Su Cheng silently lowered her head.
Before she could even raise her arms, another pair of hands—long, beautiful, with well-defined knuckles—reached to her chest and deftly unfastened her buttons.
Ian quickly pushed the buttons out, pinched her collar to straighten it, and then patiently and meticulously buttoned it all up again.
His fingertips carried a warmth that, through the thin fabric of her shirt, seemed to roam and burn against her slightly cool skin.
Su Cheng: "...Did you just get here?"
Ian looked down at her and smoothed out her slightly messy collar. "I wanted to say that you don't need to worry about anything, although—I thought you didn't care."
Su Cheng sighed. "To be honest, even if you saw it, I wouldn't mind. But you have a very weird temper, and it's hard to guarantee which scene might trigger you again."
"No," he said with certainty. "Everything today was a surprise I wanted to give you. Although I didn't imagine it developing quite like this, it was still within expectations. Besides, if I cared, I wouldn't have played along with you."
Su Cheng looked up in confusion. "Played along with what?"
He blinked. "Weren't you trying to deliberately make me angry so I'd leave?"
Su Cheng: "...No. Can you not be so dramatic? I wasn't angry to that extent."
He actually chuckled. "I know. I thought you wanted to spend some time alone with that 'unicorn'—"
"Alright, alright," Su Cheng interrupted him. "That's all in the past now. I still want to thank you. He cleared up some of my doubts, and it seems I don't have to worry about him suddenly coming over to slaughter me one day. Uh, well, it's hard to say for sure."
Ian remained noncommittal. "Charles is indeed not a person with a stable temperament."
Su Cheng couldn't help but look at him sideways. "Does he allow you to call him that?"
He shot her a teasing look. "No, he doesn't like anyone calling him that."
Su Cheng couldn't help but laugh too. "Alright then."
Setting others aside, no matter how displeased the God of Purity was, could he really kill a deity from his own faction?
Su Cheng: "...You really have a wicked sense of humor."
Ian remained noncommittal. "In rare instances, I do find a bit of amusement in making others uncomfortable—"
Su Cheng silently took two steps to the side. "And very dangerous."
"But," the blonde young man leaned over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "you quite like me this way, don't you?"
Su Cheng really wanted to tell him not to be so narcissistic, but she realized that her tastes were actually quite broad.
Su Cheng: "..."
She decided to pretend nothing happened.
Her silence clearly revealed the answer. Ian let go in satisfaction. "How are you enjoying your time in the Holy City?"
Su Cheng expressed that it was pretty good. "But it seems Zane wants to see me—"
The deity in front of her smiled and nodded. "Then go."
He lowered his head and branded a light kiss on her forehead.
At that moment, a scorching and pure power surged into her body.
It felt like crushed sunlight soaking into every inch of her muscles and bones, or like a surging, boiling tide meant to wash and purify all her flesh and blood.
Ian straightened up, revealing a hint of displeasure. "...The scent of that tree really can't be washed away."
"Then you'd better get used to it," Su Cheng said casually. "There are a lot of scents on me."
Ian reached out and ruffled her hair, then stared at those thick, dark, curling strands, his gaze pausing as if he had thought of something.
"So you're no longer mad at me?"
"Yes?" Su Cheng looked at him strangely. "Why do you suddenly care about this now?"
"...I just hope you keep a pleasant mood for what you're about to do next."
"?"
He didn't say anything more.
Su Cheng soon arrived at the agreed-upon location.
The Hall of a Thousand Knowledges was located closer to the center of the Holy City. This giant library had a history of thousands of years, constructed from countless stacked white circular corridors. Each layer of arcades was a semi-open-air structure, resembling countless gathered petals.
The top was a skylight made of milky white crystal, scattering sunlight evenly across all the curved corridors. From a distance, it looked like a holy altar surrounded by tracks of light.
It covered a large area, but it wasn't the tallest building in Solan, because behind it were the magnificent halls built for each deity.
Su Cheng wasn't sure where Zane was waiting for her, and she didn't dare to casually release her mental power; after all, there were too many experts in this place.
So she prepared to go in and take a look.
At the entrance, she once again ran into those few young men from earlier.
They recognized her too and cast odd glances her way, clearly still unsure of her identity.
