Lin Feng looked at the painting and smiled. Though he didn't paint the whole area as travelling to the full extent was absurd, he still captured a large area.

He rolled the painting and threw it in his space ring, he summoned the clouds again, and they hopped on it. The cloud didn't need any instruction as it could feel Lin Feng's intent. It rose to the sky and rushed to the entrance of this area.

Soon, the party arrived at the heavy black door, everyone got off the cloud, and Lin Feng made it disappear.

"Young master Lin, can we stay behind and cultivate?"

Lin Feng was about to walk off when Jin Yuanjun stopped him with the question. Lin Feng saw no issue with the question, so he responded positively. Anyway, sooner or later, she would be a part of his family and, as a scholar once said, 'family'.

Leaving the pair of girl and her maid behind, Lin Feng walked back to the house. Behind him, the little dog followed with a wagging tail. After all, a dog's perfect place belonged at the master's side.

Lin Feng held the door open for the dog, and they walked away as it closed.

Lin Feng sat on the comfortable seat near the counter, fished out a book, and opened it. He was going to read all the books as he slowly discovered who he was.

...

Away from Lin Feng's current position, away from the Xudao star field, in a place that gave off the unmistakable aura of secrecy, a table was set up with sixteen chairs on each side of the table.

A kingly seat was located at the front of the table. No doubt an important figure was supposed to be seated there.

On the sixteen chairs, eight men and eight women were seated on opposite sides. Their faces were unrecognizable as they wore masks to hide their faces.

The atmosphere showed just how nervous these people were. Suddenly the door opened, and as if they were waiting for that signal, everyone stood up and got on their knees. The room was silent with only the sound of beating hearts could be heard

Soon a silhouette of a woman approached. Her action was so fast that it seemed she was always there.

The woman had long inky-black hair that flowed to her waist. She wore a black dress that perfectly displayed her assets though not to an obscene level.

With a face almost similar to Lin Feng, this woman was non-other than Mei Lin. Ever since she arrived at the dark church, she changed her dress to a black one to match her mission.

Initially, the members of the dark church refused to heed her words, but after killing the rebellious ones, everyone became obedient for reasons she didn't understand. Anyway, escaping was futile as she had tagged all of them, an escape from an entity made for speed? They were better off killing themselves.

"Rise!"

Mei Lin issued a command, without wasting a second, everyone was on their feet.

Mei Lin sat on the kingly seat and gestured everyone else to take their seat. After everyone was seated, Mei Lin started speaking.

"The dark church was initially set up to spread nothingness, a state of inexistence, where everything is destroyed, and suffering is no more, a state of eternal darkness, but what did you guys do? You turned the church into a haven for evil cultivators. The church can now only be described as a place for self-serving beings that would do anything to achieve their greed. Now the public views the dark church as a menace that should be eradicated."

Mei Lin stopped for a while before continuing.

"That was before. Now, my presence marks the beginning of a new era. An era that was supposed to be but was ruined by your foolishness."

Mei Lin finished her speech and observed everyone's reaction.

The members of the church could be seen agreeing to Mei Lin's words.

'I did read somewhere, from my ancestor's records, that this was the initial goal of the dark church.' One of the members thought to himself.

"Your graciousness, we of the dark church pledge our bodies and soul to use every means possible to steer the dark church to the right path."

One of the higher-ranking members spoke up with a sense of duty in his voice.

"Seconded."

Everyone else chimed in at the same time to show they agreed with the speaker.

Seeing this, Mei Lin let out a barely discernable smile.

'The fools.'

Mei Lin thought to herself. The whole speech was a fabrication of lies and some truth. Why should she care about destruction or order? All she cared about was Lin Feng. That was it. They could die for all she cared. When brought to the dark church, she started to hatch plans to win against Mu Lei. This was her first phase. When she was killing the rebels, she wasn't doing it mindlessly. It was to assert her overwhelming strength to avoid future issues, then she marked everyone else that belonged to the dark church with a single goal in mind, to take everything from them.

After everyone was feeling hopeless, she gave them a purpose, and like a fish attracted to light, they didn't hesitate to take the opportunity to give their life meaning.

"All right, you can all go, be alert in case I issue any instruction."

Mei Lin announced and walked out of the room.

The dark church members were excited. They could finally make their ancestor proud. They each disappeared to go to their respective factions and tell them off the good news.

..

On another side, the main competitor of the dark church was located. The place was in the open and lacked the secrecy of the dark church.

In an open area, young men and women wearing white robes were practising. These people were the self-proclaimed light church warriors.

Ever since Mu Lei came and told them of their supposed mission, they swore an oath with the universe as a witness. They were to stand for order. They were the hope of every creature, the light in the darkness that was the world.

At the top of a building, Mu Lei looked at the warriors from a window, but her mind was not on them. She was thinking of multiple strategies she could use to overcome Mei Lin. She didn't think about the bloodshed that would likely occur soon, just like Mei Lin. All she cared about was how Lin Feng would appraise her efforts.

Since Lin Feng's overwhelming might expanded her sight, her vision was warped, and an unintentional indifference to death replaced her usual meekness to loss of life. She had the bearing of a superior species.

She didn't have any confidence in winning, she hadn't spent a lot of time with Mei Lin to know how she would react to given situations, so this was a blind competition.

The 'great observer' assured her that none of them was allowed to use their powers once they started competing, so she wasn't worried about losing to Mei Lin's overwhelming might.

"Great envoy of light, the light god is trying to contact me. How should I respond?"

Mu Lei's thoughts were disrupted by the sudden appearance of the high priest of light.

"Ignore him."

Mu Lei ordered the light priest.

"As you bid."

The light priest responded and walked away.

Mu Lei descended smoothly from the top of the building and approached the light god statue.

With a single thought, the statue was reduced to dust and was carried away by the wind.

..

In another area, a secretive area, a river was flowing silently, vegetation consisting of beautiful flowers planted at the side of the river, bees flew from flower to flower trying to get nectar. Birds sang praises to god knows what. All in all, it was a dreamy scene.

This could have been perfect if it wasn't for an old man.

"Who dares? "

*cough* *cough*

The old man complained while coughing out blood.

The blood dirtied his white robes. The birds were startled and flew for safety. The scene instantly became chaotic as the old man released his qi and squashed the flowers.

"First, that stupid priest refuses to talk to me, and now my statue is destroyed? This old man wants to see who has the galls."

The old man mumbled to himself before mobilizing his qi and disappeared.