The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　There are only four young people from both the Holy Church and the northern region combined.

　There were four young people in the elven team alone. But now, they have all mysteriously disappeared!

　Bellamy Artemis's anxiety was no less than that of Professor Sylph and the others.

　She even set aside her animosity with the Church and sat at the same table with Bishop Sabrina Melville.

　The grassland spirit planted a seed on the ground, and after it grew, it transformed into a complete set of round table and rattan chairs.

　The leaders of the various factions took their seats.

　On the human side, both Professor Sylph and Bishop Sabrina Melville were eager to explore the mystery at the end of the passage.

　Bellamy Artemis, however, was more interested in figuring out the mystery of "disappearance".

　Professor Sylph got straight to the point: "We also infer that their disappearance is likely closely related to Hermes, the god of commerce, travelers, thieves, and livestock."

　"Hermes?" Bellamy Artemis said in a slightly somber tone, "While we've also speculated about this, you should have more information on it. I just want to know, how accurate is this speculation?"

　The Moon Elf High Priestess's question was clearly a bit too aggressive.

　But Professor Sylph sensed the same anxiety in her voice, and she said, "Probably."

　"Eighty percent... that means there's still a 20 percent chance it's wrong," Bellamy Artemis pressed.

　Professor Sylph nodded and said, "But we have conducted experiments to ensure that they were not in mortal danger during the initial period of their disappearance."

　Bellamy Artemis paused slightly, then said, "Even if they were indeed taken away by Hermes, it doesn't mean they are absolutely safe. Moreover, Hermes' motives are questionable."

　“High Priestess Artemis!” Professor Sylph said, her tone suddenly becoming more emphatical. “That’s why we need to cross this passage as quickly as possible and enter the Heavenly Court. Only by entering the Heavenly Court can we find them and ascertain their situation!”

　Professor Sylph's statement clearly points to the situation at the end of the passage.

　She hoped that the elves would disclose all the information they had gathered, in order to shorten the time they would need to spend on their investigation.

　Bellamy Artemis agreed with her and, without much hesitation, chose to cooperate with humans in this regard.

　She summoned one of the moon elves and ordered her to recount everything that lay at the end of the passage.

　Professor Sylph and the others listened attentively, their expressions gradually becoming serious.

　The elves spent less time in the Mountain of the Gods, so they entered the "Heavenly Court" entrance earlier.

　Because there were too many "Mist Beasts" in that mountain area, they had to remove the weaker elves from the team and send them back to the camp outside the mountain.

　The remaining elite team braved the giant whale's pursuit to reach the mountain peak, and were only completely safe once they entered the "Heavenly Court" entrance.

　After that, they began to move forward along the passage.

　A lot happened during that time, but they eventually reached the end of the passage—if it really was the end!

　But the real trouble began after they reached the end of the passage. The younger members of their group didn't mysteriously disappear while crossing the passage, but rather vanished one by one as they reached this "end" and sought a solution.

　There were indeed four young people who mysteriously disappeared from the elven party. They looked only twelve or thirteen years old, but were actually close to twenty.

　However, upon careful calculation, it can be found that the disappearance of those four elves occurred exactly before Quintina North.

　Through this mutual verification, it was discovered that their "disappearance" was common. Because the elves arrived earlier, the phenomenon of "disappearance" occurred earlier as well. When the first elf "mysteriously disappeared," the entire group was thrown into panic.

　They had been methodically studying the fleshy wall blocking the end of the passage, but afterwards they drastically accelerated their research. Furthermore, they employed numerous violent methods against the fleshy wall at the end of the passage.

　However, even now, they still haven't been able to remove the wall of flesh and blood. As the young elves continued to disappear, the entire group fell into a state of panic, and it was only through the prestige of High Priest Bellamy Artemis that they were able to calm down.

　The elf did not elaborate on these matters.

　However, he analyzed the characteristics of that flesh-and-blood wall with a very professional attitude.

　First of all, that thing has "regenerative capabilities".

　After failing to find a solution, the elves resorted to an extremely powerful finishing move in an attempt to brute force their way through the game.

　The outer layer of flesh and blood had indeed been broken open.

　But just a few seconds later, the torn part was filled back in. As it "regenerated," the surrounding flesh writhed wildly, and the blood vessels connecting the two sides of the passage seemed to cause all the flesh in the passage to writhe.