Su Cheng immediately understood that their information wasn't very up-to-date. After all, by now, most of the upper echelons of the Church probably knew she had arrived.
The silver-haired youth walking among them still looked like a cold and pristine snow lotus, carrying a delicate beauty that seemed as if it could be crushed by a storm at any moment.
He was truly beautiful; even if she didn't have any ulterior motives, she couldn't help but take a few extra glances.
The next second, the youth frowned slightly and looked over.
Su Cheng: "?"
His companions seemed quite protective of him and immediately looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
Su Cheng hadn't finished reading the original plot related to the Holy Maiden. She only remembered that they met by chance outside, and the Holy Maiden herself was affected by some kind of power, falling into a weakened state.
So Lin Yun took advantage of her vulnerability.
Otherwise, given his state of not having much real ability even after millions of words, he wouldn't have been able to get close to her at all.
But regardless, that had nothing to do with the current situation.
Su Cheng did appreciate his beauty—but it was no different from taking a second look at a pretty vase outside; she had no further thoughts.
She was just about to leave directly.
"Your Excellency."
The silver-haired youth called out softly to stop her, "Please wait a moment."
Su Cheng inhaled lightly.
While some boys at this age might still be going through voice changes, he had an extremely beautiful and soft voice; even his ordinary speech sounded like singing.
She turned her head for a glance, met those misty pale blue eyes, and suddenly froze.
That color was like the cold mist of an early winter dawn, or an ice surface kissed by moonlight, faint and carrying a fragility that could shatter at a touch.
However, in the moment their eyes met, she felt as if she saw something else.
Deep within those pupils seemed to hide a faint glimmer, like a dying white hole deep in the galaxy, striking a chord deep within her soul.
It then provoked an intense urge to fall and sacrifice herself into that icy sea.
She uncontrollably wanted to get closer to him, to know the story hidden in those eyes, and even wanted to save him, to cherish him—
Wait.
Su Cheng suddenly snapped awake.
What the hell was that just now?
"I'm sorry."
The silver-haired youth opened his mouth, a look of bewilderment appearing on his face, as if he had done something wrong.
Su Cheng looked at him thoughtfully. "Why did you call out to stop me?"
She was full of questions now; her tone wasn't terrible, but it wasn't exactly gentle either.
One of the youths couldn't help but raise his voice, "Hey, you were the one staring at him first—"
Su Cheng gave those people a look.
The person's face turned pale, and he immediately shut his mouth.
Su Cheng turned her head back. "I can't be bothered to argue. If you want to get back at me, you can stare at me too. I don't mind."
The silver-haired boy shook his head slightly. "No, I'm sorry, I can't control that kind of power... I just felt the aura of His Highness Cessia on you."
"You didn't feel wrong," Su Cheng nodded. "What did you say you can't control? That wasn't the power of the God of Purity just now, was it?"
A hint of panic appeared on the silver-haired boy's face, as if he felt he had said the wrong thing. "No, that is, that might be the blessing of His Highness the God of Love..."
Su Cheng looked at him thoughtfully.
The God of Love was an ally of the God of Light, not a forbidden evil god, but the book's description of Him had always been that of an ancient deity, and it also said He and the God of Desire were twin brothers.
From this perspective, if the God of Desire was an Ancient God, then the God of Love must be one too.
Was it just that these two Ancient Gods had sought refuge with the God of Light and the God of Darkness, thus avoiding the fate of being banished into the void and branded as false gods?
Su Cheng: "Oh, so not only the God of Purity, you are also the favored of the God of Love?"
The silver-haired boy nodded and then shook his head uncertainly. "No, maybe, um, I, I just dreamed of Him."
Su Cheng wanted to ask more, but a blush spread across his face, and he lowered his head and quickly ran away.
Su Cheng: "..."
Cessia's favored was indeed quite special too.
The other teenagers were all looking at her with quite complex expressions, obviously having heard the conversation just now.
The aura of the God of Purity?
What did this mean?
They couldn't figure out the truth even if they racked their brains, only assuming that she was either also a favored of His Highness, or had also received a blessing.
Moreover, if it were an ordinary blessing, the influence of that power usually wouldn't last too long, nor would it attract the attention of that prospective Holy Son.
After all, this was Solan.
Many clerics here had more or less contact with the deities.
