However, in the hearts of the believers of the Holy Light, the mountain was on a pedestal because the entire Ledin Kingdom was built on the mountain, together with the most solemn and sacred church in Anril, the Church of Dawn.
Although the Ledin Kingdom and the Felan Kingdom bordered each other, and the Breezy Plains was situated along their borders, the journey from the Tower of Dusk to Delano City was rather long. Fortunately, Lin Li and Archbishop Martin were both experienced Legendary powerhouses. Hence, they flew continuously and managed to see the white sacred city within less than a day.
“President Felic, that’s the sacred city Delano. I’m sorry that no one can receive us, because this matter has to be kept confidential,” said Archbishop Martin, who had been appearing rather apologetic ever since he left the Tower of Dusk with Lin Li. After all, he was asking Lin Li for help, yet his invitation seemed to lack sincerity. Now that they were in Delano City, there was no one to receive them or greet Lin Li, thus making Martin look even more apologetic. If it weren’t for the issue of confidentiality, it would be no exaggeration to make all the Holy Paladins escort them to the Dawn Cathedral.
However, Lin Li did not care about this. Instead, he smilingly said, “Archbishop Martin, you’re reading too much into this. I know what this means to the Brilliance Shrine. It just so happens that I don’t like those troublesome formalities, either. We’d better hurry up and save His Holiness.” Although Lin Li was a figure of status in Anril now, he wasn’t too particular about the formalities and etiquette. He felt that true respect was not reflected by how solemn the formalities were.
There were some people who were there to receive them, actually. Lin Li and Archbishop Martin slowly landed in the square at the foot of the mountain to see that there was a female Paladin with blond hair and dressed in silver armor standing in front of the long steps leading to the Dawn Cathedral. She appeared rather solemn, and when she saw the two of them, she immediately rushed forward to greet them. She first saluted Archbishop Martin before looking at Lin Li with a slightly complicated look. “Hello, Mage Felic.”
“Oh, Miss Rina, we haven’t seen each other for a long time,” Lin Li said with a smile. The blonde female Paladin was the same one he’d met back in the Breezy Plains. She was the only Judge Paladin of the Brilliance Shrine.
Although Lin Li had had a conflict with Paladin Rina during the banquet in the Castellan Mansion of Roland City because he’d been accompanied by his Vampire servant Norfeller, the two of them fought side by side in the Scar of Death. Although Rina didn’t approve of the way Lin Li handled things, she no longer tried to purify him every now and then like she used to in the beginning.
It was a good choice for Rina to receive them. Although she would attract plenty of attention everywhere she went because of her identity as a Judge Paladin and her outstanding appearance, no one would think of the pope; at the same time, it wouldn’t seem disrespectful towards Lin Li.
Archbishop Martin went the extra mile to inform the pope and other insiders about the arrival of Lin Li to prepare for the detoxification process. After all, it was a place that was considered sacred in the hearts of all believers of the Holy Light. If it did not concern the existence of Holy Light, no one would be allowed to fly there freely regardless of their status. Hence, Lin Li had no choice but to slowly walk along the long stairs and make his way to the Dawn Cathedral at the peak of the mountain under Rina’s lead.
Lin Li didn’t hold it against her, since he had already arrived at the Brilliance Shrine, and Pope Rosario had also suppressed the toxins within his body. Hence, the latter didn’t require the antidote immediately. Not to mention, Lin Li was enjoying the company of a beautiful woman, and thus climbing the stairs while enjoying the scenery was also a rare luxury that he rarely could enjoy.
However, as Rina walked all the way to the peak of the mountain, Lin Li also realized that there seemed to be lots of people staring at them while he was enjoying the surrounding scenery. Of course, they were all looking at him with awe, admiration, jealousy, and envy.
Lin Li glanced at Rina who was beside him. She was the proud disciple of Archbishop Englos and the only Judge Paladin of the Brilliance Shrine. While possessing incredible status and strength, she was also a rare beauty. Lin Li obviously understood the reason for those glances that were being shot at him. Clearly, this Judge Paladin of the Brilliance Shrine was the lover of everyone’s dreams, and her admirers would obviously be jealous to see her walking up the mountain with a stranger mage, even if they were believers of the Holy Light who had strong faith in their religion.
Finally, under the leadership of Rina, Lin Li arrived at the door of the Dawn Cathedral on top of the mountain. The majestic and solemn Dawn Cathedral, which was also the holy ground in the eyes of all the believers of Holy Light, was exuding an intense holy aura that seemed to be able to purify all evil and filth of the world.
In the small square in front of the Dawn Cathedral, Archbishop Martin and Archbishop Englos were waiting together with a few higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine whom Lin Li had never met before. That was where Pope Rosario lived, and apart from a few archbishops and some higher-ups, no one could really go there. Hence, there was no need to be worried about arousing suspicion.
“Master Felic, I didn’t expect you to arrive so soon. I’m sorry I didn’t go down to receive you,” Englos greeted with a smile. Although he was much older than Lin Li, he was extremely in awe of and respectful towards Lin Li due to the latter’s attainments in pharmaceutics.
Englos was an archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine was second only to the pope, and yet he actually addressed Lin Li as “master”. If there had been anyone else around, they would have definitely thought that either they had gone mad and heard wrongly or that Englos had gone crazy. However, at this moment, neither Archbishop Martin nor Rina who brought Lin Li there felt that there was anything wrong with it.
If it had been in the past, Rina would’ve probably found it hard to understand because of the huge difference in age, status, and strength. Why did her teacher have to be so polite to a young mage? However, her mindset was different now. Although she had yet to step into the Legendary-realm, she felt that Lin Li’s aura was not inferior to that of her teacher Englos. Regardless of his knowledge in pharmaceutics, she felt that Lin Li definitely deserved to be addressed as a master because of his personal abilities.
