Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 709 Bottleneck (First Update)
After Hardy finished speaking, he said no more. His gaze was calm and devout as he looked at Luo Xiu, waiting and anticipating Luo Xiu's response.

Luo Xiu simply nodded, and in the depths of his eyes flowed a thoughtful light as he pondered Hardy's words.

He realized that Hardy's attitude towards him was because he had demonstrated the "Holy Wing Incarnation" under the domains of "Lord of Lightwing" and "Pilgrimage to Heaven" on the battlefield of the final battle of the "Judgment War"!
At that time, the ten sacred wings he possessed under the "Sacred Wings Incarnation" form supported him—which, for Hardy, was probably an irreplaceable sacred symbol.

And just as Hadid said, in the recorded history of the Holy Court, the saints who became the "Lord of the Wings of Light" were all saints who led the Holy Court out of the shadows and towards a new glory.

Thus, he did indeed have an opportunity to "worship" himself—Russia knew that Hardy, who could become a "compassionate saint," was himself an extremely pure and devout person. He most likely wouldn't lie about this; what he said was what he truly thought.

"..."

Luo Xiu pondered.

As for the prophecy of the so-called "Garolan" holy angel's descent mentioned by Hardy, Luo Xiu had no recollection of it. In his previous life, such a "ten-winged angel" had descended from the Eternal Kingdom. However, it was indeed recorded in the "Radiant Scripture" held by several saints of the Holy Court, and Luo Xiu had heard of it before.

However, the holy angel "Garolan" now seems more like a legendary being. Luo Xiu has seen no more than six "ten-winged angels" in his previous life, and has heard of no more than ten, none of whom are holy angels named "Garolan".

But this doesn't prevent Luo Xiu from responding to the current Hardy—

"……I see."

Luo Xiu nodded.

He gazed at Hardy, meeting Hardy's eyes which shone with a bright golden light, and said:

"You may stay in the territory of Saint Carlos as long as you wish."

“But perhaps… I am not the ‘Garolan’ you imagine. I am merely an ordinary saint who, by sheer luck, became the ‘Lord of the Wings of Light.’ If you have any expectations of me… I’m sorry, Lord Hardy, perhaps I cannot meet your expectations, nor can I promise you anything.”

He said this to Hardy.

In Luo Xiu's consideration, if Hardy were willing to stay in the territory of Saint Carlos, not as a "black-clad deacon" but as a pilgrim saint, it would indeed be of great convenience and benefit to him—after all, having a saint with "seven destinies" to take his place in presiding over the territory of Saint Carlos was something that could only be encountered by chance.

If Hardy could stay and work for him willingly and without any demands, Luo Xiu would be happy to accept him. However, necessary things must be explained to Hardy beforehand, such as that he was not the "Garolan" holy angel Hardy mentioned by him…

But after Luo Xiu responded to Hardy.

A look of joy suddenly appeared on the face of this "compassionate saint," Hardy. In Hardy's eyes, Luo Xiu's acceptance was enough; it had achieved his purpose in coming to the Red Maple City Church.

Hardy then stood up and went to the seat where Rosh was sitting. He raised his left hand slightly and placed it solemnly in front of his right chest, and then bowed respectfully to Rosh with the etiquette of a lower-ranking clergyman and a higher-ranking clergyman.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Hardy said in a devout voice:
“I ask for nothing more than to bear witness. If you are willing to accept me and give me a place to rest in the territory of Saint Carlos, that would be enough.”

"If you need my help, please let me know. I am always ready to serve you."

"..."

When Hardy said these words, his humility and sincerity made Luo Xiu feel somewhat embarrassed.

After all, not long ago, this "Compassionate Saint" had been seated next to him in the "Holy Court." Now, Hadi's respectful attitude towards him made Luo Xiu somewhat uncomfortable.

So Luo Xiu also stood up, nodded slightly to Hardy, and smiled at him, saying:
“You need not be so formal with me, Your Excellency Hardy.”

"As I said before, you are my respected senior... You can just call me by my name, Luo Xiu."

