"For this Divine Son election, how do you plan to choose?"

In a great hall deep within the Light Church beside the Jialan Imperial Capital on the Nine Nether Continent, the old man Wolff was asking Pope Frederick.

"How to choose?"

Pope Frederick spoke with a face full of melancholy:

"All because of him, I've been stuck in this godforsaken place for thousands of years."

"Now that such a good opportunity has come along, of course I have to have some fun with it."

"Otherwise, once he 'wakes up', I won't get this chance."

At this moment, a soft ray of sunlight slipped through a crack in the door and shone into the gloomy great hall.

It brought a trace of life and warmth to the hall.

Just then Frederick suddenly stood up from his chair; that gloomy face of his suddenly bloomed into a brilliant smile, full of benevolence.

Seeing this, Wolff couldn't help sighing:

"I've known you for so many years, and I still don't know which one is the real you."

Hearing Wolff's words, Frederick instead said with a deeply pensive look:

"Don't say you."

"Even I'm almost unable to recognize myself now."

As he spoke, Frederick stood up, sighing:

"If I don't get out of this damned place soon,"

"I'm really worried that one day I won't be able to control myself and will break the promise I made back then."

With that, Frederick lifted his foot and walked down the steps, saying as he went:

"Let's go."

"That fellow Beast God is probably getting impatient."

"I'm really looking forward to what kind of scene it'll be when they meet again."

"He should be very 'grateful' to me, right? Hahaha~"

Laughing loudly, Frederick stepped out of the hall.

At the instant the great hall doors were pushed open, a deafening shout suddenly rolled in:

"Pope Saint Ann."

In the square outside the hall, tens of thousands of white-robed Light Priests fell to their knees in unison and cried out in one voice:

"Pope Saint Ann!"

"Pope Saint Ann!"

Three shouts, each louder than the last.

The massive sound wave shot straight into the clouds, and the sky instantly blazed with ten thousand rays of rosy light.

The people in Jialan City who saw this all gazed devoutly toward the direction of the Church, calling out:

"Holy Light be with me."

…

…

Meanwhile, in the Imperial City of Jialan City.

The Jialan Emperor Gongsun Bo, together with the ministers of the Jialan Empire, was likewise looking toward the direction of the Church.

A complicated expression suddenly appeared on Gongsun Bo's face.

Although Gongsun Bo said not a word, Gongsun Yan beside him took all of this in.

At the same time, what Gongsun Bo was thinking in his heart was naturally no mystery to him.

Staring at the ten-thousand-fold radiance in the sky, Gongsun Yan suddenly spoke:

"This isn't something we can think about right now."

Gongsun Bo was startled when he heard this.

He first glanced at Gongsun Yan at his side, then Gongsun Bo's gaze suddenly cleared as he said:

"Thanks for the reminder."

Gongsun Yan chuckled at that:

"We can't think about it now, but we can in the future."

…

…

Not long after, the rosy light in the sky faded.

Then, under the gaze of everyone in Jialan City, squads of Bright Knights riding Unicorns came stepping through the air from the horizon.

These Knights seemed to bear a mission from God himself; the whole sky was suffused with dazzling white light.

People watched as they slowly descended into the Light Church and disappeared from view.

In Vatican Square, all the white-robed Priests hurriedly opened a broad path for these Bright Knights.

After nearly a hundred Bright Knights landed in the square, they dismounted one after another and formed two rows, guarding both sides.

Frederick, dressed in a Golden Robe, stood on the high platform, enjoying the worship of billions of believers. Although a faint smile hung on his face,

Wolff, standing beside him, inexplicably let out a sigh.

Just then, two Bright Knights carried over a luxurious chair and placed it behind Frederick:

"Your Holiness the Pope, please sit."

As Frederick took his seat, a Priest at the Church gate shouted:

"Will the candidates participating in the Divine Son election please proceed to Qiling Square to meet His Holiness the Pope and receive Holy Grace."

At this time, the vast square at the Church gate was already packed with people who had come to watch the spectacle.

With this shout from the Church Priest, Gongsun Zhi and the others, who had been waiting there, could no longer hold back and headed eagerly into the Church.

Meanwhile, someone was stationed at the gate specially to announce:

"Divine Son candidate: representative of Jialan Country, Gongsun Zhi."

His voice, amplified by special Magic, echoed over the sky of the Jialan Imperial Capital:

"Divine Son candidate: representative of the Magic Guild, Sikong Tingzhi."

"Divine Son candidate: representative of Ao Sheng Empire, Charles."

"Saintess candidate: representative of Purple Moon Empire, Jun Moqian."

"Saintess candidate: representative of Orlando Duchy, Orana."

"Divine Son candidate: representative of Artifact Refiner Guild, Regill."

…

…

Each time a name rang out, it stirred up a wave of fierce cheering and heated discussion in the Jialan Imperial Capital.

In particular, the factions behind these names shouted themselves hoarse from the bottom of their hearts for their own representatives.

Yet the more people listened, the more they felt something was off.

Out in the square beyond the Church, someone soon realized:

"Why haven't we heard the Jialan King's name?"

The slower ones reacted one after another:

"Yeah!"

"I was wondering what felt wrong."

Lin Yi was a dark horse that had burst forth out of nowhere.

After the Linlang Pavilion great battle and raising hell in the Beast Fighting Arena, he was already widely known.

As a seeded contender, Lin Yi was naturally the focus of everyone's attention.

Someone spoke up:

"His Highness the Jialan King's name should be Lin Yi, right?"

"Yeah! That's the name."

"Back then I heard it loud and clear outside Linlang Pavilion."

Soon the whole square broke into a buzz of discussion:

"Too strange."

"Could it be that His Highness the Jialan King voluntarily gave up?"

Someone heard that and immediately cursed:

"Bullshit."

"With our Jialan King's strength, who here could be his match?"

"Anyone might forfeit, but there's no way it'd be His Highness the Jialan King."

The man who'd suggested Lin Yi might forfeit refused to back down:

"Then tell me why the Jialan King still isn't here?"

They watched as those candidates entered the Church one after another.

Just as everyone was arguing heatedly over whether the 'Jialan King' had given up the Divine Son election—

On a street leading from the Jialan Imperial Capital to the Light Church, a Beast Vehicle was slowly inching along the crowded road.

Jarvis, serving as coachman, looked at the traffic jam ahead, where the road was blocked so tightly it couldn't move an inch, and shouted anxiously:

"Make way, make way."

"Don't block the road."

"Hurry and move aside."

...

Just then, a calm, unhurried voice sounded from inside the carriage:

"No rush, take it slow, we've got plenty of time."

"Be careful not to hit anyone."

Hearing this voice, Jarvis' face showed a helpless expression.

From the direction of the Church there still came, from time to time:

"Saintess candidate, representative of the Bauhinia Clan, Carolina."

Jarvis couldn't help but worry:

"Young Master Yi, if we don't go now, we'll be late."

Just then, the curtain on one side of the carriage was lifted.

Lin Yi looked up through the window at the fiery red sun in the sky and murmured:

"Still early."