Chapter 791: Saint Jilesi

When he first saw the blood knight, Lei En was curious about how the blood knight obtained the power of the blood crystal, that is, the Holy Light power.

Later, when he saw an anomaly at the Faserlin Tower in Yongge City, he formed a hypothesis, but could not be certain.

Lei En does not wish to pry into the blood elves' secret; even though he commands five thousand blood knights, he pretends not to know. Yet now he has a plan and must get to the bottom of this, and having subjugated Liflin, he can learn the truth from her.

Sure enough, Liflin answered almost without hesitation.

"Blood Crystal Sacred Tree."

"Our power comes from the Blood Crystal Sacred Tree."

Liflin's face showed recollection as she softly said, "More than three hundred years ago, my teacher, Grand Mage Belo Wa, encountered a strange energy creature during a planar journey. It seemed to possess intelligence yet was hard to communicate with, and the teacher named it the Blood Crystal Sacred Tree; after capturing it, he brought it back to Yongge City."

"The Blood Crystal Sacred Tree is a Saint Rank anomaly, its temperament extremely violent; the teacher could only imprison it beneath the Faserlin Tower for study."

"The teacher discovered that watering the Blood Crystal Sacred Tree with fresh blood, after a period, it would bear seeds."

Lei En's brows tightened, "Watering with fresh blood?"

"Not the blood of blood elves; the blood of beasts will do," Liflin explained. "There are many beasts on Revenge Island, and the Blood Crystal Sacred Tree's thirst for blood is modest; a few hundred beasts each year suffice."

Lei En nodded.

He thought to himself that the blood knights' headaches and blood‑thirst issues clearly stem from the Tree's craving for blood.

"Does the blood crystal power come from its seeds?" Lei En asked.

"Yes."

Liflin replied, "If you fuse a blood crystal seed into the soul, you can wield the blood crystal power."

"This power aligns perfectly with my people, amplifying strength, defense and stamina, compensating for the blood elves' bodily shortcomings, granting healing, and restraining undead."

"At first, everyone in Yongge City was overjoyed."

"But it soon became apparent that blood knights have a major flaw: frequent headaches that cause mental split, a craving for fresh blood, eventually turning them into madmen who wreak havoc. Consequently, blood knights were expelled from Yongge City, and some left their homeland voluntarily."

Upon hearing this, Lei En knew the matter was not that simple.

The blood knight profession has too many advantages; the blood elf high command could not simply abandon it. As far as he knows, new blood knights have continued to be born over the years, indicating the class has not been wholly prohibited.

He smiled and asked, "Grand Mage Belo Wa never gave up his research on blood knights, did he?"

"Never."

Liflin shook her head, "The Regent not only tacitly approved the teacher's research, but repeatedly urged it in secret, hoping to resolve the blood knights' flaw quickly."

"Unfortunately, it was not completed before the teacher's sacrifice."

She sighed, "The teacher could have gone farther on the mage's path, but ever since obtaining the Blood Crystal Sacred Tree, he devoted all his time and effort to creating blood knights, spending nearly two hundred years, and finally developing a relatively stable Meditation Method, after which the blood knights were born."

"These years the teacher poured his heart into this, almost neglecting his own magical path."

"If it weren't for the blood knights, the teacher would not have been so easily killed."

Lei En nodded slightly, "My condolences."

He first saw Grand Mage Belo Wa at a funeral; it was odd then, as Belo Wa, a Thirty-level Grand Mage, was slain so easily by a Death Lord.

Spellcasters are the most powerful transcendent profession.

For spellcasters above Level 20, each rank gap represents more than a single step in power. There are only a handful of Thirty-level Grand Mages worldwide; even a Death Lord, however strong, should not have killed Grand Mage Belo Wa so swiftly.

Now he knows that Grand Mage Belo Wa had not focused on magic for several hundred years.

The pursuit of magical truth is a hard road, like rowing against the current; without progress one regresses. No matter how high the level, one cannot slack, requiring years of high‑intensity, high‑frequency casting to keep techniques refined, forming a conditioned reflex.

Too long without casting or insufficient training intensity quickly leads to rust.

Grand Mage Belo Wa is a pity.

Lei En let out a sigh, looked at the sorrowful Liflin, remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Is Yongge City still researching the blood knights' flaw?"

"Before I left Yongge City, I heard Grand Mage Romans took over," Liflin replied.

