Chapter 1012: Three Years

“It’s been three years. I didn’t expect that after only a month or so of exploring in the Sky Castle, three years have already passed in Anril.” Although Archbishop Martin was replying to Donald, his tone was filled with disbelief.

Upon hearing Archbishop Martin’s answer, Donald did not believe it at all. He exclaimed, “What? How can it be? Are you kidding!?”

That was indeed unbelievable. When they were exploring the Sky Castle, they did not lose track of time just because there was barely any difference between day and night there. Even if there was an error in the calculation of time, it would at most be a discrepancy of a few days. How could they have mixed up a period of a month or so with three years?

Lin Li was also surprised by Archbishop Martin’s words, but after carefully thinking about the process of exploring the Sky Castle, he immediately understood where the problem lay.

In the process of exploring the Sky Castle, Lin Li and the others had entered the few Domain Worlds created by the Immortal King. The first was the world of Alanna from 1,300 years ago, followed by the Undead World that had a revived Tree of Eternity, and lastly, the world that contained the Well of the Sun. It was normal for the flow of time of those Domain Worlds and that of Anril to be different.

For example, when they were in the Well of the Sun, the Domain World that was used by the Immortal King’s incarnation showed countless evolutions in a moment, and the speed of the flow of time was maximized. However, those who were in that world would not feel an obvious difference in the passage of time.

Hence, to Lin Li, there was nothing surprising about the fact that three years had passed, and what really made him worried was the timing of the calamity that Geresco had calculated, which Tutankhamun predicted. At that time, he said that it would happen in two to three years. In fact, when Lin Li entered the Sky Castle, there was already not much time left until the calamity that Geresco had predicted. Now that three years had passed, did that mean that the calamity had descended?

At this moment, Lin Li thought about the changes he felt when he returned to Anril. The sudden increase in the density of the magical elements and the decrease in stability of the structure of the World Laws seemed to have indicated that the calamity had struck Anril.

The calamity had already begun, but Lin Li did not think that he was already prepared for it. Although he was already a true Sanctuary powerhouse, that was precisely the reason he was clear about how difficult it would be to seal the spacetime rifts. Even though he had already reached the peak of level-26, and was in essence only one step away from level-27, he still did not have the confidence to complete this mission that Geresco had left behind.

The only thing for him to be thankful for was the fact that although this calamity that Geresco had predicted had already begun, it had yet to go into full swing and escalate to the point where it was unmanageable. In other words, Lin Li still had some time, and he did not have to seal the spacetime rifts immediately.

“Master Felic, what do you think about this matter?” Although Archbishop Martin was the first to get that news, he was still in disbelief about the fact that three years had passed even though they had only spent a month in the Sky Castle. Seeing that Lin Li had slipped deep in thought after hearing that news, he quickly asked Lin Li for his opinion.

Since that was already the truth, there was no point in worrying anymore. Putting aside his worries for the time being, Lin Li said to Archbishop Martin, “This actually isn’t strange at all. Do you remember the strange worlds we entered when we were in the Sky Castle? That should be the cause of this problem now. Well, it’s better not to talk about this issue now. There must have been plenty of changes in Anril in the past three years. I’d like to meet with Pope Rosario and find out some things.”

Archbishop Martin was initially already thinking about how he could invite Lin Li to the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, after hearing Lin Li’s request to see Archbishop Martin, he agreed happily.

Controlling the Sky Castle, Lin Li first headed to the capital of the Ledin Kingdom, and landed the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom on the ground. The latter would have to figure out how to get back to the Rotterdam Kingdom on their own. Lin Li was not a cab driver, and was not obliged to send them all the way to their doorstep. Then, Lin Li changed the direction that he was moving in, and brought Archbishop Martin and the others to the vicinity of the Holy Mountain. He appeared out of courtesy, but he did not let the Sky Castle move all the way above the Holy Mountain.

