"Why did Sennheiser and Berdette get into a fight?"
"I heard Berdette was called short."
"That's going too far. Berdette is just inconspicuously tall—is that any reason to attack a physical flaw? Besides, Sennheiser is so much taller than her; watching them fight is like aiming a fire hose down from the second floor."
"Even if Berdette had a reason to throw hands, there was no need for Sennheiser to tangle with her, right?"
"Because both Sennheiser sisters were cursed out in return by Berdette."
"What did she call them?"
"Probably something like charging wave after wave, swinging left and right, boosting from above and pushing from below, colluding inside and out, smooth-tongued and slippery..."
*Tap!*
Evalin landed lightly on a dessert table. With a sharp stomp of her leather boot, the entire table shattered into dust. Leaping into the air, she carved an arc of blue light, closing in on Nona from above. In the blink of an eye, her right hand was about to hook around the elf's nape!
Fist and Claw Miracle: Malice Curve!
A slick sheen of oil suddenly surfaced over Nona's body. The moment Evalin's palm touched her nape, it slipped right off. Instead, Nona used Evalin's momentum to spin in place, her slender right leg tracing a crescent arc like a cloud-soft razor as she kicked toward the blue-haired girl!
Water Sorcery Miracle: Combustive Blast!
*Boom!*
With a thunderous explosion billowing black smoke, all the nearby dining tables were overturned and cracked apart!
Evalin burst out from the black smoke and landed on another dining table, crouching lightly on all fours. Her eyes had narrowed into slit pupils, her bearing resembling a predatory jackal or wolf. Her crystal-clear azure hair was now smeared with soot, and several stains of blood had appeared on her noble, ornate gown.
Nona waved away the black smoke. By now, the elf was drenched from head to toe in transparent oil, dripping wet and sticky. Every second, droplets of oil slipped from the ends of her hair, fingertips, and the hem of her clothes, trailing slender threads of oil that soaked completely through the carpet.
With a snarling growl from Evalin, the elder sister of Berdette and the younger sister of Sennheiser clashed once more. Explosions and thunderous roars rang without pause, and in moments the banquet hall was trashed like a scrap yard, as boisterous as though fireworks had detonated inside.
This was hardly surprising. Although Evalin majored in the fist and claw faction, her combat style was not Bear School but Cat School; tearing up her surroundings in a fight was only natural.
Because the fist and claw faction was arguably the easiest sorcery faction to enter—a faction that truly required "nothing more than having hands"—its varieties of sorcery spirits were the most convoluted, and its styles the most diverse. The internal differences in combat style within the fist and claw faction were practically as vast as the differences between entirely distinct sorcery factions. Naturally, other sorcerers did not bother looking deeply into the nuances among fist and claw sorcerers, broadly categorizing them into four types: Bear, Cat, Wolf, and Eagle.
Evalin was a textbook Cat practitioner: refusing all frontal clashes, adept at agile maneuvering and sudden ambushes, relentlessly probing for enemy flaws and weaknesses. In a fight, she naturally demolished everything nearby in the process.
Yet Nona happened to be the natural nemesis of melee factions—her primary focus was the "oil" derivative branch of the water sorcery faction!
This was an obscure yet exceedingly potent branch of water sorcery, for oil possessed two core properties: lubrication and flammability. Having developed these two traits to the extreme, Nona could deflect the vast majority of melee attacks using the film of oil over her body. In close-quarters combat, hardly anyone could truly make contact with her skin!
Some might wonder: since she was covered in oil, wouldn't simply setting her on fire finish her? But an enemy did not even need to lift a finger—Nona herself would actively detonate the glycerol on her body, even using it as a lethal finishing move! As for why she remained unharmed, that was naturally due to a miracle.
Though a water sorcerer, Nona excelled at explosions, combustion, and close combat, practically a disruptive mudslide among water sorcerers! Consequently, her fighting style was an endless barrage of blasts. Pitched against Evalin, who excelled at evasive maneuvers, the pair were nothing short of a twin demolition squad!
