The Saintess called upon someone, and from among the Eight Order Lords, an old man with a hunched back stepped forward. He turned and looked down, coughed into his fist, and spoke, “Let it be known to all that Spirit Religion’s Holy Son has secretly emerged 10 years ago. He has been cultivating and honing himself in the Holy Temple ever since!”
The entire hall fell into silence, followed by a huge uproar.
Everyone gazed at the Wind Order Lord in disbelief. Many were trying to digest this sudden revelation, while others raised their voices in inquiry.
“Order Lord Si Kong, how could we not have known that the Holy Son had already been born?”
“Holy Saintess, is it true that the Holy Son appeared 10 years ago?”
“Who is the Holy Son? What is his cultivation now?”
…..
Among those present in the Grand Hall at this moment were the high-ranking members of the Spirit Religion, all of whom were elites in the Immortal Ascension Boundary with qualifications to know many of the Religion’s secrets. Yet, it was only now that they were learning there were things within the Spirit Religion that they were completely unaware of.
Si Kong Nan raised his hand slightly to quiet down the clamour, and then continued, “10 years ago, this Old Master went out on a mission and was besieged by the Masters of the Black Ink Cult. I had no choice but to hide under a cliff to heal my injuries. During that time, a young man fell from the sky and landed in front of me. The young man’s cultivation was still shallow at that time, but he survived the fall from the cliff. So, after I healed, I brought him back to the Spirit Religion.”
Then, Si Kong Nan paused briefly, allowing the crowd to digest what he had just said.
Someone murmured softly, “There will come a day when the sky cracks open, and a person descends from above, igniting the brilliance of light and tearing through the darkness to defeat the ultimate enemy!” He looked around and raised his voice, filled with excitement, “Isn’t this fulfilling the prophecy left by the first Saintess?”
“Indeed, indeed. Surviving a fall from a towering cliff must mean this child has great blessings!”
“He must be the Holy Son!”
“No, wait. The falling of the young man from the sky does align with the prophecy, but the prophecy also mentions the sky cracking open. How do we interpret that?”
Si Kong Nan seemed to have anticipated this question and explained slowly, “You all may not know this, but I was hiding in a location known as Heaven’s Border at that time!”
The person who asked the question suddenly realised, “So that’s how it is.”
If one were to look up while standing in the depths of Heaven’s Border, the gap formed by the cliffs on both sides did indeed resemble a crack in the sky.
All had fallen into place!
The scene of the young man descending from the sky matched the prophecy left behind by the first-generation Saintess. It was truly the sign of the Holy Son’s birth!
Si Kong Nan continued, “As you all suspected, when I saved that young man and brought him back to Spirit Religion, Saintess gathered a few Order Lords and opened the sealed land.”
“What happened next?” Someone asked, though they already knew the outcome would surely be good, they couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.
Si Kong Nan replied, “He passed the test left by the first-generation Saintess!”
“He is undoubtedly the Holy Son!”
“Hahaha, so the Holy Son has already emerged 10 years ago! After waiting for so many years, we finally have him!”
“Now those bastards from the Black Ink Cult shall suffer!”
…..
Allowing the crowd to express their excitement for a moment, Si Kong Nan continued, “After 10 years of cultivation, the Holy Son has shown unparalleled talent and potential. When I saved him, he had just begun his cultivation not long ago; however, now his strength surpasses any of the Order Lords.”
Upon hearing this, the people in the Grand Hall were all shocked.
The Eight Order Lords of Spirit Religion, as well as the Eight Chapter Masters of the Black Ink Cult, were all the most outstanding elites in this World; however, they had been cultivating for many years, ranging from dozens to over 100 years to reach their current height.
Yet, the Holy Son achieved this in just 10 years. He truly was the legendary saviour!
Such a person might be able to break the limits of the Martial Dao in this independent World and sweep away the demons of the Black Ink Cult with his great strength.
“The Holy Son’s cultivation has reached a bottleneck, though. Originally, we planned to announce the matter of the Holy Son and officially introduce him to the World after some time, but we didn’t expect such an incident to happen at this critical moment,” Si Kong Nan furrowed his brow.
Immediately, someone indignantly shouted, “Since the Holy Son has already emerged and passed the test left by the first-generation Saintess, his identity is undoubtedly confirmed. Therefore, the one who claims to be the Holy Son and has not yet entered the city must be a fake!”
“The Black Ink Cult’s methods are as despicable as ever! Over the years, they have repeatedly tried to infiltrate our Spirit Religion using signs of the prophecy, but they have never succeeded! It seems like they haven’t learned their lesson!”
Someone stepped forward and cupped his fist, “Holy Saintess, Order Lords, please allow me to lead my men out of the city to slay the imposter who dares to insult our Spirit Religion. Let his death serve as a warning!”
Not only did multiple people speak in that manner, but several others also stepped forward, demanding to lead troops out of the city and intercept the impostor pretending to be the Holy Son.
The Fire Order Lord, however, snorted disdainfully, “If the news hadn’t leaked, we could have just killed him, but now that it has spread throughout the entire city, all the followers are eagerly anticipating his arrival. How do we explain it to the followers if you murder him now?”
A Protector immediately objected, “But that Holy Son is a fake!”
