Chapter 310 “Broken Painting

e came alone today. Saint Igor Paul XVI, the current pope of the Temple of Light, finally confronts White River on this Lonely Mountain Pass!

In light of who this elderly old man was, the Shaman King’s expression remains calm the entire way, in fact it’s dreadfully calm. However, Du Wei didn’t miss that burning excitement in the man’s eye like his spirit was gushing with energy.

This monster is truly terrifying, he’s actually materializing his battle intent to the point where I can actually feel it like a real tangible force!

“You are the Lord of the Temple of Light while I am the Shaman King of the Snowy Mountain. Why are you blocking my road when our paths are different? Or is that you are here to challenge me?” White River coldly asks, completely dismissing the rude tone in his voice.

In response, Saint Igor Paul XVI only issued a sigh like he’s regretting the confrontation: “I heard that you injured one of my followers on the road. Although I too am not very fond of that presiding judge myself, but his strength is already comparable to an eighth level mage so I can’t ignore what you have done. According to the description of the perpetrator that they described, I could only really think of one in this world that can match the description of your outfit and be so omnipotent. Shaman King, my old bones cannot handle the level of strife you raise you know. But as the representing agent of the Goddess of Light, I have a duty to subdue any who brings blaspheme to humanity and her followers. Sadly the talent within the Temple is dying. Unless I come in person today, I fear not a single soul would be able to stand up to you….”

After giving all that ranting, the Pope once again exhales a long sigh after coughing hard like he’s a true elderly old man.

The two stopped talking at this point; however, Du Wei’s heart couldn’t sink any deeper from this point forward. There’s an invisible pressure in the air like he’s being compressed from nothing. Without a doubt, this was the result of the two over there and that he’s simply the casualty for being far too close to their power exchange.

The situation was growing dire for Du Wei.

As his complexion became more and more pale with each passing second, blood also starts to seep out of his nose, a direct consequence of overexerting his spirit to defend against that force. If this continues then it’s just a matter of time before his body gives.

There’s no question that Du Wei wanted to simply collapse and faint away into the darkness under that strain, but that’s not a plausible option right now. Because of what he did earlier by using his spirit to peep at the Pope and Shaman King, he’s now stuck in limbo within that raging vortex.

So what does that mean? It means that if he doesn’t retain control over his own spirit while the two monsters are going at it, he will be ripped from his body and consumed by that intangible vortex until he becomes shredded.

Even if he does survive at the end, the only outcome would be him becoming a drooling idiot. That’s not something Du Wei – a person known for his wits and intellect – can accept!

Then just when he’s about to completely succumb to the pressure and collapse, a critical moment for him, Du Wei suddenly became overwhelmed by a creeping chill from the front. The sensation was dreadfully cold, no doubt about that, but that’s not what he cares about. What he does care about here was the fact that his spirit has been released from that crushing vortex.

“Ignorant brat, do you think someone of your lowly calibre can pry into a confrontation of our level? Stay there and be good like the child that you are.” With his warning said, White River then waves his hand to shoo the kid away.

While this was nothing much for the Shaman King, Du Wei on the other hand wasn’t all that fond of being tossed aside like a ragged doll. Not only did he lose his balance from that little sweep, his stomach felt like it wanted to puke like he’s nauseated from the most horrific park ride in this world. Nevertheless, there was one good thing from this and that was his spirit had completely returned to his body in its entirety.

Safe and sound, Du Wei cannot ask for more.

Unfortunately for him, just when the boy wanted to give his thanks for the kindness shown today, White River’s damning remark had shot over again: “You don’t have to thank me. I don’t care whether or not you are dead, I only care about the wellbeing of my pet. If you die then he goes too due to the contract. That I cannot allow.”

Insults aside, White River did do a damn good job of throwing Du Wei far off into the distant. From his estimation, he should be over a hundred meters away by the time he landed again, giving the boy ample room to watch the fight unfold without getting caught up in it. Sadly this also meant he would have a hard time hearing what the two monsters are saying in their conversations.

“What a good Pope that you are. The kid is still a Duke of your Roland Empire yet you didn’t hold back at all. Did you intend to kill him as well?” Sneering in his tone, the Shaman King attempts to ridicule his opponent for that last bit.

“In the face of the great Shaman king, how can I not go all in? I fear even a split second of carelessness would mean the end of me don’t you agree?” The Pope didn’t get offended, instead he only smiled like a kind elderly old man. A total contradiction of what he did just now.

“Humph,” scoffing that claim with a snort, White River then initiated his next attack by stepping forward.

One step, that’s all it took for this great monster to send his foe into high alert!

“Goddess once said, I will allow the existence of darkness, but the darkness will never be above the light. Otherwise, thou shall face my fury and its pure light….” The Pope’s sentence sounded like he was merely murmuring to himself, yet it was still clear and loud enough to reach even Du Wei into the distance!

Then before the boy knew it, the words had come gushing into his soul like a thousand tidal waves, sending the poor Du Wei off his rockers from how painful it was.

