Chapter 371 - 337: "Life Secret Scripture" and Great Mage Martin

There was no spell, no flash of light.

Just a soft POP, like an overinflated balloon suddenly bursting.

The next moment, a pile of miscellaneous junk poured out of the invisible bag, clattering onto the table and covering half of it.

A few changes of tattered clothes, several rock-hard loaves of black bread, a leather waterskin, a few low-quality Magic Stones, a pile of parts for making traps, and some dried herbs and jerky...

It was, quite simply, the entire fortune of a down-and-out adventurer.

Everyone in the hall stared, dumbfounded.

’Who would have thought that the Storage Pouch of a distinguished Tier Four Great Mage would be filled with such things?’

The color drained from the middle-aged man’s face, and his eyes filled with despair.

His last secret had been exposed so easily.

Moonlight had no interest in the pile of junk. It pawed through it twice with its claws before plucking a book, tightly wrapped in oilcloth, from beneath the tattered clothes.

It walked over to Raylo and gently placed the book on the table beside his hand.

Raylo picked up the book. He unwrapped the oilcloth, revealing a golden cover.

There were no words on the cover, only an emblem of a sun and a chalice, branded with Holy Runes.

The edges of the pages glowed with a soft white light, and a pure, warm breath of life washed over him.

Raylo’s pupils constricted the moment he opened the first page.

It recorded, page after page, Light Divine Techniques—almost all of them related to life, healing, and resurrection.

Its research and insights into the Power of Life far surpassed any Magic Scripture he had ever known.

This book...

It was missing its latter half; only the first part, or perhaps even less, remained.

A piece of system intel from a long time ago flashed through Raylo’s mind.

One of the Light Holy See’s greatest treasures: the *Life Secret Scripture*.

According to rumor, a portion of it had been stolen by a Great Mage.

The Holy See was furious and had issued its highest-level bounty: Three Hundred Thousand Gold Coins for the capture of the thief and the return of the Secret Scripture.

Three Hundred Thousand Gold Coins.

A fortune great enough to make even a Domain Level Powerhouse salivate.

Raylo closed the book.

"The *Life Secret Scripture*."

"How did something belonging to the Light Holy See end up in your hands?"

The middle-aged man’s body began to tremble violently. He stared at Raylo, and for the first time, raw fear showed in his eyes.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about!"

he yelled hoarsely, making a final, desperate attempt at denial.

"Is that so?"

Raylo held the *Life Secret Scripture* in his hand, casually weighing it.

"Do you have any idea what this, plus your head, is worth? Three Hundred Thousand Gold Coins. That’s enough to re-equip every Knight in Black Stone Territory from head to toe with the best armor and weapons, and still have enough left over to renovate the entire castle."

"You..."

The man’s lips trembled, but no words came out.

"I’m not curious about why you stole it, nor am I curious about how you ended up like this."

Raylo’s tone was ice-cold.

"All I know is that handing you and this book over to the Light Holy See would be a very profitable transaction for me. Not only would I get a huge sum of money, but I’d also earn the friendship of the Light Holy See."

He paused, his gaze piercing straight into the man’s soul.

"Now, I’m giving you one chance to convince me. Your story had better be worth three hundred thousand gold coins."

Those words, like a sledgehammer, completely shattered the middle-aged man’s psychological defenses.

It was as if all the strength had been drained from his body. He hung his head, his shoulders shaking violently.

A suppressed whimper, like the mournful cry of a wild animal, escaped his throat.

After a long moment, he finally lifted his bloodshot eyes. His voice was as hoarse as rubbing sandpaper.

"My name is... Martin."

He finally spoke.

"I was once... a Magic Consultant for the Holy See."

Martin’s gaze became hollow and distant, as if lost in painful memories.

"My sister, Lina, was a girl blessed by the Holy Light. When she was sixteen, she was discovered to possess a Life Affinity talent so rare it hadn’t been seen in centuries. The Pope himself selected her as one of two candidates for Saintess."

