The three projected screens were side by side, their sizes equal, their presence balanced, and the faces of each Holy Child was perfectly revealed to every observer for thousands of miles. The entire continent lifted their heads to witness these three figures reveal their divine splendor, their hearts and minds unified in disbelief.
The first Holy Child revealed was a Holy Son. He was dashing, valiantly handsome, and his grey-colored eyes seemingly emitted a pure, untainted glow that awed. At his glabella was a nine-colored dot that accentuated his looks, giving him a grounded feeling. It was Lin Ming.
Directly behind him, in the background of the projected image, was a clear sky with gentle winds which revealed his location in the Zephyr Plains.
The second Holy Child was another Holy Son. Unlike Lin Ming, he wasn't as outstanding in terms of looks, but he had an unfathomable presence about him. At the first look, others would often feel ambivalent about him, unsure if it was a good feeling or a terrible feeling. It was only on the second look did you have a solid impression.
He had long, sleek, pastel green hair tied into a ponytail that trailed down until it surpassed his hips. He sported an ambiguous smile with a pair of sky-blue eyes that seemed to embody a sense of endlessness. On the helix of his right ear were three thin ring piercings with strange runes etched into their entire surface. Those runes gave off a faint, shimmering radiance. Behind him, a hue of violet and a seething sea of toxic liquids—the Noxious Seas.
The last Holy Child was a Holy Daughter. She was extremely ordinary looking, her black hair, light-brown eyes, and pale complexion lent no favors to her appeal, yet she gave off a similarly unfathomable feeling. Her hair was short and wavy, styled in a curly bob cut, with side-swept bangs partially covering her forehead.
Despite that, those light-brown eyes of hers carried an imperious presence, commanding and far-reaching unlike anything most had ever seen before. It was as if heaven and earth served her, and it was rightly so. Behind her was a bleak sky and falling ash—the Scorched Skies.
"Is this real?!" Grand Priestess Si De asked, her eyes wide with pure shock. If it was just one Holy Child born at this moment, it might be shocking but not nearly to this extent. Three! THREE! To think that three Holy Children would ascend at the exact same time, marking the skies across the Four Extreme Continent with their awe-inspiring presence.
Wei Wuyin held Si De's slender waist, feeling her body tremble with every passing second. Only after he brought her into his embrace did she calm down, her racing heart slowing down. She looked to Wei Wuyin, taking in his relaxed visage with her sightless eyes. Seeing him reflect serenity and confidence, she couldn't help but relax herself.
Only when she regained herself did Wei Wuyin speak, "This is an interesting development. In fact, it might be a planned maneuver. From what I've learned, the other three temples of the three regions are similarly devoted followers of their Divinities. They shouldn't simultaneously host their Holy Ceremonies on the same day."
Grand Priestess Si De, now calm, realized the peculiarity of this situation. It was indeed as Wei Wuyin said: the Holy Ceremonies were hosted on a specific stretch of day within the Season of Regression, not all on the same day.
"...!" As if a lightning bolt of realization struck her, she yelped. "There's an exception to that rule!" When she said this, her sightless eyes seemed to reveal a light of recalling an obscure memory.
Wei Wuyin's eyebrows lifted at her words, "An exception?" He'd never come across any rule within his readings that enabled simultaneous Bestowals of Divinity.
Grand Priestess Si De nodded with a slight frown, "It's a strange, specific rule only applied if a Holy Child ascended during the same Season of Regression. It allows others to undergo another test, a non-Holy Ceremony. You might not have known because it's etched in a Divine Monolith in the Holy Land of Elements."
"Divine Monolith?" He'd heard of this object. It contained many different scriptures or chants, as vague and indistinct as the Three Scriptures he received alongside the Bloodline of the First Sinner Inheritance. There were numerous writings involving it, but every sentence inscribed had roughly two hundred varied meanings. It wasn't profound, it was just that vague.
The strange language used in their religious chants were learned from this Divine Monolith.
Grand Priestess Si De nodded, glancing at the image of the three Holy Children. "It's strange, as I said. The exact details could be interpreted differently, but from what I gathered from it, one can take a 'specialized' ceremony of sorts. These ceremonies were unique to each temple and the requirement could be considered easier yet simultaneously more difficult and occurred all at once."
