"Ask me for a favor?"
Lin Lei looked at Cecil, puzzled. "Please, Lord Cecil, go ahead!"
Cecil was, after all, a veteran figure of the Sabre — one of the four great assassin organizations. If he needed something done in the mundane world, the Sabre could handle it. The fact that he was asking Lin Lei for help meant it was no small matter.
"Lin Lei, not long ago, didn't that pair of greedy fools O'Brien and Catherine tell you they wanted to unify the continent and divide it among themselves?" Cecil said.
"That did come up," Lin Lei confirmed with a nod.
Cecil nodded. "Whether the continent gets divided or not has nothing to do with me. But you know that Rosalyn and I have… a special relationship." He gave a small smile. "I know Rosalyn's temperament well. She's stayed at the Ice Snow Goddess Temple all this time — that means she truly cares about it."
Lin Lei nodded.
Rosalyn had cultivated for thousands of years and still remained at the temple. That alone showed how deeply she valued the Ice Snow Goddess Temple.
Look at the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness — how many powerful cultivators who had been training for thousands of years still remained within those institutions? After all, for beings who had cultivated for millennia, their goal was to ascend to godhood. Once they walked the path of becoming gods, why would they still need to worship other deities?
Gods were meant to be worshipped by others.
Rosalyn's continued presence at the Ice Snow Goddess Temple wasn't about worshipping the Ice Snow Goddess herself — it was because she had grown attached to the temple.
"The other day, O'Brien also said he wants the Northern Domain's eighteen duchies to fall under the O'Brien Empire," Cecil said, shaking his head helplessly. "Honestly, them being under his rule isn't the problem. But as you know, the O'Brien Empire long ago established that only the War God 'O'Brien' may be worshipped — all other religions are prohibited from existing."
Lin Lei nodded.
Even the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness could only maintain covert intelligence networks within the O'Brien Empire; they dared not openly spread their faith.
"Once those eighteen duchies are conquered, with the War God O'Brien's iron-fisted policies, he certainly won't allow the Ice Snow Goddess Temple to continue existing." Cecil frowned. "I'm worried Rosalyn might lose her head and end up opposing the O'Brien Empire."
Lin Lei understood Cecil's concern.
"Lord Cecil, why worry about that? As long as you're here, I trust the War God won't go too far," Lin Lei said with a smile.
Cecil nodded. "Right — as long as I'm alive, that's true. But if… what if I die in the Tomb of the Gods this time? Will the War God still be so courteous toward the Ice Snow Goddess Temple?" A hint of vexation crept between his brows.
"That…"
Lin Lei pondered for a moment. "Lord Cecil, why so little confidence?"
"It's not that." Cecil shook his head. "Lin Lei, you don't understand. Even though the four of us are all Lower Gods, the gap between Lower Gods can be enormous. It's like — you're both in the Saint Realm, but tell me, are you equal in strength to someone who just barely entered the Saint Realm?"
Just barely entered the Saint Realm?
Even a million Abyss Blade Demons were nothing but fodder before Lin Lei. The gap was literally heaven and earth.
"We're all Lower Gods, but my strength is the weakest of the four. For example, Di Lin — he's already at the peak of the Lower God realm and is rumored to be on the verge of breaking through to the Middle God level," Cecil said, shaking his head.
Cecil had, after all, only recently entered the Divine Realm.
The others — the War God had become a god over five thousand years ago, and the Grand Priestess had ascended ten thousand years ago. As for Di Lin, he had also become a god long before that, some ten thousand years past.
"If anyone in the Tomb of the Gods is most likely to die, it's really me," Cecil said.
"Then why go at all, Lord Cecil?" Lin Lei countered.
"For one, I have no choice but to go. For another…" Cecil's eyes brightened. "Living too comfortably and carefree for too long gets boring. I want to feel the thrill of dancing between life and death again. Back when I walked that razor's edge with Amanda… and the assassination career — it was truly heart-pounding, and something worth reminiscing about."
Cecil still had the heart of a warrior.
Lin Lei understood this in his heart.
Warriors of their caliber could never remain submerged in comfort forever. What they needed was battle, was passion, was breakthroughs, was reaching peak after peak!
"Lin Lei, will you help with Rosalyn's matter?" Cecil asked directly.
"Of course I will. Lord Cecil, do you really think I'd dare refuse?" Lin Lei said with a teasing grin.
"You brat." Cecil laughed.
Within ten years, Lin Lei would also become a god. More importantly — it was Lin Lei's relationship with Bei Bei and Belute. That was the real reason Cecil had come to ask for Lin Lei's help. Once Lin Lei was involved, even if the War God returned from the Tomb of the Gods, he wouldn't move against Rosalyn.
"Lin Lei, O'Brien, Catherine!"
A weathered voice suddenly echoed through Lin Lei's mind. It wasn't just Lin Lei — the War God on Mount War God, and the Grand Priestess in the capital of the Yulan Empire, all heard the same voice in their minds.
Lin Lei's expression changed.
Lord Belute!
"I know you wish to stir up war across the continent. I don't care what happens in the rest of the Yulan Continent — but there are two things you must remember. First, you are not to disturb the tranquility of the Dark Forest. Second, your armies are absolutely forbidden from entering the Northern Domain's eighteen duchies, and you must not slaughter indiscriminately within them. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Lord Belute."
The War God, the Grand Priestess, and Lin Lei all answered in their minds almost simultaneously.
Who would dare defy Belute's command?
Lord Belute withdrew his divine sense after delivering the order.
"That's truly terrifying — his divine sense covered nearly half the Yulan Continent in an instant," Lin Lei marveled. "Lord Belute's power is simply overwhelming, far beyond the War God and the others."
"What's wrong, Lin Lei?" Cecil asked, noticing Lin Lei had spaced out.
Lin Lei looked at Cecil and realized that Lord Belute had only telepathically contacted Lin Lei, the War God, and the Grand Priestess — none of the other powerhouses knew.
"Lord Cecil, weren't you worried about Rosalyn?" Lin Lei asked with a smile.
Cecil nodded, looking at Lin Lei quizzically.
"You don't need to worry anymore," Lin Lei said.
Cecil was momentarily stunned. "What happened?"