"The
Leilin murmured, studying the city as though it had been built by giants.
The entire city overflowed with radiance, but what was most unforgettable was the colossal sculpture at its very center.
It was a bewitching lady whose flowing long hair cascaded into various serpentine forms—the traces of Komoyin Giant Serpents, Devil White Phosphorus Serpents, Three-headed Pythons, and other Myriad Serpent bloodline descendants could all be found among those snake-headed tresses.
"This statue must be modeled after the Mother of Myriad Serpents, and the fact that I can see it so clearly from outside the city means, by proportion, its actual height must exceed ten thousand meters..."
Leilin's eyes were filled with admiration. Without the magics of this otherworld and other aids, such a feat would be utterly impossible.
Yet the faint fluctuations lurking throughout the Holy City made Leilin's expression shift slightly.
Though he still couldn't perceive seventh-rank existences, sixth-rank Dawn Star radiation could no longer resist the Chip's scans.
Thus, Leilin could confirm that within this Holy City, there were at least ten sixth-rank powerhouses! And all of them were Myriad Serpent bloodline descendants!
"Judging from the earlier intelligence and last night's observations—the Mother of Myriad Serpents is also here! I simply can't detect her presence yet!"
"Cough... cough..." Leilin suddenly began coughing violently.
"What's wrong, Nick?"
"N-Nothing!" Leilin forced a smile and discreetly slipped his blood-stained palm inside his robe.
"In the Holy City, where the aura of the Mother of Myriad Serpents is even more concentrated, my life force is draining far faster. At this rate, I might not last more than a few years. But fortunately, a few years should be enough!"
"I just got a bit excited seeing such a magnificent city. Let's head inside quickly. Have you notified your friend?"
"I've already contacted Agnes—she'll be here soon!"
Belinda smiled. The three of them were standing outside the colossal Holy City.
There were three massive arched stone triumphal gates, along with bridges dozens of meters wide. Below rushed a roaring moat, though its waters were black, seemingly emanating an ominous aura.
The gates were wide open, and many half-snakemen—even pure-blooded Myriad Serpent descendants—were queuing in orderly lines to pass through.
"That's..." Leilin's pupils contracted slightly at what he witnessed.
A line of people resembling a long serpent had ground to a halt. A commotion arose at the gate, and then a half-snakeman with black scales on his face was crying and screaming as he was pitchforked into the black moat.
"Ah..." The shrill scream vanished in an instant, and then Leilin could see only white serpentine bones before even those dissolved rapidly away.
"Just now..."
Leilin's gaze shifted to the petrified serpent-shaped statues that stood at each gate. The vertical pupils of the statues now glowed with green light.
"It seems that when that snakeman passed through just now, the statue's pupils turned bright red! Is this some kind of bloodline identification device?"
Leilin felt a chill of retrospective fear. He hadn't detected anything unusual about that snakeman.
"These are the 'Myriad Serpent Statues' found throughout the Holy City! Anyone impure in soul or bloodline, or anyone without the city's permission to reside here, will be identified—and thrown into the Wailing Abyss!"
Belinda's expression turned somewhat grim. "And according to the Holy City's rules, whether it's a person of unknown bloodline origin or a wanted criminal, none can remain within the Holy City!"
"Oh! So if you and I insisted on entering, the statue's pupils would turn red, and that would attract a flood of guards?" Leilin stroked his chin. "So then, what exactly does the Holy City offer that draws so many of our kind like moths to a flame?"
"What does it offer?" Belinda gave a wry smile. "Quite a lot, actually! First, anyone granted permission to reside in the Holy City is guaranteed absolute personal safety—even across the entire Heil Continent, few forces dare treat the Holy City's residents roughly!"
"Absolute safety and shelter?" Leilin nodded. In these uncertain times, absolute security was surely the dream of many weaker beings.
"Furthermore! The Holy City is the heart of the entire Heil Continent. Here you can find any商品—any commodity, even the most advanced paths of power, the finest ritual offerings and beast souls... but the most important thing is..."
At the mention of the Holy City, Belinda's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"The most important thing is that the entire Holy City has received the grace of the Great Mother Sovereign. All descendants residing here will never have their bloodline purity drop in rank—it will actually rise with the length of their residence!"
A new voice came from nearby, accompanied by a flash of black light. Two additional figures had materialized.
"Agnes!" Belinda broke into a smile upon seeing the newcomer.
