A Wandering Knight Should Also Let Go

"Not just you—Miss Annan, Mr. Banjie, Mr. Bogin, and Mr. Harvey, all of you must leave the Gospel Country." Having just been evicted in spirit, Yaxiu had never expected to face physical deportation in reality. "Why?" "Because I can only protect you for eighty-eight minutes," Lisdia said. "Once I become Diyin, I will no longer be able to keep my promise to Lisi to continue looking after you. In fact, I might become a danger to you." "When I say a danger to you, I don't mean direct harm like bounties, manhunts, or persecution, but rather using circumstances to constantly wear you down. Although I am not yet truly Diyin, I can faintly sense how you will be arranged: Mr. Bogin will smoothly establish a small intelligence syndicate, but once his influence expands across a single city, it will stagnate, and he will spend the rest of his days scheming to keep the organization running; Mr. Harvey will discover an underground ancient battlefield from the Elf Dynasty, only for a landslide to seal his way out, leaving him to spend the rest of his life studying inside an ancient tomb; Miss Annan will have a child with you, pouring all her devotion into raising that child; and Mr. Banjie will help look after your child." Yaxiu asked, "And what about me?" Lisdia said, "Diyin hasn't decided yet, but the arrangement for you will certainly be much like the others: pulling your sharp fangs and claws, eroding your ideals and fighting spirit, filling your emptiness with the mundane, and consuming your time with trivialities." Yaxiu couldn't help letting out a wry smile. "I don't really have any ideals." "You might not have in the past, but what about now?" Lisdia said. "Grief has five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance... "Yet for someone looked upon differently by the gods like you, once you finish digesting your tribulation, you will enter the sixth stage: strike back. "If you wish to strike back, you cannot remain in Gospel. Gospel is a paradise for the weak, but a living hell for the strong. Of course, if you wish to enjoy simple happiness, Gospel can certainly satisfy you. In all likelihood, you would build a noisy, bustling family with Annan. "However, if you wish to cultivate sorcery, that is utterly impossible." Lisdia revealed a secret that would make all of Gospel tremble: "Gospel automatically restricts the development of Sanctuary Sorcerers. Unless one is willing to come to Nabistin to study Gospel, sorcerers will forever be entangled in trivial matters, unable to focus." Yaxiu asked in astonishment, "Why restrict the Sanctuary?" "This is the optimal result calculated by Gospel," Lisdia said. "Rather than calling it a restriction, it is better described as putting everything to its proper use. A Sanctuary Sorcerer is already the limit for an ordinary sorcerer. Further study rarely yields a breakthrough to Legendary, and in terms of productivity, the gap between a Legendary Sorcerer and a Sanctuary Sorcerer cannot make up for the time a Sanctuary Sorcerer consumes. If a Sanctuary Sorcerer uses that time for production, the cost-effectiveness far exceeds using it to study sorcery. "Becoming a Legendary Sorcerer benefits the individual, but offers no benefit to society. The Gospel Country only requires Sanctuary Sorcerers—that is Gospel's judgment. Only when a sorcerer voluntarily settles in Nabistin, allowing Gospel to personally regulate production and research, will Gospel lift the guiding restrictions." Lisdia paused. "I, too, believe this is correct." Yaxiu blinked, saying nothing. "No Sanctuary Sorcerer appears out of thin air. They stem from a stable social environment, complete sorcery lineages, and Gospel's deliberate nurturing," Lisdia said. "Whenever a Sanctuary seed emerges, Gospel arranges a different cultivation plan based on the seed's personality: granting trials to the arrogant, companionship to the introverted, competition to the confident, despair to the greedy... and allowing them to escape mortal perils so they have every chance to grow. "Every Sanctuary is a masterpiece cultivated by society. Since that is the case, they have an obligation to give back to society, rather than using violence and fear to continue plundering resources to scale the Void Realm, exploiting tens of millions to serve themselves." Hearing these words ten days ago and hearing them ten days later elicited entirely different feelings. Ten days ago, Yaxiu had only been a Two-Wing sorcerer, with the Sanctuary hopelessly out of reach. Hearing such a policy back then, he naturally would have clapped and cheered, wishing every Sanctuary would serve as a human pillar powering spatial gates, burning out the rest of their lives to illuminate society. Now, Yaxiu was a Three-Wing sorcerer. Though he had not yet reached the Sanctuary, his sense of personal empathy was already strong. By what right? Was the Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Synchronization Forbidden Rite easy? Were adventures in the Void Realm devoid of danger? Furthermore, Yaxiu was a mudblood sorcerer. Normal sorcerers had to spend at least a decade on sorcery before having even a chance of advancing to the Sanctuary. The diligence, sweat, and focus of all those years inevitably gave them a fierce sense of superiority. How could they willingly stop there and turn to productive labor? One had to realize that the Sanctuary wasn't merely about productivity—they were tactical weapons in their own right! Still, only Gospel could do this. Any other country wouldn't dare mistreat the Sanctuary, who formed the pillars of their realm. Only Gospel could use circumstances to guide the Sanctuary as silently as spring rain moistening the earth. Even if the latter were reluctant, they would be forced to go with the flow, burning to provide light and warmth for the populace. Yet this kind of guidance had its limits. At the very least, it could not force a Sanctuary to serve as a human pillar powering a spatial gate. "However, that logic applies only to the people of Gospel," Lisdia said. "To you, Mr. Harvey, and Mr. Bogin, Gospel owes no favors, and you bear no obligation to repay Gospel. But if you stay, it won't be up to you. "Therefore, for your own sake, you must leave Gospel as soon as possible. I've already repaired your motorcycle, and the others should be waiting outside. Ride through the Azure Lane to Modora. Twenty-three