Most of the guests gloatingly retreated to the background to watch the spectacle and enjoy the drama, though a few found it unbearable and wanted to intervene. Whenever someone stepped up, however, someone nearby would immediately urge them otherwise: "Why bother interfering with them? Can't you see their own people are standing back watching?"
Taking a closer look, the meddlers discovered that Berdette's younger sister, Anfeier, and Sennheiser's matriarch, Qinna, were both standing not far away, silently permitting this mistaken brawl at the wrong time and in the wrong place. As for why neither of them stepped in, people understood as soon as they gave it a second thought: Qinna was a Sanctuary Sorcerer, so having her enter the fray would be bullying; Anfeier wasn't even a sorcerer, so having her enter would also be bullying.
Only Nona and Evalin were both Two-Wing Sorcerers, evenly matched in combat strength, making them the most suitable representatives to uphold family honor. It was just that Qinna and Anfeier standing in the back watching their sisters fight gave off a distinct sense of summoners watching their summoned creatures duke it out...
*Smack!*
Evalin stepped backward, stomping a magnificent volcanic lava cake to smithereens. She was unharmed, but a servant standing nearby ended up covered in cake. At that moment, Nona charged forward with a midair kick. The glycerol on her high-heeled boot detonated completely upon close contact, the immense roar reverberating through the hall and hammering everyone's eardrums!
The blue-haired girl leaped up like a wildcat and hung from a chandelier on the ceiling. Meanwhile, Nona quickly darted away from the blast zone, casually scooping up the unlucky servant who had been caught in their clash. With a smooth flick of her arm, she tossed out the servant—covered head to toe in cake and oil. The guests parted instantly to open an unobstructed flight corridor so the poor fellow could smoothly tumble out of harm's way.
Excellent.
Nona and Evalin exchanged a glance, preparing to spread the flames of battle toward the other servants.
Yet at that very moment, a steady, distinct set of footsteps echoed into the hall.
The two of them suddenly found their bodies frozen stiff. The lively sorcery spirits in their souls huddled together, shivering uncontrollably. The air grew as heavy as lead, crushing their spines beneath its weight.
Adorable children dressed in fine juvenile garments filed in through the side doors. Seeing the chaotic banquet hall, they were momentarily bewildered. Then two Secret Guards clad in full-coverage jet-black armor parted the curtain, and a graceful figure veiled and draped in a vibrant purple gown came into the guests' view.
The hall fell utterly silent in an instant. These imperious family patriarchs, corporate titans, and Sanctuary Sorcerers all dropped to one knee, bowing their noble heads to welcome the arrival of the saint with reverent quiet.
Though it was their first meeting, and though they had long harbored thoughts of overthrowing the Isu and seizing the throne, when she actually appeared before them, these people discovered they lacked even the courage to look her in the eye. Their soaring ambitions crashed heavily to the ground.
Soul? Miracle? Sorcery spirit?... They racked their brains trying to pinpoint the source of their submission, attempting to spot something unusual, trying to argue that her strength was an illusion. Yet all their thoughts converged on a chilling possibility: that person hadn't done a thing.
Did a cat need to do anything to make mice scatter? Did the sun need to do anything to command human awe? Did Hell need to do anything to terrify the living?
Although she looked human and moved like a human, everyone clearly realized that the entity seated upon the master seat was not human.
The only difference between her and them was that she happened to wear a human skin.
And that was precisely the most terrifying part: they knew she was not human, yet had no idea what lay inside. Such murky, lingering unknown stoked instinctive terror above all else.
"Rise."
Only then did the crowd raise their heads. They saw her back resting lightly against the throne, hands clasped together upon her lap. A purple veil concealed most of her features, revealing only a pair of eyes that glittered like brilliant emeralds. The two Secret Guards stood flanking her, though everyone knew they were mere ornaments.
The Empress had no need of protection.
"Less than an hour remains before the new monarch is born." Right from the start, she delivered news that made many hearts clench. "During the transition between old and new, the new monarch will require considerable time to take over Gospel, leaving no leisure to attend to your needs. If you have any reasonable requests, you may raise them now, and Ruiyin will attend to them immediately."
