Chapter 463: He Might Not Be Able to Defeat Me

"Hong Yu, my most faithful follower, you have done well."

"The night is deep, people are quiet; all sounds are silent."

"The church that once echoed with fervent preaching and dark radiance in the daytime now has only Grand Archbishop Hong Yu alone."

"He knelt alone before the altar, facing that statue, as if silently praying."

"However, the speaker was not him."

"The voice sounded directly in his mind, peaceful and majestic, carrying a non-human hollow echo."

"It was that very statue!"

"Only seen on the altar, the surface of the originally silent stone statue rippled with a dark, water-like faint light."

"Immediately after, two points of deep, soul-absorbing gloomy light lit up at the statue's eyes."

"He is alive!"

"Its stone body did not change material, yet it moved unusually agilely down from its pedestal, its heavy footsteps making a faint 'ta, ta' on the silent church floor as it walked straight to the kneeling Hong Yu."

"Hong Yu lowered his head further, his forehead almost touching the cold ground, his voice extremely reverent:"

"\"Yes, for You, everything is what I should do! Insignificant! \""

"The statue did not respond immediately, merely slowly raising its stone hand and lightly pressing it onto Hong Yu's lowered head."

"At the instant the hand made contact, a vision suddenly arose!"

"Outside the church, the clear, cold moonlight seemed pulled by an invisible force, thread by thread, like a tangible silver stream, penetrating the church's ancient stained-glass window and converging into a concentrated beam of light."

"It fell from the vault, precisely enveloping Hong Yu, and continuously poured into his body from the point where the statue's hand touched his head!"

"Hong Yu shuddered all over, involuntarily letting out a suppressed sigh of relief."

"That moonlight was not ordinary natural light; it contained extremely pure energy."

"This energy domineeringly washed over his limbs, bones, meridians and apertures, cleansing the dark wounds and impurities accumulated in his cultivation."

"Crack—"

"It was as if the faint sound of an intangible shackle breaking echoed within his body."

"The cultivation bottleneck that had troubled him for years, which he thought he could never break through in a lifetime, shattered like thin ice under the influx of this vast energy!"

"His realm instantly leapt upward, his aura becoming powerful at an astonishing speed!"

"The statue seemed to know all this; only after the moonlight infusion ceased and the newly surging power in Hong Yu's body gradually settled and stabilized did it slowly withdraw its hand, and its voice sounded again:"

"\"I grant you part of the authority and essence of a Wisdom Angel. \""

"Upon hearing this, Hong Yu suddenly raised his head, his eyes bursting with uncontainable joy!"

"\"Wisdom Angel! It is a noble being in the high ranks of Heaven, governing wisdom and guarding God's holy majesty. \""

"\"Even just 'part' of the authority and essence means he has completely broken free from the range of ordinary cultivators, his life level undergoing a qualitative change! \""

"\"Now he is confident that even when facing innate immortals and angels, he has the strength to fight, possibly even to win! \""

"He again bowed deeply, his voice extremely excited:"

"\"I am grateful for my Lord's supreme grace! Hong Yu wishes to lay down his liver and brains, to follow my Lord forever! \""

"\"No need for that. \" The statue's voice remained calm, revealing no joy or anger:"

"\"You work for me, I give rewards; it's merely a fair trade. \""

"He no longer paid attention to the excited Hong Yu, but slightly turned his head, directing that pair of deep 'gazes' toward the distant east, as if penetrating the church's stone walls, crossing the vast ocean, and landing directly on a certain place in Xia Guo."

"More precisely, it was on a certain person's body."

"Silence persisted for a long time; only Hong Yu's somewhat heavy breathing remained in the church."

"Finally, the statue withdrew its 'gaze' and spoke:"

"\"Recall immediately all followers engaged in activities in Xia Guo. \""

"Hong Yu blinked, instinctively asking: \"My Lord, is the plan changed, or... have they been abandoned? \""

"He would not think that his Lord was worried about their safety."

"Just as he had said to those followers earlier."

"A god must have divinity, be exalted above all, indifferent to everything; thus a human life would naturally not be in a god's eyes."

"\"He has already detected my existence. \""

"The statue did not specify who 'he' was, but Hong Yu instantly understood—it was that Saint, Yu Lin!"

"The statue continued: \"You shall not set foot in Xia Guo from now on. \""

"He paused, then added the most crucial sentence, the one that made Hong Yu's heart chill:"

"\"The 'Existence Erasure' ability I previously granted you is now useless against him. \" (The cult sect leader mentioned in chapter 15 by Su Qu)"

"Hong Yu did not ask questions like 'Why did it fail?' or 'Just how strong is he?'"

"Years of following and a secretive life let him know that for the Lord's orders, whether understood or not, they must be carried out, and understanding deepens in execution."

"Excessive doubt itself is a manifestation of disloyalty and weakness."

"He again lowered his head deeply, his tone obedient:"

"\"Yes, I will obey my Lord's commands and act immediately. \""

"\"Hmm. \" The statue uttered only a simple syllable, which counted as a response."

"Afterward, he slowly turned back, returning to his original position on the altar."

"Just before completely solidifying into a sculpture, he left a final admonition:"

"\"More time is needed, and patience is required. \""

"When the words fell, the statue fell completely silent, all unusual aura retracted, returning to being a stone carving, as if the earlier conversation, grant, and moonlight infusion were merely a dream."

"Hong Yu did not rise immediately, but kept his kneeling posture and waited quietly for a moment."

"Only after confirming that the Lord's will had indeed temporarily withdrawn, with only him left in the church amidst complete silence, did he slowly straighten his body, moving his knees that had stiffened from prolonged kneeling."

He stood up, his gaze complex as he looked toward the statue on the altar that had returned to deathly silence, his eyes interweaving awe with a trace of deeply suppressed resentment and… a sense of comparison.

"This Saint Yu Lin…"

He murmured to himself, his voice unusually clear in the empty Church:

"Truly, he's gotten Jesus… no, he's gotten a great deal of 'preferential treatment' from that false god."

This rate of growth, this degree of "favor", made Hong Yu feel a faint sting.

"Saint… ha, what a Saint."

A cold, sharp curve lifted the corner of his mouth.

But soon, that negative emotion born of comparison was replaced by the newly‑born, surging, powerful sense of force belonging to the essence of the "wise angel" within him.

Hong Yu slowly clenched a fist, feeling the rushing energy in his muscles, a confidence unlike any before soaring upward.

"Now, I also possess the powers of the wise angel…"

A cold glint flashed in Hong Yu's eyes, like a blade drawn from its sheath:

"He, Yu Lin, may not be able to defeat me!"

"Just wait…"

Hong Yu looked eastward, as if he could, across endless distance, meet the figure he now regarded as his arch‑rival:

"In the future, I too will receive more of my Lord's gifts, and even… become 'Holy'…"

"…then you and I will test each other!"

With a sweeping motion of his wide black sleeves, Hong Yu no longer lingered, turned, and strode out of the dark Church.

His figure vanished beneath the night.