Those Who Seek Truth

A once-thriving town now lay in ruins, its landscape scarred by deep, sunken pits and winding caverns that plunged into the earth's depths.

This was the hometown of the second-generation saint Stan Tito, once the bustling Tito Town filled with craftsmen.

This place was also where the Star Queen and God's messenger Polo had once resided.

Now nothing remained but ruins.

Nearby stood a newly established fishing village, perhaps still home to some familiar faces, but they and their descendants would likely no longer pursue the craft of artisans.

Sandean felt a profound sense of melancholy and reflection.

He had once stood atop the Sky Temple, believing himself to be the protagonist of the era.

But now, standing amidst these ruins, he suddenly felt his own insignificance.

For what was he compared to the Star Queen, God's messenger Polo, and Stan Tito?

Their legacies were fading like footprints in the sand, and he too would be but a fleeting ripple in the vast ocean of time.

In a few hundred years, a thousand years from now.

Who would remember him?

"All glory and prosperity, all past traces are destined to fade with the birth of new things."

"Even those epics and legends recorded by craftsmen in writing are fated to be slowly forgotten with the passage of time."

Before a collapsed wall, the three gazed out towards the sea.

Sandean turned to his two students: "Have you ever been to sea?"

"This time, we might be going to a very distant place, a realm beyond Yinsai."

Haru's voice trembled with fear: "Lord Sandean, let's not go!"

"I've heard that the depths of the sea are full of monsters."

Sandean's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Monsters, you say? Have you ever seen one with your own eyes?"

Haru shook his head: "But they look different from us, I've heard they're terrifying, and they like to eat Trilobite Men."

Sandean leaned in, his voice gentle but probing: "Are they monsters just because they look different from us?"

Haru hesitated, confusion clear in his eyes: "Aren't they?"

Sandean patted his head affectionately: "That's for you to see for yourself, Haru."

"Never completely believe what others say. Truth and facts must be explored by oneself."

"Like the knowledge I teach you, you can listen and study diligently."

"But never take everything I say as absolute truth."

"The truth behind knowledge needs to be unveiled by your own hands."

Haru seemed to understand yet not quite, while Lan beside him looked thoughtful.

The lessons for the students had begun as soon as they embarked on this journey.

The three used ritual arrays to create a boat ten meters long, raised white sails, and set off.

During the process of building the boat, Haru and Lan also learned several ritual arrays and variations derived from basic ritual arrays.

For example, the various changes derived from the iron ritual array. By altering the sacrificial materials and shaping, they could ultimately produce various kinds of metals.

They departed from the God-Descended City and set out on the Yesael Route. Sandean wanted to follow the path once taken by the great poet.

This was Stan Tito's dream.

Unfortunately, until he returned to God's realm, he never managed to embark on this journey.

Sandean's large ship caused quite a stir along the way. They encountered the People of the Abyss several times, but due to the diplomatic relations between King Henir's dynasty and the Abyss Kingdom, the two sides were not as hostile as before.

There had been Trilobite Men merchant caravans traveling to the Abyss Kingdom before, but they didn't have ships.

Haru gradually discovered that these "monsters" didn't seem as terrifying as the legends portrayed.

They could communicate, they had families, and like them, possessed wisdom and emotions.

They would even offer food to trade with Sandean and his companions. The commoners of the Abyss were overjoyed to receive some crude pottery in exchange.

It wasn't until they entered the Sal Domain of the Abyss Kingdom that they encountered hostility.

Their ship was surrounded by a group of Abyss Kingdom soldiers, led by a female Abyss knight.

She communicated directly with the three on the ship using Wisdom Power, her cold voice emanating signals of expulsion.

"Yinsai people are not welcome here. You have entered territory that doesn't belong to you."

"Leave immediately."

Sandean stood at the bow of the ship, glancing at the Abyss knight floating on the water's surface. He had a vague guess about her identity.

"You are the lord of the Sal Domain."

"You are a descendant of Sal, who once inflicted suffering upon the great poet, a descendant of the first Abyss King's order."

