Chapter 717

And as Saint Spirit Kino prayed, the power on his body rapidly increased!

Clearly, Star God Hulington had opened a channel through the faith-line, remotely enhancing Saint Spirit Kino's power!

For a Saint Spirit battle, Star God Hulington had no need to descend personally.

Even here in the Heavenly Realm, descending across such vast distances consumed considerable divine power—it was far more efficient to simply transmit power directly.

Besides… if a god had to do everything himself, that god would have no dignity at all!

"You're finished!"

Suddenly, a layer of divine light erupted over Saint Spirit Kino, blocking Gassia's Holy Judgment.

Star God Hulington had bestowed upon him a divine blessing!

This layer of divine light was not easy to break!

"She's had her faith-line sealed—she's at a huge disadvantage, He Li. Shouldn't we help her?"

At this moment, one of the two new gods nearby spoke.

These two new gods were clearly goddesses—but human goddesses, not elf-line ones.

"No, Airen. This battle involves two gods at least at the Second Tier. Our strength means nothing before a Second Tier god. Don't meddle."

Said the other new god, He Li.

The new god who had suggested helping fell silent.

Her companion had a point.

Whether Gassia or Saint Spirit Kino, both were immensely powerful Saint Spirits.

Only a Second Tier god could cultivate a Saint Spirit of such strength.

And for new gods like them, neither of these Second Tier gods was someone they could afford to provoke.

If either Second Tier god descended, even a single attack could kill them!

After existing in the Heavenly Realm for countless years, the number of gods was not small. For a new god to grow strong, one crucial rule was: don't meddle in others' affairs.

In short: hide and cultivate. Don't be reckless!

Gods have endless time. If you don't grow strong in ten years, take a hundred. If not in a hundred, take a thousand. If not in a thousand, take ten thousand!

As long as you don't die, there will always be a day you rise!

This logic applied equally to a god.

Of course, if one had the courage, one could risk it—like now. If these two new gods had the resolve, they could aid Gassia.

Even as new gods, they were still gods. They could shatter Saint Spirit Kino's seal on the faith-line!

Once Gassia broke free, after Weivela descended, Weivela might reward them with something trivial—and these two new gods could save decades, even more, of cultivation time.

But clearly, these two new gods lacked the courage.

In the sky, as Gassia saw Saint Spirit Kino's divine light block her Holy Judgment, her expression changed slightly.

That layer of divine light was too solid. To destroy it, Gassia would need at least dozens of Holy Judgments.

But how could Saint Spirit Kino give her that chance?

After all, Gassia still bore the Chains of Light!

Now, Gassia was launching her Holy Judgment while bound by the Chains of Light!

This was her unique ability!

Like Medusa's "Petrifying Gaze," it activated instantly—she didn't need to understand its mechanism, only to wield it.

Even the Chains of Light could not stop it.

But the problem was: with the Chains of Light on her, Gassia could not flee.

"This time, you have no way to escape!"

Saint Spirit Kino surged into the sky, his dagger thrusting toward Gassia!

With that layer of divine light, he had no fear of Gassia's Holy Judgment in the short term!

The difference between having divine aid and having none was immense.

Saint Spirit Kino intended to rip out Gassia's heart this time!

Gassia felt a flicker of despair.

She certainly knew more than just Holy Judgment—but Holy Judgment was her strongest and most effective combat technique.

And bound by the Chains of Light, she could only use Holy Judgment.

Now, with Saint Spirit Kino wrapped in divine light, Gassia had no way to harm him in the short term.

"Right—the flame!"

At the critical moment, Gassia finally remembered the flame bestowed by Weivela.

It was a flame granted by the Lord of Flame—the head of the divine sect Weivela had joined, and also Weivela's beloved male deity, stronger even than Weivela herself!

Gassia's spirit plunged deep into her body, where she saw a tiny flame burning beside her heart.

The flame was small—no larger than a thumb—like the flame of an oil lamp on the Continent of Gods.

But given Gassia's size, the flame was roughly one-tenth the size of her body.

As Saint Spirit Kino lunged toward her, Gassia spat out the flame.

"Boom!"

The moment she spat it out, the flame rapidly expanded, burning away the Chains of Light on her body!

Then the fire licked onto Saint Spirit Kino's divine light.

The divine light that had withstood dozens of Gassia's Holy Judgments now burst like a soap bubble!

It even made a soft "pop" sound.

Saint Spirit Kino's face turned pale.

At the critical moment, using the half-second window granted by the Divine Light, he sharply changed direction, barely avoiding the exploding flames!

Yet, under the searing heat of the flames, Saint Spirit Kino continued screaming in agony, his strength reduced by more than half!

This flame appeared swiftly and vanished even faster—it was not a continuously burning fire; its purpose was more like helping Gassia shatter all restraints, clear all obstacles, and even block any incoming attacks.

But its duration was extremely short.

Yet its effect was astonishing!

This effect was not visual—it was actual, tangible.

"What kind of flame is that? It shattered every seal outright—the Faith Lines have returned to normal. Let's fall back; a deity might descend soon."

At this moment, the new deity He Li, who had prevented the new deity Airen from acting, spoke.

Beside new deity He Li, the new deity Airen faintly felt that her failure to act decisively in aiding Gassia had likely cost her the greatest opportunity of her life!

Acting now was already too late!

She didn't need it anymore!

"You can pray now!"

Gassia sensed it too.

She rapidly prayed in her heart while pursuing Saint Spirit Kino with Holy Judgment!

Saint Spirit Kino, desperately fleeing, failed to notice that the Faith Lines had been restored—he cried out in prayer within his mind!

"Ahh~~"

As soon as he began praying, Saint Spirit Kino let out a shriek of agony.

Because Gassia's Holy Judgment had struck him nearly dead.

"It's over!"

Despair welled up in Saint Spirit Kino's heart.

He had worked so hard to become Saint Spirit Captain.

You should know that although a Holy Spirit usually commands a team of ten, a god typically only has one or two hundred Holy Spirits in regular use.

【82】 Although Saint Spirits typically formed squads of ten, a deity usually maintained only one or two hundred in active service.

These one or two hundred Saint Spirits were the most powerful among all Saint Spirits within a deity's divine realm.

And the Saint Spirit Captain was one of the deity's primary combat assets!

When divine wars erupted, the first clashes were between Saint Spirits—each Saint Spirit Captain's forces would swell hundreds, even a thousandfold.

But now, if he died, even if resurrected, he would likely become just an ordinary Saint Spirit within the divine realm.

Nothing like the glory he had now!

"Pathetic waste!"

Suddenly, a cold, merciless voice rang out.

Upon hearing this voice, Saint Spirit Kino felt no shame from being scolded—instead, his heart swelled with joy!