The Fire Order Lord replied, “Those present may know that he is a fake, but what about the ordinary followers? They know nothing. All they know is the legendary saviour is supposed to arrive in the city tomorrow!”
The Mountain Order Lord patted his plump belly and chuckled, “Indeed, we can’t kill him just like that, or it will have a huge negative impact.” He paused for a moment and squinted his eyes slightly, “Have any of you ever thought about how this news was leaked?”
He turned his head to look at a woman among the Eight Order Lords, “Lake Order’s Sister Guan, you are in charge of intelligence inside and outside the Spirit Religion. Have you investigated this matter?”
The Lake Order Lord, Guan Miao Zhu, nodded, “As soon as the news spread, I sent people to investigate. The source of this news came from Zuo Wu You, a Deacon from the Thunder Order. It seems that he discovered the Holy Son while performing a mission outside and brought him back. He then gathered a group of people outside the city and had them spread the news, which caused the whole city to know about it.”
“Thunder Order’s Zuo Wu You!” The Mountain Order Lord pondered for a moment, “I vaguely recall hearing that name before.” He turned to the Thunder Order Lord and continued, “If I’m not mistaken, Zuo Wu You has a good aptitude and was likely to ascend to the Immortal Ascension Boundary sooner or later.”
The Thunder Order Lord replied indifferently, “Why do you care so much about the people under my command, fatty?”
The Mountain Order Lord chuckled, “We are all adherents of the Spirit Religion. As the Order Lord of one of the Orders, shouldn’t I show some concern about budding talents?”
“Enough, haven’t you poached enough elite disciples from my Order in recent years? I warn you, don’t even think about laying a hand on my disciples.”
The Mountain Order Lord wore a distressed expression, “I have no choice. Mountain Order is responsible for charging into the fray, and we always suffer losses whenever we clash with the Black Ink Cult. We need to find a way to constantly replenish our manpower.”
Thunder Order Lord snorted, “Zuo Wu You is indeed under my Thunder Order. He is an orphan who grew up in the Spirit Religion and has always been loyal to it. Plus, he is a straightforward and bold person. I was planning to promote him to the rank of Protector after he broke through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary. He shouldn’t have any problems unless he’s been tainted by Black Ink Strength and had his nature twisted.”
The Fire Order Lord added, “I also have some impression of Zuo Wu You. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would engage in schemes and tricks.”
“So, it must be the fake Holy Son who had Zuo Wu You gather those people and spread the news.”
“Why would he do that?”
Everyone looked puzzled. If he was a fake, why would he have the audacity to make this matter widely known? Wasn’t he afraid of being confronted?
Suddenly, a man rushed in from outside, greeting the Saintess and the various Order Lords before approaching the Fire Order Lord’s side and whispering a few words in her ear.
The Fire Order Lord’s face turned cold as she asked, “Are you sure?”
The man cupped his fists and replied, “I saw it with my own eyes!”
The Fire Order Lord then nodded lightly in response and waved her hand, dismissing the man.
“What’s going on?” Asked the Mountain Order Lord.
The Fire Order Lord turned around to bow to the Saintess who was seated above and said, “Saintess, upon receiving the news, I sent someone to the mansion outside the city where Zuo Wu You was rumoured to be staying to capture him and the fake Holy Son before they could escape; however, it seems that someone has beaten us to it, and the mansion has already been destroyed.”
The Mountain Order Lord raised his brow, greatly surprised, “Someone attacked them in secret?”
Above, the Saintess asked, “What about Zuo Wu You and the fake Holy Son?”
“That estate is now a ruin, but there was no blood or signs of a struggle. It seems that Zuo Wu You and the fake Holy Son moved to a different location in advance,” the Fire Order Lord replied.
“Oh?” The Earth Order Lord, who had been silent all this time, slowly opened his eyes and a playful smile appeared on his face, “This is interesting. A fake Holy Son not only spread the news of his arrival in the city tomorrow but also anticipated danger and moved to a new hiding place. This fellow is not simple.”
“But who tried to kill him?” Someone asked.
“Regardless of who it was, it seems that the fake Holy Son’s understood his current circumstances are not safe. That’s why he spread the news and made his situation known to everyone, so that those who wanted to act against him had to do so cautiously to avoid harming the innocent! Since that’s the case, he will definitely enter the city tomorrow! No matter who he is or why he is impersonating the Holy Son, as long as he enters the city, we can capture him and interrogate him!”
The Order Lords discussed back and forth and quickly came to a conclusion.
However, it was puzzling why Zuo Wu You and the fake Holy Son had aroused the inexplicable murderous intent of an unknown Master outside the city. It was unclear who they had offended.
“How much time is left until dawn?” The Saintess asked from her throne.
“Less than an hour, Lady Saintess,” someone replied.
The Saintess nodded and said, “In that case, Order Lord Li, Order Lord Ma.”
Fire Order Lord Li Fei Yu and Mountain Order Lord Ma Cheng Ze immediately stepped forward and said in unison, “Reporting.”
The Saintess then commanded, “You two go to the city gate and wait for Zuo Wu You and the fake Holy Son to show up. Then bring them to me.”
“Yes!” The two of them responded simultaneously and quickly left the Grand Hall.