　It's as if the flesh and blood of the entire passage are providing it with nutrients.

　According to the moon elf.

　Unless all the flesh and blood in the entire passage are depleted, the flesh and blood wall at the end of the passage will lose its "regenerative ability".

　But what holds the passage together now is precisely that flesh and blood. Once all the flesh and blood are depleted, the passage will collapse!

　They will also be trapped in the passage and will most likely be swept into the spatial turbulence, thus losing their lives.

　This is something they absolutely cannot bear.

　Therefore, for a short time after figuring this out, the elves were indeed somewhat constrained.

　However, the continuous disappearances also spurred them on. They became radicalized again after that.

　It once broke through that wall of flesh and blood.

　However, that wall of flesh and blood was merely the first obstacle at the end of the passage. Only after breaking through it could one find the true "door"!

　"Door"

　Stanley Longfellow's ears immediately perked up; he was very sensitive to the word "door."

　Of course, Professor Sylph, like Bishop Sabrina Melville, was also very concerned about this "door".

　The elf paused for a moment, then continued, "It's a door that's embedded throughout the entire passage. It looks like an iron door, but it's incredibly heavy and impossible to budge. Attacks that can tear through that wall of flesh and blood can't harm it at all."

　The sheer "hardness" of the gate couldn't stop the elves' research. Their first attempt was to cut the door out of the flesh and blood of the passage, thus bypassing the iron gate.

　But they failed.

　The edge of the iron gate had become one with the flesh and blood on the passage! It could even be said that the iron gate itself was formed from flesh and blood.

　After that, they used a special ability to see through objects to measure the thickness of the iron gate and peer into what was behind it.

　“That’s a golden door!” the moon elf exclaimed, arms crossed. High Priest Bellamy Artemis said, “In short, we suspect that the golden door is the true entrance. But right now, the entire passage is blocked by that wall of flesh and iron gate; it’s impossible to pass through!”

　"It's impossible to pass through." Upon hearing this, Professor Sylph exchanged a knowing glance with the other professors.

　The professors at the academy all knew that Principal Arte had once entered the "Heavenly Court," which meant that there must be a way to pass through this passage and enter the "Heavenly Court."

　However, they have not yet uncovered the secret.

　"Could you show us that iron gate?" Professor Sylph asked directly.

　The moon spirit naturally wouldn't refuse.

　The two sides reached an agreement to cooperate temporarily in order to break through the passage and enter the "Heavenly Court".

　Then, the professors witnessed the methods of the elves.

　The two who were trying to purify the flesh on the connecting passage wall sighed and stopped. The grassland elf who was wielding a giant bow gathered magic power at his fingertips, and the moment he drew the bowstring, he condensed an arrow with an astonishing aura of magic power.

　The magical arrow that shot out in an instant successfully pierced through the wall of flesh, revealing the circular iron gate that lay behind it.

　“With this level of damage, the flesh wall can probably regenerate and re-cover itself in just one minute,” the moon elf said. “You only have one minute to observe.”

Chapter 970 Brute-force attack is not advisable (4k)

　One minute is enough for two rounds.

　Even with accelerated thinking, it was impossible to thoroughly study that iron gate. The professors focused on observing the gate's shape and then used magic to conduct a certain degree of testing on it.

　At the same time, try to cut through the flesh and blood along the edge of the iron gate.

　But the iron gate was harder than anyone could imagine; even the part where the edge was fused with flesh could not be cut open.

　And only half a minute had passed when the regenerated wall of flesh and blood had already covered most of the iron gate.

　Professor Sylph hesitated for a moment, then fired the "Wind Element Spear" at the part of the iron gate that was still exposed, breaking through the flesh and blood barrier once again to continue observing the iron gate.

　However, the powerful "Wind Elemental Spear" failed to damage the iron gate in the slightest.

　The wall of flesh covering the iron gate was an eyesore, but it was only a nuisance.

　But that iron gate was an insurmountable barrier. Professor Cazell and Bishop Sabrina Melville then also tried.

　Despite the powerful attacks from the two, the iron gate remained unshaken, but it suddenly began to reveal a trace of its aura.

　They had been pursuing divinity all day, and this time, with complete focus, they naturally couldn't let even the slightest trace of it slip by.

　"It is divinity!"

　Bishop Sabrina Melville frowned on the spot.