minutes from now, a Void Realm passage will appear in the outskirts of Modora. I've already sent you the exact coordinates." Yaxiu stared at her blankly. "You've arranged everything." "Because Lisi entrusted everything to me," Lisdia said with a smile. "And you are everything." "What if I want to stay?" Lisdia actually pondered the question seriously. "Then I will tell these things to Mr. Bogin and Mr. Harvey, and have them drag you away." "Why?" "Because I don't want you staying in Gospel either. If you and I are under the same sky, you will sooner or later do something foolish." Lisdia reached out and pulled Yaxiu up, then took his place sitting on the throne. "Go. They're waiting for you." Yaxiu took her hand in return. Lisdia gave a faint smile. "I know nothing I say can take away the guilt, reluctance, anger, and grief in your heart. So I won't comfort you. Just carry these sweet, heavy burdens with you, keep striving in a new country, and then..." "When you return to the Gospel Country one day, perhaps you can make up for today's regrets." Very earnestly, Lisdia pried Yaxiu's fingers away one by one, then pushed him toward the exit. "Go," she urged. "The amnesiac princess has returned home; a wandering knight should also let go." There was no other way. Reason told Yaxiu that the only thing he could do right now was leave; instinct told Yaxiu never to look back, for the most futile thing in life was constantly looking back. Yet when Yaxiu turned his head toward the grand doors, he couldn't take a single step. Humiliation. Shame. Guilt. Fury! He could not bear the fact that he was actually being protected by a little girl! He could not bear why he had to suffer such a catastrophe! Even more, he could not bear that he could only run away in dejection, following arrangements made for him! How could he ever sleep peacefully for the rest of his life? How could he ever face the Sword Princess again? If his brother saw him looking this pathetic, he'd probably call out his nephew so they could mock him together! Was he truly helpless? Was he truly out of cards? Think! Yaxiu racked his brain, wondering if there was any miracle left. He kept scouring through Yayin's memories. Since he needed to resolve the problem of a god, why not check if it had exposed any flaws while residing within his own body! "What is it?" Lisdia asked. "Did you forget something? I can bring it right over for you." Bring it over... "...A blessing obtained from the Dramatic Poet, allowing one to snatch a target's sorcery spirit through close-range contact..." Suddenly, an unfamiliar line of words barged into Yaxiu's mind. Snatch... If I had a blessing to snatch sorcery spirits, could I snatch away a god? But the problem is, I don't have a snatching blessing. What I have is— Yaxiu froze, looking up at the sunlight leaking through the grand doors. It was already morning. Yaxiu spun around and dropped to one knee before the throne, tightly grasping Lisdia's hand. "Are you hiding an important secret from me?" Lisdia looked at him, falling silent for a moment. "Yes. And I will never tell you." "Then don't ever tell me in the future, either." Yaxiu located the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit hidden within his soul. Taking it out was naturally impossible—the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit could neither be used in reality nor appear in reality, much less be traded in reality. This was one of the reasons the Sword Princess had never heard of the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit before: even if a sorcerer killed a Heroic Spirit Commander and obtained a Soul Summoning sorcery spirit, they had no way to bring it out as evidence to show off. At this moment, Yaxiu activated the blessing he had kept saved all this time: "Gift"! This was the blessing granted by the Dramatic Poet after Yaxiu had endured the lucky curse of "No Paper While Pooping"! Long before, Yaxiu had considered using this blessing to directly give a sorcery spirit to Lisi. Though it might have been better than nothing, it would have at least given her a bit of power to protect herself. But Lisi had refused. He had never expected that after all these twists and turns, the gift would still be delivered. Recipient: Lisdia. Gift: Soul Summoning sorcery spirit! Watching the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit leave his soul and transfer along his arm into Lisdia's body, Yaxiu couldn't help letting out a long sigh. His calculation had indeed been correct. By now, the Ox of the Sky Carriage had stepped into the Spider Tower region. Therefore, his contract with the Empress Commander had finally begun executing, and at the same time, was completely fulfilled—which was why he was able to transfer the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit! And what came next was the most critical moment! Under Yaxiu's anxious gaze, Lisdia's expression first turned slightly puzzled. Then her brow slowly smoothed, followed by her eyelids drooping heavily, as though she were suddenly overcome by intense drowsiness. "You..." "Big Sis, go back to sleep." "I've changed my mind now!" Diya snapped her eyes open, staring wide-eyed at Yaxiu. The great, lofty Gospel god still occupied her soul. Its intense will shone like the morning sun into every corner of the soul, driving all the sorcery spirits to curl up and shiver at the fringes. Yet this domineering existence—which had still attempted to seek her out and crush her completely even while she slept—now remained lazily motionless, as though completely indifferent to the change in host. In its hands, it cradled the newly acquired Soul Summoning sorcery spirit, enveloped inside the thick purple glow radiating from it. The Little Witch, White Queen, Black Butler, and Red Apostle awoke one after another. Diya glanced into Yaxiu's eyes, completing a silent exchange among the sisters through the reflection. "How is it?" Yaxiu's voice trembled slightly. "How do you feel?" Yaxiu had no way of predicting the result. The strength of the Secret-Keeping Authority depended solely on the scale of one's secret and the degree of desire to confide it. He could only pray that she truly possessed a secret she desperately wanted to speak aloud, so that the Secret-Keeping Authority could be brought into full effect. "I'm not scared," Diya replied. "I feel like I'm not afraid of anything anymore."