One of them seemed to finally remember something and couldn't help but whisper into the ear of the friend next to him.
"What?"
They looked at the departing figure of the black-haired girl. "Is that her?"
"Maybe. I heard that back in Golden Amber City, His Highness the God of Purity revealed His power because of her..."
"So is she His favored or not?"
"...I don't know."
While they were discussing animatedly, Su Cheng had already found Zane.
"...Your Excellency."
The blonde, blue-eyed archbishop stood at the entrance of a ground-floor corridor. Occasionally, passersby would talk to him, and he would respond gently.
Then he waved to Su Cheng from afar.
She walked over. "Good afternoon!"
Zane smiled and responded to her. After a brief greeting, he led her through the massive library and into the hall next door.
He took her to some classrooms and prayer rooms, pointing out that this was where the candidates, those chosen to wait to become the favored of the gods, studied.
Su Cheng: "...Are they also going to enter the Echo Plane to participate in the trial?"
Zane nodded slightly. "Yes."
Su Cheng tilted her head and looked at him. "There was a mess during the trial in the Silver Moon Empire before. Have you found out what happened?"
The archbishop sighed softly, casting a meaningful glance for her to understand. "In the lands of the Northern Continent, the heretical evil gods might do anything to disrupt stability and order."
Su Cheng: "..."
She forgot that there were people coming and going around here, and the corridor was full of clerics. She probably could only get this kind of answer.
Zane suddenly glanced at her. "Do you still want to participate in the Divine Grace Trial? Of course, this time it is held by the Holy Church, and the teleportation circle is also inside the Holy City."
Su Cheng: "?"
"So," the archbishop continued casually, "this time you won't encounter any minor gods from the God of Darkness's faction."
Su Cheng looked at him speechlessly. "I'd believe that—"
Even if the subordinates of the God of Darkness wanted to go crazy, it was unlikely they would come to Solan to cause trouble. It wasn't necessarily that they didn't want to, but rather that it was difficult to achieve in terms of strength.
After all, it was the Holy City of the Church, protected personally by the God of Light, and other minor gods were constantly keeping an eye on this place.
If they allowed opponents to enter and exit at will, setting aside everything else, the authority of the Church would be greatly discounted, so they would absolutely never allow such a thing.
But she wasn't some devout believer of the God of Light. Even if she entered the memories of those "evil gods," it didn't matter.
It was just that—
Although the journey of the trial was quite interesting and she gained a lot of knowledge and skills, once she came out of it, it seemed she would have to face some troublesome matters.
Su Cheng couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.
During their conversation, the two walked through the side corridor again, passing a crystal-carved archway engraved with countless intricate runes.
She looked up at it. "...A bizarre combination."
When Zane cast a gaze over, Su Cheng explained further: "I mean the combination of Ancient Elven and spatial magic runes on it feels very creative—"
The archbishop smiled silently. "That was the handiwork of His Holiness the God of Light, though it was thousands of years ago."
Su Cheng could vaguely feel the invisible ripples of spatial fluctuations. Especially when they stepped through the door, it felt as if an invisible barrier isolated the outside world.
The view suddenly opened up.
The dome of the temple ahead was dizzyingly high, and a white-gold galaxy seemed to stretch across the very top.
Billions of tiny specks of light were condensed within, slowly rotating with the surge of the light stream, softly illuminating the entire hall.
The floor, made of snow-white jade, flashed with flickering golden streams of light as footsteps stepped across it.
On those lofty white stone pillars, runes like solidified liquid gold were frozen, and the faint hum of magic being transported could be heard from within.
Then she saw the magic circles.
Dozens of large magic circles were precisely arranged in various peculiar yet orderly geometric arrays, with each magic circle occupying an independent square or circular area.
Ranging from five to ten meters in diameter, they occupied most of the space here, naturally leaving ample aisles.
She could see various precious materials of extremely high purity in the cores of the magic circles—mithril, adamantine, and various rare magic crystal powders, smelted and inlaid, the lines of the array rings brimming with dazzling lights of all colors.
Most of the magic circles were activated, or rather, in a testing state.
Su Cheng could tell that these were all teleportation circles, without exception. Such high-precision magic circles required frequent maintenance and debugging, and needed to be tested multiple times before use, otherwise accidents could easily happen.
