Medical Sage

”You...” Bishop Hales’s expression changed drastically in an instant. Murderous intent burst forth from him, and wisps of horrifying Power of Light surged from his body as he prepared to strike. For many years, Hales had been the foremost Red Robed Bishop of the Holy Church of the Divine Holy Church, and it had been an eternity since he had suffered such a humiliation! When had he ever been reduced to being scolded while someone pointed at his nose? If this wasn’t a humiliation, what was?!

”Haha, gentlemen, there’s an old saying from the East: ’it is better to resolve an enmity than to persist in it.’ So why must we create a situation where no one can save face? There’s really no need. Besides, I’ve come personally today with a task. I would like to invite you both to the Brad Family Supreme Conference Hall to discuss urgent matters.” At that moment, the hunched old man Beirut laughed heartily, seemingly stepping in front of Hales by chance. He then said something surprising, yet perfectly capable of diverting the topic.

”Discuss urgent matters, now?” Indeed, upon hearing this, Bishop Hales’s expression turned grave. He certainly knew what ’urgent matters’ Beirut was referring to, but they had just finished their confrontation and hadn’t even had a moment to rest. Yet, they were already being called to a meeting... Could it really be that urgent, that serious?

He could guess the reason, and of course, so could Chen Fei, Young Master Chen. His eyes flashed slightly as he said slowly, ”Then please lead the way, Lord Beirut.” He had agreed to help with this matter for two reasons. First, to live by the principle of ’returning a favor with greater generosity’. Second, he himself was extremely interested in the defeated Qi Practitioners of the East. After all, if his suspicions were correct—that the so-called Demon of the Holy Domain and the Qi Practitioners who fought it were all at the Foundation Establishment Realm—then the value contained within that sealed battlefield likely exceeded the Brad Family’s estimates by tenfold, or even a hundredfold! How could he not be moved?

”Hmph!” Seeing Chen Fei’s response, Hales understood it was impossible to continue the altercation or challenge Beirut. Immediately, with a grim face, all he could do was suppress the murderous intent in his heart and take no further action.

”Hehe, thank you both for giving this old man some face.” Seeing Bishop Hales finally abandon the idea of fighting Chen Fei, Beirut laughed again and stepped aside. His expression then turned serious as he addressed Ovilia and Cariman, ”You two are dismissed.” The matters to follow were beyond what they were qualified to participate in.

”Yes!”

”Yes!”

Ovilia and Cariman exchanged glances. The latter wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, her expression a mixture of a wry smile and regret. They both rose to their feet, bowed, and respectfully departed.

”This way, please.” Once Ovilia and Cariman had left, Beirut smiled and began leading Hales and Chen Fei deeper into the castle, towards the Brad Family Supreme Conference Hall. He then turned to Chen Fei with a disarmingly simple look and asked, ”Oh, my memory is failing me. I forgot to ask for your honorable name, young sir.”

Although Hales did not turn his head, his ears were listening intently. As he stared down the path, a cold glint flickered deep within his cloudy old eyes. He, too, was naturally eager to know. What is this little bastard’s background, that he dares to cross me, Hales, in such a manner?

”Hehe...” Young Master Chen’s Divine Sense, which enveloped a two-meter radius around him, caught the fleeting cold light in Hales’s eyes. The corner of his mouth curled into a slight, cold smile. Without any hesitation, he announced his name calmly, ”Lord Beirut, you are too kind. My name is Chen Fei, from Jiangnan of Huaxia.”

”Chen Fei? So it’s you...” Beirut had clearly heard the name before, because of the Crimson Fang incident. Immediately, however, a hint of confusion appeared in his small eyes. Jack the Blade was leagues below Hales in terms of power. Could we have severely underestimated his strength before?

”Hmph! Jiangnan of Huaxia?” Hales, on the other hand, had obviously never heard of Chen Fei. He seemed to recognize the region, however, and recalled that there were no powerful forces there capable of threatening their Holy Church of the Divine Holy Church. He gave a cold snort, his eyes narrowed, his thoughts unreadable.

Following behind him, Paladin Peifen kept his head bowed low, daring not to look at either Bishop Hales or Chen Fei. He still seemed trapped by the memory of that suffocating moment, unable to escape the feeling of despair.

