The Chaotic Region.
Ever since the Radiant Church was wiped out by Sadius last time, the remnants of their forces had fled into the Chaotic Region.
Over the course of a hundred years, the Chaotic Region had allowed the Radiant Church to secretly develop many cities. Together with the Dark Church, they had each carved out a third of the Chaotic Region's territory.
When Sadius forced the two churches to retreat into the Chaotic Region, he hadn't gone all the way to annihilate them completely.
Because—according to Beirut—forces like the Radiant Church and Dark Church, which were under a Sovereign's influence, could never truly be wiped out.
Even if their legacy was temporarily cut off, they would always rise again.
So Sadius had lost interest in fully destroying them.
As long as they couldn't grow too strong, he was fine letting them jump around within the Chaotic Region.
But recently, the two churches had once again extended their claws beyond the Chaotic Region.
They even infiltrated the Pouant Empire in secret.
They thought they were acting flawlessly, without leaving a trace for Sadius to discover.
But they didn't know that their every move was already within Sadius' sight.
Even the fact that they had secretly descended a few Six-Winged Angels over the years—Sadius knew it all clearly.
Months later.
Hogg and Lina finally tracked down traces of the two churches.
The trail led them into the Chaotic Region, where they ended up falling into a Radiant Church ambush.
Outside an unremarkable little mountain village within the Chaotic Region…two ninth-rank deacons of the Radiant Church surrounded Hogg and Lina.
Hogg had already transformed into a Dragonblood Warrior.
But he still hadn't fully matured.
Even after transforming, he was only at the eighth rank.
Lina was merely a seventh-rank necromancer.
Even if she could summon undead creatures, the two of them together still weren't a match for two ninth-rank deacons.
"Lina, don't be afraid. I will definitely take you out of here!"
Hogg had already prepared himself for battle.
Not far away, Sadius was silently watching this scene unfold.
He didn't intervene right away—only when two people faced life and death together could true feelings arise.
But Sadius would guarantee their safety. If there was any real danger, he would immediately eliminate the two ninth-rank Radiant Church warriors.
From a distance, Sadius observed the fight.
Hogg and Lina were being completely overwhelmed.
Hogg stood protectively in front of Lina, already suffering severe injuries.
But the Dragonblood Warrior's physique was tough—he could still fight.
Lina wasn't willing to give up either; she continuously summoned several seventh-rank undead creatures.
But ninth-rank experts weren't so easy to deal with.
Hogg's body was soon covered in blood.
Most of Lina's undead creatures were already torn apart.
Just as Sadius thought their emotions should be at a boiling point and was about to step in to save them—suddenly, Lina's spiritual power surged, and her entire aura drastically increased.
Sadius looked at this in astonishment.
Lina… actually broke through mid-battle!
And it wasn't an ordinary breakthrough.
Sadius could clearly tell that Lina had just grasped a trace of the Profound Mysteries of Death.
Yes—at only seventh-rank… no, just as she stepped into eighth-rank, Lina actually comprehended a sliver of the Profound Mysteries of Death.
Of course, this wasn't the true profound mysteries of the laws, nor was it a genuine death-type profound mystery.
It was something akin to the "world momentum" that warriors could comprehend.
Still—if Lina could already touch upon the essence of the Death Laws, it meant that before reaching the Saint-level, she would have no bottlenecks at all.
Just as Lina completed her breakthrough, she swung her magic staff and unleashed a terrifying surge of soul energy toward one of the ninth-rank warriors.
In an instant, that ninth-rank warrior collapsed unconscious.
An eighth-rank necromancer—just one move was enough to cause a ninth-rank warrior to lose consciousness.
The other ninth-rank warrior was stunned for only a moment before immediately grabbing his fainted companion and fleeing without hesitation.
Hogg, covered in blood, wanted to chase after them, but saw Lina suddenly faint.
He could only give up the pursuit.
Hogg reverted to his human form and tried to wake Lina.
But just then, Sadius descended from afar.
"Hogg, don't worry. Lina's fine. She just over-drafted all of her spiritual energy with that last attack."
At that moment, a few more figures flew over.
Sadius recognized one of them immediately—Desri, a peak Saint.
What a coincidence—the small mountain village nearby was actually a place where a group of Saint-level experts lived in seclusion.
"Lord Sadius? I didn't expect it to be you."
Desri had also witnessed the fight just now.
But as long as it didn't disturb the village's peace, he wouldn't interfere.
Until Sadius appeared—then he sensed an aura that even he couldn't see through.
So he flew over to investigate.
"Desri, your village is nearby, right? My disciple's spiritual power is heavily drained. I'd like to borrow your village for a place to rest for a bit."
"Please, my lord, this way."
Desri immediately led the way.
Soon, Sadius carried Lina while Desri helped Hogg, and the group flew back toward the village.
In the mountain village, the sudden arrival of several outsiders drew everyone's attention.
The Saints there all knew who Sadius was.
As for the ordinary warriors, they just assumed another Saint expert had come to the village.
After all, in this secluded village, it was difficult to ever learn much about the outside world.
Desri casually cast a light magic healing spell and completely treated Hogg's injuries.
As for Lina's spiritual exhaustion, a good sleep would restore her.
Inside the village, Sadius and Desri chatted for a while.
As a peak Saint of the Light Laws, logically Sadius didn't have much he could teach him.
But among the Seven Laws, the elemental profound mysteries were interrelated.
So Sadius explained his own understanding of the Profound Mysteries of Darkness.
He hoped Desri might draw parallels and gain some new insights.
"Desri, I see you already have some comprehension of the Light Elemental Profound Mysteries and the Profound Mysteries of Lightwave. Why not try fusing the two? You might have another breakthrough."
"My lord, I've read the materials you sent back from Infernal Realm about the profound mysteries of the laws, including explanations on fusion. But knowledge from books always feels shallow. I've also tried to fuse profound mysteries, but I've never been able to even step into the doorway."
Desri gave a bitter smile.
Often, fusing profound mysteries required a flash of inspiration. Book learning alone was useless.
On this matter, Sadius could do little to help.
After they finished talking, Desri prepared dinner and invited Sadius to share a casual meal.
For God-level experts, eating was more about enjoying taste than necessity.
But considering Hogg still needed proper nutrition, Sadius sent him a voice transmission to come eat.
Before long, a disheveled Hogg returned.
Sadius wasn't surprised—he already knew Hogg had just sparred with some of the young people in the village.
Hogg may have been dirty and exhausted, but his expression was happy.
After dinner, Hogg suddenly spoke up:
"Teacher, may I… request to stay in this village?"