Seisler knew full well that a youth who had only just turned twenty-one and already reached such a terrifying level would undoubtedly leave him far behind in the future.
"Now that we know a bit about each other — weren't you curious about the Church of Light?" A hint of confidence played across Seisler's face. When it came to the secrets of the Church of Light, he, Seisler, probably knew as much as anyone in the Church's upper echelons.
"Tell me." Lin Lei immediately leaned in, listening intently.
Seisler nodded. "Simply put, the Church of Light's military forces — at the outermost layer, you have the missionaries, priests, regional bishops, White-robed Priests, Cardinals, and so on. Then there are the Eight Ace Knight Orders, along with numerous formidable Temple Knights — that would constitute the second tier of their fighting strength. Beyond that, there are the forces of the Sacred Inquisition, and a large number of ascetics."
At this, Lin Lei remained silent. He already knew all of this.
"Apart from these visible forces, there are two hidden lines of power." This remark from Seisler immediately caught Lin Lei's attention.
Ascetics and the Sacred Inquisition — both considered mere surface forces?
"Both of these hidden powers are exceedingly terrifying, surpassing every other force the Church possesses. The first of the two — the Zealots!" Seisler furrowed his brow. "These Zealots are frightening. They wield a strange kind of power, one that is not the Light element. I can't quite explain it."
It was the first time Lin Lei had ever heard of "Zealots."
"And the second?" Lin Lei pressed immediately.
Seisler's expression turned grave. "The second force is the single most terrifying power in the entire Church of Light. They would only deploy it as a last resort. That is — the Descended Angels!"
"Angels?" Lin Lei's heart trembled.
Back when Lin Lei had been at Ernst Academy, he had read countless books containing descriptions of angels. The impression they left on him was one of power — overwhelming power.
"The Descended Angels are constrained by their mortal vessel bodies, so their strength is diminished. But even the weakest Descended Angel is a 9th-level powerhouse, and many are at the Saint Realm level. The Descended Angels are truly the Church of Light's most terrifying force," Seisler sighed.
A chill ran through Lin Lei's heart.
"Seisler, I've read descriptions of angels in books too. Some of the more powerful ones are said to possess god-like power. If the Church of Light had many powerful angels, they wouldn't be in their current state, would they?" Lin Lei asked.
Seisler shook his head. "No. The level of angel that can descend depends on the quality of the vessel body the Church of Light provides."
"Vessel body?" Lin Lei looked at Seisler, puzzled.
"Correct. Angels cannot tear through space to descend directly. They can only use a special method to inhabit a human body. The strength of that human body determines how much of the angel's power it can channel." Seisler explained.
"Lin Lei, this world has 9th-level warriors and Saint Realm warriors. But… if they were stripped of their Battle Qi, their bodies alone would be far weaker. An ordinary human's physical body, unaided, can reach at most the 6th level."
Lin Lei nodded in agreement.
"And with a 6th-level body, a Descended Angel can likely only manifest 9th-level energy. That's why the Church of Light needs 7th-level bodies — or even stronger ones," Seisler said with conviction.
"Even stronger bodies?" Lin Lei's brow creased.
"Although the physical limit for normal humans is the 6th level, there are always geniuses among them. Some possess extraordinary natural strength from childhood, or are born terrifyingly robust. These individuals with special innate talent can push their bodies to the 7th level. And a 7th-level body should be sufficient for an angel to wield Saint Realm power."
As Lin Lei listened to Seisler's words, his frown deepened.
Because his own great-grandfather had once trained his physical body alone to the 7th level. Only later had his great-grandfather died in war. Lin Lei had never questioned it before, but now he wondered…
"Could my great-grandfather's body have been taken by the Church of Light?" The suspicion stirred in Lin Lei's mind.
In truth, all four of the Ultimate Warriors possessed extraordinary talent. Their physical bodies alone could be cultivated to terrifying levels.
Seisler continued, "This is precisely why the Church of Light scours the world searching for powerful bodies. The stronger the body, the more fearsome the Descended Angel. But it's all for nothing now — the Yulan Continent has four Deity-level powerhouses, and against Deity-level beings, even Saint Realm experts are nothing but lambs to the slaughter."
"Four Deity-level powerhouses?" Lin Lei looked at Seisler in surprise. It seemed this Seisler also knew of the existence of that formidable being in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
Seeing Lin Lei's astonishment, Seisler smiled. "Four Deity-level powerhouses — the War God and the High Priestess among humans, the sovereign of the Dark Forest among the magical beasts, and the King of the Magic Beast Mountain Range who revealed himself during the Day of Destruction."
"Lin Lei, when I underwent my Necromantic Inheritance, I learned that… a Deity-level powerhouse's body, by sheer physical robustness alone, already reaches the Saint Realm." Seisler said with certainty.
A Deity-level powerhouse's body was essentially a divine body. Divine spark, divine power, and divine body — combined, no Saint Realm expert could so much as harm them.
"So I believe that in order to manifest god-like power, the physical body itself must reach the Saint Realm. That's why… the Church of Light most likely cannot bring Deity-level angels down at all. Even if such high-ranking angels descended, bound by the constraints of a mortal body, they would be unable to wield god-like power." Seisler said confidently.
The Necromantic Inheritance was profoundly mysterious, and with Seisler being over eight hundred years old, he truly knew a great deal.
"Deity-level powerhouses!" Lin Lei marveled silently.
Across the vast expanse of the Yulan Continent, those four beings who stood at the absolute apex — any one of them could shake the world. When the Day of Destruction had begun, the appearance of Di Lin alone had forced both the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness to yield before him.
The Church of Light had its Descended Angels. But the Church of Darkness, which had rivaled the Church of Light for countless years — would they truly be any weaker?
Even the two of them combined dared not provoke that King of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, Di Lin.
The deterrent power of a Deity-level powerhouse — it was plain to see.
"I wonder when I'll reach that level too." Deep in his heart, Lin Lei burned with an endless yearning for Deity-level power.