Lei En was not surprised by this.

Although they now provide Sunlight Blood, temporarily solving the blood knights' issue, Yongge City's populace surely refuses to be controlled by outsiders and will continue the research.

"Liflin," Lei En hesitated, his expression slightly playful, and asked, "Do you know the true nature of the blood crystal power?"

"Of course, the blood crystal power is the Holy Light power," Liflin's face grew complex, she sighed, "From the beginning, the teacher told me the Blood Crystal Sacred Tree wielded Holy Light power; the blood knights merged its seed and thus also obtained Holy Light power."

"But this Holy Light power is different—its color is blood‑red, twisted, cold…"

"Holy Light power is the authority of the Sun God; He does not permit anyone except Sun Knights to touch it. Though we reside on the New Continent, far from the Lamon Empire, a deity's wrath is unbearable for blood elves; to avoid exposure, it has always been called blood crystal power."

"In fact, many blood knights have guessed the truth."

"When they came to Gotham City and met the Gun‑Wing Knights, more blood knights understood; it has become an open secret."

Liflin couldn't help but feel uneasy.

The blood crystal power can still be concealed, but the Holy Blood power is too obvious.

Any transcendent with a hint of insight can at a glance see that Holy Blood power contains the formidable Holy Light power; Gotham City is not as xenophobic as Yongge City, and many transcendants come and go, so sooner or later a follower of the Sun God will learn the news.

What worries her more is the revered name of Saint Jilesi—Lord of Radiance!

This clearly conflicts with the Sun God's divine offices.

The Sun God Ge Weng holds many divine offices—"Sun", "Dawn", "Scorching Sun", "Dusk", "Light", "Flame", etc. —all of which can be linked to "Radiance"; once Ge Weng learns of Saint Jilesi's existence, even from the title alone, He may launch a divine war!

The first step of a divine war is to mobilize His church.

Since the Death Lord led the Catastrophe Legion to devastate the Empire, the Lamon Empire has not recovered to its former glory for over a thousand years.

Now the Empire's strength ranks last among the three great human Empires.

But the Sun Church is not only the state religion of the Empire; its headquarters are merely in the Empire. Dozens of neighboring human realms also worship the Sun God, and the Church's influence extends far beyond a single empire; countless Sun Knights, priests, and transcendent legions obey the Sun Church's commands.

Even though Gotham City lies on the New Continent, its single‑city might cannot resist the Sun Church's expedition.

This is still only a mortal‑level war.

Conflicts among deities will be even more brutal; can our lord Saint Jilesi withstand the Sun God's Ge Weng's onslaught?

"Lord Saint Jilesi..." Liflin wore a worried expression; she did not finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear—she feared Saint Jilesi was no match for the Sun God.

Lei En patted her shoulder.

He laughed, "The Lord of Radiance has his own plans; we need not waste effort guessing. You only need to develop followers within the Holy Spear Knight Corps, and leave the rest to Saint Jiles to worry about."

"Yes." Lifulin nodded in understanding.

The Eye of Soul saw that she was still uneasy, which was a good sign, showing she truly believed in Saint Jiles and shared the deity's worries, though it was actually unnecessary.

The Lord of Radiance, Saint Jiles, does not exist at all.

Even if the Sun God Ge Weng learned this revered name, He could find no opponent. Without an opponent, how could a divine war be launched?

His only possible target to strike is Gotham City and himself, and he cannot yet intervene directly in the mortal world.

The Sun Church is indeed powerful; the combined numbers of Sun Knights, priests, and the Transcendent Legion far exceed the Wizards and armies of the Aoruisse Empire, and the Sun Church controls the most nations and the greatest total area, making it the strongest mortal force in Ai Lun E Si.

Yet the Sun Church is far away.

It lies on a branch of the Old Continent, in the distant southwest "Black‑Afidlan Continent", also called the Dark Continent.

The Dark Continent's area is about one‑third of the Old Continent; most of its southern region is an arid desert, while the Ramon Empire occupies the north and connects to the Old Continent.

Further north lies the elves' homeland Aoroan, separated from it by the Inner Sea.

West of the Dark Continent and Aoroan is the "Falling Star Ocean"; sailing west can reach the east coast of the New Continent, the side where Gotham City stands.

Like the Wu Jin Zhi Hai, the Falling Star Ocean cannot be crossed by direct teleportation nor bypassed; one must sail across the vast sea.

