The Island of Mist

On the beach.

Sandean took out a clay doll from the sleeve of his robe.

As he released it, the doll hung motionless in the air, defying gravity.

It opened automatically, and one after another, smaller dolls emerged from inside, totaling more than ten.

One of them fell and burrowed into the ground.

The others swayed in the air, following Sandean as he circled the small island.

Every few steps, one would fall, eventually forming an oval.

Sandean stood still, manifesting the divine technique law imprint he had mastered.

"Seal: Stone Form."

The Seal Spirit, being a special spirit body activated by spiritual power, could assimilate real-world matter as its body when using the law.

Sandean now placed his Divine Artifact on this island. The clay dolls transformed into stone human figures, and these statues connected with the island, their power continuously extending deeper.

The stones on the island were constantly being assimilated.

Statue after statue rose from the ground, each with a different appearance.

But it was clear that they were the very enemies Sandean once had.

This Divine Artifact was extremely powerful and had great potential.

After all, it was a Divine Artifact created from the bloodlines of more than ten powerful priests at the pinnacle of Yinsai. Although their power hadn't previously undergone spiritual activation and transformation, the strength of their bloodlines, passed down through generations, was extraordinary.

"Boom!"

A muffled rumble resonated through the air, and Sandean sensed a portion of the island yielding to his will, becoming an extension of his power.

He could also sense that if one day this Divine Artifact became increasingly powerful, he might be able to control this island like a great ship sailing across the sea.

"Teacher!"

"We've finished planting."

Haru and Lan came running with empty flowerpots, telling Sandean they had completed their task.

They had moved pots of Sun Cup flowers from the ship and planted them on the island.

Sandean carefully drew a ritual array on the Sun Cups and activated it.

This was a variation of the ice ritual array, capable of turning water into mist.

Because it used the Sun Cup as a medium, this mist also had a strong hallucinogenic effect.

The dense fog gradually enveloped the sea around the island, concealing its existence and preventing outsiders from intruding.

Haru scratched his head: "But there are no houses here. Where will we live?"

Lan spoke up: "Teacher is most skilled in pottery ritual arrays. Isn't it easy to create houses?"

With the three working together, they built a rugged stone castle in half a month.

The castle was large, with all the necessary rooms - bedrooms, storage, a library, a great hall, and so on - though they were all empty and undecorated.

The castle stood beneath a cliff, with the statues of the great poet and the first king in front of it.

They also built a lighthouse, but instead of a light stone or flame at the top,

Sandean placed "The Final Chapter" inside. The entire lighthouse was shrouded in a light, illusory glow.

He told his two students.

"We are the inheritors of the saint's will. Those who come here should carry the saint's chapter."

"Those who hold the first page of 'The Final Chapter' that we've reproduced can see this lighthouse from afar and sense the holy relic here."

"As long as they yearn for knowledge and truth, they will surely come here."

Haru and Lan stood atop the lighthouse, looking out, their eyes shining with excitement.

They looked forward to more like-minded people coming here to become their companions.

A few days later.

A figure appeared outside the island's mist, seemingly trying to enter the fog-shrouded island.

A silhouette stood on the shore, dispersing the mist.

The fog parted, creating a path on the sea surface.

"Lord of Sal Domain, are you looking for me?" Sandean asked the newcomer.

It was the female Abyss knight, who had come alone, appearing somewhat mysterious.

She climbed ashore and bowed to Sandean.

She wanted to say something but found it difficult to begin.

Finally, she gathered her courage and spoke to Sandean.

"I want to learn divine techniques from you. Would you be willing to teach me?"

Sandean hesitated after hearing this.

He indeed hadn't expected that the first person seeking to learn after he came here would be one of the People of the Abyss.

He initially thought to refuse directly, but then felt in his heart that he shouldn't.

He was a preacher spreading knowledge and ideals. If he also rejected others due to prejudice and bloodline, how would he be any different from those corrupt nobles and old-fashioned priests?

His belief was that when knowledge and divine techniques spread more widely, the world would become better.

Sandean thought: "If so, why can't the People of the Abyss be part of the new era?"

After understanding these connections, he suddenly felt that taking a person of the Abyss as a student wasn't such a big deal.

Moreover, this way he could bring the power of rituals to more distant places, allowing more people to participate in this new era.

Sandean's prolonged silence made the female Abyss knight shift uneasily, her anticipation tinged with anxiety.

She raised her head, bracing herself for his refusal.

To her surprise, Sandean told her: "You may."

The female Abyss knight's face showed shock. She had seen the ugliness and cruelty of the Trilobite Men and thus didn't trust them.

She had tried to come here only because he was the inheritor of the great poet's will, the student of the second-generation saint.

But at this moment, she truly felt that Sandean was different from ordinary people.

She moved two steps forward, asking Sandean in disbelief.

"Aren't you afraid that if the People of the Abyss learn your power, it might be detrimental to the people of Yinsai?"

Sandean smiled, with a sense of calm and detachment.

"If there are stones blocking the path of progress, does that mean we stop walking?"

Sandean looked directly into the female Abyss knight's eyes: "I don't know where this path will lead in the end, nor can I truly predict what the distant future will be like."

"After all, I am not a god."

"But I know that we will only know if this path is viable after we've walked it."

"Hesitation and uncertainty don't bring the future."

"Each generation does what it must. What my generation should do is to pass on the knowledge given by God and the ideals of the saint to everyone."

"If one day my actions truly bring disaster, I believe that era will also have more people who have benefited from the knowledge and ideals I've imparted, standing up to save us from that disaster."

As Sandean spoke, his expression became increasingly relaxed.

His eyes seemed to emit light, conveying the most sincere emotions from deep within his heart.

"Since you want to learn, I will teach you."

"I teach you divine techniques not hoping for any reward, but hoping that one day we can use the power God has given us to create a truly great civilization."

"Although we still have many shortcomings, my teacher, Saint Stan, once said before God."

"Even in the darkest depths of our hearts, we still have a heart that yearns for goodness and looks forward to the future."

"Even after experiencing the darkest moments, even if it costs him his life, he was willing to believe in the possibility of the Trilobite Men until the very end."

"Like my teacher, I believe that if one day our civilization develops to be truly prosperous and powerful."

"When we no longer lack food, when each of us can read books, when each of us can understand the wonder of knowledge and philosophy."

"When we, each of us, can master the power of divine techniques."

"We will surely become beautiful."

"Just as God hopes we will be beautiful."

Sandean turned his back, looking at the statue of the great poet.

This was also the wish that the great poet Tito wrote in "The Final Chapter." When he saw the spirits using miraculous power, he thought the same.

When we have the power to create everything, won't the Trilobite Men be able to avoid war?

Can we truly have a future then?

The female Abyss knight felt immensely shocked after hearing Sandean's words. Born in the wild Abyss, she experienced for the first time a great impact on her soul, as if sunlight had suddenly shone into a dark corner.

Looking at Sandean's back, she suddenly understood from him what the saint's will truly was.

It wasn't the visible power of divine techniques, but something even more soul-stirring.

Sandean asked her: "What's your name?"

The female Abyss knight: "Elena."

"My name is Elena."

"Teacher!"

At some unknown time, a story began to spread in the realm of Yinsai.

In the depths of the sea, there was a mysterious island shrouded in layers of mist. On the island stood a Temple of Truth, hiding the world's most powerful divine techniques and God-given power.

All who yearned for truth and knowledge could learn the most profound wisdom there, mastering miraculous powers and divine techniques that could change the world.

As long as you carried the saint's chapter and believed in the saint's ideals.

Whether Trilobite Men or People of the Abyss.

There, you could obtain what you desired.