed by the Lord of Light's own faith power would also affect Linley's talent. His future achievements would certainly be diminished.
"What a pity, what a pity for a genius." Heith sighed softly again. This was the reason he had said "what a pity" in front of Clyde earlier. Heith was also at ease, because once Linley received the washing of the faith power, even if he later learned about his mother's matter, he would still remain faithful and loyal to the Lord of Light.
That faith power went deep into the soul!
More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye. The entire city of Fenlai remained as peaceful as before, but the great nobles and wealthy merchants of Fenlai could all feel a tense atmosphere. For instance, King Clyde had been in a very bad temper lately, and several noble ministers had already touched his sore spot and been executed.
Behind a luxurious hotel along the Champs Elysées Avenue, in a quiet three-story building, a group of people had gathered.
Yale, Reynolds, and George had all been gathered there.
Ever since they learned about Linley's situation, the three of them had been worried about Linley every day. They knew very well how big the trouble Linley had stirred up this time—publicly attacking King Clyde, killing over a thousand elite soldiers of the kingdom, and even provoking the Holy Emperor of Light to personally intervene.
"Yale, big brother, have your people found any news about Linley?" George pressed, and Reynolds also looked at Yale.
Yale shook his head.
The three of them all had grim expressions. They had grown up with Linley since childhood, eating and sleeping together at Ernst Magic Academy. Though not blood brothers, they were closer than brothers. They couldn't just watch Linley be executed.
"I can't do anything. We can't even reach the upper echelons of the Radiant Church." Yale said anxiously, "Wait a few more days. My father will arrive soon."
Yale's father—
Merlot Dawson!
The president of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, the ruler of the terrifying Dawson family, whose wealth was enough to make even the two alliances and four empires envious. But their commercial network spanned every city across the Yulan continent, capable of influencing a country's economic prosperity or decline.
Any one of the three major chambers of commerce had terrifying influence.
Neither the two alliances nor the four empires wanted to have a falling out with the three chambers of commerce, because if a chamber of commerce truly fell out with an empire, it could cause the empire's economy to collapse, regress decades in an instant, and even throw the empire into chaos.
"Yale, big brother, you said the same thing two days ago—just wait a few more days. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid..." Reynolds was getting anxious.
Yale was also helpless.
This time, his father was traveling in a kingdom not far from the Fenlai Kingdom. As soon as he found out, he sent a message to his father at the fastest speed, hoping he would rush to Fenlai City immediately. With his father's status as the president of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, Heith would likely have to receive him personally.
If his father intervened, the chances of saving Linley would be much greater.
"Young master, young master!" A tall, thin young man ran in quickly, excitedly saying, "Young master, the president has arrived."
"Father!"
Yale stood up in surprise, and even Reynolds and George had a glimmer of hope in their eyes.
---
In the reception hall of the Radiant Temple, specially reserved for honored guests.
A bald, fat man with a huge belly, standing a full two meters tall, walked into the hall with a beaming smile. With his two-meter height and terrifying waist circumference, he probably weighed three or four hundred jin.
This was the president of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce—Merlot Dawson.
Walking in to meet him was the Holy Emperor of Light—Heith.
Heith was also two meters tall, but he was thin and lanky. The two of them—one huge and fat, one tall and thin, both bald—made for an interesting contrast.
Behind Merlot Dawson were two middle-aged men: one with cold, hawk-like eyes and golden hair, and the other a sturdy man with red hair. The two stood solemnly behind Merlot Dawson. Without a doubt, both were level-nine experts!
Behind Heith stood two Red Archbishops, one male and one female—Gilmore and Marina.
"Oh, Your Holiness."
Merlot Dawson called out exaggeratedly, then made an effort to bow. But with his huge belly, bending over was indeed a very difficult task.
"Merlot, please sit." Heith spoke quite cordially.
Merlot Dawson immediately sat down, and Heith also took his seat.
Merlot Dawson's enormous backside was truly too big; ordinary chairs really couldn't accommodate him. Fortunately, the Radiant Church had prepared in advance. Merlot sat down, then contentedly stroked his long, curved mustache and laughed heartily: "Your Holiness, I was originally sightseeing at Bluestone Lake, but who would have thought my son would insist on me coming here? Ah, you know, as a father, there's nothing I can do."
"Merlot, you really do spoil little Yale." Heith said with a faint smile.
Merlot Dawson nodded helplessly: "Heh, that little rascal. But from what Yale told me, he has a very remarkable good brother named Linley. Not only is he a sculpture master, but also a magic genius and a powerful warrior. I was quite impressed when I heard about him. However, Yale said this Linley is being held in your Radiant Temple."
"That is indeed the case." Heith nodded in acknowledgment.
Merlot Dawson grinned and said, "Your Holiness, do me a favor and release this Linley. Young people, who doesn't act impulsively? Even though I know he tried to assassinate that Clyde, Clyde didn't die after all. This little matter, I'm sure Your Holiness won't take it too seriously, right?"
Merlot Dawson spoke lightly and casually.
But Heith couldn't answer casually.
This Merlot Dawson had asked Heith to do him a favor. If Heith directly refused, wouldn't that be openly denying Merlot Dawson face? Don't be fooled by Merlot Dawson's smiling demeanor—Heith knew very well the terrifying power behind this bald fat man's Dawson Chamber of Commerce.
"Merlot." Heith shook his head and said, "It's not that I don't want to do you this favor, but I really can't release him easily. Because... Linley also killed people from the Inquisitorial Tribunal, especially one of Ussenor's disciples. Ussenor is very angry this time."
"Ussenor?" Merlot Dawson frowned.
Ussenor was another heavyweight of the Radiant Church—the Chief Inquisitor of the Inquisitorial Tribunal.
In essence, the Radiant Church had two leaders: one was the Holy Emperor of Light on the surface, and the other was the leader responsible for executions and dealing with all heretics—the Chief Inquisitor of the Inquisitorial Tribunal.
"This is troublesome." Merlot Dawson knew things were bad.
This Heith might still consider Merlot's status, but that cold, sinister Ussenor was simply a murderous madman.
However, Merlot Dawson could also guess.
"This Linley killing Ussenor's disciple? That's probably just something Heith made up. I can't exactly go ask Ussenor about it." Merlot Dawson sighed inwardly. He understood that Heith clearly didn't want to release Linley easily.
Merlot Dawson was indeed very interested in Linley.
Especially knowing that Linley could already transform into a Dragonblood Warrior. Linley had too much potential, whether in magic or combat. If his Dawson Chamber of Commerce could acquire Linley, once Linley stepped into the Saint-level, the Dawson Chamber of Commerce might surpass the other two chambers of commerce in influence.
"Well then, I'll take my leave." Merlot Dawson stood up directly.
Heith said with a faint smile, "I'm truly sorry, Merlot. The internal punishment for Linley within the Radiant Church hasn't been decided yet. Once our internal punishment is determined, I'll send someone to inform you."
"Alright. I'll be staying in Fenlai City for a while. I also want to see the upcoming Yulan Festival. The Yulan Festival of the year 10,000 of the Yulan calendar is such a grand occasion—one can only see it once in a lifetime." Merlot Dawson said cheerfully.
With that, Merlot Dawson left with his two guards.
Heith watched Merlot's departure calmly, while Gilmore beside him whispered, "Your Holiness, that fat bastard Merlot still wants to get Linley. After the 28th passes, no matter what schemes Merlot tries, it'll be useless."
Heith turned to look at Gilmore, smiled slightly, and also left the reception hall.
Now, they only had to wait for January 28th.