The following evening, they had arrived at the Great Light Peak.

　　As soon as Chu Li stepped into the Spirit Medicine Nursery, Zhou Huang rushed out and complained about the low efficiency in the nursery since the former’s departure. Things happened too slowly in the Spirit Medicine Nursery and it needed Chu Li. Zhou Huang even advised Chu Li to stay in the nursery instead of going away all the time.

　　At the same time, a young girl in a green gown showed up in the nursery and approached Chu Li. “Junior Brother Zhao, the Saint requests your presence!”

　　So, Chu Li returned a fisted salute before he followed her to the Divine Light Basilica.

　　The Divine Light Basilica turned a rose color as it basked under the evening glow. Each and every stone on the floor in the hallway glimmered softly as if they were made from white jade.

　　Sun Mingyue was seated behind the desk. The sunglow had, too, dyed her white outfit and white veil into a rose color, with warmth radiating from her beautiful eyes. She looked particularly graceful and divine.

　　She looked contemplatively at the two sword manuals as well as the bottle of Detachment Pills that was on the desk.

　　She did not expect Zhao Dahe to be so devoted, to go out of his way to retrieve the items. It seemed as if luck followed him wherever he went and he was cared for by the Heavens.

　　The Holy Church of Light was fortunate to have a member like him, but there was still an important matter —— she could not detect his true intentions.

　　When he was still a nobody, this was a negligible issue as a lowly disciple was incapable of causing trouble. However, in a few month’s time, he had managed to perform so many contributions and was even qualified to become a patrol.

　　Once he became a patrol, he was no longer a nobody. He had to be monitored regularly and when the Saint was finally at ease, he could become an Altar Leader.

　　An Altar Leader’s responsibility was to watch over a certain area. If he had indeed harbored evil intentions, it would be detrimental for the Holy Church.

　　Moreover, he was too young and bore the background of an outer mountain disciple without any prior ties to the Holy Church. If he could scale the ranks so suddenly and became an Altar Leader, the rest of the disciples in the Holy Church would surely be discontented. An intangible thing like experience had a powerful influence, more so that sometimes, it was more powerful than martial arts.

　　Now, she had to suppress Chu Li a little bit to slow down the speed of his promotion and allow him to gain more experiences in order to ensure stability and ease among the disciples. Having an Altar Leader who was too young was not a good thing, as such a person lacked maturity in handling matters. This worried people, for a hasty act would lead to the downfall of the Holy Church and the outcome would be unimaginable.

　　All manner of thoughts flashed across Sun Mingyue’s mind. Then, she lifted her head and looked at Chu Li.

　　A high-spirited Chu Li stood in the hall and looked at her directly. His gaze was bold, and it lacked the reverence and veneration displayed in the eyes of the other disciples. That face of his was as hideous as ever, with his beady eyes, thick lips and flat nose.

　　Sun Mingyue returned a subtle smile. Looks did not matter to her since she had seen too many good-looking men and women. She was now indifferent towards appearances and only cared about talent, competency, martial arts prowess and loyalty.

　　“From today onwards, you’re a patrol!” Sun Mingyue announced.

　　Chu Li cupped his fists and gave a fist salute. “Thank you, Saint!”

　　“You deserve this,” Sun Mingyue spoke. “The Less Ultimate Sword is an incredible weapon indeed and it overshadows the Divine Light Sword Technique. Your contribution is great.”

　　Chu Li nodded.

　　“Do you wish to be promoted to an Altar Leader at once?”

　　“Yes.”

　　“Is it because of Altar Leader Mo?”

　　“Yes!”

　　“Unfortunately, your wish cannot be granted,” Sun Mingyue said calmly. “Your martial arts ability isn’t enough for you to become an Altar Leader, no matter how great your contributions are.”

　　For one moment, Chu Li was stunned. Then, the light dawned on him.

　　Martial arts prowess and contributions are the two pillars that supported one’s promotion in the Holy Church. One could not work without the other.

　　At present, his ability had been crippled and he had to re-cultivate. Ignoring the fact that he had purposely avoided recovering his martial arts ability in order to hide his knowledge of the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture, even if he did recover his ability, his current cultivation level was still not enough for him to become an Altar Leader.

　　Although His Light Blade was mighty and impressive, his cultivation level was his stumbling block. It was not an issue when he was a Branch Leader. However, to be promoted to an Altar Leader, he would require a sufficient cultivation level and that was not just limited to the Light Blade’s level.

