The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing

But soon, Bishop Rada had an idea, taking advantage of the fire to pad the numbers a bit in the report to headquarters, chuckling inwardly as he immediately opened up a space. The esoteric geniuses, seeing a large opening, hurriedly scrambled out.

An Su followed them out, and the moment he stepped outside, he was able to connect to the signal from Heaven. Merlin's lazy voice came through his ear,

"Oh dear, sorry about that, I just lost the signal, wasn't slacking off, ha."

The God of Law feigned concern for An Su, "I know, I know, the cult bases are dangerous, and the spatial magic structures they create are complex. I've been working hard at deciphering this spatial magic's structure, absolutely no slacking."

Merlin, looking at a newly constructed magic circuit, spoke seriously to An Su.

"No need to construct a new magic circuit anymore."

An Su, observing the fire surging in the space where the ritual fire had gone out of control since he left the array, watched as the chaotic serpent of flame rolled ceaselessly in the other-dimensional space. The structure of the space shook and was close to collapse, continually sinking down, and as the spatial magic structure was burned through, the entire base collapsed completely.

The flags symbolizing the esoteric religion were burned to ashes in the flames.

It was deep into the night outside, the post-rain night wind clean and clear. The dark night sky hung with stars, and the pale blue starlight dripped slowly along the horizon, falling onto the abandoned Crow Alley, covering the ashes with stardust.

[One esoteric space base has been destroyed. Contributors: An Su Moningsta (90%), Arthur Sunny (5%), Lister Muen (5%).]

Merlin's eyebrows shot up. What is this thing?

He'd only slacked off for a bit, how did the story progress to this stage.

These little brats completely collapsed someone's base?

Ignoring the God of Law's astonishment, An Su first ended the call.

His head was still reeling from the effects of the mercury vapor; moreover, it was because of the visions he saw before the life candle.

Crimson stars plummeted from the sky, the city continuously sinking, and at the table of the gods, each time the knives and forks dropped, a star fell from the sky. An Su sat at the end of this apocalyptic table, watching the world gradually devoured by the gods.

"What is my fire sign?" An Su curiously asked the old Priest.

The other esoteric geniuses craned their necks over, intrigued by this situation, which was new to them as well.

An Su's first two candles had burned vigorously, and the last life candle had even caused a fire.

Brother of the Stairs was indeed impressive.

The old Priest rolled his eyes, his complexion still a sickly purplish hue not yet faded, and he took several deep breaths before replying gruffly to An Su,

"The 'book' presented by the Painful Candle suggests that you will travel increasingly on the path of the Pain Magician, the 'scepter' shown by the Chaos Candle indicates that you will keep climbing amidst chaos, and the last life candle..."

"The last life candle?" An Su tilted his head.

"Had no fire sign," the Priest shook his head, "I saw nothing. I think you might have angered the Mother Goddess, which triggered this disaster!"

An Su felt that the Priest was very correct, after all, he was genuinely a saint, and angering the Mother Goddess was normal.

Arthur was discontent with the Priest's words, "What do you mean angered the Mother Goddess? My brother of the stairs is clearly an esoteric genius. I think it's obviously the Mother Goddess's overwhelming fondness for Brother of the Stairs, fervent as fire, that triggered the blaze."

The Priest gave Arthur a sidelong glance and didn't respond to his nonsense.

After interpreting the will of the Mother Goddess for decades as a renowned divination archmage, how could this brutish disciple from the Painful Court understand the Mother Goddess's intentions as he could?

However, the old Priest actually had another interpretation he did not voice, thinking it too absurd, that saying it would only make him the butt of the joke, so he chose not to mention it.

Perhaps the engulfment of the entire space by the fire of life was the fire sign revealed by the ritual.

In mystical terms, space also symbolizes the world; if all of this were true, all the old worlds would collapse in the flames of this young man, with the Serpent of Pain and the Saint Heir serving as the helping hands to stoke the world's fire.

But this was too ludicrous, almost less plausible than having angered the Mother Goddess.

In any event, the ritual was thoroughly concluded.

The esoteric geniuses who had escaped from the sea of fire all felt a sense of survival after a calamity.

