Four Pillar Cult, Your Doom Has Arrived!

"Everyone says we live in the most pathetic interim era." "The laws of Everlasting Fire have been extinguished, yet the new grand laws have not yet ignited. Never mind the legendary Fire Cat Divine Era, we haven't even been able to raise the banner of Everlasting Fire... Since childhood, I listened to tales of the Everlasting Fire Temple's glory, yet all my life I could only live in the dark." "Many sects lose their faith at this stage, losing their ideals, losing everything. Many people left, and I don't blame them. When you can't even see an ideal, how could you not lose your way? A grand law is not just power; it is our destination. Only when a person knows where they want to go will the world make way for them." "'Will a new flame truly ignite in the future? Will anyone truly keep chasing the glory of the Fire Cat Divine Era? Wouldn't we be better off joining another sect and believing in other grand laws?'" "When others said this to me, I didn't answer, nor did I stop them from seeking a better life. After all, who can say for sure what the future holds? Perhaps the Everlasting Fire will be completely extinguished in our generation, and no one will ever remember the greatness of the Fire Cat Divine Era." "It was reasonable for them to give up." "When other sects drove us out, the Everlasting Fire could not burn them; when we slept exposed to the elements, the Everlasting Fire could not shelter us; when we were attacked and plundered, the Everlasting Fire did not answer destiny's mockery." "Yet I will not give up." "Yes, we have no grand law to host, no grand law's protection to obtain, and no grand law's power to draw upon. But ideals and faith were never bargaining chips to begin with." "We cannot govern our birth, we cannot govern our past, and we cannot govern our death. Fate has never shown us the slightest kindness. The only thing we can hold in our grasp is our will." "Perhaps believing in an ideal won't give me any advantage, but because of it, I will be fearless." "Some say faith lies at the finish line, but I believe faith is beneath our feet." "Some say those who live right before dawn are the most pitiable, but I think, isn't it wonderful to watch the sky brighten little by little?" "Some say I belong to the most pathetic interim era, but I believe I will become the greatest beginning." *** When Yaxiu came back to his senses, the Flame White Tiger had already transformed into a cloak wrapped around him. The majestic, imposing beast of white flame was now a little tiger cub, perched sleepily on his shoulder. The red-robed priests knelt devoutly upon the wooden floor. Igola stared blankly at him, his eyes filled with equal parts astonishment and tension. He opened his mouth to say "You—" but was instantly choked by the scalding steam until his face flushed red. Yaxiu flicked a gust of wind toward him with a snap of his fingers, immediately dispersing the oppressive steam around Igola and washing him in cool relief. *My mind hasn't been twisted by the Myriad Calamities Fire.* Yaxiu gave the Swindler a reassuring look, then turned his gaze toward the red-robed priests. "Let's go." "It's time to sever our karma with the Four Pillar Cult." The red-robed priests were invigorated, their voices laden with the utmost reverence. "Please follow us, First Gospel." "Call me Yaxiu." "Yes, Your Highness Yaxiu!" Sitting beside the cold plunge pool, Harvey watched Yaxiu and the others emerge. He glanced at Yaxiu's flaming cloak, but before he could say a word, Yaxiu waved to him. "Hurry up and follow along. I'll soon be standing atop the heavens, and I won't wait for you!" Harvey stared blankly at Yaxiu's cocky back, then turned to look at Igola beside him. "A taste of success, and he loses his mind," Igola said, shrugging with a smirk. "Looks like he drew a lucky card." Indeed, Yaxiu had struck gold this time. Ever since he heard that a sorcerer's second fate after death was becoming a grand law, he had been pondering a question: where did the sorcerer manuals of those dead sorcerers go? It wasn't until the red-robed priests mentioned earlier that the greatest obstacle in the God-Hosting Ceremony was aligning one's ideals with the grand law that Yaxiu immediately realized this might be a godsent opportunity. Aligning ideals—wasn't