Chapter 288: The Secret of the Three Saintesses

Ian Noyes.

This person left a bit of an impression on Vilyric, and it wasn’t a bad one.

He was the envoy sent by the Holy See to greet the Western Expeditionary Army when Yuna led them to the City of Angels.

Of course, calling it a greeting was closer to negotiations, a way to assert dominance over the Western powers meddling in the Eastern war… or something like that.

After all, the situation was still under control, not yet classified as the Fourth Demon War, merely at the level of “chaos,” and the Holy Church, nestled in its holy city, felt confident that it didn’t need the Radiant lineage to interfere.

Given that primary approach, and to ensure the Lambert Family and the Holy See’s absolute dominance in the City of Angels, the conditions for negotiation weren’t exactly generous, and Ian, carrying this intent, faced strong rejection from the Western leaders.

But in the end, he was just a representative, a poor chap pushed out to take the blame. From the tidbits I gathered from our interactions, Vilyric could tell that Ian Noyes, personally, didn’t care much about the contradictions between the East and West or the Three Saintesses and the Holy Church.

He was probably an ordinary believer who didn’t hold much regard for power, and due to his background and abilities, had no choice but to tough it out in some matters.

Hence, Miss Vilyric didn’t adopt an overly aloof or superior attitude.

“Yes, it has been a while; it’s been over two months since our last meeting. We had even promised to chat again if we had the chance~”

Ian smiled wryly and shook his head.

“The plans can’t keep up with changes; who would’ve guessed the war situation would have so many twists and turns… Not to dwell on that, why has Miss Xī suddenly returned to the Holy Capital? Is there some scheme from the demons aimed at this place?”

The White Fox Girl shook her head and got straight to the point.

“It’s unrelated to demons; I’m here to find the Pope. If you’re not in the know, then don’t ask—sometimes knowing too much doesn’t help.”

Mr. Vice Director paused slightly, then sighed as if he understood her sentiment.

“That’s true; thank you for the reminder, Miss Xī. Please follow me; His Holiness has been awaiting your arrival in the Cathedral of Bright Light.”

Under Ian’s guidance, the two proceeded deeper into the Holy See.

Along the way, the Archbishop, who was clearly well-acquainted with the place, didn’t hesitate to play tour guide, trying to avoid awkwardness by casually introducing the surrounding sights and decor.

Although he seemed a bit distracted, clearly worried about the White Fox Girl’s unfriendly demeanor, he explained earnestly and in detail, easily recalling the historical anecdotes and cultural significance related to almost every landmark.

His actual job probably involved doing such things.

“Miss Xī, please look this way; this is the Holy Sword Granst, said to be crafted akin to the Judgment Saintess’s sacred artifact, the Arbitration Sword, passed down to her successor. Though it lacks the awe-inspiring power of divine relics, it’s still quite formidable and holds significant sentimental value.”

“After the first Judgment Saintess passed away, the Church preserved Granst as a cherished relic to commemorate that glorious founding history.”

“Oh… the first Judgment Saintess.”

Pausing thoughtfully, the White Fox Girl gazed at the sword, encased within a crystal display and intricate magical array, resembling the Arbitration Sword by at least seventy percent.

Seeing her stop for the first time, Ian, who had only been conducting a routine introduction, also halted and turned around, while the two Temple Knights guarding the Holy Sword gasped at the attention she was giving and hurriedly bowed in respect.

“Miss Xī, do you have any questions?”

“No, just a bit of curiosity.”

Looking at the sword sparked a thought for Vilyric.

In historical records, the first Judgment Saintess never broke through the Transcendent Level, ultimately passing peacefully surrounded by admirers, and the same situation occurred for the first Redeeming Saintess and the first Saint of Bright Light.

It’s a well-known fact that none of the first three Saintesses reached the Transcendent Level, while their successors showed some differences.

Among the twenty generations of the Judgment and Redeeming Saintesses, few have managed to break through the threshold.

Due to lifespan issues, normally a Saint’s position and artifacts last no less than ten to twenty years and no more than a hundred years, then they are passed on to the next generation, even Losa Cecelia required the help of transgressors like Min Chen to break through to the Transcendent Level.

Having walked through the Holy See, Vilyric had seen many similar substitutes to the Holy Sword Granst, left by past Judgment Saintesses, the same can be said for the Redeeming Saintess.

But as the leader of the Three Saintesses, the situation with the Saint of Bright Light was different.

Vilyric noticed that in this Holy See, there were nearly no relics of the Saint of Bright Light with any practical significance.

No matter how much the Holy Church suppressed the Radiant lineage, they couldn’t blatantly target them in such a manner; the appearance of this situation indicated one thing: the artifacts of former Saint of Bright Light have all been collected and organized in another way.

Only the Saint of Bright Light herself could manage such a feat.

Due to their powerful longevity, the intervals between the Radiant lineages are extremely long; Yuna, the current Saint of Bright Light, is merely the eighth generation, while the Redeeming Saintess Philomina has already turned twenty-third.

The main reason for this is that the proportion of those who break through the Transcendent Level among the Saint of Bright Light is particularly high.

Well… perhaps the time taken varies, but almost every Saint of Bright Light achieves genuine Transcendent Level within their term. Out of the eight Saints over the past millennium, only three are exceptions.

The first Judgment Saintess, the seventh Judgment Saintess who was deposed after the Demon War, and Yuna Summerfield, the current Judgment Saintess.

Of course, Yuna conceals her abilities, which means there are only the first and the seventh who occupy somewhat nuanced positions.

Also quite strange, the lifespan of a Transcendent Level could reach a millennium, yet those predecessors who broke through the Transcendent Level typically retire voluntarily after one or two hundred years into their tenure and gradually disappear from public view…

Where did they go?

Rumors say that the reason the Saint of Bright Light can generally break through to Transcendent Level is that the Summerfield Family possesses some secret technique to overdraw potential, which allows successive Saints to achieve transcendence more easily but drastically shortens their lifespan.

There’s also speculation that the Summerfield Family achieved this power through intermingling bloodlines with the Light Tribe, which likewise brought various downsides like reduced lifespans.

So, the retired predecessors of the Saint of Bright Light likely have long since passed away.

Otherwise, at the critical moment of the Third Demon War breaking out and the Radiant lineage weakening, how could those seniors remain indifferent?

Vilyric remained neutral on these claims.

But one thing is certain.

The first Saint of the Summerfield Family was indeed just an ordinary human, or rather, an ordinary demigod, while starting from the second Saint of Bright Light, for some reason, they began to incorporate that so-called Light Tribe bloodline.

The power of Transcendent Level began appearing then.

However, if the bloodline of the Light Tribe were so impressive, didn’t the other two demigod families consider introducing it, creating some Transcendent Level experts for their families too?

There’s a clear problem in this.

And that problem lies with those successive Saints who reached the Transcendent Level and have been systematically rotated… as well as Yuna Summerfield.

Speaking of which, did those Saints truly only break through later?

After all, Yuna, now at the peak of the Transcendent Level, has been carefully avoiding revealing her strength, still appearing to the outside world merely as the peak of legend. If we were to take this scenario into account…

Noticing the White Fox Girl staring silently at the Holy Sword on display while occasionally glancing towards the depths of the Holy See, Ian waited a long time before finally opening his mouth.

“If Miss Xī is interested in the Holy Sword Granst, I could have the guards lift the seal for you to have a closer look. Though it’s prohibited for ordinary visitors, for you…”

However, in response to Ian’s kind offer, Vilyric merely shook her head, ending her thoughts, and turned to leave.

“No need; let’s go, we shouldn’t keep August waiting too long.”

   

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