Chapter 45: Shameless
On the vast, surging Liuyan River, a large multi-story ship drifted along with the current. Not a single person stood on its deck.
In the top-floor hall of the ship, experts gathered in force.
Every single person in this top-floor hall was a Saint-level powerhouse. Nine chairs were arranged in the hall, divided into three groups.
Linley, Barker, and Zassler sat side by side in a row.
The Radiant Pope ‘Heithings,’ the Arbiter ‘Ursano,’ and the Ascetic Leader ‘Falling Leaf’ also sat side by side. On the side of the Dark Church, the Dark Pope ‘Aflak,’ the Chief Arbiter ‘O’Casey,’ and the Fallen Angel Leader ‘Clemenson’ sat in order.
Behind both sides stood Saint-level angels and fallen angels.
Heithings and Aflak exchanged a glance, both feeling a hint of strangeness. As the heads of the two major churches, they were supposed to be adversaries.
Yet today, they were allies.
The cause of all this was Linley—a dazzlingly talented figure who had risen at an astonishing speed, reaching the pinnacle of the continent’s power at such a young age. Even revered figures like the Radiant Pope and the Dark Pope had to bow their noble heads and speak to Linley with courtesy.
“Heithings, Aflak.” Linley had a faint smile on his lips. “I wonder what exactly you’ve invited me here for?”
Bebe was also lying on Linley’s lap, his small eyes fixed on the Radiant Pope and the Dark Pope.
The Dark Pope ‘Aflak’ had skin as fair and smooth as a young woman’s, and his voice was soft and gentle: “The reason we of the Dark Church have come in such numbers is mainly to ask you, Linley, to take a step back and order your rat horde to stop its advance. I imagine Heithings and his side have similar thoughts. Am I right, Heithings?”
Heithings nodded slightly. Then he looked at Linley, his gentle gaze somehow giving people a feeling like a spring breeze: “Linley, would you be willing to make such a concession?”
“Are you dreaming?” Linley said, half laughing, half exasperated.
Heithings smiled faintly: “Linley, if you take a step back, the Radiant Church will also pay a great price. It will definitely satisfy you.”
“We are the same. The price we pay will surely satisfy you, Linley,” Aflak said.
Both Popes were now yielding to Linley.
They didn’t want to use force against Linley. First, they had no justification, and using force now would give Desri’s side a reason to intervene. Second, at least the Radiant Church had made an agreement not to attack Linley for twenty years. That time limit hadn’t expired yet.
“Linley, what do you think?” Heithings looked at Linley.
Linley detested the Radiant Church. He simply disliked cruel and violent people, but he loathed hypocrites like Heithings—those who appeared as kind as family or parents on the surface but were ruthless and unscrupulous in reality. Linley felt a deep disgust from the bottom of his heart.
Both the Radiant Church and the Dark Church sides looked at Linley.
A smile appeared on Linley’s face, and he spoke two words: “No way!”
The smiles on Heithings’ and Aflak’s faces froze for a moment. Then the Fallen Angel Leader ‘Clemenson’ snorted coldly: “Linley, are you trying to oppose both the Dark Church and the Radiant Church?”
“Clemenson.” The Dark Pope ‘Aflak’ immediately scolded him.
Linley looked at the Fallen Angel Leader ‘Clemenson’ and said with a light laugh: “As far as I know, angels need a good body as a vessel to descend. Mr. Clemenson, your strength is so great—this physical body of yours probably has the power of a level seven or eight, right? Where did your Dark Church get such a body?”
The five Barker brothers had originally reached level eight with just their physical bodies.
Linley knew this well.
Normally, when humans trained to the peak, their physical bodies could at most reach level six. Even with extraordinary talent, level seven was a once-in-a-millennium occurrence. Only those with the bloodlines of the Four Ultimate Warriors could possibly create miracles by training their bodies alone.
This Clemenson’s body was likely that of one of the Four Ultimate Warriors.
“Yes, where did that body come from?” Barker also looked coldly at the Dark Church side.
The five brothers had nearly died back then, their bodies becoming vessels for angels. They were very sensitive to this.
“That is a secret of our Dark Church,” Aflak said with a smile. “Alright, Linley, let’s return to the matter at hand. Are you truly unwilling to yield at all? If you yield, you will earn the eternal gratitude of our Dark Church.”
Gratitude?
Linley, Zassler, and Barker all laughed. Even Bebe, lying on Linley’s lap, covered his little belly and giggled.
“Linley, you should think it over carefully,” Heithings said, looking at Linley.
Linley’s smiling face suddenly turned solemn. His gaze swept over the group, and he said seriously: “Heithings, Aflak, listen carefully. I, Linley, will make it clear here today: No matter what, this army will never be withdrawn. Unifying the entire Chaos Territory is inevitable and unstoppable!”
“Linley, don’t go too far,” Ursano snorted coldly.
In terms of ‘endurance,’ Ursano was clearly inferior to Heithings and Lord Falling Leaf.
“Too far?” Linley frowned, his gaze cutting toward Ursano like a cold blade. “Ursano, don’t put on airs in front of me. I’ve made myself clear today. Wanting me to withdraw my troops is impossible.”
The atmosphere in the top-floor hall of the ship suddenly became oppressive.
“If there’s anything else, say it,” Linley said casually.
Bebe also chimed in: “Yeah, say it quickly. I still have to lead my rat horde to expand our territory.”
Zassler’s eerie green eyes swept over the people in the hall, letting out a few low, sinister laughs but saying nothing.
The hall fell silent for a moment.