They passed through the spacious aisle. The surrounding magic circles seemed to detect someone approaching; their lights brightened one after another, quickly returning to dimness.
Then the two stopped in front of a huge golden magic circle.
Su Cheng looked at the array core that resembled a burning star. The moment she approached, the light became even more dazzling, and every line seemed to come alive.
The runes inside began to rotate and even reorganize. Layers of magic arrays floated up, transforming from a flat surface into a three-dimensional, stacked state.
She heard a sharp sound of space tearing, like glass scraping together.
Su Cheng: "...What does this mean?"
Zane was silent for a moment before saying, "These magic arrays are all open to the qualified ones. The memories placed in different arrays vary slightly, and they will react to the qualified ones who possess certain traits."
The so-called qualified ones were, in a sense, reserve Chosen Ones. They were people specially selected by the Holy Church based on the traits required by the Chosen of certain deities.
These people might not become Chosen Ones with absolute certainty, but their chances were comparatively higher.
Especially under the premise that the "Seven Gods of Glory need to regularly supply Chosen Ones to the Church as combat power," the lesser gods might find it easier to pick a few suitable candidates from among them.
But the primary gods were much more capricious.
"Oh," Su Cheng understood, "so whose memory is placed in this magic array?"
Zane looked at the teleportation array. "It should be that of His Holiness the God of Light himself."
Su Cheng: "???"
Did she possess some trait that the God of Light valued?
According to the information from the original novel, the only mentioned Chosen of the God of Light was the next Pope.
However, the succession of the Pope seemed to be an event months or years down the line, not a plot point in the early stages.
Su Cheng: "...Can I go in? Isn't this exclusively for your internal personnel?"
Zane lowered his eyes to look at her. "If you want to, you can. Even if you are not a cleric, as long as you can make the magic array react, you are qualified to participate in the trial."
Although normally, if one wasn't a cleric, there was no way to enter this place.
Su Cheng was originally a bit hesitant, as she didn't really want to provoke the God of Light.
After all, in order to make people show their true nature, the trials for the Chosen would modify a person's cognition. Once she went in, she would forget what she was doing.
And she definitely wouldn't know that a certain person she encountered was the God of Light.
However...
She suddenly remembered that the God of Darkness had once mentioned the next journey.
Su Cheng turned her head to look at the center of the magic array and saw a distorted, swirling stream of light. Deep within that vortex, a blurry human silhouette seemed to emerge.
"...Yes."
In a daze, Su Cheng heard a voice that was both unfamiliar and familiar.
She froze for a moment before realizing it was her dance partner from the carnival.
Although he didn't speak much, his voice was very distinctive.
"...The answers you seek are inside."
That person continued.
Su Cheng turned to look at Zane.
The blond, green-eyed archbishop still stood quietly in place, his face showing no reaction at all, completely unaware of the descent of the supreme god of the rival church.
...Although it was only in her head.
"Zane," Su Cheng said uncertainly, "after I go in, will I forget about the first trial? Otherwise, I could easily make connections from the phenomenon of 'I time-traveled to the past' and realize that I'm in a trial rather than having truly time-traveled... well, you know what I mean."
"You are very perceptive," he mused. "Theoretically speaking, people who participate in the Divine Grace Trials multiple times will develop a different cognition of their previous related memories. You won't clearly recall the event of the Divine Grace Trial itself, but certain things from before will still influence you. You will also remember the knowledge you've learned, though the process of how you learned it will temporarily be somewhat different."
Su Cheng hesitated for a moment, and upon feeling the attractive force of the magic array, she didn't move her feet away.
Surging golden light rushed toward her from the core of the array, accompanied by the strange sound of space folding and collapsing, sweeping her into a tide of energy.
The black-haired girl's figure disappeared into the light-flowing hall.
The surrounding magic arrays successively returned to dead silence.
Zane stood in place for two seconds. Fine, molten-gold threads of light burst forth in his emerald eyes as he gazed at a certain spot in the air, his tone cold as he chased the intruder away.
"You can get lost now."
...
Su Cheng groggily opened her eyes. Her consciousness surfaced as if from the bottom of a deep lake, heavy and viscous; every attempt to gather her thoughts felt like swimming against the current.
After a few seconds, her long-term, sustained mental training kicked in.
