Chapter 001: Red Tea

Du Fan elegantly picked up the teacup in front of him. After the silver spoon circled his fingers a few times, he gently exhaled and said, “Well… who knows? As for you, Lord Aldas, after traveling all this way only to find an old acquaintance waiting for you here, are you happy or surprised?”
Aldas frowned at Du Fan. He could sense that there was not a trace of fear in Du Fan’s presence. Facing him here, Du Fan seemed not afraid at all—instead, he appeared relaxed, extremely relaxed.
On top of that, Aldas had concealed his aura and hidden nearby earlier, yet Du Fan still detected him. Aldas couldn’t help but wonder if this Du Fan was truly just a third-level fighter. His own Earth Spirit Combat Qi was considered unparalleled on the continent when it came to concealing one’s aura—even those stronger than him might not be able to sense his presence. Yet Du Fan had still detected his arrival. Could it be that this seemingly cheerful young man had already broken through to the eighth level?
Aldas couldn’t determine Du Fan’s strength for the time being. Watching him smile faintly as he sipped his red tea, even though he wanted to tear Du Fan to pieces, he dared not act.
But in truth, how could Du Fan possibly sense Aldas’s aura?
Last night, Du Fan had considered that if the Temple Knights clashed head-on with the octopus monster in the lake, their strength would already be greatly depleted. After a fierce battle, less than one-tenth or one-twelfth of them might remain. Normally, given Du Fan’s personality, he wouldn’t care much about people who had little to do with him. But since entering the Divine Palace required scouts, pawns to sacrifice, and even a few to die for him, these precious sacrifices couldn’t be lost at such a critical moment.
That’s why Du Fan proposed that Aldas face the people from Roland Academy alone.
However, he knew clearly that without cunning tactics, he could never defeat the people from Roland Academy. But whether using deception or open tactics, he needed to know when his opponents would appear and how many they were.
Thus, with no other choice, Du Fan came up with this last resort: pretend!

He had prepared these things since last night, and after sending Ferre off to make other arrangements, he began brewing black tea here. Every time he finished a cup elegantly, he would shout loudly like this. By now, he no longer knew how many times he had shouted, and after drinking that delicious black tea all night, his tongue had turned bitter. If it weren’t for what lay ahead, he might have even been tempted to throw the table aside and leave. Fortunately, early this morning, Aldas obediently came out, and Du Fan was secretly relieved, though he kept a calm appearance, swaying his teacup elegantly as if he were drinking tea in his own backyard. Seeing that Aldas didn’t respond to his words, Du Fan put down his teacup, clapped his hands, and said, “Lord Aldas, this is your fault. You say you’re a guest who’s come from afar, and I’ve treated you well with morning tea here, but you glare at me fiercely, as if you want to devour me. Is this how the Belinger family treats guests? Or do you act as if everyone owes you millions of gold coins wherever you go?” Aldas’s expression changed slightly before returning to calm. He picked up his black tea again, took a sip, and then smiled, saying, “Lord Du Fan, you’re joking. Although I, Aldas, am reckless, I’m not that terrible as you put it, am I? By the way, I forgot to ask Lord Du Fan—” “Well… just say it’s true…” Du Fan tapped the table gently. “But what does it matter? As long as I’m here, isn’t that enough? Or is Lord Aldas’s greatest hope along the way to not see me here? If that’s the case… then I, Du Fan, truly am guilty of disappointing Lord Aldas.” Hearing Du Fan’s veiled insults, Aldas felt even more puzzled: What does this Du Fan have to back him up? From the way he acts, it seems he’s trying to provoke me before waiting for me to strike.

Oldas, known as a genius, was certainly not reckless. He couldn’t figure out what backup Du Fan had prepared to deal with him, and he didn’t dare to turn hostile for now. He ignored Du Fan’s sarcastic remarks and instead smiled, saying, “It is said that Lord Du Fan is traveling with Saint Nicholas. I’ve also heard that Miss Tasia, the famous ice-cold beauty of the empire, and Sir Alfred, the top knight under Knight Commander Joshua, are accompanying him as well. I wonder where those people have gone? If possible, I’d like to meet them.”