"Belinda! My sister! It's been one hundred and thirty-two years, hasn't it?"
One of the figures strode over and gave Belinda an enthusiastic embrace. This had to be Agnes, the friend Belinda had mentioned so often.
Leilin studied the newcomer carefully.
She had short brown hair, a tall and slender frame, fair and delicate skin, and wore a form-fitting suit of armor that looked as though it were forged from crystal. Her pert nose and overall bearing radiated a vigorous, heroic air. Though female, she possessed a strikingly androgynous beauty.
What truly surprised Leilin was the bloodline aura emanating from her.
The sense of intimidation he felt was unmistakably that of a sixth-rank giant serpent bloodline, and Agnes herself had already reached the fifth rank.
"The terror of pure-blooded nobility—it's plainly evident in her! She's only at the semi-mature stage, yet she already possesses fifth-rank strength. Once her bloodline is fully developed, reaching sixth rank will be no problem at all! As for her ritualist and beast soul master levels, I can't tell..."
Leilin silently estimated Agnes's power.
Unlike Belinda, who was a half-breed, Agnes was a pure high-energy giant serpent bloodline—which meant her true form was a giant python, and this human guise was merely a convenient identity she adopted.
"The two of them managed to get together after all—there must have been some extraordinary encounter back then!"
"Don't worry! Those Eye of Sacrifice scoundrels actually dared treat you like that! I won't let them get away with it! I told you before—don't join that church of madmen's eyes. Only the Great Mother Sovereign is worthy of our devotion!"
Agnes held Belinda's hand affectionately, seemingly oblivious to Leilin's existence.
She then swept Sophia into a hug, her eyes practically sparkling: "This must be your sister, Sophia! So adorable! I've only seen her in images before. Don't worry! I'll handle the identity verification for you and your sister—getting green cards and permanent residency in the Holy City is absolutely no problem!"
Watching Agnes look as though she wanted to pull Sophia into her arms and rub her face against the girl's, Leilin was suddenly reminded of a word from his previous life.
"Alright, alright! Agnes! I still have a friend I haven't introduced to you yet!"
The blazing, invasive gaze was clearly more than Belinda could handle. She gasped for breath as she extricated herself from the other's clutches and pointed at Leilin.
"This is Nick—the good friend who's helped me greatly along the way!"
Belinda placed particular emphasis on the words "good friend."
"Good friend? Him?" Only now did Agnes seem to notice Leilin's existence, shooting him a provocative glare.
"Doesn't seem all that impressive? Just a piddling fifth-rank Devil White Phosphorus Serpent half-breed. Oh! Sorry, dear Belinda, I wasn't talking about you—whether from your father's or mother's side, the bloodlines have merged in you with absolute perfection. Those ruby eyes, that lustrous platinum hair... utterly intoxicating..."
"Agnes! Nick is my friend too! Just like you!"
Belinda repeated herself with a helpless smile.
"Fine, fine! A friend!" Agnes brushed back the hair at her temples. "If he's your friend, I'll handle his paperwork as well!"
"Wait! Sis! How can you let someone of unknown origin waltz into the Holy City! Have you forgotten our duties?"
The figure who had followed behind Agnes spoke up at that moment.
"Hmm?!" Leilin finally noticed this person too.
The figure had the same short brown hair as Agnes, and there was a subtle family resemblance between their faces—they appeared to be blood relatives.
"Oh! Belinda! This is the good-for-nothing younger brother I told you about—Thomas! Thomas, come here and greet them!"
"Good day, two beautiful ladies!"
Thomas bowed with impeccable courtesy, his gaze lingering on Sophia—who looked like a little girl—with a hint of infatuation in his eyes.
"Agnes!"
Seeing the siblings deliberately ignoring Nick, clearly a ploy to provoke him, Belinda grew angry.
"If you keep up this attitude, I'll leave with Nick! We have plenty of other places to go besides the Holy City!"
Given what Belinda had said earlier, obtaining a Holy City green card meant receiving preferential treatment anywhere on the Heil Continent—the best way to offset their wanted status. Yet Belinda was willing to give that up for Leilin's sake, which was truly remarkable.
"Still, Big Sis—don't you realize that the closer you act to me, the more trouble you're causing me?"
Leilin couldn't help but feel exasperated inside. He could already feel two gazes that seemed ready to burn him to ashes.