244: After a hundred times of tempering, steel is forged and the messenger of God arrives!

“Xiao Lu, be good. Victory and defeat are common in war. Zhou Shuren said that failure is the mother of success, which means... uh, besides, we shouldn't be hothouse flowers. How can we… without experiencing wind and rain…”

“Alright, alright, Grandpa, I’m good. Please don’t say any more… My head hurts…”

Seeing Chen Beixuan about to launch into a long lecture, Xiao Lu quickly interrupted him, then covered her ears and shook her head wildly.

“Hey, you child, I was just about to get to the crucial part…”

Chen Beixuan felt a bit frustrated, all the phrases he had learned were stuck in his throat, neither coming up nor going down.

At this moment, people from all sides gathered in the City of Radiance.

Lu Ziming, Healer, Night Owl, and Bone were all present.

Everyone sat in the tavern chatting and joking, waiting for the final top 8 matches.

“Grandpa, can’t we really change our team name? An extra word makes it so weird…”

Lu Ziming mumbled tentatively, glancing at Chen Beixuan to observe his expression.

Chen Beixuan’s face darkened, and he summoned his magic staff to tap his head, but Lu Ziming dodged it.

“You’re the one with too much to say, kid. It’s enough if you can get the rewards; the name doesn’t matter.”

“Hehe, I was just asking…” Lu Ziming said with a cheeky grin.

“Hehehehehehe…”

Suddenly, a chilling laugh came from beside them!

Everyone turned their heads and saw that it was Night Owl who had made the sound.

He was staring blankly at the sky, giggling foolishly, pointing his fingers around, apparently chatting with someone.

Noticing the sudden silence around him, Night Owl snapped out of it.

He found that everyone was looking at him, and he was instantly bewildered.

“…What…what are you all looking at me for…”

He touched his cheek, puzzled.

“…Is there something on my face?”

Chen Beixuan narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him up and down.

“Tell me, who are you chatting with? You’re laughing so happily.”

“Ah, you mean that? I thought it was something else.”

Night Owl breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, then smiled and explained to them.

“Four of the other seven teams are from our military, from different military regions. They were all begging us in the group to go easy on them.”

“A few old rivals, for once, lowered their heads, and I just couldn’t help but laugh out loud, hahaha.” Night Owl laughed heartily.

Whenever he thought of those captains begging him to go easy, he felt completely at ease.

What was this called? This was called fate!

Who told Old Man Chen to be in their northern district!

“That… Old Chen, if we’re matched with other military regions later, just go all out and kill them. You don’t need to save face for me!”

“Didn’t they ask you to go easy? You’re too heartless…” Lu Ziming said, puzzled.

Night Owl waved his hand and said seriously, “Actually, everyone is just joking. Actual combat is the only standard for testing combat power. Results obtained by going easy will inevitably lead to vanity and even dependence.”

“Only by finding problems can we solve problems. It’s about tempering steel through a hundred refinements!”

Upon hearing this, Chen Beixuan immediately gave a thumbs up, then turned to Xiao Lu and said.

“Xiao Lu, did you hear that? That’s what I meant earlier. Only through a hundred refinements can steel be tempered.”

Xiao Lu: “……”

Seeing Xiao Lu’s despairing little face, everyone couldn’t help but burst into pig-like laughter.

......

City of Radiance, Light Church Headquarters.

After several hours of healing and rest, Lydia’s mental state had recovered significantly.

Old Pope held a bowl of porridge, scooped a spoonful, and fed it to her.

“Come, be careful, it’s hot.”

“Father, I’m not a child anymore.”

Lydia was speechless. She was a Pope-level figure, capable of taking hot baths in lava. Would she be afraid of a hot bowl of porridge?

Her father was just worried and confused…

“Never mind whether you’re an adult or a child, just drink something first.”

The spoon was not put down but continued to wait for her to open her mouth.

Looking at Old Pope’s gray hair and beard, Lydia sighed almost imperceptibly, then opened her mouth and drank a spoonful.

“Hiss… So salty…”

“I say, Father, did you kill the salt seller?”

Lydia quickly spat out two mouthfuls, feeling her throat dry.

“Is it that bad?”

Old Pope mumbled, then scooped a spoonful into his mouth…

“Mmm… Cough, cough, cough!”

“I really am not suited for cooking…”

A mask of pain appeared on his face, and he quickly took the bowl away and placed it aside.

Lydia was amused by this scene, and her mood recovered quite a bit.

But then, as if she remembered something, she slowly put away her smile, and said with a worried expression.

“The God Realm will certainly not let this go. Father, you must be careful in your response…”

“Don’t worry…”

Clang!

Before Old Pope could finish speaking, the door was suddenly pushed open with a loud bang!

The resurrected Sandra stepped in, scanned the situation in the room, then locked her gaze on Old Pope.

She said with displeasure, “Come out immediately! First Divine Envoy · Pasier has something to ask you!”

“First Divine Envoy?!”

Both father and daughter’s expressions changed.

That was a legendary existence, even older than Old Pope.

The only way they knew about him was through history books!

To think this important figure was disturbed!

“What are you waiting for? Don’t make me say it a second time!” Sandra’s tone intensified.

She was not in a hurry to ask why Old Pope was unharmed while she and Lilian were killed.

Because the entire process had already been grasped by First Divine Envoy · Pasier, and he would inquire about it later.

“Hoo…”

Old Pope took a deep breath, trying to steady his emotions.

Then he instructed Lydia, “You rest well. I’ll go with them.”

After speaking, he followed Sandra out of the room.

In the sky outside the Light Church.

Five Supreme Divine Envoys floated scattered, their golden holy light almost filling the sky, dazzling beyond compare!

Ninety-nine percent of the residents of the City of Radiance were believers.

Now, seeing this scene.

To them, it was no less than the descent of deities. They all raised their arms and cheered, clasped their hands in prayer, and gave thanks for the gods’ manifestation.

Pasier’s golden pupils rotated, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, a cold sneer on his lips.

“A bunch of fools…”

“Lord, the person has been brought.”

Sandra brought Old Pope to the front and bowed.

Old Pope bowed his head respectfully and greeted him.

“The sixty-third Pope of the Light Church, respectfully greets Divine Envoy.”

“Why did you betray the Light God?”

Pasier’s words were astonishing, and a single sentence made cold sweat break out on Old Pope’s back.

He dared not look directly at the other party, trying his best to control his tone.

“Lord, you must be joking. As the Pope, how could I possibly betray the Light God…”

“You are lying.”

Pasier’s eyes lowered, almost narrowing into a slit.

Clang!

As soon as these words were spoken, the five Divine Envoys beside him simultaneously drew their swords, placing them at Old Pope’s neck.

Old Pope’s mind was greatly shaken, but he still showed a puzzled expression on the surface.

“I… I don’t understand what you mean…”

Pasier looked down at him, and his next words were even more shocking.

“You colluded with a Chaos Mage, causing two Divine Envoys to die and return to the God Realm. All of this was for your daughter, Lydia. Am I… correct?”

Old Pope: “!!!”

......