Chapter 017: The Truth of Faith

When Du Fan stepped out of the cathedral, the enrollment exams for the Combat Qi branch of Roland Academy had already begun. Although it was the premier institution on Roland Continent, Roland Academy still used the simplest method for enrollment—competitions. The eighteen competition arenas Du Fan had seen earlier were all for this purpose.

The square in front of the cathedral was packed with people. Aside from the nobles who had already registered, most others gathered around the registration points in the square. Seeing the vast crowd, Du Fan frowned slightly, glanced around for a moment, then headed toward a tall stand. This stand, located right at the center of the eighteen competition arenas, would allow one to see what was happening in all of them.

Such places were naturally reserved for those from the upper class—ranging from high-ranking members of the Holy Church to guests from Roland Academy. Even those noble young masters Du Fan had seen inside the cathedral were seated on the stands. They all smiled as they looked down at the commoners’ registration points, with a hint of sarcasm on their faces, except for a few who seemed to have some sense of propriety. In their eyes, those commoners probably didn’t even deserve to be called humans.

Du Fan reached the stand. The temple knights guarding the area didn’t stop him but instead bowed respectfully. Du Fan smiled slightly and asked, “Brother, could you tell me where I can register for the exams of the Combat Qi branch?”

The temple knight he spoke to thought for a moment and replied, “I saw the young masters and ladies just now registering with those students from Roland Academy. If you, Priest Du Fan, want to register as well, I guess you should go there too.”

Du Fan nodded slightly, thanked him, then turned to look at the group of young people in Roland Academy uniforms on the stand. He had only glanced at them before and hadn’t noticed much, but now, upon closer inspection, he saw that these young people all had an imposing presence. Not to mention the men, even the girls among them seemed to be quite strong.

But that was expected—after all, these were students carefully selected by Roland Academy over the years from various places. How could any of them be ordinary?

To be honest, if it were possible, Du Fan really didn’t want anything to do with such people. But now, he had no choice but to interact with them. After wandering around the stands for a while and greeting a few familiar priests and nobles, Du Fan calmly approached a student from Roland Academy and asked, “Miss, I would like to ask—can I register for the Combat Qi Branch exam here?”

The girl Du Fan addressed appeared extremely shy, looking no older than sixteen or seventeen. She had bright eyes on her pale face, with golden hair casually draped behind her, giving her a graceful appearance. She tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying to Du Fan, “No… I’m sorry. Although we used to allow registrations here, we can’t now. I’m afraid you’ll have to go downstairs to register.”

Du Fan smiled and asked, “Why?”

The girl seemed unsure how to answer. Her gaze flickered nervously behind her, as if she didn’t know how to explain. Du Fan followed her line of sight and quickly understood what was going on. The members of Roland Academy were all staring at Du Fan with an amused expression. Clearly, since they had come to the Gavin Empire with Bruce, their relationship with him must be quite close—indeed, it wasn’t impossible that they were all his students.

Now that their teacher clearly intended to help Emily regain face, it would be strange if these students didn’t assist. With that thought, Du Fan realized he couldn’t register there today no matter what. Should he argue with them? There was no need. It would be better to head to the registration desk downstairs right away to prepare for the exam. After all, getting into Roland Academy was quite important to Du Fan. He certainly had no mood to play games with these fools.

With a holy smile on his face, Du Fan suddenly gently took the girl’s hand, pressed it to his lips, and kissed it. Then he leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “I understand… Miss… you’re not bad-hearted, but I’m afraid you can’t refuse your companions’ requests… Still, I still want to thank you.”

With that, he released her hand, smiled slightly, and walked down from the stands.

The students of Roland Academy stared at him with eyes that seemed to sprout flames. After all, that girl had been the dream lover of many people present, yet Du Fan had done such a thing…
The girl sat there in a daze, watching his retreating figure. For some reason, a strange feeling suddenly arose in her heart. Why did he seem so indifferent, even though we had insulted him so greatly? After all, forcing a noble like him to mix with commoners must have been an immense insult for him!
“Chris…” A boy standing behind the girl spoke with a gloomy expression. “Don’t be angry. Even if he manages to register, he has no chance of passing the exam. He insulted you, and I’ll make him pay.”
The girl named Chris turned to look at the boy. Though he appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen, the fierce expression on his face was rather terrifying. Chris sighed softly and then said in a low voice, “Elvis, I don’t understand this time. If the teacher doesn’t want Du Fan to enter Roland Academy, he just needs to speak up, and he’ll have no chance. Why go through all this trouble? After all, for nobles, reputation is more important than life…”
Elvis stared at Du Fan’s retreating figure and said in a low voice, “Chris, it’s good that you understand that. Have you forgotten what he’s done? His actions almost made Aldas unable to hold his head high and almost drove Emily to extreme shame. Should you still show him mercy?”
Chris frowned and said nothing more, simply lowering her head.
Elvis snorted, crossed his arms, stepped forward a few steps, and stared in Du Fan’s direction, his eyes flashing with hostility. He murmured, “Du Fan, Du Fan… You’ll pay for everything you’ve done to Emily today. Pray… pray that you won’t have the chance to take the combat spirit exam. Otherwise, those eighteen battle platforms will become the most luxurious graves of your life.”
What was happening on the stands naturally came to the attention of the two people at the top.
Sitting far apart, Anthony and Bruce’s eyes met briefly before they both deliberately averted their gaze. Then, both of them turned their attention to Du Fan’s slowly moving figure.

Joshua stood behind Anthony and whispered, “Archbishop, I don’t understand. What’s the point of Roland Academy doing such things? After all, Du Fan is part of our Holy Church. Disgracing him is the same as disgracing us. Aren’t they afraid of offending our Holy Church?”
Anthony turned to look at Joshua and said calmly, “Joshua, you might not understand this. That old bastard Bruce knows that even if they kill Du Fan on the spot, we won’t stand up for him. That’s why he does this. Otherwise, even if he had the courage, he wouldn’t dare act recklessly in our Holy Church’s territory.”
“But…”
“No buts,” Anthony snorted. “This time, our Gavin Empire seems to have some good luck—filling all twenty-five slots for mages. Where these people go after graduation is very important to us. If we turn a blind eye this time, Bruce will naturally provide more mages for our Holy Church. In the past, I would have sided with Du Fan, but now…”
Joshua’s expression changed several times before he finally whispered, “But Du Fan reached the third level of Light Combat Energy in just three months. No matter how you look at it, he’s a talent…”
“Even if he’s a talent, so what?” Anthony sighed suddenly. “You’d better not get involved in this. Do you think our Holy Church doesn’t already have enough problems right now?”
Hearing Anthony’s hinting words, Joshua’s expression stiffened, and he stopped speaking. Yet, there was a slight change in the way he looked at Du Fan.
Seeing his reaction, Anthony shook his head slowly, then tapped his deputy on the chair before whispering, “Besides, who’s the real talent—Du Fan or Aldas? Can’t you figure that out?”
Joshua pondered the meaning of these words, glanced at Du Fan in the distance, and then at Aldas standing behind Bruce. Suddenly, he began to realize that the real issue wasn’t between these two, but rather which side the Holy Church should side with to gain more benefits.
In this world, there are no eternal friends or enemies—only eternal interests. Even the slightest difference determines which side can bring more benefits to the Holy Church, and that’s the side it should strongly support.
Religion, like politics, has always been about killing without bloodshed.

Realizing this, for some reason, Joshua, the head of the Temple Knights who had always been devout, felt a surge of panic in his heart: Could this be the truth I have pursued my whole life? Or is faith always like this?