Chapter 664: Throbbing Heart of Eternity (III)
Shockingly, the identities of these two decisive characters were of the two heads of the Knight Temple, Yang Haohan and Long Tianying.
Yang Haohan was not only a head of the Knight Temple, but moreover the head of the Alliance. But of course, this position was already nearing the term of office limit.
According to the rules of the Alliance, a head of the Alliance couldn’t serve for another consecutive term of office. In other words, Yang Haohan inevitably needed to leave office.
“Brother Long, this one is left to you. Ai...” Yang Haohan let out a long sigh, cleary sounding desolate.
Long Tianying wrinkled his brows, “The balance is bound to change! I’m afraid that our Knight Temple is...”
Yang Haohan naturally knew what he was referring to, and forced a smile, “So what’s to be done about it? The Temple that had the most outstanding emerging figures in the younger generation ten years ago was our Knight Temple. But in this Holy War, we were also the ones who sustained the highest damage. Xinyu is already back, but, for some reason, he was only willing to remain on guard in the Dragon Resisting Mountain Pass and nothing could convince him to participate in this gathering. Now we must trouble you.
Long Tianying let out a cold snort, “Don’t mention this unfilial son. Showing such a gloomy face all the day, who knows what’s going through his mind.”
Yang Haohan consoled him, “Don’t blame Xingyu. Haochen has been missing for so long, how could he not be worried.” Mentioning Haochen, these two formidable Divine Knights couldn’t help but became silent.
Right, ever since Long Haochen brought Han Yu out from the Dragon Resisting Mountain Pass, he had already been missing for over four years. The last time they had appeared was in the Spiritual Temple, and afterwards, they had had no more news. Long Tianying and Yang Haohan had already made secret inquiries to the Spiritual Temple regarding all this.
Long Tianying suddenly slapped the table loudly, declaring remorsefully, “It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have allowed him to reform his Demon Hunt Squad. If he had remained in the Dragon Resisting Mountain Pass, how could we possibly be reduced to such a passive state? Four years ago, he had already broken through the eighth step. With these four more years, even the ninth step might not be out of his reach now. He’s the Scion of Light, a god’s chosen one! Even though his cultivation would still be rather weaker, with the approval of the Divine Throne of Eternity and Creation, this Temples’ Great Gathering would surely make him a great shining star. But now things are so awkward for the two of us.”
Yang Haohan’s face darkened, “This matter is still Wenzhao’s fault. If he hadn’t gone to rescue him, they would not have gone missing. We have been doing all we could to look for traces of them, but we still didn’t find anything. However, I still don’t believe that they were truly done in by the demons.”
Long Tianying revealed a faint tint of sadness, “Who would believe in that? The most outstanding talents from our Knight Temple’s younger generation are all gone! Now we are unable to even make ends meet. Recently, Li Zhenzhi has even clearly expressed his will to support the recombination of the Six Great Temples, to end the current state of dispersion of the Alliance, unite us more closely, and make the Alliance a nation. This is clearly a provocation against us! Doesn’t he simply want to be the first head of this new Alliance?”
Yang Haohan declared, “This Li Zhengzhi is strong, but he has a very sinister and perverse character. Although he’s behaving appropriately, he is actually extremely proud to the core. Having him rule over the Alliance won’t be a lucky chance, but I’m afraid that we would hardly even be able to stop him, unless those seniors from the Titled Demon Hunt Squads step in.”
“Long Tianying shook his head, “That’s impossible. These seniors have all clearly expressed their neutral standpoint on this Temples’ Great Gathering, and won’t possibly take part. Humph, Li Zhengzhi! let’s see how much progress he has made over these past ten years. ”
He truly was a mighty experienced tiger. Right now, Long Tianying had an intense fighting intent rushing out from him.
Yang Haohan declared, “No matter who the final head is, establishing a new Alliance demands immediate action. The Holy War from four years ago has certainly caused severe damage to us, but it has started a new era for us as well. If a charismatic leader can unite the whole Alliance and its ressources, I believe that our counterattack against the demons could start soon.”
Long Tianying nodded, “When we met with Sheng Yue yesterday, the Assassin Temple expressed supporting us wholeheartedly. I have also convinced Qiu Yonghao on the matter, but since they are very close with the Mage Temple, I don’t see much chance. The Priest Temple stands neutral so far, but now the greatest issue is the Spiritual Temple’s attitude. Our chances would really increase greatly if they could support us.”
