Chapter 22: Gifts from the Holy Spirit

Fang Zheng of course knew why Shi Dong would ask such a question.

In fact, on the first day he arrived here, after summoning an angel due to the effect of Skybreaker, Shi Dong and the old bishop had asked Fang Zheng whether he had received the Holy Spirit's protection. Fang Zheng neither admitted nor denied it, he merely pretended to be clueless about the matter—in fact, this wasn't information that an ordinary person would know. Fang Zheng had only found some clues about Holy Spirit Protection after entering the Sanctuary and sifting through the archives.

In the not-too-distant past, there was a group of people on this continent. They were either innately blessed or later received protection from the Holy Spirit Angels for some reason. These Holy Spirit Angels would safeguard these people's lives and bestow upon them angelic knowledge and power.

People regarded this as a gift from the Holy Spirit.

Within the Sanctuary, these individuals were seen as the Goddess of Order's messengers on earth, utilizing this power to eradicate chaos, maintain order, and combat evil.

The Holy Spirit Knights of the past were the celebrities of the Sanctuary, each one a much-admired hero.

As the saying goes, "A tall tree attracts the wind."

Thus, the Holy Spirit Knights attracted the attention of the Chaos Monsters and Cultists. Demons coveted the power of angels, while the Cultists sought to undermine the foundations of order. Eventually, disaster struck through their combined efforts.

They incited the masses and tempted those Holy Practitioners in the Sanctuary who were dissatisfied with the Holy Spirit Knights' power to suppress them. They even led several young Holy Spirit Knights astray, turning them and their Guardian Angels into claws of chaos. At the same time, they used this as a pretext to scrutinize the Holy Spirit Knights.

At first, the Holy Spirit Knights could endure the scrutiny, but soon the Sanctuary's people became increasingly aggressive. Perhaps they found it amusing to see these high-and-mighty Holy Spirit Knights acting so "obediently." Hence, the Sanctuary's leaders became more militant, even fabricating reasons to take the Holy Spirit Knights for interrogation. Eventually, some leaders went so far as to coerce confessions from the Holy Spirit Knights, forcing them to admit they were cultists.

As time went on, the rift grew larger. The Holy Spirit Knights were fed up with being treated as cultists, while the Sanctuary's leaders grew more brazen, relying on the Sanctuary's support. The conflict escalated, causing the Highest Bishop of that time to become uneasy. He attempted to stop the spread of this wave and began to reduce the intensity of the scrutiny.

But the Highest Bishop's orders became the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

Learning of the Highest Bishop's plan to end the scrutiny, the bishops below refused to comply. Driven by their desire to completely suppress the Holy Spirit Knights, those bishops, intoxicated by ambition and power, made a crazy decision: they accused the Grandmaster of the Holy Spirit Knights, Antonio, of being a cultist and imprisoned his wife and children, using torture to extract so-called "evidence" to force Antonio to confess.

But Antonio wasn't one to surrender so easily. He led his followers into the Supreme Tribunal, attempting to rescue his family. Unfortunately, Antonio arrived too late; all he saw were the corpses of his wife and children.

Overwhelmed with grief and rage, Antonio declared his break from the Sanctuary and, in the name of the Holy Spirit Order, declared war on the entire Sanctuary!

That was an exceedingly dark era. Those who once maintained order, the Holy Spirit Knights, raised their blades and attacked the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary crumbled under their assault. They tried to halt the onslaught but to no avail. The Holy Spirit Knights were men, not saints, and they had been harboring resentment long before the scrutiny began. There was no way they would simply admit their mistakes.

Moreover, by that time, some within the Holy Spirit Order believed the Sanctuary had deviated from the Goddess's guidance, succumbing to worldly desires and power.

The conflict had evolved into a clash of ideologies, and negotiations ultimately failed. Antonio then led the Holy Spirit Knights in an assault on the Supreme Sanctuary, aiming to end its rule once and for all.

However, in front of the Supreme Sanctuary's gates, the Holy Spirit Knights met an obstacle—the Goddess's protection surrounded the Supreme Sanctuary, ensuring they couldn't advance.

The Cardinal Council, in their folly, believed the Holy Spirit Knights could do nothing against themselves under the Goddess's protection. Thus, they immediately began to mock Antonio. They even claimed that the murder of Antonio's family was the Goddess's will, and they were merely executing her will!