Ruiyin was the Empress's self-address, but not her true name—the Empress's true name was never disclosed to the outside world. This custom stemmed from a peculiar mechanism of the Gospel Board: when announcing the First Gospel, the Gospel Board would not directly state the Echoer's name, instead taking one character from the name and appending the suffix "-yin."
This was not an intentional concealment by Gospel, but rather Gospel's way of expressing affection—much like giving a pet a nickname instead of using its common species name.
Add to that the fact that successive Empresses wore veils whenever appearing on the boards, and throughout the seven hundred years of the Isu dynasty, not a single soul knew the Empress's appearance or name. "Yisu Empress" was not the title of any one ruler, either, but a shared designation for all empresses across those seven hundred years.
Sennheiser and Berdette had originally intended to wait until the Empress asked why they were making a scene, then start blustering and stirring up trouble. However, seeing that the Empress paid no heed whatsoever to the disturbance in the hall, they dared not initiate the provocation.
Just then, a little girl slipped on a mashed orange and fell onto the carpet with a thud. Although she was not hurt, it drew a fraction of the Empress's attention.
The Empress did not speak. Beside her, a Secret Guard opened a Gospel book, whereupon all the filth, food, refuse, and shattered tables in the hall floated automatically into midair. The servants immediately moved in to clear everything away before exiting the hall. The children hired to liven up the banquet's atmosphere also filed out, and servants carried in chairs. In moments, the banquet was transformed into a meeting.
"Be seated," the Empress said. "Time is short."
Qinna watched the servants leave the hall and slowly took her seat. She had just gathered the courage to raise her hand when a hurried voice rang out behind her: "Your Majesty, may I ask where my uncle, Mr. Bophis, is?"
The speaker was a Sanctuary from the Mercury family, and Qinna had met the Bophis he mentioned once many years ago—back when she was still a Two-Wing Sorcerer, while he was already a Shadow Legend.
Bophis's most astonishing feat was wrapping an infant Shadow Evil Dragon in shadow to bring it back to reality, successfully enslaving it. Everyone now knew the Mercury family possessed a Shadow Evil Dragon of formidable combat power, and they had apparently researched some secrets from the dragon to aid Void Realm exploration, leading to a surge in their Two-Wing Sorcerers over the past thirty years.
"Studying truth within the imperial palace," the Empress answered.
"Then why hasn't he come out to see me?" Mercury asked. "The last time he returned to the family, he gave me a shadow imprint, saying that whenever I activated it, he would immediately come find me no matter where he was. Now that I have come to Nabistin and activated the imprint, why hasn't he appeared?"
"Because he no longer cares about the family, nor does he care about you," the Empress said calmly. "This is the path of truth chosen by all Nabistin sorcerers. To find their own truth before their lives reach their end, they must travel light and cast aside encumbrances.
"This is the path of truth, the path of angels, the path of the inhuman, and above all, a path of solitude." She looked at Mercury. "From the moment Bophis left the family, you should have possessed this realization."
Truth... Qinna sighed softly in her heart.
Were it not for her family, she might already have become a Nabistin sorcerer herself by now.
"Nabistin sorcerer" was not a geographic generalization, but specifically referred to sorcerers invited by the royal family to reside on Nabistin's surface or even inside the imperial palace, continuing their sorcerous research by listening to Gospel.
Essentially, only Sanctuary Sorcerers qualified, but Sanctuary was also the limit these sorcerers could reach on their own. Thus, if they wished to take a step further, they could only rely on Gospel's aid.
Over the centuries, examples of Sanctuary Sorcerers successfully advancing to Legendary in Nabistin were plentiful, whereas those who achieved Legendary alone on the outside were vanishingly few. After all, on one side was aimless solitary research, while on the other was a tutor offering attentive guidance around the clock; sorcerers who had hit wall after wall at the Sanctuary level could hardly resist such temptation.
Yet Nabistin sorcerers had a crucial trait: severing familial ties.