"Afterwards, I will have Anthony arrange formal accommodations for you. I have just returned to Red Maple City and have many things to take care of. I will visit you again later."

"..."

"You are too modest, Your Majesty."

Hardy bowed to Luo Xiu again with solemn respect.

He still addressed Luo Xiu as "Your Majesty," to which Luo Xiu could only sigh and shake his head, saying nothing more.

Hardy knew that Luo Xiu had just returned to the Red Maple City Church and indeed had many things to do, so he bid farewell to Luo Xiu and said:

"I apologize for disturbing you. Now, please allow me to take my leave, Your Majesty."

After saying his last words, he bowed deeply to Rothschild, then nodded slightly to Hubbard and Anthony, before turning and leaving the Holy See Hall.

They kept Roche, Hubbard, and Anthony.

……

Shortly after Hardy left the Holy See, the atmosphere in the Holy See gradually eased from its tension.

After all, what Hubbard and Anthony heard about the "Red Deacon" Hardy's remarks concerning the "Holy Court" was close to outrageous to them, who had never been in contact with the true core of the Holy Court and were unaware of what was happening in the City of Agnes.

Hubert's face still held some worry. His gaze finally shifted from the doorway where Hardy had left to Luo Xiu, and he asked Luo Xiu:

"What do you think... about what Lord Hardy said, Luo Xiu?"

"Regarding the 'Holy Court'... that lord actually said that the 'Holy Court' has begun to decay from its very core..."

"..."

“He is right.” Luo Xiu nodded.

"Varied……!"

"You are unaware of what has already happened in the city of Agus."

Luo Xiu interrupted Hubert's exclamation, his expression turning serious. He spoke to Hubert and Anthony:

“The ‘First Cardinal’ Finlake Saint Leronn recently disappeared from the Holy Court. Her Highness asked me to obtain Finlake’s revelation in the city of Argus through ‘divine revelation’, so Her Highness, Lord Monigne, ‘the Holy Sword’ and I went to the city of Argus.”

“There, we obtained clues that Finlake was colluding with demons and was about to sacrifice the entire city of Argus. Her Highness, along with Lord Monigne and the ‘Godhunter’ Templar Knights, stopped him and killed the demon.”

"Her Highness the Holy Maiden and Lord Monine have brought Finlake back to the Holy Court. Soon, a report on this incident should be sent to the Church of Red Maple City, and you will know that Lord Hardy was right."

"..."

Luo Xiu spoke these words to Hubbard and Anthony with a serious expression and a calm, almost indifferent tone.

Although Luo Xiu seemed to say these things very casually, this news undoubtedly caused a huge uproar for Hubbard and Anthony—the first cardinal of the Holy Court, Finlake Saint Leronen, the current head of the Saint Leronen family, which has been passed down for thousands of years, actually colluded with demons and wanted to sacrifice an entire holy city!

"How can it be?"

Huber's face was contorted with astonishment, as if it were about to burst open. His mouth was agape, his expression one of utter disbelief, and he uttered a hesitant, broken question.

“It’s true.” Luo Xiu nodded, his face filled with sorrow.

"...Because it was me who delivered the final blow to that demon, and to Finlake. Cardinal Finlake was critically wounded and on the verge of death, but he had a change of heart at the last moment. Her Highness the Saint has taken him back to the Holy See, and Cardinal Finlake said in his last words that he wanted to become a 'living angel' as his atonement."

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Luo Xiu ended the heavy topic that was clearly beyond the scope of what Hubbard and Anthony were talking about.

"Anthony."

He then looked at Anthony, who had remained silent and listened quietly when Hardy was present. The same was true now, because the priesthood of "Holy Deacon" Hubert was above his, and Anthony was now accustomed to remaining silent and listening when those in positions of authority spoke.

Anthony only looked up when Luo Xiu's gaze fell on him. Although his face was contorted with shocking information, his reaction was not as intense as Hubbard's, since Anthony had been staying in Maple City.