No matter the era or place, "pig teammates" always have the same effect. Inflamed by the Cardinal Council's taunts, Antonio made a decision that shocked everyone.

He and his Holy Spirit companion, under everyone's watchful eye, chose to fall and become a Chaos Demon King, then he cleaved through the Goddess's protection with a single blow and annihilated the Cardinal Council.

Afterward, Antonio left behind only one sentence: "If that's the case, then this world's existence has no meaning," and turned to leave with the fallen Holy Spirit.

Following this, the Holy Spirit Order split into two factions. One faction resolutely chose to fall and followed Antonio to the Twilight Frontier. The other faction chose to permanently sever ties with the Sanctuary, never to meet again.

The internal strife and the departure of the Holy Spirit Knights left the Sanctuary severely weakened. At that moment, Cultists and Chaos Demons began to act, launching frenzied attacks on the continent. Without the Holy Spirit Knights, the Sanctuary's power significantly lessened. Ultimately, they managed to expel the demons and cultists, ensuring the survival of order. However, they were left severely weakened and have not fully recovered to this day.

Moreover, after that, people with Holy Spirit Protection appeared rarely on the continent. Within the Sanctuary, there was an underlying belief that the Goddess was disappointed with the Sanctuary's actions, thus she no longer sent her messengers to this world. It was only when the Sanctuary acknowledged its mistakes that they might receive the Goddess's forgiveness.

This explained why the Old Archbishop wanted to report Fang Zheng's Guardian Angel to the Central Bishopric the moment he saw it.

However, Shi Dong seemed uninterested in this. He was more curious about how Fang Zheng had become so powerful after just one night. Could this also be related to a Holy Spirit inheritance? After all, that happened many years ago, and now information about the Holy Spirit Knights was scarce, either destroyed or sealed, making it inaccessible to the general public, even someone as highly ranked as a Grand Knight. Hence, Shi Dong was quite interested in Fang Zheng's "inheritance."

"I don't know if this is some kind of inheritance."

As before, Fang Zheng did not confirm Shi Dong's guess. After learning the history of the Holy Spirit Knights, he knew that this identity had its advantages, but also many disadvantages. Therefore, he never admitted others' guesses, choosing instead to reveal selective information.

"Last night, I went back and thought about how to improve my sword skill. Then I discussed it with her, and she made me have a dream..."

Facing Shi Dong's inquiry, Fang Zheng didn't hide much. He simply described the system as the Guardian Angel he summoned with the Skybreaker Sword. He recounted the experiences in the instance as if they were dreams.

Fang Zheng chose to reveal this not only to win Shi Dong's trust but also because he had already planned it before arriving. That was why he didn't mind showing his peculiarities to Shi Dong. Even if Shi Dong hadn't asked, he would have found an opportunity to consult him.

The reason was simple, "Three cobblers make a genius strategist like Zhuge Liang."

While Fang Zheng could indeed accumulate experience through battles in that world, wouldn't it be faster if he had guidance from someone experienced? Why take the long route when there's a shortcut?

Moreover, even though he could revive, getting killed was still painful!

He wasn't a masochist, looking to get killed for fun.

"Such a world exists…"

After hearing Fang Zheng's description, Shi Dong couldn't help but marvel. With his extensive experience, he immediately grasped how hopeless the world Fang Zheng described was. A world where survival depended on the burning of flames, and once the flames extinguished, all faced death... Just the thought made Shi Dong feel the sorrow of that world.

But thankfully, it was only a dream.

"Haha, good that it was just a dream. Otherwise, with your skills, you would have died a hundred and eighty times, just relying on sword skills without using power against those enemies."

Hearing Shi Dong laugh heartily, Fang Zheng rolled his eyes helplessly but had nothing to say because he indeed had died a hundred and eighty times!

Maybe even more.

"Hmm... but actually, it's not entirely hopeless. From your previous combat style, you've already mastered the knack; it's just the method that's a bit off..."

But Shi Dong did not disappoint Fang Zheng. After pondering for a moment, he began to advise Fang Zheng. As a Grand Knight, Shi Dong had much more experience in this area, and Fang Zheng listened attentively. These were invaluable insights, and the system currently lacked a redemption function. Even if it did, Fang Zheng doubted it would allow exchanging for experience.

And now… having such a mentor wasn't just for learning?