The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing

In the central hall of the first cathedral of the Celestial Church,

all the candidate saints had disappeared.

Layer upon layer of barriers and magicians wrapped into a gigantic celestial body, with countless stars operating and flowing within,

vast magic power flowing out from the alchemic magic circle, converging at the heart of the celestial body—this is the Astral Terminal that connects to the Nether World.

Aside from priests from various churches who had come to attend the ceremony, three high-ranking individuals, equivalent to bishops, were inspecting the situation, with Bishop Lannis of the Celestial Church being one of them.

After listening to Bishop Lannis's comforting words, Priest Paxi also felt relieved.

He actually understood that he had been worrying too much.

The inspector this time was the absolutely neutral Celestial Messenger; no matter how strange those three kids from the borderlands were, they surely couldn't make the Celestial Messenger change the rules, right?

Now that he thought about it, he indeed had been too sensitive.

With these thoughts, his mood gradually relaxed.

"According to the schedule, all candidate saints have already selected their holy relics."

Bishop Lannis said, "Next is the personality verification—based on their personality traits, it will be decided what initial identities are most suitable for them."

"How are they being verified this time?"

Priest Paxi knew that the method of personality verification varied every time, with all sorts of twists and turns, all decided by the Celestial Messenger.

During personality verification, saints will temporarily forget everything to ensure their components are determined by their most genuine reactions.

The identities obtained by the saints are mostly soldiers, merchants, etc., and exceptional saints with leadership abilities might also become officials, nobles, clergy, and the like.

"This time it's simple," Bishop Lannis said slowly, "The theme is 'collective witch hunt,' so it will be a real battle—analyzing their personality through combat."

"The team they form will be matched against an equally numbered and leveled team of suffering cultists, which is also the first hurdle of the examination."

"Teams that fail will lose the right to enter the Nether World."

Bishop Lannis added, "However, our candidates will not truly die, because this second-tier fragment of the Nether World currently belongs to the true gods and is part of the church's world."

A Nether World belonging to the true gods is also known as the church's world.

Saints who die in the church's world won't truly die; they'll simply lose their memories of the Nether World, whereas invading cultists who die inside will indeed meet their end.

But if the saints' main mission fails completely, the fragment of the Nether World will be snatched away by the cultists, and the cultists' piece of the Nether World is known as the esoteric world.

Each respective Nether World must be opened regularly for believers to re-conquer it, or it will degenerate into a borderland world—and this is also the opportunity for invasion.

The esoteric religion of the stars has listed the reconquest of this second-tier world as a test subject for the candidate saints, with only second-tier and lower believers allowed entry.

It's simple to distinguish between saints and cultists,

entering the Nether World from the terminal of the Celestial Church makes one a saint, and entering from the terminal of the esoteric religion makes one a cultist.

The unclaimed fragments of the world that appear beyond the imperial capital's borders are known as the "borderland worlds" and represent the greatest battleground between the church and the esoteric religion.

After hearing Bishop Lannis's words, Priest Paxi was reassured.

He leaned back in his chair, relaxed,

waiting for the saints' return.

——

The Celestial Messenger watched expressionlessly as An Su stowed away six holy relics in his pouch.

The young boy's face was aglow with a sunlit smile, brimming with the joy of harvest, while his two companions behind him clutched their bellies, curling up like worms and twisting in pain,

The stark contrast between light and shadow made it really hard for the Celestial Messenger to discern An Su's composition.

By all accounts, An Su should be a saint.

"Where exactly do you come from?" the Messenger asked An Su.

From the terminal of the orthodox church, or from the terminal of the esoteric religion...

A saint, or a cultist?

"I come from the borderlands," An Su replied, remembering his father's earnest teachings, which were filled with nostalgia and bittersweet reflection, and answered directly.

Beyond the orthodox and the esoteric, a third type emerged: borderlanders.

The Celestial Messenger exhaled a helpless sigh; well, An Su's composition would be revealed in the upcoming personality test.

"Next, I will guide you to your most authentic selves—don't worry though,"

the Celestial Messenger said softly. "Nothing that happens in this process will be disclosed, and no one's memory will be preserved."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the stars in the Messenger's eyes slowly revolve, and just by gazing, An Su felt dizzy and his consciousness began to dim, before slowly becoming clear again.

"I have restored the magic power you expended; next, you will battle against an equally grouped team of cultists,"

said the Messenger with a slightly mischievous smile, "Since your team has six creatures, you'll also be matched with a six-person cultist team."

The stars are absolutely neutral.

They favor no side.

Regardless of good or evil, right or wrong.

And the gift of fate already had its price tagged in the shadows.

Since An Su chose to cheat, he would also have to pay the price... The Celestial Messenger could already imagine the unsightly and helpless expression that would soon be on An Su's face.

After all, he was just a child under fifteen years old.

This time, let it be a lesson for him to grow.

Everything that happened next would be their most genuine reaction.

The youth bowed his head, pausing for a moment.

"Hehe."

An Su raised his head, his cyan-blue eyes filled with joy, his mouth curling into an exaggerated arc. That smile was no longer bright and sunny, and his entire being was filled with an eerily strange atmosphere.

"This is exactly what I wanted, this is exactly my plan!"

Ah...?

The Celestial Messenger was stunned.

What sudden nonsense is this?

"No one to oversee, no memories left afterward... That means I can do whatever I want—I can experiment with some interesting magic, haha."

He tilted his head, muttering to himself,

"There are actually six cultists, not three, there are six... It's been too long since I've had a customer, maybe I can sacrifice them all... Ah, I can't set up an altar, but I can use their bones and blood... Haha, as long as they don't expire before the sacrifice."

"Here."

An Su said joyfully, "This is simply my playground!"

The Celestial Messenger was shocked.

What the hell are you talking about?

What do all these foreign words mean...?

What's this about experimenting with new magic?

What's this about using their bones and flesh to build an altar?

What's this about not letting them expire before the sacrifice?

Is this the real An Su?

What kind of creature had he unleashed—

An Su Moningsta, birth form?

The Celestial Messenger hadn't recovered yet when he heard another wave of hearty laughter.

"Warrior of the Sun! No need for restraints!"

Arthur slowly rose from the ground, the divine blessing had ended, and he was now full of vigor, his golden hair rising with the wind as he tore off his upper garment, howling to the sky,

"Knight of the Sun! No need for burdens!"

He danced proudly in the breeze, standing tall and steadfast!

"The lion of the Sun should fight openly and honorably!"

What kind of heavyweight creature was this one...

Arthur Sunny, form?

The gaze of the Angel Envoy was slightly vacant as he stared at Arthur's lower body, confounded and forlorn.

"Excuse the spectacle from these two gentlemen, Most Honored Envoy." Lister's calm voice came, "Self-control and modesty are the spirit of nobility."

The Celestial Messenger looked at Lister with a touch of relief, but soon, the all-seeing Envoy sensed something amiss again.

Lister maintained an elegant and humble demeanor on the surface, very much the air of nobility.

But why was the odor getting stronger?

...Did you piss yourself?

"Do not mind it."

Lister pushed up his glasses elegantly, maintaining self-control and modesty, "You mentioned fighting against the painful cultists of evil, I am merely preparing in advance."

Last time, his act was interrupted by a magic prodigy.

But this time, Lister was determined to wash away his shame and reclaim the lost spirit of nobility.

This one was truly the heavyweight!

Lister Muen, form!

The pupils of the Angel Envoy trembled, for hundreds of years he had never encountered such an incomprehensible group.

Compared to them, the three Void Moths that had just perished in the team were relatively more anthropomorphic.

Borderland creatures,

far surpass the void creatures.