As he spoke of his sister, a hint of gentleness and pride touched Martin’s pale face.

"After she was chosen as a candidate, the Holy See entrusted her with half of the *Life Secret Scripture* for her to study. Everyone said she was the most promising candidate to be the next Saintess."

However, that hint of gentleness was quickly replaced by endless hatred and anguish.

"Her light shone too brightly, and for that, she drew envy and disaster upon herself. The other candidate’s father was a Red-robed Bishop in the Holy See, a man of immense power. He could not tolerate a girl of common birth outshining the daughter he had so carefully groomed."

Martin’s voice began to tremble, every word steeped in blood and tears.

"Late one night, that Red-robed Bishop sent his ’Purifiers’ to sneak into Lina’s prayer room... They disguised it as an attack by heretics and brutally murdered her. My sister... she didn’t even have time to cast a single Defense Divine Technique."

The only sound in the hall was Martin’s suppressed, agonized gasps.

"I sensed something was wrong. By the time I rushed over, it was too late. All I saw was Lina lying in a pool of her own blood and several dark figures fleeing in a panic."

"I gave chase and fought desperately to capture one of them alive. I forced the mastermind’s name from his lips. It was the Red-robed Bishop! It was him! To pave the way for his own daughter, he murdered my only family!"

Martin’s emotions spiraled completely out of control.

"I went to the Referee’s Office! I went to the Pope! But they wouldn’t believe me! How could a powerless Arcane Consultant point the finger at a Red-robed Bishop of such immense authority? They said I was overcome with grief, that I was hallucinating. They even wanted to lock me in a confession chamber!"

Two streams of murky tears ran down his face.

"I despaired. I knew I could never get justice for Lina from within the Holy See. So, I did something that would make every last one of them regret it."

"I snuck back into Lina’s quarters and stole that half of the *Life Secret Scripture*. Lina had paid for it with her life, and I couldn’t let it fall back into the hands of those filthy murderers! I would make the entire Holy See pay for their hypocrisy and cruelty!"

"I took the Secret Scripture and fled north, dodging the Holy See’s relentless pursuit. I hid in a cave deep within the Black Stone Mountain Range for almost a year, living like a wild man."

"I just... I just wanted to come out to trade for some salt and oil, to get some new tools..."

he murmured, his expression dazed.

"I thought no one would recognize me in such a remote place. I hadn’t spoken to anyone in so long... I just wanted to go to a tavern, use a few of these shoddy little tricks to earn enough for a drink, and talk to a stranger..."

He gave a bitter laugh, a smile that looked worse than a sob.

"I never expected to run into a Golden Dragon in this unremarkable territory."

The story was over.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The expressions on the faces of Alex and the surrounding Personal Guards had shifted from initial wariness to sympathy and shock.

They simply couldn’t connect the destitute man before them with the vast and sacred Light Holy See.

Raylo remained silent, his fingers unconsciously stroking the cool cover of the *Life Secret Scripture*.

Martin’s story was logical and coherent, and it explained all the inconsistencies.

Why a Tier Four Great Mage was so destitute.

Why one of the Holy See’s greatest treasures had appeared here.

But sympathy was one thing; Raylo had to consider the interests of Black Stone Territory as a whole.

This matter went far beyond an internal security issue.

It involved the Light Holy See—a behemoth entrenched in the center of the Continent, its influence seeping into every nation.

Sheltering Martin would be tantamount to openly making an enemy of that Red-robed Bishop, and could even lead to the entire Holy See branding them as heretics.

Although Black Stone Territory was no longer what it once was, it was still nothing more than an ant before the might of the Light Holy See.

But if he turned him in...

Raylo looked at Martin’s despairing eyes.

Handing him and the *Life Secret Scripture* over in exchange for Three Hundred Thousand Gold Coins and the friendship of the Holy See was undoubtedly the choice that would maximize his gains.

But the man before him was burdened by a blood feud, and his only thought was revenge.

To hand him over would be no different from casting him into Hell.