After handing the Sky Castle over to his subordinates temporarily, Lin Li followed Archbishop Martin to the Holy Mountain.

Due to the fact that Archbishop Martin had been missing for three years, the people of the Brilliance Shrine thought that Archbishop Martin had died in the Sky Castle. At this moment, they were all exceptionally shocked to see the sudden appearance of Archbishop Martin. In particular, the archbishops like Englos and others who were his old friends all flocked to the foot of the Holy Mountain to welcome him.

“Master Felic, why are you with Martin?” When Englos and the others saw Lin Li and Archbishop Martin walking over together, everyone felt a little strange. After all, after Archbishop Martin had entered the Sky Castle, he lost all contact with the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, they did not know that the three forces had united to explore the Sky Castle.

“This time, we managed to explore the Sky Castle smoothly all thanks to Master Felic. Otherwise, I’m afraid you guys would really never see me again,” Archbishop Martin said emotionally when he saw his old friends, and thought about the near-death experiences that he had in the Sky Castle.

“Did you guys meet in the Sky Castle? Hurry and tell me what’s going on. Why did you spend three years exploring the Sky Castle?” The few of them were immediately curious after hearing the archbishop’s words. Thus, they quickly began asking about their exploration of the Sky Castle.

However, Lin Li was extremely eager to find out about what happened in Anril, and did not have the time to discuss that matter with them. Hence, he said, “Dear all, I hope to see His Holiness the Pope as soon as possible. Please help me call the pope. Let Archbishop Martin tell you guys what happened in the Sky Castle.”

Seeing that Lin Li seemed to be in a real hurry, Englos and the others did not delay any further. They immediately sent someone to go to the Church of Dawn at the top of the Holy Mountain to call Pope Rosario. At the same time, the rest of them walked towards the mountain while asking Archbishop Martin about the various experiences he had during the exploration of the Sky Castle.

Although Lin Li had used the people of the Brilliance Shrine as cannon fodder during the exploration of the Sky Castle, Archbishop Martin was extremely grateful to Lin Li for his help. Hence, when Archbishop Martin was recounting his experiences and sharing it with Englos and the others, Archbishop Martin did not hide his gratitude towards Lin Li, and simply praised him endlessly, treating him like a selfless role model. Even Lin Li felt a little embarrassed when he was listening to it by the side.

As Archbishop Englos and the others heard Archbishop Martin praising Lin Li for saving him and his subordinates, they thanked Lin Li enthusiastically several times throughout the journey. No matter how thick-skinned Lin Li was, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. After the person who had gone to invite Pope Rosario returned, Lin Li was finally freed from his misery. He quickly followed that person to see Pope Rosario.

Lin Li chatted with Pope Rosario in the Dawn Cathedral for a long time before Pope Rosario personally walked him out of the door. Fortunately, the senior executives of the Brilliance Shrine like Englos and the others all knew that Lin Li was also the Son of the Holy Light who had helped Rosario get rid of the Viper’s poison in his body. Hence, they did not seem too shocked. Others would probably have been flabbergasted to the point of losing their minds.

During Lin Li’s conversation with Pope Rosario which lasted half a day, Englos and the others also found out from Archbishop Martin about the entire process of the exploration of the Sky Castle, as well as the fact that Lin Li had obtained the Sky Castle. Although Englos and the others were shocked that Lin Li had obtained the Sky Castle, Lin Li’s battle with Highlord Osric and the strength he displayed was what they truly marveled at.

Of course, Archbishop Martin did not forget to mention that Lin Li owned the powerful magical weapon that contained a pure power of Holy Light, and had the magical ability of increasing the abilities of the devotees through the baptism of Holy Light. When Englos and the others heard that, they immediately had the same idea as Archbishop Martin, and that was to make Lin Li visit the Brilliance Shrine frequently to increase their power through the help of that magical weapon.

