In the tavern, Zuo Wuyou drowned his sorrows in wine, his expression vacant.
That Brother Yang, who had fought alongside him through every trial and hardship to make it back to the Holy City, was dead!
Just the day before, news had emerged from the Divine Palace — Brother Yang had failed the trial left behind by the first-generation Holy Maiden, proving he was not the true Holy Son but an impostor with ulterior motives. As a result, he had been jointly slain by the Banner Lords at the trial grounds!
When the news spread, Dawn was shaken. The followers simply could not accept it.
Countless years of waiting and suffering, and they had finally welcomed the person foretold by the prophecy — a sliver of light piercing through the darkness. Yet before even a single day had passed, that light was snuffed out, and the world plunged back into darkness.
But almost immediately after, another electrifying piece of news came from the Divine Palace.
The true Holy Son had secretly emerged ten years ago. That genuine Holy Son was the one foretold by the prophecy. He had long since passed the trial left by the first-generation Holy Maiden and earned the recognition of the Holy Maiden and numerous Banner Lords.
Over these ten years, he had secluded himself in cultivation, and his strength had reached the peak of the Shenyou Realm!
Now, the Holy Son was about to emerge from secession, and the Divine Church had begun marshaling its forces, preparing to launch a campaign against Mo Yuan!
The followers went mad. Dawn began to boil with excitement.
The second piece of news was simply too rousing, instantly washing away all the negative effects brought by the death of the false Holy Son. Everyone was immersed in yearning and anticipation for a bright future. As for that false Holy Son who had entered the city the day before in such resplendent glory… who was he again? Who even remembered?
Zuo Wuyou remembered!
Along the journey, he had witnessed firsthand how that Brother Yang had triumphed over the strong despite being weak, slaying a Shenyou Realm powerhouse with only the cultivation of the Zhenyuan Realm, wounding Blood Maiden, driving back the Earth Division Commander, and then miraculously bringing Blood Maiden to submission at his feet.
He had once believed that a Holy Son should possess exactly this kind of divine power — capable of accomplishing what ordinary people never could! Only such a Holy Son could shoulder the burden of saving the world!
Yet even a Brother Yang like that had been jointly struck down by the Banner Lords at the trial grounds.
The higher-ups of the Divine Church had further cemented his identity as a fraud…
Zuo Wuyou's mind was in utter turmoil. He no longer knew what the truth really was.
If that Brother Yang was an impostor, then why had he come to the Holy City to die?
And what about Chu Anhe?
And what about that unidentified Banner Lord who had secretly come to ambush them?
This world — real and fake, true and false — it was all too complicated…
Zuo Wuyou grabbed the wine jug before him, tilted his head back, and drank deeply!
He set down the jug and strode out. Someone of his straightforward nature was not suited for pondering over plots and conspiracies. He was born a servant of the Divine Church — the Divine Church had given him everything. Now that the Church was about to march on Mo Yuan, it was time for him to contribute his own strength!
The Radiant Divine Church's efficiency was remarkable. With the true Holy Son's emergence, each Banner mustered its troops. In just three days, army after army departed from the Holy City under their respective Banner Lords, splitting along four routes toward Mo Yuan.
Countless years of planning and preparation had left the Divine Church's army powerful and well-equipped. The Holy Son presided over the central army, lifting morale to unprecedented heights.
Soon, battles — large and small — erupted across every front.
Though the Mo Cult had been contending with the Divine Church all these years, both sides had maintained a certain degree of restraint. No one had expected that this time, the Divine Church would actually get serious.
Caught entirely off guard, the Mo Cult was sent scrambling. Vast swathes of territory they had held fell to the Divine Church's advance.
Four armies pressed forward in tandem, and city after city changed hands.
It was not until several days later that the blindsided Mo Cult managed to stabilize its position, gathering its scattered forces to hold defensible terrain.
The Primordial World was not actually very large. The overall scale of the world was fixed — how vast could its map really be?
If you split this world in two along an east-west divide, then the eastern half belonged to the Radiant Divine Church, while the western half was under the Mo Cult's control.
Between the territories of the two Churches lay a broad gray zone — a region that neither side had deliberately sought to control, effectively left to its own devices.
This zone had always been the most frequent flashpoint for clashes between the two faiths, a buffer that eased the friction between them.
Without an absolute force capable of defeating the opponent, such a buffer zone was absolutely necessary.
Near the western edge of this zone, close to the Mo Cult's territory, sat the small city of Fu'an. The city was modest in size, and its population was not particularly large.
The City Lord's cultivation was only at the first level of the Shenyou Realm — a portly, round-bellied fat man.
Originally, his strength would have been insufficient to serve as a city lord. However, because this was the mutually acknowledged buffer zone, he had been able to hold the position. Officially, he answered to neither side, but in reality, he had long since secretly pledged allegiance to the Mo Cult, covertly gathering intelligence for them from all directions.
After all, Fu'an was closer to the Mo Cult's territory. Such a course of action was only natural.
The portly City Lord had enjoyed this leisurely life for ten years, but today, he could no longer relax.
The Radiant Divine Church's army was charging straight toward them. Every city in the buffer zone had already fallen under the Church's control, and they would soon reach Fu'an.
At this critical moment, he had to make a choice — continue serving the Mo Cult in secret, or defect to the Radiant Divine Church.