Chapter 001: The Charlatan Young Master

It was a morning filled with an aura of holiness everywhere.
Inside the cathedral of the imperial capital, purity permeated every corner.
Du Fan Green stood atop the high altar, his arms crossed over his chest in a prayerful posture, his face bearing a holy smile.
He gazed down at the priests and nuns kneeling before him, silently reciting the contents of the Holy Scripture in front of him, yet the corners of his eyes kept twitching, and saliva dripped from his mouth—drip… drip…
To be honest, this wasn’t the first time Du Fan had done this. Whenever he stood on the altar praying, he couldn’t help but admire the owner of the statue behind him—the object of worship for the believers of the Roland Continent: the God of Light.
From this angle on the altar, the originally loose robes of the nuns kneeling below appeared even looser. Whoever designed these robes must have considered every angle carefully, as from this perspective, the view inside their “V”-shaped necklines was completely exposed—and most importantly, in this world, bras hadn’t yet been invented…
Du Fan could surely believe that the first pope who established this sacred church must have conducted precise calculations when choosing who to design these robes and altar, otherwise how could priests standing high up enjoy such a view?
Corruption… depravity…
As he thought these things indignantly in his heart while looking at the nuns with their holy smiles, Du Fan couldn’t help but marvel at how seductive uniforms could be, no matter what world. It seemed choosing to become a priest was indeed the right decision—otherwise, how would he have the chance to stand here every day and peek… oh no, rather, to look openly…
Finally, after a long monologue of prayers, it was over.
Reluctantly, Du Fan pulled his focused gaze away, discreetly wiped the saliva from his mouth, closed the Holy Scripture, and said softly, “Today’s prayers are temporarily concluded. May the God of Light bless you…”
“May the God of Light bless us…”
The priests and nuns below folded their hands together and slowly stood up. One of the nuns at the front was likely the daughter of some noble family—she was quite developed for her young age. The way she stood up made Du Fan’s eyes shine…

It’s so unfair! So unfair! What on earth does this girl eat to grow up like this? She has a perfect hourglass figure with a pronounced curve in the front and back! Especially her full breasts tremble with every movement she makes while standing, which is absolutely dazzling!
Compared to the maids at home who always look gloomy as if I owe them three hundred gold coins, this is simply unfair… Why are all my maids so undernourished?
Du Fan, wearing a priest’s veil, cursed evilly in his heart. But when he saw that insanely beautiful girl stand up, he had no choice but to change his lecherous gaze to one that appeared pure as a young vegetable. Then he took a deep breath, put down the Holy Book in his hands, and slowly walked out from the side of the chapel under the devout gazes of the believers.
Separated by a white cloth, the outside was a place where commoners and nobles prayed, while the inside was a secret area accessible only to priests and nuns of the Holy Church.
After entering and checking that there was no one else around, Du Fan slumped down on the chair beside him dejectedly, muttering, “Being a swindler is stressful enough, but being a swindler revered by everyone is even more fucking stressful. If not for this body, I would never come to such a place to deceive people.”
As he spoke, Du Fan couldn’t help but sigh.
In Du Fan’s heart, there was actually a big secret: he, Du Fan, wasn’t from this world. Or rather, his soul wasn’t from this world. He came from a place called Earth. As for why he came here, even he couldn’t understand it. But he did know one thing—that he had followed the trend of the times, standing on the shoulders of giants, and made a magnificent and great journey through time.
As he grew older, Du Fan also developed a vague understanding of this world.
The continent was called Roland Continent, a fantasy world where magic and combat energy dominated.
Although there weren’t many people who practiced combat energy and magic, these individuals undoubtedly belonged to the upper class.
On Roland Continent, the prosperity of a family or the rise of a kingdom didn’t depend on how much land they had or how ancient their traditions were, but on their strength!
Whether it was magic or combat energy, whether you were a swordsman or an archer, as long as you had strength, you could gain the corresponding status and wealth.

Of course, whether it’s magic or combat energy, neither can be practiced by just anyone. For instance, to master magic, one needs an exceptionally keen sense of perception and outstanding mental strength, while mastering combat energy requires extremely high physical fitness along with a certain level of comprehension—never expect someone foolish or idiotic to be able to cultivate combat energy, as there are things that simply cannot be mastered if one cannot understand them.

Du Fan was quite lucky throughout his life. He was born into a prominent noble family in the Gavin Empire, as the third son of the family. He never suffered much from a young age, and his life was far better compared to the typical 9-to-5 routine.

Du Fan originally thought he could muddle along like this his whole life, but at the age of ten, he realized he couldn’t continue in this manner. As the legitimate heir of theGreene family, although he had two older brothers ahead of him, various tests were still conducted according to the traditions of the Roland Continent when he turned ten.

It must be said that though Du Fan came from a good family, his aptitude was rather disappointing. Take his physique, for example—although not weak, it was insufficient for him to cultivate combat energy. Whether it was the Duke ofGreene personally conducting tests or inviting several renowned figures from the empire, everyone agreed that there was nothing abnormal with Du Fan’s body structure, and under normal circumstances, he should have been able to cultivate combat energy. Yet for some reason, he couldn’t sense the various elements in the world whenever he tried to cultivate.

After all, whether practicing magic or combat energy, one must first draw upon and utilize external elements.

Then there’s magic. During the initial tests, a magician who was reluctantly brought in affirmed Du Fan’s aptitude—his mental strength was truly exceptional. Du Fan believed this, as having lived two lives, his mental strength was undoubtedly stronger than that of ordinary people. But when his sense of perception was tested, the magician, who had initially looked pleased, suddenly changed expression. Only after a long while did he tell the Duke ofGreene, “Your son… is truly a rare genius… It’s a pity that due to his physical condition, he cannot practice magic… My personal suggestion is… that he pursue a career in politics.”

Duke Green was somewhat disappointed, but talent was something that couldn’t be forced. Moreover, Du Fan was only the third son of the Green family—there were two older brothers, George and Allen. The family wasn’t worried about lacking an heir or about declining because of a useless son, so Duke Green seemed indifferent. In the end, he thought that since the Green family had produced civil officials in the past, having a son enter politics could be a good thing. After all, in the Gavin Empire, the Green family had many political rivals. If one of their sons entered politics, it would give them an advantage in family struggles.

So, that very day, Duke Green asked Du Fan, “Are you willing to study literature and enter politics?”

Du Fan thought for a moment before shaking his head vigorously. After all, though he had lived two lives, he had never been involved in politics before.

Even so, after watching so many melodramatic TV dramas, he understood that politics wasn’t a game anyone could play casually—it was a blade that killed without leaving a trace.

Although Du Fan couldn’t cultivate combat energy or magic, he still had some self-awareness. He knew such things were absolutely off-limits. Without strong skills, even with a powerful family background, getting involved in politics could easily leave one stripped bare.

Still, the people of the Green family couldn’t just idle away their time.

Fortunately, in this world, besides royal power, divine power was also extremely significant.

After much consideration, Du Fan chose a path of piety and sanctity as a religious fanatic. Although having a priest in the Green family’s history was unprecedented, people in this world still believed in gods. So, the old Duke Green didn’t reject Du Fan’s request. Instead, he used a little trick to send him to the Holy Church in the capital city. Six years later, Du Fan became a priest in white.

However, the status of a priest in white in the Holy Church was neither high nor low. In a small rural town, a priest in white would undoubtedly be a powerful figure in the Holy Church. But in a big city like the capital, their status was rather awkward. Otherwise, given Du Fan’s status, he wouldn’t have to go to the chapel every morning to pray for the believers.