　Professor Kazel nodded slightly and said, "Not only divinity, but also the power of rules is hidden within this iron gate."

　Rules are, in essence, authority.

　Gods hold authority and control the rules; therefore, they are gods.

　High Priestess Bellamy Artemis glanced at them with some surprise. She knew that someone among these humans must have discovered the secret of the iron gate, but she hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

　The fact that the elves arrived here earlier than the human forces suggests that their overall strength was considerable.

　Even so, they were firmly blocked by this iron gate, because the gate contained an unbreakable power of rules.

　In other words, what stood in their way was "God"!

　"Is this the real reason you're stuck here?" Professor Sylph turned to the Moon Elf High Priestess and asked.

　High Priest Bellamy Artemis said, "This is the passage to 'Heaven,' and theoretically it shouldn't be stretched this long, nor should the entrance be blocked with an iron gate. But since it's here, we can only try to find a way to break through it. However, challenging the authority of the gods with mortal power is not easy. Can you see any clues?"

　She effortlessly glossed over the elves' defeat. But no one cared.

　Professor Sylph said, "It's obvious this passage has been deliberately blocked. We don't know if it was out of malice or to protect the 'Heavenly Court'—after all, from the 'Heavenly Court's' perspective, we are intruders. Of course, it must have existed for a very, very long time, so it's not really our concern. We can only hope that the passage of time will weaken the power of the rules contained within that iron gate. In any case, we must break through this gate!"

　"Is there anything I can do to help?" Gavin North, who was standing next to him, suddenly interjected.

　He had a clear understanding of his own abilities, knowing that even if he inspected the iron gate, he wouldn't find anything. On the contrary, his own mistakes might negatively mislead others.

　So he didn't join in recklessly, but waited until now to ask. If possible, he certainly wanted to do his part, even if it was just to alleviate his anxiety.

　The thought of his children's uncertain fate filled him with uncontrollable anxiety.

　Professor Cazell turned to look at him, pondered for a moment, and said, "I might need an assistant."

　Once Gavin North had calmed down a bit, Professor Kazel turned to the moon elf who was giving the presentation and said, "If you want to cooperate sincerely, don't hide anything from each other. Show me your research notes; I will lead the rest of the research."

　Professor Cazell spoke in a flat tone, as if it were a matter of course.

　But the moon elf frowned noticeably and said, "I can show you the research notes, but why should you be in charge?"

　Professor Cazell raised his wand, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said with a smile, "Of course, it's because you haven't figured out how to break down the door yet."

　"You!" The moon elf frowned suddenly, anger appearing on his handsome face.

　But Professor Cazell just looked at him earnestly.

　“Joni!” Bellamy Artemis suddenly shouted. The moon elf named “Joni” trembled, and no longer showed any resentment on her face.

　Bellamy Artemis nodded in satisfaction and said, "Professor Cazell is a treasure of St. Marian Academy, the most powerful alchemist of our time. With your abilities, you are not capable of daring to challenge him. Put away your arrogance, be humble and learn, and perhaps you can learn something from Professor Cazell."

　“Yes, High Priest!” Joni stood with his legs together and his back straight, like a soldier.

　Professor Kazel shook his head slightly and said, "Give me the research notes." Nayoni then had no further objections, quickly retrieved the research notes, and handed them to Professor Kazel.

　That iron gate contains the power of rules. To open it, one must break through them. There are generally two ways to break through the power of rules. The first and most direct is brute force!

　If one possesses the power of rules that counteracts or can overwhelm it, there is a chance to forcibly break it.

　The second method is to face the rules, comply with the rules, and then... break the rules!

　"Brute-force attacks are not advisable."

　Professor Kazel instinctively had the idea of ​​using all his strength to wash away the power of the rules within the iron gate.

　However, after reading the research notes provided by the elves, Professor Kazel immediately abandoned this simple and crude method.

　Because the elves have already tried it!

　The power of rules contained within that iron gate was far greater and stronger than he had guessed.

　Moreover, to counter the power of the rules, one can only use the power of the rules. God against god, divine authority against divine authority.

　The elves paid a considerable price for this, but ultimately failed to shake its power.

　Of course, the academy also has two trump cards: Nix and Ergan. Combined, these two trump cards might not necessarily be unable to forcefully break through that iron gate.

　However, this completely exposed the existence of Nyx and Ergan.