The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing

The golden morning light coated the Church's stained glass windows, and the shadows of the Chinese parasol trees outside the casement windows fell on the mahogany walls, with the branches trembling lightly in the wind, casting dancing green shadows all around.

As soon as An Su entered the Church, he sensed that something was off:

First, there were a lot of people, many more than the usual number of worshippers, each with a serious and earnest expression concealing a hint of excitement;

Second, the expression on that old Priest's face at the door when he saw An Su himself—it was obviously much stranger than usual, with a mix of schadenfreude.

"Most honorable Aspirant for Sanctity, An Su Moningsta."

Priest Danny's mouth was filled with a smile, and the wrinkles around his eyes squished together, "May the Goddess's brilliance shine upon your path—good morning."

It felt sarcastically weird.

"Who's that person?"

An Su pointed to the young man surrounded by the crowd, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed individual dressed in a Priest's robe, right at the center of the disturbance.

The young man was half-kneeling before the Goddess's statue, his robe spread out on the marble floor, praying with a solemn face.

The sunlight washed over his chiseled features, divine and solemn. Many girls surrounded him, truly like stars circling the moon.

"Most honorable Aspirant for Sanctity,"

Priest Danny hummed softly, "That gentleman is the son of Priest Rowan, a radiant figure soon to be promoted to saint. He's been divinely titled 'Son of Light,' Lord Cavendish."

Quite a lengthy introduction.

"So there were three men kneeling in front of the statue?" An Su said with a smile.

The Priest was a high-ranking official in this division of the Church, and that Priest Rowan—An Su had met him, indeed a very influential figure.

"Please maintain reverence,"

The fake smile on Priest Danny's lips vanished, "After tonight, Lord Cavendish will be promoted to the second rank of Magician, which is different from you."

"Tonight?" An Su's eyebrows rose.

"Witch-hunting—presumably, you, young master, have never experienced it."

Priest Danny stared into An Su's eyes, "To personally hunt down the horrific heretics and thus receive the Goddess's favor."

"These days are the days of the Red Moon, Cultists will sacrifice in mass."

"Lord Cavendish has already accumulated enough Faith Points. He also controls several second-tier Cultist lairs. After tonight, his Lordship will be able to receive baptism and be promoted to a second-tier Magician."

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What surprised Priest Danny was that An Su's expression remained unchanged, merely uttering a nonchalant "Oh."

"He grew up together with Luojia."

Priest Danny, seeing An Su's indifferent demeanor, thought he was feigning calmness and sneered to himself.

"He happens to be the childhood friend of the designated Holy Maiden, they say they're a match made in heaven."

The subtext of the Priest's words was easy to understand.

Cavendish likes Luojia, and Luojia recommended An Su, so would that make Cavendish displeased with An Su?

Cavendish... An Su, having gone through seven loops, simply couldn't recall any NPC named Cavendish. Even when pursuing the Holy Maiden route, he hadn't heard her mention it.

Not even listed in the character entries.

Just a background character, then.

He said he is Luojia's childhood friend.

Does Luojia even know she has a childhood friend...?

An Su thought, but what did this have to do with him?—a player set on a speed run only has leveling up and slaying on their mind, women only slow down the pace of leveling.

Seeing An Su still so unconcerned, Priest Danny thought spitefully, "This wastrel is still playing the fool..."

After a while.

An Su spoke again, saying, "That gentleman hasn't finished praying yet, there's a queue forming behind."

An Su valued efficiency above all when going about his business. The Priest's son had been kneeling there for quite some time, forming a long line behind him.

And who prays with a bunch of girls crowding around them...

An Su didn't want to waste any more time here; his study tasks for the day were still incomplete—he turned to leave, planning to come back in the afternoon.

Little did he expect that as he turned to take a step, the Priest's son seemed to sense his movement.

"Are you leaving?" Cavendish slowly stood up, his gaze piercing like an eagle's, his tone rising, "Child of the Curse?"

As soon as the term "Child of the Curse" was uttered, the entire Church silenced.

It was a taboo that no one dared to mention.

Many held their breath, watching An Su's reaction.

"I am going to the library to read."