But it is an extremely dangerous route.

The Falling Star Ocean harbors never‑ending storms, countless powerful sea monsters, and many forbidden zones; the most famous is a mysterious triangular area where ships that stray in rarely ever emerge safely.

A small force can cross the Falling Star Ocean, but a large legion can hardly do so.

Consequently, the Ramon Empire and the Sun Church's influence scarcely reaches the New Continent. On the New Continent, people from the Ramon Empire are rare, Sun Knights and priests are extremely uncommon, and the main forces opening the continent come from the east of the Old Continent, mostly Aoruen people.

Lei En pays no heed to the Sun Church's small‑scale legions.

By the time the Sun Church receives the news, the Holy Spear Knight Corps' strength will have already risen to a higher level, posing no threat. Even if the Sun Church were to strike, Lei En is untroubled; at that point, he should be a Holy Soul Wizard.

In short, as long as Saint Jiles does not ascend, he will not clash with the Sun God.

Its church is also beyond his reach.

Lei En need not explain these matters to Lifulin in detail; he can keep them to himself. Lei En's inquiry about the true purpose of Blood Crystal Blood was actually to forge a batch of Holy Blood Angels.

"Can you obtain seeds of the Blood Crystal Holy Tree?" Lei En asked, "I need to conduct some research."

Lifulin was somewhat surprised.

After a moment's thought she replied, "The Faethlin Spire produces hundreds of Blood Crystal Seeds each year; I don't have any on hand now, but if you want them, Lei En, I can return to Yongge City tomorrow and should be able to get some. How many do you need?"

"The more the better." Lei En naturally had no objection to quantity.

Lifulin gave Lei En a glance, seemed to guess something, and nodded, "Alright, I'll do my best."

With that said, Lei En lingered no longer.

The two stepped out of Lifulin's courtyard, and before departing Lei En thought again and said, "The Santara Residence can serve as the secret headquarters of the Lord of Radiance; only Saint Jiles's followers may enter. I will grant you teleportation permission; choose a suitable spot within the Santara Residence, convert it into Saint Jiles's chapel, and oversee its management."

"Henceforth, blessings from the Lord of Radiance to his followers will be held in the chapel."

Lei En spoke while pondering how to grant blessings; he could not appear himself, lest each blessing make him seem like a charlatan, which would be disgraceful.

He must devise a safe and covert method of blessing.

"Understood; I'll begin as soon as I return from Yongge City," Lifulin accepted the order.

Lei En opened a portal back to Gotham City, escorted Lifulin to her home, and then left. After the portal closed, Lifulin stood alone in the living room; everything around remained unchanged, yet she felt as if she were dreaming, profoundly unreal.

The overwhelming Holy Blood power within her told her that this was all real!

Lifulin walked to the floor‑to‑ceiling window, looked east, and saw the first ray of dawn about to shine; against the pale sky she could just make out the highland fortifications.

She could not see Lei En's figure.

Yet she could guess that Lei En must be in that direction now; Lifulin's eyes were wistful, and she let out a barely audible sigh.

After daybreak, Lifulin immediately set out for Yongge City.

The next day she returned and handed ten Blood Crystal Seeds to Lei En.

On this return, Lifulin did not disclose that she had already advanced to Saint Rank, and met with Regent Prince Asqiongge, stating her purpose outright. Asqiongge promptly produced the Blood Crystal Seeds, but also noted that Yongge City now greatly needs them and will not have surplus in the short term.

Having heard Lifulin's report, Lei En was thoughtful.

Apparently, after Yongge City obtained Sunlight Blood, it temporarily solved its headache problem and is now accelerating the cultivation of Blood Knights.

The two sides are allies; that is not a bad thing.

"Thank you for your effort."

Lei En tucked away the Blood Crystal Seeds, told Lifulin a word, and teleported himself to the seventh floor of the Obsidian Tower's magical laboratory.

A few newly created clones entered the laboratory; their split brains carried no Elements, making them indistinguishable from ordinary people.

The clones varied in build and appearance, but the one at the front stood out. He was over two meters tall, robust and muscular, his posture as perfect as a sculpture, his features handsome and dignified, his sharp gaze tempered with a hint of tolerance, like a hero stepped out of myth.

Lei En looked at the young man who resembled him in several ways and smiled.

"From today onward, you are Saint Jiles."

(End of Chapter)