Yang Haohan responded, “I think we don’t need to worry too much regarding our supporters. After all, we have already ruled over the Alliance for so many years already. We won’t have any less support than the Mage Temple, but right now the most important is the result we will show in the Temples’ Great Gathering. This is very important, as the resistance against demonkind entails an inevitable clash against the Demon God Emperor. Strength will be one of the most important factors of authority in the new Alliance. Li Zhengzhi is really endowed in this aspect, especially after he has been bearing patiently over these past years.
“He clearly showed reserve at the Temples’ Great Gathering from ten years ago, since he didn’t show an absolute certainty at that time. He is clearly really more provoking this time, meaning he really is determined to win! Old Long, don’t be negligent, Li Zhengzhi is after all dominating in his age. I’m afraid that his internal spiritual energy has already broken through two hundred thousand, or perhaps even higher!”
Long Tianying said, “No matter the case, we have to give it a try. It won’t be so easy for him to beat me!”
Yang Haohan said, “There are three more days before the Temples’ Great Gathering starts. Let’s go, we shall gather the elders from our Knight Temple right now.”
“Yeah.” Long Tianying nodded, and the two powerhouses stood up at the same time, heading out.
Right this instant, a vigorous sound came from outside, “Chiefs, someone is requesting you.”
“Yeah?” Yang Haohan wrinkled his eyebrows, “Who is it?”
“He didn’t say it, he just said he had something to give you.” The voice reverberated from outside.
Yang Haohan opened the door and came out, seeing a Mythril Foundation Armored middle-aged knight stand respectfully in front of him, handing over an insignia held in both his hands.
With a wave of Long Tianying’s hand, that insignia came flying toward them. Yang Haohan then lifted his hand, catching the insignia inside. The two Divine Knights took the same action of looking at it without consulting.
To the shock of that Mythril Foundation Knight, the instant the gazes of these two Divine Knights gathered onto that insignia, they became simultaneously filled with shock.
Looking at each other unconsciously, Yang Wenzhao and Long Tianying shouted at the same time at that Mythril Foundation Knight, “Where’s the owner of that insignia?”
Headquarters of the Temple Alliance, in a secluded room of the Mage Temple.
The chubby Li Zhengzhi sat calmly in the center of the room. A deep green glow surrounded him, not just his whole body but a lot of empty space as well, dispersing a metallic gloss. That was clearly a materialization of Spiritual Highland which looked close to a solidified state, giving off no illusory feel.
Expelling a deep breath of air, Li Zhengzhi slowly opened his eyes, and a green electric light shot out from his eyes, shooting straight at the Spiritual Highland in front of him.
Ding. The spiritual highland barrier shook lightly before turning into countless green dots of light.
Li Zhengzhi took a deep breath of air, and, immediately, the green light disappeared, absorbed into his body.
“Reporting to Temple Head. The elders are waiting for you.” A respectful call came from outside.
“Yeah.” Li Zhengzhi gave a light reply, his body starting to float slowly. His feet landed on the ground, slowly coming out of the room.
A middle aged man clad in a green gown was waiting silently outside. Seeing Li Zhengzhi come out, he bowed his head immediately.
The headquarters of the Alliance allocated six areas for the respective Temples, so the Mage Temple naturally had there own one. After going through two alleys, the middle-aged mage brought Li Zhengzhi directly to a luxurious conference room.
Although the Mage Temple was inferior to the Knight Temple in status, their riches were something no other Temple could compare to.
Seeing Li Zhengzhi go in, everyone in the conference room straightened their posture.
His figure shifting position, he appeared on the front-most seat of the room.
A total of fifty people were present inside, and although this was just a simple conference room, if a stranger were to be present here, he would be shocked to discover that the magic essence here was more dense than in the outside world by tenfold. Just a simple breath gave a feeling of stickiness. Without a doubt, these dense magic essences were brought by the people present inside.
At least eighty percent of the mages present there had white hair and beards. They were clearly seated here for a long time, waiting for Li Zhengzhi to take charge of the meeting shortly.
This bit made clear Li Zhengzhi’s standing in the Mage Temple. When the other Temples convened similar meetings, the Temple Head would normally not be the last one to arrive, out of respect for the elders from their respective Temples. But Li Zhengzhi was clearly the last one to arrive, showing not only his personal disposition, but more importantly his authority in the Mage Temple.
Sweeping his eyes over the rest of the assembly, he declared, “All of you elders, the Temples’ Great Gathering is about to start. According to reliable sources, this time the contestant from the side of the Knight Temple will be Long Tianying. The Knight Temple has been supporting the establishment of a new Alliance,so let’s encourage their plan, since there’s no other way around it for now. I have always been against the establishment of this new Alliance so far, not because I was against unifying the Six Great Temples’ forces, but because our Mage Temple still didn’t have the strength to control it. But this Temples’ Great Gathering is not the same.”