　　There was a fixed standard for the need for a greater cultivation level.

　　On its own, the Great Light Scripture did not have regular levels, but only higher or lower levels of attainment. By cultivating continuously, the might of the Divine Light Body would only grow steadily. One could even rely on this scripture to fly and ascend the Heavens.

　　In ancient times, there were a number of elders who had attained a rainbow body and could fly to the Heavens. However, after the Spirit Beasts returned to Hundred-Thousand Hills, no one had succeeded in achieving this skill. The key factor was that the Great Light Scripture had already been split into two parts at that time, thus the members of the Holy Church of Light were unsure whether they could attain rainbow bodies and ascend the Heavens.

　　Today, the elders who resided in the Great Light Peak were filled with hope and cultivated the Great Light Scripture religiously. They wanted to ascend the Heavens before they passed on to the afterlife.

　　“I’ve decided to let you join the herbalist hall,” Sun Mingyue said. “Your innate talent in alchemy is far better than your talent in martial arts. You shall refine pills in the herbalist hall. Coincidentally, it can also improve your cultivation level and prepare you for your promotion to Altar Leader in the future.”

　　Chu Li shook his head. “I don’t want to be a pill-refining Master.”

　　Sun Mingyue shifted her gaze and spoke calmly, “This is my decision and you shall obey.”

　　Chu Li shook his head again. “Forgive me for disobeying you! I don’t want to be a pill-refining Master, I want to be an Altar Leader as soon as possible!”

　　Mo Qianjun’s action in Falling Autumn City had made him understand that high ranks gave one the license to dominate others below him. If not for Chu Li’s wits and his swift action in foiling Mo Qianjun’s tactics, things would not have turned out smoothly.

　　If Mo Qianjun had told Chu Li to hand over the Detachment Pills instead of using that tactic, assuming Chu Li had refused to comply, it would be justifiable for Mo Qianjun to tackle him and even order Li Ruolan and her companions to take him down.

　　As long as he failed to become an Altar Leader as early as possible, this sort of situation would resurface and Mo Qianjun would certainly not let him go. He could not use his identity as an Altar Leader to hurt him, but he could use his identity as an Altar Leader to humiliate him!

　　Sun Mingyue’s tone was bland and it was hard to detect her emotions. “Do you understand the implications of violating the rules?”

　　Chu Li asked, “What implications?”

　　“You’ll be demoted by one rank,” Sun Mingyue replied, “If you violate the rules again, you’ll be demoted by two ranks. When you can’t be demoted any further, you’ll be banished from the Great Light Peak!”

　　Chu Li became quiet as he pondered with a lowered head.

　　Sun Mingyue looked at him placidly with a pair of cold eyes.

　　After some time, she asked, “Have you made up your mind?”

　　“I don’t want to be a pill-refining Master.” Chu Li lifted his head and looked at her with determination in his eyes. “Never mind about demoting me by one rank. Assuming you do banish me from the Great Light Peak, I still stand by my word. I don’t want to be a pill-refining Master!”

　　“Alright, your wish has been granted.” Sun Mingyue nodded and said calmly, “You’re now a Branch Leader and you may return to Gale City!”

　　She thought it was a shame that Chu Li was unruly and this cemented her decision to prevent him from becoming an Altar Leader. He was like a stallion that could not be tamed. The faster it ran, the more trouble it would attract.

　　A fellow like him had to be honed. Firstly, his disobedience had to be eradicated. Secondly, his loyalty must be observed and she had to determine whether he could stand the tests of time.

　　If it were someone else, she would not have to go through so much trouble as she would be able to see the person’s true intentions. Only with Chu Li did she have resort to such methods.

　　It was a waste of talent if she were to let him go. Hence, he must be properly honed. At the same time, she could carefully observe his true nature before appointing more important titles to him, such as Altar Leader or Priest.

　　Chu Li made a fist salute. “Understood!”

　　Sun Mingyue waved her arm. “Go now!”

　　Chu Li kept quiet as he turned away. He held his head up high and strode out of the

　　Divine Light Basilica. Soon, he stepped within the range of the bizarre gust of wind and walked down the mountain.

　　Sun Mingyue stared at his back pensively.

　　It was not easy to make this fellow lower his head. She must suppress him effectively and eliminate that ego of his.