The reason the Radiant Temple had grown to its current power in just over a hundred years wasn't only due to the deliberate indulgence of His Majesty Celes of the Frostsnow Empire—it also had to do with the foundations they had been built on.
As long as one could find a woman with a pure soul, she could be offered as a sacrifice at the Radiant Temple. The one who performed the sacrifice would receive the blessing of the God of Light, directly increasing their strength.
All the high-ranking members of the Radiant Temple had risen through exactly this method.
Locke could even be certain that beyond the upper echelons of the temple, many in the Frostsnow Empire were also searching for women with pure souls.
Those who still stood on the side of the Frostsnow Empire did so largely because they had yet to find a woman with a pure soul—or perhaps they had found some, but the number was insufficient.
One or two pure-souled girls weren't enough to guarantee a full ascension to Sanctuary.
And once they were confident of achieving that full ascension, the next moment they might declare independence from the Frostsnow Empire and join the Radiant Temple as its new Sanctuary elites.
Do not overestimate humanity's moral bottom line in this world.
In a world where power belongs to the strong, strength and eternal life are ambitions pursued by almost everyone.
When someone offers a shortcut—sacrificing two or more special humans to achieve this dream—the cruelty of the world becomes unforgivably brutal.
The knight commander who had been grievously wounded by Locke was not particularly talented.
Someone like him, Locke judged, would likely struggle even to reach Seventh-Order.
After all, Locke hadn't seen much evidence of diligent cultivation in him.
Clearly, this man had become a Sanctuary by sacrificing at least three pure-souled humans.
For such a person, Locke had no intention of wasting any pity.
"Good. Looks like your recovery is satisfactory," Locke said.
"My use of a healing spell on you wasn't wasted."
Though the man kept his head bowed and eyes closed, Locke's spiritual power had already detected the fluctuations of his mind.
"Hmph!"
Realizing his disguise had failed, the knight commander lifted his head to face Locke, his eyes still flickering with fear.
In the Radiant Temple, he had encountered other Sanctuary warriors before.
Yet, to him, only the Temple's Holy Child might rival the one before him below the rank of Pope.
Could a spell of such magnitude truly be cast by a Sanctuary warrior?
As a newly ascended Sanctuary, the man didn't yet understand that cultivation after reaching Sanctuary was entirely different.
Before Sanctuary, cultivating martial energy and mana was sufficient for rank ascension once these reached a certain level.
After becoming a Sanctuary, cultivation of martial energy and mana could still enhance strength, but to continue growing stronger, one had to comprehend the profundities of law itself.
Without grasping the principles of law, one could only reach the peak of Sanctuary.
Only by mastering these laws could a warrior break through the Sanctuary peak, reach the Sanctuary limit, and potentially surpass it to ascend to God Realm.
"You… if you have the ability? Then kill me!" the knight commander blurted.
"I won't reveal a single secret of the Radiant Temple," he added.
"Oh?"
A trace of mockery curved Locke's lips.
How afraid of death was this man?
He dared Locke to kill him, yet his words implied that he held knowledge of the temple's secrets.
If Locke wanted to extract these secrets, he couldn't kill him.
Settling into his seat, Locke crossed one leg leisurely.
"Knight Commander of the Radiant Temple, I think you've misunderstood me," he said.
"I have no interest in the so-called secrets of the Radiant Temple that you mentioned."
"Therefore, there's no need to be so tense. I won't force you to answer anything."
Upon hearing this, the knight commander's pupils contracted sharply, a wave of fear rising in his chest.
If Locke truly had no interest in the temple's secrets, then in his eyes, he was worthless—a life that could be taken at any moment.
He had painstakingly gathered three pure-souled girls in his territory, ascended from Sixth-Order to Sanctuary, killed the relatives who had scorned him, and become the head of his family.
Over twenty years ago, he had also successfully coordinated with High Priest Anderson to ambush a Sanctuary mage of the Fifth Legion before the mage could cast defensive magic, earning a massive reward.
The mage likely never realized that Anderson never waited for him to activate defensive magic; he always did it out of habit, which had almost allowed for the ambush.
By the time he relied on the habit of using defensive magic, Anderson had already begun attacking, and one foot had stepped into the realm of the undead.
The knight commander's mind raced through his life. He had been a Sanctuary for less than thirty years and still an eternity to enjoy…
How could he accept death here?
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Locke's next words temporarily eased his fear.
"As for your injuries, my apologies—I left the camp for a time, so I haven't been able to continue your treatment."
"Let's fix that for now."
With a wave of his hand, a blue light spread across the knight commander's body.
"Hiss…"
Under this light, his complexion instantly improved.
Three minutes later, the glow faded, and his wounds had nearly completely healed.
Yet the bones within his body remained unhealed.
Still, this reassured the knight commander.
Clearly, the man before him didn't intend for him to die.
As long as he lived, he still had a chance to enjoy an even better life.
After all, he was a Sanctuary with an infinite lifespan!
Seeing the knight commander's aura stabilize, Locke nodded slightly.
He would need this man's help for some things yet to come.
He couldn't let him die so easily…
(End of Chapter)
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