that just the threshold for reading a sorcerer manual? And whether because Yaxiu possessed a flexible moral baseline or for some other reason, he could read any sorcerer manual without the slightest impediment! It was just that the Witch also had ways to read most sorcerer manuals, so Yaxiu hadn't read very many during his time across the Time Continent. Yet even when faced with manuals so appalling that even the Witch couldn't stomach them, Yaxiu could read them with relish! So Yaxiu had taken the gamble, and sure enough, this God-Hosting Ceremony was practically identical to reading a sorcerer manual! Since he could fully read the manual left behind by this senior Flame White Tiger, achieving a perfect god-hosting was second nature! He had completely mastered the divine might of the Five-Tailed Flame White Tiger! Yaxiu never would have imagined that his bizarre reading talent would turn out to be the ultimate supreme gift in the Senluo Realm! The red-robed priest had said that eight hundred grand laws once existed across the Senluo Land. Even if that number was drastically slashed today, there had to be at least a hundred left, right? Which meant there were a hundred near-god powerhouses waiting here for Yaxiu to freeload off of at will! Never mind the Four Pillar Cult—unifying Senluo and fighting his way back to Gospel was right around the corner! From now on, this is my era! *** After hastily changing his clothes, Yaxiu, flanked by the red-robed priests, held his head high and chest out as he strode out of the Calamitous Fire Temple bath center. Outside lay a ruined city—not destroyed by the Four Pillar Cult, but a ruin by its very nature. Under the blazing sun, the fortifications erected by the earth sorcerers had been thoroughly breached, forcing the Calamitous Fire sorcerers to retreat continuously. In contrast, the far more numerous black-robed sorcerers were recklessly tearing through the ruined city. Neither side relied much on firearms, mostly bombarding each other with raw sorcery! "It's over." As the calm declaration resonated across the battlefield, Yaxiu raised his hand and tugged downward from the sky. Countless people instantly felt the sunlight intensify by several degrees. Looking up, they beheld an enormous fireball the size of a city plummeting toward the black-robed sorcerers' positions. The blistering heat almost instantly evaporated the moisture from everyone's faces! Myriad Calamities Firefall! The Grand Law of Myriad Calamities Fire undoubtedly had far more sophisticated applications, but having just grasped it, Yaxiu hadn't had the time to develop them. He could only wield its fiery might in the crudest fashion—bigger is better, and bigger is glorious! "It's the Grand Law of Myriad Calamities Fire! We're saved!" "Praise be to the Grand Law of Myriad Calamities Fire!" "The Calamitous Fire will never die!" The Calamitous Fire sorcerers were beside themselves with excitement. Completely unfazed by the scorching wave of heat from the Myriad Calamities Firefall, they greedily spectated as the divine miracle descended to punish their enemies! By contrast, although the black-robed sorcerers also looked up at the fireball falling from the sky, there was little fear in their eyes—only indifference. "Myriad Calamities Fire in its prime?" Following a curious female voice, the plummeting Myriad Calamities Firefall suddenly shrank, shrinking and shrinking until it became the size of a piece of chocolate, and was swallowed whole by a rabbit. It was a rabbit entirely composed of orange flame, resting on the shoulder of a black-robed female sorcerer. Unlike the other Four Pillar Cultists, she did not wear the standard-issue black robes. Instead, she wore a tailored black dress and a head covering patterned with black butterflies that revealed only her mouth. She held a book in her hand. It seemed she hadn't participated in the battle earlier, staying in the rear the whole time reading her book. At first glance, it didn't seem like much, but considering the state of light industry here, her ability to wear such distinct attire spoke volumes about her status. The moment they saw her, the red-robed priest behind Yaxiu ground his teeth in fury. "Traitor!" "Your Highness Yaxiu, she is the Calamitous Fire traitor who turned against the sanctuary and stole our other grand laws! We have already stripped her of her divine surname. Please, you must execute her and reclaim our Calamitous Fire grand laws!" *To host so many grand laws at once, does she also have a flexible moral baseline?