After arriving in Nabistin, all Sanctuary Sorcerers soon refused contact with their families. Legendary Sorcerers went even further, accepting royal patronage and cultivating in ascetic seclusion deep within the imperial palace, never emerging until death.
Even so, countless Sanctuary Sorcerers still accepted royal invitations, wave after wave. Compared to worldly matters, the allure of sorcery was simply too great. Especially when realizing there was no road ahead, sorcerers were willing to pay any price just to glimpse the scenery from higher ground.
Except for a certain mudblood sorcerer, most Sanctuary Sorcerers were idealists with an obsessive pursuit of sorcery. The Red Hat Sanctuaries still active outside were merely striving to earn more Gospel points so that upon retiring in Nabistin, they could receive more guidance from Gospel.
Take Cleios, for instance: she was so obsessed with claiming first place on the National Red Hat Board because retiring with that rank allowed one to enter the imperial palace directly to listen to Gospel, making the ascent to Legendary virtually guaranteed!
For centuries, all Sanctuary and Legendary Sorcerers would come to Nabistin to walk the final leg of their lives. The sole exception was Fanmula—where familial shackles bound every clan head, and even a Legendary necromancer was willing to dedicate his entire life to the family, though whether that dedication pointed in a positive or negative direction was another matter.
Consequently, all the Legendary Sorcerers of Gospel currently resided in the palace complex deep within the imperial palace to study, leaving not a single Legend in the outside world.
Aside from the Red Hats, the Sanctuaries still lingering outside were essentially those who harbored attachments in their hearts that outweighed sorcery, or had yet to resolve their worldly entanglements.
In short, Mercury could forget about clinging to his family's Legendary thigh.
Mercury let out a sigh and pleaded, "Our Mercury family's future is already hanging by a thread. Could you allow my uncle to meet with me? I only beg that my uncle lend a hand at the critical moment to save the family from its falling fate."
The Empress nodded, but rather than responding directly, she asked, "Does anyone else have other requests?"
"Archibald Harvey is an extremely dangerous individual. Leaving him alive poses a threat to all our families—why haven't you issued a warrant to hunt him down?"
"Yaxiu Heath is clearly the key figure triggering the apocalyptic calamity—why was the warrant for his arrest rescinded?"
"Why has Gospel been so heavily influenced by Yaxiu Heath that almost all the future boards in the latter half of the Weaving Ceremony were invalidated?"
"Igola Bogin will establish the Four Pillar Cult in the future—he must be eliminated as soon as possible!"
"Why did Gospel weave the apocalyptic scene depicted in the Art Board? Where was the Isu royal family back then?"
Qinna raised her hand as well, asking an exceedingly sharp question: "In the Happiness Board, it was once mentioned that the future Yisu Empress also fell victim to Yaxiu Heath's foul hands, and even her ranking was invalidated. Does this mean the next empress is no longer qualified to hold Gospel in her grasp?"
This question was practically no different from demanding an abdication. For a time, no one else dared to speak. Yet the Empress did not react. She waited a moment until there were no more questions, then spoke slowly: "All the questions you raised are, at their root, the very same question—does the new monarch possess the ability to continue holding Gospel and protecting all living beings?
"And this question, Ruiyin cannot answer."
The crowd was momentarily dumbfounded.
"Because this answer will be delivered to you in person by the new monarch," the Empress said. "Gospel has already woven the best future. In one hour, we shall step into a new era."
The best future?
Everyone truly could not bring themselves to view the various sinister boards triggered by the Doomsday Trio as "the best future." But since the Empress herself said so, they were willing to wait an hour.
At that moment, Evalin suddenly spoke up: "I heard that dozens of days ago, a disturbance occurred in the imperial palace. Rumor has it that the princess living in the high tower, the future Yisu Empress, went missing. Is that true?"
The Empress tilted her head slightly toward Evalin. Clearly there was not an ounce of emotion in her eyes, yet Evalin was so tense that even her blue hair bristled.
"The First Gospel shall ascend the throne within the high tower," the Empress said. "Gospel has already woven the best future. No one can halt the arrangements of fate."
Chapter 492