“Fine,” Heithings said with a sigh. “Our Radiant Church can make another concession. The territories under our control can be completely handed over to your Baruch Kingdom.”
“Oh?” Linley was a bit surprised.
What did this Heithings mean? Was he actually prepared to let Linley unify the Chaos Territory?
“We will make this concession as well,” Aflak also said.
Linley glanced at Heithings, then at Aflak, thinking to himself: “What are these two Popes really plotting?”
Heithings looked at Linley: “Our request is very simple. We only ask that you, Linley, allow our Radiant Church to openly preach in your empire, without any suppression whatsoever. That’s all.”
“Preach? Without any suppression?” Linley frowned.
Aflak nodded and said: “Our request is the same—allow our Dark Church to preach openly, without any suppression.”
Linley smiled.
He understood their intention. The Radiant Church and the Dark Church valued faith power the most. Whether the territories were under their rule wasn’t too important.
What mattered was that the faith power must be maintained.
“Linley, spreading religion within the Chaos Territory won’t have much impact on your rule. You should be able to accept this, right?” Aflak urged.
Heithings quietly watched Linley, waiting for his answer.
“Let me unify, and you just preach?” Linley looked at the two.
“Yes,” Heithings immediately nodded. “This is our greatest concession. Linley, if you agree, then our two sides can become friends. The past matters can all be forgotten.”
If Linley agreed,
then the Radiant Church and the Dark Church would naturally have to show him respect in the future. Linley would then navigate the Yulan Continent with ease.
But—
They forgot that Linley didn’t care about domination. In his heart, he held a belief in reaching the peak of cultivation, a deep attachment to his family, and a vow etched into his memory.
That vow after Grandpa Doehring died, when he left Hess City!
The vow to uproot the entire Radiant Church!
His father died. His mother died. Grandpa Doehring died!
“Become friends? Become friends with the Radiant Church?” Linley sneered inwardly. “The Chaos Territory? I would give up the entire Chaos Territory, even give up my strength, if it could bring my father, my mother, and my Grandpa Doehring back to life!!!”
Linley’s heart surged with emotion.
“Become friends? And let you continue preaching?” Though anger churned within him, Linley’s expression remained calm and indifferent.
In the quiet top-floor hall, everyone looked at Linley, waiting for his answer.
Letting Linley unify the Chaos Territory while the two churches preached—this was already the final bottom line. If Linley didn’t agree, it would indeed anger both churches.
Under the expectant gazes of the many Saint-level experts from the Radiant Church and the Dark Church, the corners of Linley’s mouth lifted slightly: “Within my territory, no organization is allowed to preach. If I find one, I’ll destroy it!”
The faces of Heithings, Aflak, Falling Leaf, O’Casey, and the others all changed.
“Did you hear that clearly?” Linley looked at the group. “That is my answer!”
“Whoosh!” The Arbiter Ursano and the Fallen Angel Leader ‘Clemenson’ suddenly stood up, their cold gazes fixed on Linley.
This time, Heithings and Aflak didn’t stop them.
“Linley, this is the church’s bottom line, and also the Lord’s bottom line. Do you know… what happens when you violate the Lord’s bottom line?” Heithings said coldly.
Aflak also stared at Linley coldly.
In an instant, the temperature in the entire hall seemed to drop by dozens of degrees. The stagnant space would make it hard for anyone below the Saint level to even breathe.
“Bang!” Linley slapped the armrest of his chair, his gaze icy as he swept over the crowd. “What, are you threatening me?”
The Radiant Church and the Dark Church sides remained silent, but the meaning was clear.
Yes, they were threatening!
“Heithings, have you forgotten the agreement you made twelve years ago?” Linley’s cold gaze swept over both sides.
According to the agreement, Saint-level experts were not allowed to participate in secular wars. Without Saint-level intervention, they couldn’t stop the rat horde. So if they broke the truce, the Radiant Church and the Dark Church would have to send Saint-level experts to hinder the rat horde.
The agreement also stated that for twenty years, the Radiant Church could not actively attack Linley.
“Linley, you’ve gone too far,” Heithings said in a low voice.
Aflak also said: “Linley, in life, it’s better to take a step back.”
“Shameless, utterly shameless!” Linley stood up, shaking his head with a laugh. “I’ve never seen people as shameless as you. Your armies attacked my territory, even reaching the magic crystal mine, and I didn’t act because I kept the agreement!”
“But what about you?”
Linley’s gaze, tinged with mockery, swept over the Radiant Pope and the Dark Pope. “You people are the highest figures of the two churches. The war has just begun, and the moment you realize you’re losing, you come to interfere, and you say I’ve gone too far? I think you people are the ones who are shameless and have no sense of decency!”
Linley’s words made the faces of both the Dark Church and the Radiant Church sides turn ugly. With their status, being humiliated like this by Linley, how could they stay calm?
“Watch your mouth,” Ursano barked coldly.
Linley’s gaze turned icy. A strange purple light flashed through the hall. Ursano, startled, immediately split into four figures and retreated.
“Ah!” “Ah!” Two consecutive screams rang out.
The two Saint-level four-winged angels who had been standing behind Ursano were cleanly cut in half. Their bodies fell to the ground, blood staining the floor.
The fusion of the second level of the Wind’s Rhythm—‘Stagnant Space’ and ‘Spatial Overlay’!
Ursano clutched his chest, staring at Linley in shock.
“Ursano, with your meager skills, don’t shout in front of me,” Linley said, his cold gaze locking onto Ursano. “To kill someone like you, I don’t even need to transform!”
PS: Second chapter is here. There’s a third chapter, estimated to arrive around midnight.