Chapter 654: Your God Cannot Protect You!

"Mm?"

Xu Jingming narrowed his eyes and turned his head to look.

He saw a youth in a pale-gold long robe, surrounded by a crowd, walking toward this side.

The youth's rank was not particularly high—only about the lower tier of the fourth rank, by the look of him—and his face was full of arrogance.

But the people clustered around him were at minimum sixth rank, and there was even an eighth-rank Grandmaster among them!

"Holy Son?"

The nun Sophia's expression shifted slightly, and she quickly said:

"This is Xu Jingming of Great Xia, an honored guest invited by the Goddess herself!"

Dennis, possessor of an S-rank elemental earth-type ability.

Although his rank was not high, he was the Holy Son of the Holy Church of Light, and wielded enormous power.

"I know who he is."

Dennis grinned. "And I also know he's the double champion of the Genius Tournament?

So what? Aren't the people of Great Xia just a bunch of faithless inferior race?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Xia Lan's pretty face immediately chilled.

Blue Star had well over a hundred nations, most of which had religious faith.

The Great Xia people, who had no religious faith, were indeed the odd ones out among them.

But that was no reason for others to use it as a weapon against them!

The more she thought about it, the angrier Xia Lan grew.

If they were anywhere else, she would have already made a move.

But this was the Holy Church of Light's territory—once a fight broke out, getting away would likely be difficult.

The other side clearly knew this too, which was why they had come to make trouble despite knowing full well who Xu Jingming was.

"Jingming, let Catherine handle it. If she can't handle it, then we won't bother attending this so-called celebration either."

Xia Lan transmitted to Xu Jingming through spiritual force.

Clearly she was furious.

But she hadn't lost her reason—letting Catherine step forward was the best way to deal with this.

Xu Jingming did not reply, only looked at Dennis:

"So you're very proud of your faith?"

"Of course. I am the most devoted follower of the God of Light." Dennis piously made the sign of the cross over his chest.

"Oh? Then if you were in mortal danger, would the so-called God of Light you speak of protect you?"

Xu Jingming asked curiously.

"What?"

Dennis was stunned, seemingly unable to grasp what that sentence meant.

"I mean, if I beat you to death right here, will I get to see your so-called God of Light?"

Xu Jingming's eyes suddenly turned icy.

BOOM!!

In an instant, resplendent golden Lei Ting flared to life.

A ferocious pressure erupted without warning, and Xu Jingming's body surged forward like a beast suddenly lunging!

Accompanied by a dragon's roar, his right fist, wreathed in Lei Guang, thundered out like an enraged dragon!

That lethal aura left Dennis rigid all over, unable to move a muscle!

Hum—

A seventh-grade protective talisman sensed the deadly aura and instantly formed a shield in front of Dennis.

BANG!!

In the blink of an eye, Xu Jingming's right fist shattered the shield and slammed into Dennis's chest.

PFFT!!

Dennis's chest caved in sharply, and he spat a mouthful of fresh blood mingled with fragments of his internal organs.

His body was sent flying backward by the tremendous impact, knocking over several nearby sixth-rank ability users.

He dragged a long trail of blood across the clean floor, sliding out more than ten meters before finally coming to a stop.

"You!!"

On the ground, the barely-breathing Dennis struggled to tilt his head up and look at Xu Jingming.

He had never imagined that, on the Holy Church of Light's own turf, Xu Jingming would actually dare to strike him!

Before he could finish speaking, Dennis's head lolled to one side and he lost consciousness completely.

"It seems the so-called God of Light you speak of failed to protect you."

As the crackling thunder subsided, Xu Jingming said lightly.

By now, everyone in the Holy Church of Light's great hall had long been stunned speechless.

The believers especially, their faces full of shock.

Dennis!

The Holy Son of the Holy Church of Light! Nearly beaten to death by a single punch!

Xia Lan too stared wide-eyed, her small red lips slightly parted, her breathing quick, her proud bosom rising and falling gently along with it.

Bro!

You really are my own dear brother!

That was simply too fierce!

If it weren't for that protective talisman from earlier, this Dennis would have truly been beaten to death by Xu Jingming!

More importantly, they were still on the Holy See's territory!

She could already sense that the eighth-rank Master Zongshi beside Dennis was brewing with fury.

"Jingming, grab my hand, we'll teleport away immediately!" Xia Lan hurriedly transmitted via spiritual force.

As a fifth-rank ability user, she wasn't confident she could teleport away right under the nose of an eighth-rank Master Zongshi.

But at this point, she could only give it a try.

Yet Xu Jingming didn't listen to her at all, and instead smiled at that eighth-rank Master Zongshi:

"What? You still want to make a move?"

The eighth-rank Master Zongshi beside them, eyes blazing with fury, froze upon hearing this.

Xu Jingming was the double champion of the Genius Tournament, the current number one prodigy of Blue Star.

If they touched him, Great Xia would very likely go to war with the United States over it.

Therefore, even though Dennis was already seriously injured, he had never intended to use heavy hands—just a light injury would do.

But he hadn't expected Xu Jingming to be so arrogant.

"Xu Jingming, Dennis is our Holy Son, you've already crossed the line!"

The deep voice of this eighth-rank Master Zongshi rang out.

The tremendous oppressive aura that erupted from it made everyone in the hall look over in shock and suspicion.

"Isn't that Priest Rio? Why does he look so angry?"

"Hiss, why has Holy Son Dennis collapsed?"

"Could that young man be Xu Jingming of Great Xia?"

"......"

In an instant, discussions rose on all sides.

Xia Lan's palms were drenched in sweat, her spatial ability rippling faintly, ready to grab Xu Jingming and flee at any moment.

But Xu Jingming remained calm and composed, seemingly unable to sense the aura about to erupt from Master Zongshi Rio.

Just as both sides were at daggers drawn, on the verge of clashing, a shout of rebuke came from the other side:

"Xu Jingming is a guest I invited. Priest Rio, what do you think you're doing?"

Katherine walked over, displeasure showing on her face.

She wore a pale-gold robe, with exquisite golden embroidery at the collar and cuffs.

Together with the noble golden ornaments on her head, it radiated an aura of nobility and holiness.

A head of long golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall, gently brushing past her slender waist.

Falling to the curve of her pert hips.

Compared to her usual attire, Katherine now brimmed with holiness and majesty.

"My lord."

Seeing Katherine suddenly appear, everyone in the hall—including that eighth-rank Master Zongshi—respectfully bowed and offered greetings.

Xia Lan also breathed a sigh of relief, her spatial ability retracting.

Only Xu Jingming looked somewhat disappointed.

This priest was merely a lower eighth-rank Master Zongshi.

He had still wanted to test how this one's strength differed from the eighth-rank opponents simulated in the virtual world.

It seemed there would be no such chance.

But it was fine—giving Dennis a thorough beating was satisfying enough.