Bishop Rada looked at everyone with satisfaction, confirming that there was not a single infiltrator among the Cultists—all were trustworthy, all were eligible to compete for the rank of Saint Heir within their Sect.

Especially that kid known as Brother of the Stairs, the candle was so bright it could cause a fire hazard, definitely a big villain.

And the brightness of this youth's Painful Candle was also quite notable, which shows that he's particularly attuned to the Painful Esoteric Sect.

And the fire element that appeared was 'books'.

This indicates that the kid is also quite cultured.

Bishop Rada even thought about poaching An Su into his own Gorilla Cult. With this smart brain aiding them, their Cult's cultural level would definitely improve greatly, and it wouldn't be the butt of jokes any longer. They would also have a better chance against Merlin.

He cleared his throat, and the authority of the Demigod spread out, instantly silencing the noisy scene.

Bishop Rada surveyed everyone with dignity and slowly said, "It seems everyone present is indeed trustworthy."

"After observing by the three of us, we have selected the most loyal candidates."

The attendants beside distributed a list, and An Su looked carefully; all were Cult geniuses with three candles fully lit, including him, Lister, Arthur—nine people in total.

"Those not on the list can leave now," said Bishop of the Sea coldly, immediately causing quite an uproar among the Cult geniuses. But in front of a Demigod, no one dared to act rashly, so they had to swallow their dissatisfaction and leave the Crow Alley dejectedly.

Once the majority had gone, the formerly crowded Crow Alley cleared out.

An Su observed the Believers around him, those remaining were the elite of the elite, nearly of Fourth Order, and despite the ordeal by ceremonial fire earlier, their complexions remained unchanged.

The Painful Attendants cast a simple Space Magic at the entrance of the Alley, isolating all the noise from outside.

"The few of you present are the most loyal Believers to the three great Esoteric Religions," Bishop Rada said with satisfaction. "I am very pleased with all of your performances, and now it's time to entrust you with the most confidential plan of the Church Nation."

Lister nodded, as he had always been a member of the Life Esoteric Church, very loyal indeed.

Arthur, who was also present, clapped his hands; he, too, always graduated from the School of Pain, a true-blue member..

An Su, also present, wore a face full of agreement, being fiercely loyal himself, as the Mayor of Chaos, to the Church Nation.

In the magic communication, Merlin, the Radiant Bishop also present, agreed; the Radiant Bishop was most loyal to the Esoteric Religion, with half of the God of Law's magic being plagiarized from these three Esoteric Religions, and hence, his loyalty needs no further proof.

The four of them all listened intently, eager to know the Church Nation's top-secret grand plan.

Bishop Rada looked around sternly: Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

"We have been hiding in Farol for several months now, assassinating saints during the Holy Saint exam was just a façade within our grand plan, a diversion for the Church's Nation strategy."

"Our true objective is to seize the opportunity of the imperial capital's internal chaos and emptiness. While the Demigod of the Church is too busy dealing with internal assassinations to be distracted, our Painful Cavalry will then launch a border strike and take over the empire's border lands."

"Finally, in cooperation from within and without, the empire will fall."

"But before this, there is an obstacle, which is the three major powers within the border areas. If they resist, it will prevent the Esoteric Religion from gaining the upper hand immediately. Once the Demigod of the Church recovers and comes to aid, the plan will fail," said Bishop Rada with a cold expression, yet feeling smug inside. Their plan was incredibly sinister and perfect.

Such a terrifying and concealed plan, that man Merlin would never be able to guess.

"However, the three heirs of the top border families, An Su Moningsta, Arthur Sunny, and Lister Muen, are currently inside the Radiant Holy See."

"They are similar in age and rank to you, and you have proven your loyalty to the Esoteric Religion, making you the most suitable candidates. With the Transformation Spell from the Sanctuary of Chaos, you can take possession of their bodies!"

Bishop Rada, inscrutable, addressed the nine Cultists including An Su:

"Your ultimate mission is to infiltrate the Radiant Holy See, impersonate An Su, Arthur, and Lister!"

"Whoever succeeds will be the Quasi-Holy Child of our three great Sects!"