As the cultivator unleashed his final strike after spinning a bone-picking knife in the air, a loud *bang* echoed through the church.
The church doors were violently flung open from the outside, and a sharp, flaming cleaver flew in, its blade striking the cultivator with precision. Coupled with the searing heat of the flames, the scent of roasted meat faintly filled the air.
Everything happened so fast that the knight-commander had no time to react. By the time he did, the cultivator had already pulled the cleaver from his body and was lunging at him again.
However, he stopped after only a few steps.
The knight-commander found himself inexplicably outside the church. The cultivator, it seemed, was unable to leave the church and had stopped precisely at the doorway.
Watching his prey slip away, the cultivator let out a roar of frustration, but all he could do now was roar.
Gazing at the roaring, yet helpless cultivator inside the church, the knight-commander felt a sense of post-disaster relief.
It was understandable. The danger had been immense. He knew that without the sudden turn of events, he would have surely died. His strength was no match for the cultivator's charged blow. The result would have been his Rune Greatsword shattering and him being cleaved in two.
But how had he gotten out of the church?
The knight-commander twisted his neck and saw a familiar figure.
It was the ghost man he had encountered wandering the town earlier. Why would he save him?
The truth was simple. The ghost man had no such noble intentions. He wouldn't have proactively saved the knight-commander from peril. If the knight-commander had appeared in the town, the ghost man would have dispatched him without hesitation. But not now.
The cultivator's full name was the Godskin Cultivator. He could enhance his strength by peeling off his opponent's skin and sewing it onto himself. The stronger the target, the greater the enhancement he received. The ghost man's true name was the Soul Judge. He could enhance his strength by absorbing the souls of his defeated opponents. The darker and dirtier the soul of the absorbed individual, the more enhancement the Soul Judge gained.
More importantly, they were mortal enemies. However, due to their similar strength, they usually didn't provoke each other. But as time passed, more and more people arrived, including many powerful beings.
While many of these newcomers were indeed strong, few possessed truly dark and corrupted souls. This imbalance led to the Godskin Cultivator's strength soaring, while the Soul Judge's progress was severely limited.
By now, the Godskin Cultivator's power far surpassed the Soul Judge's. The only reason he hadn't attacked the Soul Judge was that the Soul Judge resided within the town, which was his territory. Similarly, the church was the Godskin Cultivator's domain. Fighting within the town would greatly boost the Soul Judge's abilities, and the monsters of the town would aid him in battle.
More importantly, due to a rule, the Godskin Cultivator was unable to leave the church.
However, this restriction had a limit. Once the Godskin Cultivator reached a certain level of power, he could break free from this rule and step outside.
Currently, the Godskin Cultivator was just one step away from breaking this limit, or rather, one knight's skin away.
As soon as the Godskin Cultivator defeated the knight-commander and sewed his skin onto himself, his further strengthened form would be able to leave the church.
And the first to die would undoubtedly be his old rival, the Soul Judge.
Therefore, no matter what, the Soul Judge had to prevent the Godskin Cultivator from acquiring another piece of skin, even if it meant taking some risks.
Of course, don't assume the Soul Judge was done after saving the knight-commander. To prevent the Godskin Cultivator from getting the knight-commander's skin, the Soul Judge intended to kill the knight-commander on the spot, putting an end to the matter once and for all. Even though he knew the knight-commander had no soul and he wouldn't gain anything by killing him.
But that didn't matter. As long as he could stop the Godskin Cultivator from becoming stronger, he would do it.
The knight-commander's current situation was dire, akin to escaping one wolf's den only to fall into a tiger's lair.
Facing the flaming cleaver, the knight-commander was prepared to die. But after waiting for a long time, the expected blow never came.
Slowly opening his eyes, the knight-commander saw Bai Qi standing before him, the flaming cleaver raised high, but not falling. And in Bai Qi's chest, a palm-sized hole had already been created.
"The old man's subordinate is really useless, to be forced into such a state by such trash."
Yes, Bai Qi had arrived.
Initially, Bai Qi expected to meet the Great Serpent soon. However, after waiting for a long time in the side hall, the woman showed no signs of coming to find him.
Bored, Bai Qi began to release his mental energy, extensively scanning the interior of the volcanic mansion. Although some areas were beyond his reach due to the influence of the ancient god's aura, his broad mental coverage still yielded many discoveries.
For instance, he discovered that the woman in the room opposite was, in reality, a snow-white snake person. Thinking about it, given that the master of this place was called the Great Serpent, having snake people as subordinates was understandable. After all, under the influence of the ancient god's aura, Bai Qi wouldn't be surprised by any kind of strange beings appearing.
Besides the snake person, Bai Qi also discovered the town and the church that the knight-commander had encountered.
Since he had nothing else to do, the bored Bai Qi set off for the town.
Compared to the knight-commander's cautious approach, Bai Qi was far more audacious. With invisibility magic activated, not a single monster discovered him along the way.
After passing through the town, Bai Qi intended to visit the church. Unexpectedly, he stumbled upon the Soul Judge, who was attempting to kill the knight-commander. With a casual blow, he eliminated the Soul Judge and saved the knight-commander.
Looking at Bai Qi before him, the knight-commander felt that this figure was incredibly imposing, and he finally understood why his master pledged allegiance to him.
Bai Qi ignored the pleasantries and asked, "What is in that church?"
The knight-commander did not stand up. Instead, he knelt on one knee and, after performing a knightly salute, replied, "Sir, there is a very powerful cultivator inside the church. I am no match for him. However, he is bound by some rule and cannot leave the church."
"Is that so? Quite interesting. Let's go take a look."
With that, he paid no further attention to the kneeling knight-commander and walked towards the church, pushing open the doors and entering.
Similar to the knight-commander, upon entering the church, Bai Qi saw the cultivator kneeling in repentance before the cross, also blocked by grey-white flames.
Bai Qi's actions mirrored the knight-commander's; he ignored the cultivator's warning and entered the church.
Like the knight-commander, upon seeing Bai Qi enter the church, the cultivator sighed helplessly, his body transforming once more into the bloated Godskin Cultivator.