The Mandate of Heaven

Upon hearing this, the High Priest’s heart swelled with uncontrollable delight.

Compared to Xie Haizhu, who was merely a Silver-tier talent, utterly useless and cursed with an immobilizing spell, bringing back an innate genius like Xie Haizhu, who already possessed Battle Lord-tier strength, would undoubtedly earn him far greater merit on the Divine Dragon Continent.

However, having made a misjudgment before, he wasn’t foolish enough to abandon Xie Haizhu and Xie Shenai just yet. Instead, he declared:

“I wish to invite you to accompany me to the Divine Dragon Continent. Of course, Princess Xie Shenhong will also come along.”

By taking both of them back, regardless of who possessed the spatial ability, they could mutually serve as each other’s hostages and weaknesses.

“Please, don’t be too quick to refuse.” Seeing the chill emanating from Xie Haizhu intensify, the High Priest quickly added, “What you seek is the annihilation of the Empire and the prosperity of your Vermillion Bird Kingdom, correct? As long as you return with me and gain the Sacred Temple’s favor, achieving this would be as easy as turning over your hand.”

“If you pursue immense power, then you should all the more come with me. The Divine Dragon Continent is blessed with extraordinary individuals and spiritual energy so potent that the Europa Continent cannot possibly compare. By then, not only will reaching Battle Lord Tier Four be within reach, but even breaking through to Tier Seven and becoming a Chosen of the Sacred Temple won’t be a dream!

“Should you seek knowledge and a broader understanding of the world, the Divine Dragon Continent can satisfy you as well…”

Yet, the more the High Priest spoke, the colder Xie Haizhu’s expression became.

“Are you done with your nonsense?”

“I know it’s hard for you to believe and accept all this information at once, and I understand there are many misunderstandings between us. But these are truly my heartfelt words…”

Despite his words, the High Priest was secretly contemplating using forceful methods to take her away.

After all, Xie Haizhu, as the biggest frog in this well, could hardly be anything but arrogant and short-sighted.

To secure his deserved reward, he could only resort to forceful persuasion. As for whether she would seek retribution later if the Sacred Temple highly valued her, he believed she wouldn’t.

Once one had lived on the Divine Dragon Continent and experienced its wonders, they would never again feel any nostalgia for this barren and backward land.

Perhaps, in the future, Xie Haizhu would even thank him.

Further words were useless. It was time to act.

****

The High Priest, however, merely smiled.

While Xie Haizhu feigned calmness, her reluctance to strike first revealed a certain lack of confidence within her.

Moreover, relying on the sensing artifact provided by the Sacred Temple, he knew Xie Haizhu was secretly casting magic as a fallback. Alas, the harder she tried, the more desperate she would become.

But this was for the best. Only by shattering her pride could he truly bring her under his sway.

“Let me state this beforehand: no matter how many reinforcements arrive, it will be meaningless. As for those mere cannon fodder, there’s even less to say.”

Just as the High Priest had mentioned, before her transformation, Xie Haizhu had instructed Wendy to seek aid from Duanmu Yun. It was likely that reinforcements were already nearing.

After rousing the others, Li Tianming had not retreated. Instead, he remained at a slight distance, poised to intervene if the situation turned sour.

However, if the High Priest truly possessed an artifact capable of countering Battle Lord-tier abilities, then such reinforcements would offer little help.

She indeed lacked complete assurance, which was why she had quietly made numerous preparations.

Naturally, the option to teleport away existed, but she could not bring herself to do so.

While winning through cunning and schemes was often celebrated, to truly build an unyielding confidence in life, one could only achieve it by defeating opponents in a straightforward, honorable manner.

For a long time, the majority of the kingdom’s populace had placed their faith in Saintess Xie Haizhu.

Though this trust was somewhat blind, imposing a mountain of pressure, its benefit was that her will, ideals, and aspirations could more easily resonate with the wider public.

Could the High Priest, strong as he was, truly be mightier than the demon race that sought to exterminate humanity?