"Specialized?" Baffled and curious, Wei Wuyin listened on.
"As you know," Grand Priestess Si De laid her head on Wei Wuyin's chest, hearing his powerful heartbeat, "the requirement to enter the Holy Ceremony of each temple was to possess Elemental Origin Intent and comprehend the ambient Intent of that region. For the Desolate Lands, this is Desolate Intent. For the Zephyr Plains, this is Zephyr Intent. But these 'specialized' trials can be overcome by comprehending the Temple's Divine Intent."
"Like Grand Earth Intent?" Wei Wuyin asked.
Grand Priestess Si De nodded, a flicker of surprise in her sightless eyes. She continued, "Each Holy Child is titled after these specific and apex-like Intents that embody the entirety of an element. This is the reason why you were given the title of Holy Child of Grand Earth, and the Lei and Shuang Clans were given the respective titles of Holy Child of Dark Lightning and Holy Child of Absolute Zero Ice."
Wei Wuyin's eyes glowed. During the nineteen months of his cultivation, he had comprehended and merged Dark Lightning Intent into his Elemental Origin Intent, infusing three Apex-level Intents. Unlike normal Lightning Intent, Dark Lightning gave off a unique energy signature, and it was invisible, unnoticeable, and extremely fast.
It didn't give off extreme heat like Violet Lightning or was overtly destructive like other Lightning Intents. It was terrifying because the strange energy it emitted was extremely insidious, difficult to defend against, and unseen by the naked eye and most senses. If one was struck with it, their body's physical state, and even their mental faculties, will be subjected to abhorrent changes.
He always found it weird that lightning, especially Violet-colored Lightning, felt like a fast, melting flame with chaotic and erratic behavior. It didn't feel as if it was its own Intent, and that fire could replicate such abilities. But when he learned of Dark Lightning, the so-called lightning that embodied the essence of lightning, he understood.
Lightning wasn't about its quickness, its heat, its erratic chaos, or its shocking potential, but its ability to form instantly and out of nowhere, strike and leave an imprint on everything it touches. The strange energy it contained might be the most charged substance released in the shortest burst, hence why it affected the body and mind. It was extremely profound, worthy of being called an Apex-level Intent.
"So if a Holy Child ascends, as long as others comprehended the respective Intent of their divine temple in the same Season of Regression, they would similarly be bestowed the Divine Blessings? Obtain the Badge of Divinity?" Wei Wuyin asked for clarification, to which Grand Priestess Si De nodded with a wisp of doubt.
"I think so. In ancient times, the Nine Divinities each represented an element of the highest order, and it makes sense that comprehending it allowed them to receive their blessing." She bit her lip a little, realizing that this change would cause unforeseen changes to the entire continent.
Now that all the regions had Holy Children, the Season of Devils no longer had a reason to occur, they were all protected by the grace of the divine. So...what now?
Wei Wuyin glanced at the three projected images. He wasn't concerned about this change, but as to who these two were. This man and woman didn't give him vibes of the ordinary, especially if they comprehended Apex-level Intent. Just as he was lost in his thoughts, he felt a nearby aura flash by.
Frowning, he looked at Grand Priestess Si De in his arms. With a slight move, he took her lips with his own, shocking her until her entire body became soft, hot, and desirous of having Wei Wuyin reach depths she had once never known could be reached. But after a moment, her sightless eyes slowly closed and her breathing calmed.
After rendering her unconscious, Wei Wuyin held her in a bridal carry, her head gently resting on his shoulder. He blurred, arriving in their room, placing her on their bed inside the temple. Ai Juling was currently asleep there, wrapped in silk sheets. Even the divine humming outside hadn't awakened her from her deep exhaustion.
With a faint smile, he looked at these two and blurred once more. When he reappeared, he was at a familiar True Desolate bench. It was the same bench he had met the old man before, and the old man was there once more while eating dried peaches dipped in a chrome-colored liquid from a paper bag.
"Want some?" The old man offered.
"Sure," Wei Wuyin walked over and reached in without hesitation, taking a few before sitting down. He chewed on one, finding it quite delicious and exotic. "So," he looked at the three images still vividly showing the faces of each Holy Child, "why did you need to talk alone?"
