The dimly lit room was thick with the smell of potent herbs, mingled with heavy incense that made the combined scent dizzying.
On a bed draped with exquisite brocade and silk blankets, an aged scholar had finally reached the last stage of his life.
The atmosphere in the room was deathly silent, punctuated only by the occasional muffled sob that was quickly suppressed.
Leilin stood among the gathered visitors in a black formal suit, his expression impassive, his gaze fixed on the elder lying on the bed.
His face had lost all trace of its former youthfulness, replaced by a maturity that made him a fine-looking young man.
And the old man on the bed was none other than Anthony.
This scholar was, after all, an ordinary mortal. Signs of his life force failing had shown long before, and the fact that he had held on until now far exceeded Leilin's expectations.
But Leilin had come here not only out of a student's duty to bid farewell to his teacher — he had something more important to accomplish.
At that moment, Anthony's body gave a sudden convulsion, his throat undulating, a faint flush rising to his face — clearly the final rally before death.
"A priest! Quickly, call a priest!"
His wife screamed, and the children beside her burst into tears.
"The deity watches over you from the divine kingdom!"
The crowd parted on both sides, revealing the compassionate face of Bishop Tabris.
"Thank you! Thank you, Your Excellency the Bishop!" Anthony's wife wept. As a bishop of the God of Knowledge, Tabris held a very high status on Folan Island. The fact that he had come personally to receive Anthony was a tremendous honor — though Leilin suspected this had more to do with the Folan family's influence. Regardless, it was a good thing, wasn't it?
"This life of mine... beginning from the island of Sicily..."
Tabris waved his hand, sprinkling a shower of holy light that stabilized Anthony's condition. The old man then began his final prayer — or perhaps, his final reminiscence.
"Leilin, my student, I hope to see the day you succeed. Even from within the divine kingdom, I will silently bless you!"
"I understand, Teacher!" Leilin quickly stepped forward two paces. The Chip's detection capabilities were already running at maximum power.
That Anthony had managed to mention Leilin even in his final words moved Tabris somewhat. It was clear the old man truly cared for this student — his investment had not been misplaced after all.
"I... see the radiance of the deity..."
Anthony made one last effort, reaching his hand forward, but the light in his eyes faded, and his arm dropped limply to the edge of the bed.
"Anthony... dear Anthony..." A chorus of wailing rose together.
Tabris's expression grew even more compassionate as he delivered the eulogy: "...He was a wise scholar and a kind man who loved to help others. As a faithful follower of the God of Knowledge, Anthony Brandon lived his entire life upholding the deity's teachings, and in death, the gates of the divine kingdom shall surely open for him..."
"It appeared!"
A flash of excitement flickered in Leilin's eyes. Through his extraordinary perception, he saw a golden gate of light.
The great door slowly opened, and divine radiance poured down. Within that sacred light, Anthony's soul rose involuntarily from his body, took one last lingering look at the mortal world, and then resolutely cast itself into the divine kingdom.
"The deity's divine kingdom... a higher plane of existence above the Prime Material World..." Leilin sighed inwardly.
"Furthermore, the souls of ordinary believers must first descend into the Netherworld and undergo judgment by the God of Death before they can ascend to their respective deity's divine kingdom. But Anthony's soul seems to have skipped this step entirely — is this the privilege of a bishop?"
Leilin pondered this thoughtfully.
Once a believer's soul reached the divine kingdom, it was theoretically transformed into a petitioner, freed from the cycle of birth, aging, illness, and death. As long as the deity did not fall and the divine kingdom was not destroyed, one could exist alongside the deity indefinitely.
In a sense, this was a form of immortality — though it could not withstand any external disturbance.
"In legend, high-ranking petitioners can even achieve a leap in their soul's level, becoming existences like saint spirits... Each saint spirit is a deity's most precious treasure, yet their numbers are extremely scarce..."
In Leilin's view, those saint spirits — existences that were deathless and indestructible in soul form — bore a striking resemblance to soul solidification.
Meaning that every saint spirit's soul could, in theory, rival the true spirit of a sixth-level Daybreak Wizard.
"Though the formation of saint spirits relies entirely on external forces, they benefit from being bound to a deity, free from the burden of mortality. Over countless ages, the defensive power accumulated within the divine kingdom must be truly terrifying..."
Countless petitioners, saint spirits, and the supreme spatial authority of the deity made a deity's combat power within their divine kingdom virtually invincible.