124: Chapter 124 Heavenly Blessings? The Holy Maiden Extends an Olive Branch

The lingering echoes of the gilded bronze bell still circled within the Golden Throne Hall. Just as the civil and military officials had finished seeing off Su Ninghua and Lin Zhe, the head eunuch came stumbling in from outside. His robes were half-lifted by the wind, and his voice was filled with urgency: "Your Majesty! Prince Regent! The Great Elder of the Heavens, leading a delegation from the Temple of Light, requests an audience outside the palace gates! He says they have come specifically to deliver congratulatory gifts for the Prince Regent's investiture!"

No sooner had he spoken than a soft wave of holy light emanated from outside the hall. A warm golden glow spread across the floor from the entrance, making even the bluestone slabs shimmer with a gentle light. The Great Elder, dressed in a white robe embroidered with patterns of light and his white beard neatly groomed, led the way. Behind him followed two priestesses carrying white jade boxes, their steps as light as if they were treading on clouds. Upon reaching the center of the hall, the Elder bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle toward Lin Zhe, his posture so respectful he was nearly touching the floor.

"This old one is Guangming Yao, the Great Elder of the Temple of Light. By the order of Her Majesty, Saintess Saintess Yun Qingwan, I come to congratulate Mr. Lin Zhe on his investiture as the Prince Regent of the Human Empire! Please accept these humble gifts as a token of our esteem!" The Great Elder took the first white jade box from the Priestess beside him. As the lid opened, a dense aura of light instantly filled the entire hall. Thirty bottles of translucent, golden-glowing holy water were arranged neatly inside. "These are thirty bottles of Top-tier Holy Water. They can neutralize all dark toxins and forcibly break top-tier light seals. The Heavens produce no more than fifty bottles a year; these are all from the Temple's reserves, stored for nearly a decade."

He then presented the second box, which contained a thousand shimmering Gilded Vouchers. "These are one thousand Light Faction Exclusive Class Change Vouchers. Holding a voucher reduces the cost of changing to a Light-type class by thirty percent and grants an additional permanent basic Light Blessing buff. Usually, even if the Imperial Family were to ask, they could only obtain a few dozen at most."

Finally, as the third box was opened, the warm golden light was almost blinding. A necklace engraved with divine runes of light lay on a velvet cushion, its pendant a miniature scepter of light that faintly pulsed with divine power. "This is the light blessing necklace, personally crafted by Her Majesty the Saintess. Wearing it allows one to immune a single fatal blow. It is the only one of its kind in the entire server, refined by Her Majesty using divine fire over the course of three months."

The surrounding civil and military officials and the seated player representatives watched with eyes wide in disbelief. Everyone knew that the Heavens had always been haughty; previously, when the Human Empire sought ten bottles of holy water for disaster relief, they had waited for half a year without receiving anything. Now, thirty bottles were given at once? Not to mention a life-saving necklace personally crafted by the Saintess—this was treatment that even the peak experts of the continent might not receive!

The Great Elder stroked his white beard, his expression tinged with guilt and his tone incredibly sincere: "Regarding the previous matter of the Opposition Faction conspiring with the Remnants of the Three Clans, Her Majesty the Saintess has already settled all accounts. The three leading elders have had their light cultivation revoked and have been imprisoned for life, and all one hundred and twenty-seven members involved have been expelled from the Temple of Light, never to be employed again. Her Majesty stated that it was due to her lax discipline that your peace was disturbed, and she assures that such a thing will never happen again in the Heavens. She specifically instructed me to invite you to visit the Temple of Light when you have time; all secret realms and resources of the Heavens are unconditionally open to you, and we await your arrival at any time."

Lin Zhe leaned back in the sandalwood chair reserved for the Prince Regent, his fingertips lightly tapping the armrest. His expression remained calm throughout, as if the pile of items before him were merely ordinary trinkets. He glanced at the light blessing necklace and gave a slight nod for his guard to accept it. With a faint flick of his fingers, a strand of pale green Natural Divine Power instantly landed on the Great Elder, forming a permanent pale green buff icon. "This is a permanent Natural Blessing. it grants a 10% increase to all attributes, 20% poison resistance, and a natural healing effect. Consider it a return gift. Go back and tell Saintess Yun Qingwan that I will visit the Temple of Light when I have time."

The Great Elder was getting on in years; in his youth, he had been poisoned by dark toxins while gathering herbs in the Dark Forest, causing him to twitch with pain on rainy days. Wrapped in the Natural Divine Power, his old injuries were instantly soothed, and his light cultivation even showed signs of a breakthrough. He was so excited he nearly knelt before Lin Zhe on the spot, his white beard trembling. "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! I will certainly deliver your words to Her Majesty the Saintess exactly as they were spoken!"

[Ding! Detected that the top-tier female NPC, Saintess Saintess Yun Qingwan of the Heavens, has increased her favorability toward the host to 75. Fifth Bond trigger progress +2%, current progress: 10%!]

The Great Elder was overjoyed and made a decision on the spot, his voice so resonant it could be heard half a mile away: "To celebrate Mr. Lin Zhe's investiture as Prince Regent, the Temple of Light has decided to grant all players in the server a free 3-day Light Buff! It provides +10% Light-type damage, +15% healing effect, and 20% damage reduction when attacked by Light-type monsters in the wild! Effective immediately!"

Buzz—!

In the next second, a bright golden pinned announcement popped up in the vision of all online players across the server, remaining for a full ten seconds before disappearing. The entire server exploded instantly, and the flood of messages on the world channel caused the server to lag for half a second.

[Holy crap? A free 3-day Light Buff? It used to cost 20 maple coins for just one day in the mall! Boss Lin Zhe is incredible! I was just about to grind the Temple of Light dungeon, and this buff was delivered right to my door!]

[The Heavens are so generous! Thank you, Saintess! Thank you, Prince Regent! From now on, if anyone dares to say a single bad word about Boss Lin Zhe, I'll be the first to cut them down!]

[I beg the Saintess and Boss Lin Zhe to become a couple! If they do, won't the benefits be through the roof? I'm shipping them already!]

Many players currently grinding Light-type dungeons saw their output jump significantly due to the sudden buff. They ecstatically took screenshots and posted them on the forums, and cheers could be heard everywhere across the server.

The Great Elder once again respectfully bowed to Lin Zhe and Su Ninghua before leaving gleefully with the priestesses, his back three times straighter than before. With the permanent Natural Blessing given by Lin Zhe, he would no longer fear dark toxins when gathering herbs in the Dark Forest in the future.

Su Ninghua stood beside Lin Zhe, her black imperial robes swaying gently in the wind. She couldn't help but laugh. "The Heavens have certainly shown great sincerity this time. It seems Saintess Yun Qingwan truly wishes to be on good terms with us."

Lin Zhe's fingertips brushed against the newly received light blessing necklace; the cool holy energy felt mild and soothing. His Rule Perception spread out slightly, and he could clearly sense a figure in moon-white robes standing by a white jade railing at the highest point of the Temple of Light thousands of miles away, gazing toward Holy Light City. A very faint smile played at the corners of his mouth, but he said nothing.

Outside the hall, the sunlight was just right. Congratulatory gifts from various regions continued to be transported into the palace in an endless stream, the sound of carriage wheels on the official roads carrying far into the distance. The cheers of all the players in the server could be heard clearly even through the livestream screen. Lin Zhe knew that the situation for the Human Empire was now completely stable, and a broader stage of the continent was opening up to him step by step.