Chapter 012: Divine Might

At the end of the path lay an impossibly vast open space, covered with all kinds of bright flowers. Yet strangely, despite their vibrant beauty, everyone present could faintly sense a strange “deadness” emanating from them.
Were all these seemingly living flowers actually dead?
Moreover, among the flowers, pale bones could be faintly seen beneath the ground. Du Fan glanced at them for a moment before being shocked to discover that the entire open space was paved with bones.
His mind grew increasingly puzzled. Ignoring everything else, he rushed to the edge of the open space first. With a wave of his hand, he sent out a burst of combat energy from his fingertips, lifting a delicate flower into the air. But after floating for a short while, the flower turned into dust.
Du Fan’s expression changed. He didn’t know what to do. His powerful mental sense told him that some strange force lurked within this open space, but he couldn’t identify it.
For some reason, the traces left by Aldas and the others had disappeared, leaving only this eerie open space, prompting everyone to exchange bewildered looks.
Nicholas gently closed his eyes for a moment before opening them slowly and shaking his head. “It seems we really came to the right place. I can no longer sense any other presence… All around us seems to be boundless divine might.”
Du Fan frowned and asked, “Then what about this place…?”
Nicholas replied, “We definitely have to pass through here. As for what lies beyond, don’t we already know the answer?”
With that, Nicholas pointed ahead. Following his gesture, they saw a wide staircase at the end of the open space. Though not long, it somehow concealed whatever was behind it, giving the impression of seeing through mist.
Although Du Fan and the others couldn’t see clearly what it was, they could faintly sense boundless divine might emanating from it. Nicholas, who had practiced in the sacred land for a long time, was the most sensitive to such power. Within moments, his face turned pale, and he nearly fainted.
Not daring to do anything further, he quickly assumed a praying posture and began to chant softly.

Although Du Fan and Tasia did not perceive that divine power as profoundly as Nicholas, it was still extremely formidable, prompting immediate reactions from both of them. Tasia, not knowing what she had done, saw her expression calm down in an instant. Du Fan, on the other hand, retracted his mental sensing and dared not probe anything casually again, gradually calming down after a while. That indescribable divine power was almost enough to drive one insane instantly; fortunately, the group was devoutly faithful, and though they were frightened, they suffered no real harm. As for Alfred’s dozens of Temple Knights, though highly skilled, their mental strength was limited, so without actively searching, they did not sense anything. After a long while, Nicholas finally let out a long sigh and suddenly said, “I think I understand what’s going on here.” Du Fan glanced at him and said, “Please enlighten us, Lord Nicholas.” Nicholas slowly lowered his head and said, “God says that everything I create will endure forever, and those who desecrate Me will perish. Yet eternity and destruction will coexist at the same time.” Du Fan frowned and remained silent. Nicholas continued, “These flowers before us represent the eternity created by God, while these bones represent the desecrators who have perished. I guess… that’s what it means…” All of them came from the Holy Church and had memorized the sacred teachings since childhood, so with Nicholas’s brief explanation, they roughly understood what was happening. What they saw was not some trap but rather a proof—that the place beyond this clearing was the sacred palace they were meant to go to. Otherwise, how could such things exist casually? After all, gathering thousands of bones was no easy task. Once they understood this, a sense of fervor appeared in their eyes. Finally, Nicholas nodded slightly and made a gentle gesture. Two Temple Knights flashed across the clearing like lightning, and only when they safely reached the steps did the others finally feel relieved. Moments later, everyone had reached the top of the stairs. Standing there, everything before them had changed completely from before. At some point, the sky had been filled with blazing holy flames; any dark creature that even glanced at them would be burned to ashes.

Du Fan and the others clearly understood that it was absolutely impossible for them to enter the Divine Palace easily; the path ahead was the most difficult. Endless pressure seemed to emanate from nowhere, causing their bodies to tremble. Several Temple Knights who couldn’t withstand the pressure already knelt at the foot of the stairs, their faces filled with solemnity and holiness. In the face of such immense power, they probably had even forgotten the purpose of their journey. Du Fan felt that suffocating pressure once again—this time, it was countless times stronger than before. He tried to use his internal energy to resist, but found that, for some reason, his Light Energy was completely ineffective against this power. His Multifaceted Energy, however, seemed to have some effect, preventing him from kneeling like those Temple Knights. At such a moment, no one could care about others; everyone could only close their eyes and walk slowly. Climbing those short stairs felt as difficult as ascending to heaven. The more Du Fan walked, the more numb he became. That boundless power was beyond what a mere human could confront. His strong mental strength formed a thin protective layer around him, alleviating his tremors to some extent. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Du Fan suddenly felt relieved. He quickly opened his eyes and realized he had left those stairs and was now in front of the Divine Palace. Before him lay an indescribably vast expanse. Under the radiant holy light, a solemn and majestic Divine Palace stood there. Everything around it faded away, leaving only a white marble path leading straight to the palace. Du Fan didn’t know what to do for a moment, standing there in confusion. A short while later, several more people appeared behind him. Out of dozens of Temple Knights, no more than five could keep up. Thankfully, Nicholas and the others had safely entered. Everyone present was stunned by the scene before them. Although the oppressive pressure was gone now, they were still too shocked to speak. Finally, Nicholas took a slow breath, seemingly sensing the holiness in the air, before saying softly, “I see… I see…” Du Fan glanced at him but remained silent. Alfred, on the other hand, said gravely, “Lord Nicholas, what exactly is going on?”

Nicholas smiled faintly and said, “This is what is called a miracle. The place we are in now is no longer the Roland Continent, nor any other place—it doesn’t even belong to any place. It’s a separate…” At this point, Saint Nicholas seemed unable to find the right adjective and frowned slightly. Du Fan suddenly let out a soft sigh beside him and said, “It must be a separate space, right?” Nicholas looked at Du Fan in surprise and couldn’t help but say, “Lord Du Fan is truly extraordinary—able to understand this… It seems you truly are a rare genius once in a hundred years. I really underestimated you before.” With that, Nicholas gave Du Fan another meaningful look before continuing, “We can understand it this way: this divine palace isn’t located on the Roland Continent but exists within an independent space created by the gods. Such existence is beyond our comprehension… But that’s not important to us… What matters is that the palace exists right now…” The group exchanged glances. Though they were puzzled, they knew that none of them could explain everything clearly. Perhaps only the Pope sitting in the Holy City, the one closest to the gods on this continent, could have some understanding of this situation. Nicholas thought for a moment longer but said nothing more. Instead, he waved his hand and headed toward where the divine palace was. Alfred was slightly stunned and said, “Lord Nicholas, there are still our people outside…” Nicholas turned to Alfred and sighed, “I’ve said it before—once we enter this valley, everything is already determined. The glory of the Supreme God surpasses even that of the God of Light. He oversees the entire continent; how could he overlook any corner? Those who can’t enter this place… their faith is simply not pure enough. As for those of you here, since you’ve already come in, I doubt I need to say more about what comes next, right?” By now, Nicholas had clearly become the leader of this journey. The others didn’t dare say much and simply nodded slightly before quickly following Nicholas’s pace.