The third chapter was titled "Certain Death?"
All the experts on the top floor of the Temple were perplexed. Lin Lei's soul was still far from condensing into a solid form — he was only a seventh-level mage at this point. Forget about a seventh-level mage, even a ninth-level grand mage would be unable to resist the purification power of faith from the 'Master of Light.' "How is this possible?" The ascetics, special-tier deacons, and vice-judges muttered to themselves, unable to believe what had happened.
"It actually failed. The Divine Descent didn't succeed in creating a God's Chosen. So what are we to do with this Lin Lei?" Haitins gazed at Lin Lei suspended in midair. "With talent like his, a hundred years would absolutely be enough to make him a peak Saint-level powerhouse. Perhaps even stronger than me. When that time comes, the glory of our Master of Light will surely shine across even broader lands."
Haitins truly couldn't bear to kill Lin Lei.
"Your Holiness?" Gilmore called out softly.
Haitins' dazed, bewildered eyes instantly returned to clarity. He had already made his decision.
"Your Holiness, Lin Lei failed to become God's Chosen. So what shall we do?" Gilmore asked.
Haitins looked at Lin Lei. Under his control, Lin Lei's body slowly drifted down to the ground. At that moment, Lin Lei propped himself up with one hand and stood straight. There wasn't a single injury on his body — one had to admit, the Divine Descent did have some small benefits.
Lin Lei looked at the ring of powerful figures surrounding him.
"Every single one of these people is at least a ninth-level powerhouse. If I resist, I won't stand a chance." Lin Lei fixed his cold gaze on Haitins and the group, speaking aloud. "Your Holiness the Pope, what exactly do you intend to do with me?"
A smile suddenly appeared on Haitins' face. "Don't ask too many questions. Deacons, take Lin Lei back to the secret chamber."
"Yes, Your Holiness." The six special-tier deacons nodded.
Without giving Lin Lei any opportunity to question further, the six special-tier deacons strode directly toward him. One of them even barked, "Move it. Do you want us to drag you?"
The situation left Lin Lei no choice.
"Fine." Lin Lei pushed open the door and headed straight down. The six special-tier deacons followed right behind him as Lin Lei descended floor by floor. Every guard they passed who saw the six deacons treated them with the utmost respect.
All six special-tier deacons wore long blue robes, and the cold stares they directed at Lin Lei made him feel that — the moment he made any suspicious move, these six would likely kill him on the spot.
Once the six special-tier deacons had escorted Lin Lei away, another figure — a female cardinal in red robes named Marina — asked, "Your Holiness, Lin Lei did not become God's Chosen. Though we don't understand the reason, we must now make a decision about how to handle him."
Gilmore and the others all looked toward Haitins.
They all knew Lin Lei was a genius, but Lin Lei had not become God's Chosen, and on top of that, his mother had been killed by their Church of Light. The Church had to make a decision — whether to take the risk of sheltering Lin Lei and keep the truth about his mother hidden, or simply kill him outright.
They could hide the truth about his mother for a time, but once Lin Lei rose to become a high-ranking member of the Church of Light, the secret would likely be impossible to conceal.
Haitins' expression was calm and indifferent as he said coldly, "Kill him."
Gilmore and the others felt a tremor in their hearts.
"In two more days it will be the Yulan Festival, which comes only once every ten thousand years. We'll kill Lin Lei after the festival," Haitins declared directly.
Gilmore, who had interacted with Lin Lei more closely than the others, sighed inwardly.
A genius who could have dominated the Yulan Continent — yet now his fate had been decided. Gilmore knew full well that Lin Lei was being held inside the Church of Light's Temple. There was absolutely no way he could escape — he didn't even have a chance of getting out of the secret chamber.
"That 'Xise' has some connection to Lin Lei, but even Xise wouldn't have the power to break into the Church of Light Temple and rescue Lin Lei," Gilmore sighed to himself.
Lin Lei was going to die — certain death.
Inside the secret chamber on the ninth floor of the Church of Light Temple.
"Get in."
Once Lin Lei entered the chamber, the six special-tier deacons sealed the door shut once more.
As the six deacons turned to leave, a silver-haired middle-aged man glanced back at Lin Lei. "Kid, let me give you a word of warning. Your strength may have recovered, but don't even think about breaking out of this chamber."
The other five deacons also paused. A balding old man smiled faintly. "Break out of the chamber? Kid, if you could break out of this chamber, it would mean your strength has at least reached the Pope's level."
"What do you mean?" Lin Lei asked.
He genuinely couldn't see anything special about this chamber. With his dragonified ninth-level warrior strength, ordinary stone buildings were like paper to him — he could pierce through them with ease.
"The Church of Light Temple is the greatest structure of our Church of Light. The entire Temple contains a massive magic array within it, called the 'Glory of the Master of Light.' Neither from the outside nor from within is it possible to damage even the slightest part of the Temple," the silver-haired middle-aged man said with pride. "Kid, I'll tell you — the only way for you to break out of this chamber is to destroy the chain that locks the gate. And I'll tell you this much: that chain contains 'Black Obsidian' forged within it."
With that, the six special-tier deacons left together, laughing amongst themselves.
Lin Lei fell silent.
The moment he heard the name 'Black Obsidian,' he understood — he most likely couldn't break it.
"Black Obsidian. Legend has it that when the Earth System spell 'Earth Guardian Holy Armor' reaches the divine level, the guardian armor is composed of 'Black Obsidian.' Its defensive power is so formidable that it can withstand multiple attacks from a divine-level powerhouse. As for Saint-level powerhouses — they simply cannot break through it."
Lin Lei himself was an Earth System mage, so he naturally knew the legendary pinnacle of the 'Earth Guardian Holy Armor.' At the Saint-level Grand Mage stage, the Earth Guardian Holy Armor was at the 'diamond' tier. Once one broke through to the divine level, it became the 'Black Obsidian' Holy Armor.
"Lin Lei, from what I can tell, this is probably the chamber the Church of Light uses to imprison ninth-level powerhouses and even Saint-level ones," Derinkoort said. "Although that chain only contains Black Obsidian rather than being made entirely of it, breaking it would be extremely difficult even for a Saint-level powerhouse."
Lin Lei nodded.
He now understood what that special-tier deacon had said: 'If you could break out of this chamber, it would mean your strength has at least reached the Pope's level.'