“Who? Who is about to advance to the Silver rank?”
The female priest’s voice rose subconsciously in her shock, and every priest in the vicinity heard her clearly.
They quickly turned their heads and looked over, wanting to see which priest was about to break through and advance to the Silver rank.
Then, they saw Leon’s indifferent face.
“Yes,” Leon said to the female priest.
“My mental energy intensity has already reached the peak of the Bronze rank. I need to focus on meditation to advance to the Silver rank.”
“But...” The female priest’s mouth hung open.
“But haven’t you... only been a priest for a very short time?”
“Is there a problem?” Leon asked in return.
Female priest: “...”
It wasn’t that there was a problem.
It was that the problem was massive!
How long had it been since Leon switched from being a bloodline warrior to a priest?
Half a year?
Four months?
In such a short time, he had raised his mental energy intensity to the peak of the Bronze rank? He was already about to advance to the Silver rank?!
This... how were they supposed to live with themselves?
The female priest in front of Leon looked at the confusion on his face, not knowing what to say.
The other priests, who had been excitedly discussing where to go play after the exam, also fell silent one by one.
It wasn’t until Leon walked away as if nothing had happened that the group gradually recovered.
“I’m not going to the banquet tonight,” a priest suddenly spoke up.
“Why?” another priest, who had already made plans, turned and asked.
“Priest Leon only switched from being a bloodline warrior a few months ago, and he’s already about to break through to the Silver rank. While I...” The first priest exhaled, his face showing a hint of frustration.
“I’ve been a priest for five years, and I’m still hovering at the Bronze rank... It’s time to work hard at meditation!”
Hearing this, the other priest asked, “If you work hard at meditation, can you catch up to a peerless genius like Priest Leon?”
“I can’t...” The first priest felt a bit discouraged.
“Then why bother with the effort?”
“...You seem to have a point?”
“It’s not just a point; it’s the truth,” the other priest said.
“You work hard, but talented people work harder than you. So what’s the point of your effort?”
“If you ask me, it’s better to attend more of my banquets. I’m telling you, I’ve invited quite a few daughters of wealthy merchants to this one.”
“Instead of working hard yourself, why not marry a wealthy merchant’s daughter and have more children? Who knows, maybe one of them will have extraordinary talent.”
“Haven’t you heard that saying? Better to trust the wisdom of future generations than to work hard yourself.”
The first priest was shocked. “Damn! That’s an option?”
“Hehe, didn’t expect that, did you? This is the great ancestral wisdom my old man taught me.”
“Your old man is impressive! But are there really daughters of wealthy merchants? Would real heiresses be allowed to attend such a banquet?”
“Who knows... I heard their merchant fathers have been quite busy lately. Some haven't been home for over ten days, so there’s no one to keep them in line...”
...
The Holy See of the Sacred Light Church.
Archbishop Charles finished organizing the assessment results for the Apprentice and Formal Priests of the Imperial Capital and returned to the Holy See to report to the Pope.
Besides reporting the results, Charles also prepared to submit his “God-Chosen candidate nomination.”
According to Church regulations, every priest of Archbishop rank enjoyed one opportunity to nominate a God-Chosen candidate.
In this year’s nominations, Charles had not yet used this privilege.
First, because he had never encountered a genius priest truly worth noting.
Second, he had never been particularly concerned with the matter of God-Chosen candidates.
In Charles’s view, whether someone was a God-Chosen or an ordinary priest, as long as their talent was outstanding and their heart was pious toward the Sacred Light, they should be treated equally.
Until this moment, Charles suddenly realized... he had been acting too aloof before.
Treat them equally?
How could he truly treat them equally!
When a peerless genius like Leon, the kind seen only once in a century, appeared before him, how could he not appreciate him? How could he not nominate him as a God-Chosen candidate?
It is only human nature to cherish talent. He hadn't cherished talent before simply because he hadn't met a genius who could make even him sigh in admiration.
“Senior Brother Charles?”
On the way to see His Holiness the Pope, a voice came from ahead.
Charles looked up and saw it was Miles.
Miles greeted Charles and then asked with some curiosity:
“Senior Brother Charles, you just returned from presiding over the assessment? How was it? Did you see the Priest Leon I mentioned to you?”
Hearing this, the image of Leon’s performance during the assessment resurfaced in Charles’s mind, and he couldn't help but sigh:
“Leon’s performance on the assessment grounds... truly left me in sincere awe.”
“I originally thought you were exaggerating, Miles, but after seeing his talent for divine spells with my own eyes... I realized that even Elias in his youth might not have been able to match him.”
Elias was one of the most prominent priests during the era of upheaval three hundred years ago, reaching the peak of the Epic rank before his death.
Unfortunately, he died young, falling in the war against the Abyss at only thirty years old.
Before his death, he had made a grand vow to dedicate his body to the Holy See to be forged into holy relics.
The 【St. Elias's skull】 relic that Leon had used to repair the barrier earlier was forged from his very skull.
Hearing Charles compare Leon to the epic priest Elias, Miles was not surprised; instead, he wore an expression that said, “As it should be.”
Charles continued:
“Your eye for talent is sharp, Miles. Leon is indeed a priest with extraordinary potential. I have already promised to nominate him as a God-Chosen candidate.”
“God-Chosen candidate?” Miles’s face flickered with a trace of surprise.
Charles asked, “Is something wrong?”
“No, no problem at all.” The surprise on Miles’s face turned into a natural, relaxed smile as he laughed:
“Priest Leon indeed deserves the status of a God-Chosen candidate.”
Could a priest already recognized by the God of Sacred Light not handle the status of a God-Chosen candidate?
However... at the thought of a priest like Leon joining the competition for God-Chosen candidates, Miles felt a surge of amusement.
“I hope they have good luck...”
Miles offered his sincere blessings to the other priests who held God-Chosen candidate status.
He hoped that during the selection, their mental states wouldn't be crushed by Leon.
Charles was a bit bewildered by Miles’s mysterious smile.
But seeing that Miles didn't elaborate, Charles could only keep his confusion to himself. After bidding Miles farewell, he headed into the depths of the Holy See to find the Pope.
“Your Holiness, the assessment results for the Apprentice and Formal Priests have been compiled.”
After bowing respectfully, Charles looked up and reported to the middle-aged man before him.
The man wore a tailored robe of white and gold and a white papal crown symbolizing the highest authority of the Sacred Light Church. His expression was calm and gentle, and he naturally exuded a special temperament that brought peace to the mind.
His name was Maxwell, the contemporary Pope of the Sacred Light Church.
Maxwell took the compiled results, his gaze landing on the first-place position.
“Leon Douglas, Bronze rank.”
“First Phase: Sacred Light Doctrine Assessment Score: 80.”
“Second Phase: Divine Spell Talent Assessment Score: 100 (Full Marks).”
“Third Phase: Divine Spell Combat Assessment Score: 100 (Full Marks).”
“Fourth Phase: Divine Spell Versatility Assessment Score: 100 (Full Marks).”
“Total Assessment Score: 380 (1st Place)”
Rate on N.U.