In light of the very air shaking like its being bombarded by the sound waves, White River continues to march forward. Step by step, it’s almost like this man cannot be hindered by anything!

Che~

Following that tiny snickering click of his tongue, that’s when the Shaman King finally countered.

First it was just several strands of silvery light materializing in front of the Shaman King. This was very strange. Though the strands of light appears to be harmless without a spec of danger to them, it’s actually slicing apart the very sound itself, acting like a shield in its use.

But the Pope wasn’t a pushover either. Knowing his attack was ineffective in its current state, it’s only normal that he would intensify it even further. In a split second, this was no longer just a simple bombardment of the sound, it’s literally a nuke, a sound nuke. Blowing away even the clouds in the sky and shattering the ground itself, anything that ends up standing in the path of this second wave was instantly vaporized.

Fortunately the vaporizing part of the spell only effected the closest things next to the caster, otherwise Du Wei would be in a whole heaps of trouble right now.

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Now that didn’t sit well with the Pope at all. Becoming even sterner in his old face, the spiritual leader of the empire knew he had to take further action. Pointing out his finger at the foe before him, the elder once again began chanting a majestic mantra: “If you worship me then you shall have my mercy, if you belittle me then you shall face my punishment!”

There were no extravagant explosions like the last to be had here, nor was there a soul wrenching pain that hit Du Wei’s head either; instead, there was utter silence and the sudden expansion of space between the Pope and the Shaman King. It’s as if the three of them were suddenly thrust into a void, devoid of the environment that was supposed to be here aside from the endless road under their feet.

That’s the true essence of the Pope’s sacred arts. Extending that short path between him and the Shaman King until it’s unreachable, this was the power of a saint level being twisting the laws of this world!

Finally stopping, not even White River will continue doing something that’s fruitless. First frowning at the new obstacle laid before his eyes, the Shaman King then began looking up and down at the elder’s existence before testing the water.

One step…. two step…. three step….. The more he walked, the further their distance actually became!

Despite the freakiness of the spell, there’s no panic to be found in the man’s eye either though: “Interesting, how interesting. I didn’t think I would be honored to come across another saint class master like you today. Allow me to give my thanks. Because of you, I have once again furthered my understanding of this world in a different light!”

The Pope’s spell wasn’t an offensive or defensive spell, rather it’s an illusionary type that falsified the rules of the space they were in. So long as White River cannot shatter the laws placed on the environment then he can never move forward or backwards for that matter.

Naturally this scene didn’t escape Du Wei’s eye. As result of their confrontation, adding in his own previous experiences from various saint class warriors fighting, the boy has finally grasped onto the edges of what it means to be someone at that sainthood, or at least the theory behind it anyways.

First off, for those that want to step into the realm of sainthood in their cultivation, it’s imperative that they are able to be grasp the secrets of their own powers. That much was clear in the boy’s head. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t variations in how they do it.

Take Rodriguez’s (Ice Dou Qi knight) ability for example. The knight understands how to utilize the laws of this world to enhance his personal powers to overcome the opponent, that’s likely the most rudimentary type for one to advance into sainthood.

Now for what the Pope was using, it’s the polar opposite of that. Instead of enhancing his own physical strength by bending the world, the elder was modifying the world instead to fight for him! This was likely a step up from the former because of the level of difficulties involved. Like a baby trying to learn how to move their limbs, it’s always easier to feel for something that they actually own than something that’s not theirs to begin with!

In simple terms, Rodriguez’s power was based on the law of “utilization” while the Pope’s power was based on the law of “modification”.

Wait, what about White River’s then?

But just when Du Wei was brooding over the source of that monster’s power, White River voice had once again broke out, thus interrupting his train of thoughts.

“Genius, truly a genius! Your Majesty (pope), you truly brought me great joy today.”

In light of the compliment, the Pope doesn’t seem to be taking it so kindly or faring so well for that matter. Exhausted in his old face, that skinny arm seems to tremble with every word he made: “You are too polite. As the great Shaman King, I fear even with my best ability it would not be enough against someone of your calibre.”

Pondering as if he’s having a hard time coming up with a reply, White River actually furrowed his brow there for a second: “Since you didn’t disappoint me then how can I do otherwise? Although you are able to change the laws binding this world, a real marvel in of itself, sadly you are still….” When reaching this point, the man seems to be hesitant to continue; nevertheless, he did so anyways but with a much quieter voice, “A-MAN-WITHIN-THE-PAINTING!”

Cackling a strange and eerie laugh, the Shaman King then raises his finger to converge all of the silvery light strands out in the air to that point, thus forming a thin long blade in the process. The effects were stunning: cold, radiant, and absolutely stunning, this was not the same ice sword that Rodriguez created with his Ice Dou Qi, rather it’s a beam sword created by the constructive will of his law!

Raging with a power that seems to want to tear the very world apart, White River knew this should be enough. So, with a slash of his newly founded beam saber, he takes aim not at the Pope like he should though, but the world itself!