Surprisingly, An Su was not angry, his face showed no sign of insult, and he even had a gentle smile, concern laced in his words, "Say, kneeling for so long, don't your legs feel numb?"

A little numb... Cavendish's mouth twitched slightly.

This guy really knew how to provoke someone.

Who's discussing whether my legs are numb with you!

If I don't kneel for a longer time, how can I show off Lord Cavendish's devotion!

The longer I kneel, the more votes I get, does this guy even understand that?

Although that's what I'm thinking, I can't say it out loud like that.

"In front of the altar of faith, I have never been numb."

Mr. Kavensis speaks with such an imposing air, all the surrounding girls cast admiring glances at him.

"If they're not numb, walk a few steps," An Su said.

"..."

Mr. Kavensis slowly exhaled.

He told himself to maintain a dignified and elegant demeanor, to be solemn like a Holy Knight, and to not lose his temper with this foolish Child of the Curse,

"My body may be numb, but my spirit remains alert," he said.

"Unlike someone whose spirit has been deeply veiled in darkness, numb beyond feeling," Mr. Kavensis said with a sting in his words.

Of course, Mr. Kavensis had good reason to be proud. His father put in not a small amount of effort to acquire the locations of several Cultist strongholds, specifically for him to clean and annihilate.

After tonight's witch hunt, he would advance to a second-tier Magician, and thereafter, he would surely pass the saint's test, becoming a noble saint.

And An Su, this Child of the Curse, is probably never going to set foot on the witch-hunting battlefield in his life, so how can he compete with Lord Cavendish?

Without faith points, he can neither exchange them for a Holy Light magic book nor increase his mana, keeping him from becoming a second-tier Magician.

"If they're not numb, then take a few steps," An Su said again.

"...Can we stop talking about my numb legs?" Mr. Kavensis said with lines of irritation on his face.

"Let's change the topic,"

An Su suggested, "Mr. Kavensis with the clear-spirited mind, have you finished your homework?"

Have you finished your homework—an unassuming question, a seemingly commonplace conversation, yet carried a huge destructive force.

It was a judgement from the depths of the soul, a bloodline suppression from a higher-ranking magician against any student, wrapped in the purest malice—

because indeed, Mr. Kavensis had not even started today's assignment.

All because An Su himself motivated the entire border city's saint-exam preppers with his workload!

Especially those from the noble families, seeing how even the degenerate Child of the Curse was so desperately studying, while their own pure-blooded children were lounging around—that was unacceptable!

Stabbed in this sore spot, Mr. Kavensis's mouth twitched even more.

The most he had heard these past few weeks was, "Look at what the child from the neighboring Chenxing family is doing!"

This guy right here was the instigator of his torment.

Bringing it up now—wasn't An Su proudly provoking him?

"Despicable Child of the Curse,"

he said coldly,

"You pampered noble scion have probably never stepped into the Cultists' altar, never eradicated a Cultist, because they are your kindred!"

"At dawn today, I will charge into the battlefield of blood and light, while you, a cowardly little lord, continue hiding in your castle!"

Unexpectedly, after patiently listening, An Su showed a surprised expression, even sounding sympathetic, "You will only finish your homework by dawn? That sounds pitiful..."

Is that the point here?

The point is I'm going into battle, not doing tedious homework!

Mr. Kavensis felt a surge of rage, bottling up in his chest. He believed if he continued this futile conversation, he might die of a brain hemorrhage.

"I hope when I see you at the saint's test, your wit will be as sharp as it is today!"

Having said that, feeling gradually returned to Mr. Kavensis's legs.

He walked towards the exit of the Church, not looking back. As he passed An Su, he bumped An Su's shoulder hard.

Miss Enya's voice came into An Su's ear, "Do you need me to take care of him?"

"...You're too extreme,"

An Su shook his head and adjusted his clothes methodically, unfazed,

He just felt like he was bickering with a petty child, easily agitated, spilling out so much information once poked. It was truly amusing.

An outburst over such an important piece of information.

Action at dawn tonight, huh...?

For a top-tier player, monopolizing the mobs was a basic skill.

If this little friend finds out all the mobs around him have been cleared away in advance, will he cry out in desperation?

An Su was somewhat looking forward to it.