Englos introduced Lin Li to several other big shots of the Brilliance Shrine, namely the Chief Judge Fergor, the head of the Paladins, Hollisas, the Archbishop Domingo, and a few cardinals. They were all aware of Pope Rosario’s poisoning, and thus they could not hide their anxiety at all. Even though they had already met Lin Li who claimed to be able to get rid of the poison, they did not feel any less worried.
After a few simple conversations, Lin Li followed the crowd into the Dawn Cathedral, and arrived in front of Pope Rosario’s room with them. Some of them stopped in their tracks, while Lin Li was ushered in by Englos.
It was slightly different from what Lin Li had imagined. At this moment, Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine didn’t seem as feeble as the sick did, even though he had just suffered a huge relapse. Instead, his face was rather rosy, and he seemed just like a kind old man in his fifties.
“Your Holiness, this is the President of the Breezy Plains Guild of Magic, Master Felic,” Englos introduced after saluting respectfully.
“Oh.” Rosario glanced at Lin Li gently, and there was a tinge of admiration in his indifferent gaze. He then nodded slightly, and said, “Mage Felic, you’re really a young and promising talent. It’s no wonder that the Tower of Dusk has managed to develop so rapidly. Englos is in awe of your attainments in pharmaceutics, and he hopes that you will dissolve the Viper’s poison in my body. If you have any requests, feel free to let me know.”
Although Rosario was the pope of the Brilliance Shrine, and held a high status that no one in Anril could rival, he didn’t seem to be putting on any airs when speaking to Lin Li at this moment, and his words were also simple and straightforward as if he were just having a casual chat with his junior. He didn’t beat around the bush like most higher-ups did, either.
Rosario’s attitude made Lin Li feel good about him. After all, this matter was an agreement that they had made previously, and neither of them was requesting a favor from the other party. Regardless of their attitude, the agreement would definitely be fulfilled. Besides, no matter how high Lin Li was standing, the Brilliance Shrine was still a massive entity that Lin Li looked up to, and it would be normal for them to even be arrogant. Since he was just fulfilling an agreement, he wouldn’t hold it against them, either.
“Don’t worry, Your Holiness, please rest assured that I am certain about this since I’ve gained some experience in the Haiga Mountain Range. However, for safety reasons, I also need to know some details from you. That would make it easier for me to make a more accurate judgment when giving you the antidote.” As Rosario’s attitude left Lin Li with no intentions to reap any benefits, he simply expressed his confidence.
After making some detailed inquiries, Lin Li also had a clearer understanding of Rosario’s physical condition and the Viper’s poison that had been in his body for so many years. The Viper’s poison was rather cunning, and if the antidote failed this time, Lin Li would probably no longer be able to come up with other effective antidotes. Hence, for the sake of making sure that there were no mistakes, Lin Li did not immediately start the detoxification, and instead told Rosario and Englos that he needed more time to come up with a perfect plan.
After all, Lin Li and Archbishop Martin had flown all the way there without stopping to take a break. Although Lin Li wasn’t exhausted at all with his current power, and he didn’t need to draft any plans at all, Rosario definitely wouldn’t let him start the detoxification immediately out of courtesy. Anyway, the poison had already been bothering him for numerous years, and he couldn’t care about waiting one or two more days. Hence, after finishing the conversation, he asked Englos to take Lin Li to the resting area.
As soon as Lin Li and Englos walked out of the room, the big shots of the Brilliance Shrine waiting outside immediately surrounded them. In the Brilliance Shrine, Pope Rosario was put on a pedestal, and if anything were to happen to him, it would be akin to the collapse of the Brilliance Shrine. Although they did not directly ask if Lin Li could make the cut or not, it was obvious that that was what they meant as their intentions showed in their gazes.
“Okay, everyone, stop crowding around. Master Felic still needs to formulate a specific plan for the detoxification process. His Holiness has told me to arrange for Master Felic to get some rest. What are you guys doing by blocking the way here?” said Englos who was feeling extremely agitated, though he remained composed on the surface.
Although Englos did not explicitly mention if Lin Li could make the cut, the fact that the latter was going to draw up a plan for detoxification meant that there was still some hope. When everyone heard his words, there was immense joy on their faces, but of course, they also felt rather worried. After all, the safety of the pope was extremely important for the Brilliance Shrine, and they couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.
Lin Li followed Englos to the resting room, which was not in the Dawn Cathedral, but in a building located below near the cathedral. It was allegedly the place where the king of the Ledin Kingdom stayed when he came to see the pope. Although Englos wanted to ask Lin Li for some pointers about pharmaceutics, he knew that it wasn’t the time to do so now. Hence, he left after arranging everything.
Rest was optional for Lin Li. Although he had used his Power of Flight to fly all the way here, the depletion of energy was nothing to a Legendary-mage like him. Hence, after Lin Li sent Englos back to the room, he immediately began to think of the plan to give the pope the antidote. He didn’t want to spend too much time there, and wanted to fulfill the agreement as soon as possible so that he could go to the Darkness Shrine sooner. He knew that although the messenger Jyker didn’t mention in detail what the matter was, it was definitely important because Jyker said so.
When he asked Rosario about the details, Lin Li had in fact already formed a plan in his head, but he felt that he had to perfect it before execution. In Lin Li’s opinion, the first thing he had to do was to let Rosario nurse his body—not back to health, but make it worse through some means.
Rosario’s biggest problem now was that his physical state was too good for the detoxification. After all, he was a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, and his body did not break down much even though he had been tortured by the Viper’s poison for so many years. That could also be because of his Sanctuary power.