He had never actually been to the Holy See, and had only heard of the "First Cardinal" Finlake Saint-Lerran, so he didn't really have any real feeling that Finlake would commit such a blasphemous act.

"I'm here."

He responded to Luo Xiu.

“I can sense that your spirituality seems to have reached a bottleneck, Anthony.”

The seriousness on Luo Xiu's face gradually faded, replaced by a gentle smile, as he said to Anthony:
"You've stayed in Red Maple City for so long, overseeing all the affairs of the church. You've worked hard, Anthony."

“That may be another trial for you—I can sense that your spiritual flow has not stopped; on the contrary, it has become more active—that is a sign of an impending advancement.”

According to Luo Xiu's panel detection of Anthony, Anthony is already at the "Fourth Destiny Path". His level has reached the upper limit of this destiny path, which is level 40. If he goes one more step, he will be able to break through the Fourth Destiny Path and reach the Fifth Destiny Path, truly stepping into the threshold of "Saint".

Anthony has not slackened in honing his extraordinary skills, which is something Luo Xiu is very pleased to see. From the beginning of his time as the "Holy Arbiter" in Sina City, Connor, Pamie, and Anthony, whom he first met, have not slackened and have all taken a further step beyond their original levels in their respective [Glorious] destinies.

"Because... I've always taken you as my role model, Luo Xiu."

The tension on Anthony's face finally eased a little. He smiled at Luo Xiu and said:

“I used to be your captain, but now I’ve been left far behind by you… If I don’t do something about it, I might regret it. Because of this, I think I know where my limits are.”

“I have indeed been pushing myself. Whether it is my work as the ‘Grand Priest’ or my training and progress on the path of destiny, I can now proudly say that I have never been tired, and I have never given up.”

“Ha… Five paths of destiny, the true ‘saint’. I can indeed see the ‘door’ that belongs to me, radiating brilliant light.”

“That’s good then,” Luo Xiu replied with a smile.

He recalled the past—the first time he met the old captain with Connor and Pamela in Red Maple City, when Anthony was late for several meetings.

The current Anthony is quite different from the one he used to be. The carefree, even somewhat unruly captain of the past has disappeared without a trace.

“I’m back, and with Hubbard here too, you can take a break, Anthony.”

Luo Xiu then said to Anthony:

"To formally step into the threshold of 'Saint,' you will need some time to prepare for the promotion. You don't need to worry about church matters for now, Anthony. For the next two weeks, focus on resting and preparing for the promotion."

Luo Xiu's idea was to give Anthony a break—a long break of up to half a month!
"..."

Anthony was taken aback.

He truly hadn't expected Luo Xiu to suddenly say these things.

He had been working non-stop in Red Maple City for months and never thought that he would be able to take a vacation one day—or even an ultimate long vacation of half a month!
"Then... the task of presiding over the grand ceremony..."

As if confirming one last time whether Luo Xiu's promise of a vacation was true, Anthony's tone became somewhat uncertain:
"The church's affairs have been quite demanding lately. If I take a break, then..."

“I told you, Anthony.”

Luo Xiu interrupted Anthony's concerns, speaking in a reassuring tone:

“You don’t need to worry about these things, with me and Hubbard here.”

He deliberately emphasized the syllables of "Hubert," looked at Huber, and smiled as he said:

"Right?"

"..."

"Yep."

Huber pointed.

He seemed to nod through gritted teeth—Luo Xiu turned his head away, indicating that he hadn't seen it.

And Anthony was finally relieved.

With a clang, the chair behind Anthony was pushed back slightly. He stood up and nodded solemnly to Luo Xiu and Huber.

"I understand."

Anthony said in a similarly solemn tone:

"During this period, I will temporarily relinquish my position as 'Presiding over the Grand Ceremony' and focus all my energy on breaking through the bottleneck and advancing to the 'Fivefold Destiny Path'."

"Then I'll take my leave."

"I wish you success, Anthony."

Luo Xiu looked at Anthony and smiled to wish him well.

……

(End of this chapter)