Du Fan responded with an “Oh,” nodded, and said, “Lord Oldas seems well-informed. You can even guess clearly about our group’s whereabouts. It seems there are quite a few people from Roland Academy in the Holy Church. After returning, I should suggest Archbishop Anthony investigate thoroughly. Otherwise, in the future, won’t there be any secrets left in our Holy Church?”

Oldas smiled faintly and said, “Is Lord Du Fan joking? How could there be people from Roland Academy in the Holy Church? It’s just that those of you are all well-known figures in the capital. If you don’t show up in public for a few days, as long as we’re not fools, we can easily guess where you’ve gone. Speaking of which, I must admire Lord Du Fan. If I’m not mistaken, you’ve accomplished great things this time. You’ll surely get that position as a cardinal upon returning.”

Du Fan smiled and said, “Lord Oldas, you’re overpraising me. If I really end up in that position someday, the first person I’ll go to thank will be your family from Belinger. After all, it’s thanks to your wise advice.”

Oldas snorted and remained silent.

Du Fan’s smile didn’t fade as he suddenly reached out to touch his nose and said, “By the way, Oldas just asked where the others went, right? Sorry, I temporarily forgot to answer. Here’s what happened: While exploring the surroundings, we passed by this place. Lord Nicholas sensed a faint divine energy emanating from this valley, so he led the group to investigate. As for us… we were the least useful, so we could only stay at the entrance of the valley, drinking tea and cooling off while waiting for the others, to give them a warning.”

“Oh,” Oldas replied with a smile instead of anger. “What kind of warning?”

Du Fan reached out and tweaked it, then counted them in front of him and said, “Well, actually there are quite a few. First, I want to tell those who come after me that this valley has been declared a forbidden area by my Holy Church. Those who enter without permission are considered to be desecrating the gods, and they will be executed without mercy…”
Oldas nodded and asked, “Second?”
Du Fan glanced at him and continued, “Secondly, I want to tell those who come after me that if someone has extraordinary strength, they can naturally ignore my words… They can enter as they wish, as long as they’re willing to bear the label of desecration for life.”
Oldas’ expression changed. He stared at Du Fan for a long time before saying, “Lord Du Fan, you truly have ruthless tactics and an unshakable audacity!”
Du Fan smiled and said, “Well… Lord Oldas, it’s fine if you insult me, but be careful. Desecrating the gods isn’t something good, is it?”
Oldas sneered and said, “We both know very well who discovered this place first. Now that you’ve heard what our people have to say, do you plan to seize this sacred palace under the guise of righteousness?”
Du Fan looked puzzled and said, “What? You discovered this place first? What did you hear from your people? Lord Oldas, what do you mean by that? I don’t quite understand.”
Oldas snorted and snapped his hand lightly. The table in front of him was instantly crushed into powder. Such skill was beyond Du Fan’s ability to imitate, even with flattery.
Yet Du Fan seemed to have expected this. He reached out, picked up the teacup in front of him, took a small sip, then threw the cup to the ground. Slowly standing up, he said, “It seems Lord Oldas is ready to take action. But don’t blame me for not warning you. If you’re going to fight, it’s better to bring out those people behind you. If it’s just you, I’m afraid you’re not my match.”
Oldas snorted and said, “There’s no need…”
Before he could finish speaking, he raised his hand, and a fierce combat energy shot out from his fingertips, aiming at Du Fan’s head.
Du Fan immediately broke into cold sweat, but he was prepared. With a quick motion of both hands, several small fireballs shot toward Oldas. At the same time, he moved swiftly, turning his body just in time to dodge Oldas’ attack.

Ordas grunted softly, raised his hands again, and a barrier of combat energy appeared in front of him. Within moments, several small fireballs hit the barrier and slowly extinguished. However, upon seeing Du Fan use such skills, Ordas showed a strange expression: “Lord Du Fan, I didn’t expect you to be a magician as well?”