There was no need to think about snatching it from him at all. It was not that Englos and the others were righteous. If someone else had such a special magical weapon, they would not have to consider anything at all. They could either rope him in and get him to join the Brilliance Shrine, or rule him a heretic and exterminate him, which was something that the Brilliance Shrine had done plenty of since its establishment.

However, Lin Li was different. Not only was he the Son of the Holy Light, he was also a true Sanctuary powerhouse. Apart from Pope Rosario, no one in the Brilliance Shrine would be able to compare to him in terms of strength. Besides, Pope Rosario definitely wouldn’t form a feud with a Sanctuary powerhouse over a magical weapon as such.

Hence, when Lin Li walked out of the Dawn Cathedral, Englos and the rest hurriedly approached him, and politely requested to see the magical weapon that contained the power of Holy Light.

Lin Li did not mind giving the Brilliance Shrine some benefits. After all, the Brilliance Shrine had been cooperating well with the Tower of Dusk. The senior executives of the Brilliance Shrine, Englos, and the others had always had friendly relations with him too. However, he could not be bothered to do that now. Although he had learned about the changes that took place in Anril in the past three years, and knew that the calamity had not escalated to an unmanageable degree, he had been away from the Tower of Dusk for three years. Hence, he was eager to go back to see the development of the Tower of Dusk in the past three years.

In particular, Rosario mentioned that the mages in Anril had been improving to various degrees due to the magic tides. A large number of mages who had been stuck in a bottleneck and might never have been able to advance another step further had broken through their bottleneck under the influence of the magic tides. At the same time, the magical beasts of Anril had also advanced greatly in level after being affected by the magic tides.

To others, it might seem like a good thing, but for people like Lin Li and Pope Rosario, it could not be regarded as the progress of human magic civilization. Instead, it acted as a hindrance in the development of magic civilization.

Although it was a good thing to break through the bottleneck, the bottleneck might only be a temporary hurdle for some who were gifted in magic. With some training and enlightenment, they would be able to break through the bottleneck successfully as well. However, the appearance of the magic tides seemed to have caused the mages to lose the experience of breaking through the bottleneck. If they were to encounter another one, it would be difficult for them to break through once more with their own power.

For example, a person who suddenly received a large amount of money would more likely than not fail to plan their finances well, and end up squandering away the money. On the other hand, those who earned their money through hard work would know that each cent did not come easy, and they would know how to manage their money better.

Hence, one could imagine that a large number of mages with magical talent would be ruined by the magic tides. Hence, the human magical civilization, at least in their generation, would almost be tantamount to becoming stagnant.

Lin Li had yet to reach the level of being responsible for the prosperity of the world. Hence, he did not care about the wellbeing of other mages, but he had to consider the mages of the Tower of Dusk, especially the elite ones who had potential. Lin Li did not want the magic tides to destroy the future of the Tower of Dusk.

Hence, Lin Li was now eager to rush back to clean the mess created by the magic tides. He was not in the mood to waste time in the Brilliance Shrine at all.

Of course, Englos and the others understood how Lin Li felt. Hence, they did not insist on making Lin Li stay. After Lin Li agreed to visit the Brilliance Shrine often in the future, they saw Lin Li off to the foot of the Holy Mountain together. The fact that almost all the senior executives of the Brilliance Shrine were sending a young mage away had caused a huge uproar in the city.

After bidding farewell to Englos and the others, Lin Li used the Power of Flight to fly back to the Sky Castle. The massive Sky Castle that was like a gloomy cloud slowly moved in the direction of the Breezy Plains.

In the process of the flight on the Sky Castle, Lin Li had also begun arranging the mages under him to familiarize themselves with the operations of a portion of the Sky Castle. After all, the power of the Sky Castle could not be exerted by a single person.

Besides, after Lin Li gained control of the Sky Castle, there was still a lot of work for him to do. For example, back when he followed Arbitrator Chris to the Sky Garden, Chris used a teleportation technique that did not require a Teleportation Portal at all to bring them to the Sky Garden at any time. However, it required some detailed settings.