* The strange thought flashed through Yaxiu's mind. With a calm, breezy expression, he nodded, stepping down the stairs one by one and ambling toward her. Truth be told, he would have loved to spread his wings and fly over, but he had never practiced flight and could only rely on walking to build up his momentum. With every step he took, the power of the Myriad Calamities Fire saturated his flesh until Yaxiu completely transformed into an incarnation of fire! Power—power was surging forth! This was the power of a god, the majesty of a god! The traitor also stepped to the forefront of the black-robed sorcerers, studying Yaxiu with keen interest. "So you're the First Gospel that the Calamitous Fire Temple prayed for? I hear you come from another land. Is that land very different from Senluo?" "First, my name is Yaxiu," he said calmly. "Second, it's not too late for you to surrender." Following Yaxiu's declaration, an even larger fireball descended from the sky, as if the sun itself were falling to the earth! "Why are you in such a hurry? I wanted to chat a bit more with you." The traitor smiled faintly. From her shoulders, the crook of her elbow, and her thighs, new flaming creatures popped out one after another: a blue-flame squirrel, a red-flame lizard, and a green-flame snake. Combined with the orange-flame rabbit from before, she actually carried four grand laws on her person! Yet Yaxiu breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how powerful a grand law was, a sorcerer could only host one at a time. And going purely by appearance, the grand laws she possessed were clearly no match for the Flame White Tiger. This victory was in the bag! Yaxiu's era would begin with pummeling the Four Pillar Cult! Remembering how miserably he had suffered because of the Four Pillar Cult, Yaxiu almost teared up with vindication: *Four Pillar Cult, your doom has arrived!* Yet the traitor briskly uttered four words: "Power." The red-flame lizard transformed into a five-winged little angel clad in red armor and wielding a spear. Raising its spear high, it blessed the traitor with divine power! "Wisdom." The blue-flame squirrel transformed into a five-winged little angel wearing a blue cap and holding a notebook. Opening its book, it blessed the traitor with divine wisdom! "Life." The green-flame snake transformed into a five-winged little angel wearing a shimmering green cap and holding a flute. Playing a melody, it blessed the traitor with divine life! "Joy." The orange-flame rabbit transformed into a graceful, adorable pink five-winged little angel. It planted a soft kiss on the traitor's cheek, blessing her with divine joy! In the blink of an eye, halo upon halo lit up across the traitor's body. Her overwhelming divine majesty directly disintegrated Yaxiu's Myriad Calamities Firefall on the spot! Yaxiu rubbed his eyes. *Wait a minute, this storyline looks awfully familiar too!* *I remember now—the next scene is where you get arrested!* *Believe in the Four Pillar Gods, and you're bound to get screwed!* "Obstinate fool!" Yaxiu roared fearlessly, turning into a fiery meteor as he charged— *Boom!* A thunderous collision unleashed a tempestuous shockwave of heat. The earth violently trembled and shook, the sheer aftermath of that split-second clash nearly knocking everyone off their feet! Across the plaza before the Calamitous Fire Temple, cobweb-like cracks spidered through the ground. Yaxiu had been smashed flat into an X-shaped crater, his body already reverted to normal. His newly acquired "Myriad Calamities Fire" Flame White Tiger—which he hadn't even had time to warm up to—had now shrunk into a tiger cub, held dangling by the scruff of its neck by the traitor. The traitor perched the Flame White Tiger atop her head, while she sat squarely upon Yaxiu's chest. Crossing her black-stockinged legs, she flipped open her notebook and began scribbling: "Ya... xiu..." "Alright, Yaxiu, you've been caught by me now." The corners of her lips curled slightly upward. "You're not in a hurry anymore, are you? Then let's continue chatting. I'd love to learn much more about you."