"I also know that the Hosen family's Prince Weishi once came here seeking the Divine Boat and caused you harm. That's why you're so hostile towards us."

The female Abyss knight's expression darkened further: "What exactly are you trying to say? Are you trying to bring up past grievances between us, or point out current enmities?"

Sandean shook his head, his voice calm and measured: "I just want to say that everything has already passed."

"All that happened in the past was God's will. Without the guidance of God's messenger, the great poet would not have come here."

"Without experiencing this suffering, he would not have become companions with the first Abyss King, nor would he have been able to see God."

"And Weishi Hosen suffered the most terrible retribution for his evil deeds."

"Whether past or present, grievances and hatred no longer exist."

He looked earnestly at the female Abyss knight, his eyes filled with rationality and calmness.

"Descendant of Sal, times have changed."

"The Abyss King and the King of Yinsai have already signed a covenant. You need not be so hostile towards us and Yinsai."

The female Abyss knight's expression softened somewhat as she scrutinized Sandean.

"Who exactly are you?"

Sandean straightened, his voice clear and confident: "I am the student of the second-generation saint Stan Tito, and the inheritor of his will and ideals."

Upon hearing this identity, the female Abyss knight's expression changed instantly.

She looked at Sandean with disbelief.

Even in the Abyss Kingdom, they knew about the events happening in Yinsai.

Yinsai had produced another saint, a descendant of the great poet.

They also knew that a slave named Sandean had received God-given miraculous power, and the entire realm of Yinsai was once again bathed in God's radiance because of this.

From the power bestowed by God, they had created various miraculous objects.

Many of these miraculous objects had flowed into the Abyss Kingdom through trade, and some female Abyss knights had seen them.

Exquisite pottery, sturdy iron wares, luxurious gold and silver items, and reportedly even things like oil and textiles.

Each was so marvelous, no less than the mortal world.

Everyone said these were miraculous objects from God's dream.

The female Abyss knight believed this too.

Only in God's dream could such miracles exist.

She moved closer in astonishment, carefully examining Sandean's appearance.

His robe, and the slave brand visible at his collar—some people, once successful, try their best to cover up their past, but Sandean was clearly different. He made no attempt to hide his former slave status.

The female Abyss knight finally confirmed, her voice a mix of awe and disbelief: "You are Sandean, the High Priest of the Sky Temple?"

"The legendary inheritor of the will of the great poet and Saint Stan, who went to the Spirit Country and obtained miraculous power?"

Sandean smiled softly: "I am no longer the High Priest of the Sky Temple. I am merely a traveler following in the footsteps of the great poet and the Yesael Route, tracing the past."

The female Abyss knight bowed deeply: "Inheritor of the saint's will, please forgive my offense."

She immediately ordered her soldiers to clear the way, no longer obstructing Sandean.

Sandean's ship entered the Sal Domain.

He finally saw the island of the great poet's suffering described in "The Final Chapter," known to the People of the Abyss as the Island of the Dead.

The ship docked at the shore. As rumored, strange stone pillars stood erect on this island.

Different from the rumors, there were now statues of the first Abyss King and the great poet, presumably erected by the Sal family.

Sandean circled the island once, then said,

"Let's choose this place."

Haru looked around, somewhat puzzled: "Choose this place? It's too desolate."

"There's not a single Trilobite Man here. Where will we recruit priests from?"

Lan, however, said: "I think this place is good, at least it's very quiet."

Sandean nodded, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes: "It's precisely because this place is far from Yinsai that it won't be interfered with by power and others."

"Here, everyone can study divine techniques and knowledge without outside influence."

"As for there being no people."

Sandean looked at his two students. Haru, who had always been by his side, might not understand, but Lan would certainly understand the thirst for divine technique knowledge among the lower-ranking priests.

"I believe those who want to become Spirit Realm priests, those who seek truth and knowledge."

"Even across mountains and seas, they will find their way here."

Although he said this, Sandean had already thought of how to guide young priests seeking truth and knowledge to this place.