They proceeded on a downward path, gradually moving from the castle’s interior toward an area deep underground. At the end of the passage, they came upon a massive gate. Beyond it lay a vast, hollowed-out subterranean cavern. The area was immense, large enough to contain half a small mountain. As they stepped through the gate, directly in front of them stood a towering stone door from which a terrifying Demonic Qi emanated. The stone door shimmered with blue light, its surface covered in a dense and brilliant web of Formation Patterns. Unlike typical Western Magic Formations with their pentagrams and hexagrams, the phenomena on the stone door were entirely characteristic of the formations of the Qi Practitioners of the East.

”This formation is...” Chen Fei squinted, his attention immediately captured by it, a hint of surprise deep in his gaze. The blue glow permeating the towering stone door was actually the Essence of True Water, refined from the depths of the sea. In terms of level, it was even higher than the Sanyang True Fire in his body—much higher! The only shame was that, while it appeared clear, it was now filled with impurities. The formation itself seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

”The Demon of the Holy Domain?” Hales asked with an extremely grave expression. Although he didn’t understand formations at all, even he could see that it was on the brink of collapse.

”The Demon of the Holy Domain is behind that stone door, sealed by it,” Beirut said flatly. ”However... I’m afraid the seal won’t hold for much longer.” Normally, they would never disclose such a matter to outsiders. But the situation had become so critical that they had no choice. Otherwise, annihilation awaited the Brad Family.

At this thought, Beirut shook his head helplessly and gestured for Chen Fei and Hales to follow him. ”Gentlemen, please come with me. It seems most of our distinguished guests have already arrived.” As he spoke, he glanced off to one side.

Only then did Chen Fei notice an inconspicuous, gloomy little palace standing in the opposite direction of the towering stone door. The corners and rocky edges of this small palace were shrouded in a dark red color, as if stained with flowing blood. Furthermore, a bat statue loomed to the left of the palace entrance. It gave off a sinister air, as if it were alive—quite eerie. Experts from the Brad Family stood guard at the palace entrance, hidden in inconspicuous corners and in the shadows. Though few in number, the aura flowing from them indicated they were at least at the Duke Realm! Instantly, the expressions of both Chen Fei and Hales changed slightly. Clearly, neither had ever imagined... The Brad Family... actually possesses such a foundation?

”Lord Beirut.” As Beirut led the group into the dark red palace, the Brad Family experts guarding the entrance greeted him respectfully and did not impede their entry.

”The three of you, please!” Beirut gently pushed open the grand doors of the dark red palace and, with narrowed eyes, led them inside.

Behind the doors was a square hall, extremely dimly lit yet decorated with extravagant and lavish splendor. Given the small size of the palace itself, the hall was naturally not very large, appearing to accommodate only forty or fifty people at a time. But perhaps for this very reason, its small size had its advantages. Upon first glance, the hall conveyed an overwhelming sense of historical weight and profound heritage.

”Lord Beirut!”

”Lord Beirut, you’ve arrived. Oh, isn’t that Bishop Hales? You were invited too?”

”Who’s that kid? How did he get brought in with Bishop Hales?”

”Don’t know him. Must be a coincidence, right?”

...

The arrival of Chen Fei’s group naturally drew the attention of most people in the hall, many of whom looked surprised. It couldn’t be helped. Both Beirut and Hales were renowned ss+ Ultimate Powerhouses in the Western Dark World. Their strength was incredibly close to that of an ordinary sss Rank existence, so how could the others not be astonished? After all, although the Brad Family’s requirement for aid was a strength of at least ss+ Rank, even within that rank there were finer distinctions: regular ss+, ss+ Peak, and ss+ Ultimate. Most of those present were ordinary ss+, whereas Hales was an ss+ Ultimate!

Consequently, the attendees immediately began to greet Beirut and Hales with great enthusiasm, even extending pleasantries to Paladin Peifen behind them. Only Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, was completely ignored.

But this was actually quite normal. In their eyes, a young man of Chen Fei’s age was most likely a servant or relative of some powerhouse from the East who had been invited by the Brad Family. At another time, in another place, with a different crowd, his status might have been quite prominent. But today... At a high-level meeting like this, with so many powerhouses gathered, what did a junior like him amount to? He was utterly insignificant, not even qualified to speak!