As the continent’s foremost figure, how could she choose to retreat without a fight when faced with a formidable enemy?

Furthermore, she felt absolutely no threat from the High Priest.

While this was merely a judgment based on her sixth sense, in all these years, her intuition had never been wrong.

So, as you wish…

****

On the other side, Xie Haizhu showed no intention of changing her mind. The High Priest silently retrieved a jade-green, square object.

“Under all heaven, no land is not the king’s land.”

As the High Priest chanted the ‘incantation,’ the jade-green square object rapidly erupted with dazzling light. The radiance then spread outwards like a dome, only ceasing once it enveloped a ten-kilometer radius.

“Within the four seas, no one is not the king’s subject.”

As the High Priest uttered these words, everyone within the green light’s embrace collectively knelt, utterly unable to move, as if prostrating before a deity.

This was the power of the divine artifact, the “Imperial Seal.”

Though merely a replica, it was specifically crafted to counter the exiles on the Europa Continent. Against the people of this land, it was virtually invincible.

The only exceptions were the guardians of the Four Quadrants Nations. However, after a millennium, the bloodline of the Four Quadrants Nations’ descendants had long since become impure, and whether their authority had been inherited was an unknown.

It was precisely because of this divine artifact that the High Priest felt such confidence, fearing no one on the Europa Continent. Or so it should have been.

“What have you done?”

Glancing at Rayne, who lay on the ground in agony, and Xie Shenai, who was doubled over uncomfortably in her wheelchair beside him, Xie Haizhu turned back, her voice laced with an icy chill.

“You… you are a descendant of the Four Quadrants Nations?”

“So what if I am?”

“It matters not.”

The High Priest raised the Imperial Seal once more, roaring loudly:

“Even the Son of Heaven who breaks the law is punished like a commoner!”

When the Sacred Temple had entrusted the Imperial Seal to the guardians of the Four Quadrants Nations, they had naturally considered the possibility of internal theft or betrayal. Therefore, the patrol officers of the Divine Dragon Continent held higher authority than the guardians, capable of treating guardians as criminals and suppressing them accordingly.

However, the blue-haired, red-eyed maiden before him merely furrowed her delicate brows, utterly unaffected.

“You are also from the Divine Dragon Continent?”

His surprise was evident, yet upon further thought, it made perfect sense.

For such a backward place as the Europa Continent to suddenly produce a native capable of crushing all Battle Lords was utterly suspicious.

But if the opponent was indeed from the Divine Dragon Continent, then the natives’ defeat was not unjust, but rather, a glorious one.

The High Priest now understood why Xie Haizhu felt confident enough to confront him, a fellow native of the Divine Dragon Continent.

After all, exiles were commoners before their conviction, and her status was undoubtedly far higher than his, a mere exile.

He acknowledged Xie Haizhu’s arrogance in this regard.

Yet, he did not fear her.

Having dared to act so boldly and being so certain of receiving a reward, the High Priest was naturally not relying on mere guesswork.

Indeed, if an ordinary exile like him could casually obtain the Imperial Seal and wield such power, the Europa Continent would have descended into chaos long ago.

In truth, he had contacted the Sacred Temple five years prior.

While the Sacred Temple had remained half-skeptical of his claims and offered no substantial aid, they had nonetheless guided him to obtain the Imperial Seal and granted him extremely high authority.

Therefore—

“But alas, here on the Europa Continent, my authority is equivalent to that of a Sacred Temple warrior!”

The High Priest inverted the Imperial Seal, pointing it directly at Xie Haizhu.

“Having received the Mandate of Heaven, may you enjoy eternal prosperity!”

The Imperial Seal emitted a brilliance far surpassing any previous display, as if intending to shroud the entire world in its dazzling light.

However, as the light faded, Xie Haizhu calmly removed the temporary sunglasses she had given to the three individuals. The High Priest was utterly stunned.

“You… you are from the Sacred Temple?”

“So what if I am?”

Xie Haizhu’s face remained etched with her eternally indifferent expression.