She finally woke up a bit, then felt the warm, soft light sweeping over her eyelids, and various sounds rang in her ears.
Su Cheng looked up at the dense canopy above her head. Interlocking branches overlapped in layers, the emerald leaves fresh and glossy, and motes of dust danced in the air.
A little further away, birds sang on the branches. The wind carried the babbling sound of a stream caressing pebbles, and the scent of moist soil mixed with the fresh aroma of vegetation drifted into her nose.
There was also a faint smell of fire embers.
She sat up and found that beneath her was a thick, dry blanket, emitting the bitter fragrance of dried grass. Its rough dye had already faded to white.
Just as Su Cheng wanted to look around, she suddenly noticed something extra on her hand.
Right around the purlicue of her right hand, the area right-handed people used most often when holding a pen, a white, glowing crest had appeared.
A coiled two-headed snake.
Su Cheng: "?"
At first glance, she thought a bug had crawled onto her hand.
The snake's tail was coiled in a spiral, its heads raised upwards, one to the left and one to the right.
Their states were quite different.
The left head was stretched out, seemingly searching for something, while the right head was quietly lowered, seemingly observing.
...A two-headed snake.
Su Cheng remembered seeing a similar pattern somewhere before.
She looked around and found a small pile of dying campfire not far away. The orange-red coals had already dimmed, wafting a few wisps of bluish smoke.
"Darling, be careful. Your bow needs to be soaked in moon banyan resin oil again today. Remember to polish it with fine grit sand..."
A gentle and melodious voice rang out from ahead.
"No problem," another clear and lively voice answered her. "I'm all prepared—"
Su Cheng quickly saw two people.
A blonde young woman was half-kneeling on the ground, packing a backpack. She wore a supple, tanned white animal skin short jacket, with beige, finely crafted elbow-length bracers protecting her forearms. She had on light-colored breeches and short boots.
The craftsmanship of this hunting outfit wasn't particularly exquisite, but judging by its luster, the materials were of good quality.
The person looked to be in her early twenties. Her light blonde curly hair was tied with a leather cord, shining brightly in the morning light. Her side profile was lean and beautiful, her skin fair and rosy.
Su Cheng could feel that the battle aura on her body was thick and abundant.
There was another figure beside her.
It was a tall, slender blond youth, currently using a piece of flannel to wipe a beautifully shaped long-horned beast bone bow, his movements meticulous and focused.
His hair color was even lighter, like the first light of dawn falling on a snowy peak. At this moment, it was tied in a fluffy high ponytail, the braid resting on his back, making him look quite playful.
His skin was delicate and even, as smooth as milk, with no pores visible at all.
The blond youth was also wearing a neat hunting outfit: an off-white leather vest, a dark green linen belted tunic, and a tightened leather belt and knee-high boots that accentuated his upright figure.
He lowered his head to wipe the longbow, his long golden eyelashes drooping, his side profile so beautiful it was almost unreal.
The appearances of these two people were seventy or eighty percent similar, their facial features almost identical, though the younger one had a more exquisite, sculpted feel.
Su Cheng quickly figured out the reason.
—Elven blood.
She looked at the ear on the side of the blond boy's face. It resembled a jade-white leaf with a sharply pointed upper edge, twice as long as a normal human ear.
However, it was perhaps a little shorter than those of true elves.
There was a high probability that he was a half-elf.
The firewood crackled faintly around the hot coals.
The two of them soon noticed her and looked over at the black-haired girl sitting on the blanket.
The blond young man stood up. "You are awake. How are you feeling?"
"I am fine," Su Cheng said, rubbing her head. "...Just a bit groggy. You were the ones who brought me here, right?"
She saw a tent half-hidden by the trees ahead and figured this must be their campsite. After all, she couldn't have just coincidentally passed out on top of a comfortable blanket.
"Thank you," Su Cheng said. "Where exactly is this place? And how should I address you?"
"...This is the western region of the Emerald Mountains," the blond young man explained. "I found you upstream by the river. You were lying face down on the ground, so I washed your face for you. I hope I did not overstep."
Su Cheng shook her head repeatedly. "Of course not. Thank you so much."
"You are welcome," the blond young man said, offering a gentle smile. "I am Leia, a mercenary and an adventurer, and this is my son, Ian."
