Early the next morning, just as the morning light illuminated the dilapidated residential area in the West District, Li Yuan knocked on the door of Mokotoba’s house.
The door opened almost instantly. Mokotoba froze for a moment when he saw him, then immediately stepped aside. As soon as Li Yuan walked in, he asked impatiently,
“Did you find anything? My sister, she—” Mokotoba’s voice was very low, his tone filled with worry.
“Your sister is fine for the time being,” Li Yuan said calmly as he sat down in a chair. “She’s currently under their control, but her physical condition is normal. No one will touch her before the festival.”
Mokotoba’s shoulders visibly slumped as his tense nerves finally relaxed. He sat on the edge of the bed, hands clasped over his knees, and didn't speak for several seconds, as if talking to himself for comfort.
“I knew she was okay... I knew she was fine.”
After about fifteen minutes, Mokotoba looked up, his eyes slightly red.
“What should I do next?”
“Do nothing. Just wait at home. Do not go back to the temple.”
Mokotoba opened his mouth to say something but ultimately nodded. Li Yuan patted him on the shoulder and stood up to take his leave.
Over the next few days, Li Yuan scoured every corner of the temples in the City of Divine Grace. He didn't miss the main temple, the three branch temples, the five community altars, or even an old sanctuary near the city walls that was nearly abandoned.
The conclusion he reached was somewhat unexpected—throughout the entire City of Divine Grace and the surrounding area for thousands of miles, the vow power and faith generated by all the believers of the God of Light were continuously flowing toward the temples in the city.
However, they weren't being absorbed. Instead, they were lingering inside the temples, as if stored in massive vessels. Faith and vow power were esoteric things; if he weren't powerful enough, he might not have even noticed them.
The main temple held the largest amount, but the other branch temples and altars also had significant reserves, totaling about thirty percent of the main temple’s volume.
Li Yuan was no stranger to this method of storage. On the Kyushu Continent, some sects would do something similar when preparing for large-scale sacrifices or opening secret realms, using special formations to temporarily seal vow power.
But the fact that it could be maintained for days or even months without dissipating indicated that these temples had been designed as part of a vow power container from the very beginning of the city’s construction. In other words, the entire faith system of the City of Divine Grace was itself a giant reservoir for vow power.
This conclusion brought him even more questions.
Vow power and faith were very specific. Unlike conventional forces like spiritual energy or mana, they possessed a natural directionality—whichever god a believer prayed to, the vow power would flow to that god. Even if someone held an immortal artifact, they couldn't intercept it because these forces would not respond to an unrelated summoner.
Furthermore, they were extremely difficult to store. Usually, they were absorbed by the corresponding god almost immediately after being generated, unless the god chose to reject them.
And the target of the vow power in these temples was singular—the God of Light.
Under normal circumstances, the moment a believer generated vow power, it should have been taken by the God of Light. It shouldn't be piling up in the temples at all... unless something was wrong on the God of Light’s end.
Combining these facts, a bold hypothesis began to emerge—the God of Light herself might be in trouble.
Perhaps she was severely injured, in a deep sleep, or suppressed by some force. Whatever the reason, she was likely unable to receive vow power like a normal god and might have even lost control over her own believers.
An injured god who couldn't move was like an unlocked vault. But the problem was—even if someone really controlled or even killed the God of Light, this faith and vow power belonged to her. No one else could take it.
Unless their goal was to replace her—but that made even less sense. Neither on the Kyushu Continent nor here had he ever seen anyone capable of absorbing someone else’s faith. Moreover, blood fiend energy and any other power were inherently repulsive to each other. Forcing an absorption would only backfire or even... cause the body to explode.
Li Yuan couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.
The theory felt too unrealistic. He had probably spent too much time running around temples lately, and his mind was overthinking things.
Shaking his head, he decided to stop speculating blindly. Regardless, the festival was just around the corner. That so-called Envoy would inevitably show up, and once he caught the man, everything would become clear.
It was evening by the time he left the last branch temple. He walked back along Lightseeker Avenue, planning to rest at the hotel for the night and head straight to the festival site tomorrow.
If things went south, he would simply pull Ramina out of the spatial pocket before the festival began. As for the High Priest and the figure behind the statue, he would deal with them once the festival was thrown into chaos.
Before he reached the hotel entrance, he saw three people walking toward him from across the street. Mokotoba was in front, followed by a man and a woman.
The man was burly, with a broad-bladed longsword hanging at his waist, its metal scabbard glinting darkly in the sunset. The woman was short, with her dark brown hair tied into a practical ponytail.
Both were in civilian clothes, but based on their stride and where their eyes lingered while scanning the surroundings, they were well-trained combatants.
Mokotoba saw Li Yuan first and hurried over.
“My lord, these two are also from the Empire.” He stepped aside and added in a whisper, “They say they’re from the Inquisition and are looking for you.”
Li Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the two individuals. The female Inquisitor spoke first, her tone strictly professional. “Are you the Inquisitor Mokotoba mentioned?”
“Li Yuan,” he replied simply.
The female Inquisitor’s brow furrowed as she looked him up and down, her gaze filled with obvious scrutiny. “I have no memory of you. Which inquisitorial agency are you with?”
“I report directly to His Majesty the Emperor.”
At those words, the male Inquisitor also looked up. He appeared several years older than the woman, with a square face and heavy brow bones. His voice was deep and powerful when he spoke. “There is no one like you among the Inquisitors reporting directly to the Emperor. I am certain of that.”
Mokotoba looked back and forth between the three of them, his expression bewildered. “Aren't you all Inquisitors? Why wouldn't you know each other?”
No one answered him. The female and male Inquisitors exchanged a glance, and then the mana within both of them began to accelerate simultaneously—a silent pressure unique to high-level warriors began to spread.
The female Inquisitor’s fingers were already resting on the hilt of the short sword at her waist, while the male Inquisitor’s right hand had dropped to his longsword.
“Sir,” the woman’s voice turned cold. “Please state your true identity. If you refuse to cooperate, we have the right to take you back to the Inquisition for investigation. If you dare to resist—”
“Summary execution?” Li Yuan finished the sentence for her, his tone unhurried.
The two didn't respond, but their ready-to-strike stances confirmed Li Yuan’s statement.
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