***Lancelot Empire, Brettel City.
Han Shuo wanted to leave some instructions before he left the continent. But the good thing was that Jack and the others had long gotten used to Han Shuo mysteriously disappearing. Therefore, there was really nothing for him to worry about in Brettel City.
After leaving some instructions, he looked for Helen and repeated the same conversation he had with Jasper and the others. After making the same promises to Helen, Han Shuo finally managed to calm her down.
Sophie, who was originally from the Kasi Empire, had moved to Brettel City with her entire family. He learned from certain people that Sophie's father had the intention of setting him up with Sophie. However, Han Shuo was already finding it difficult to manage the number of companions he already had. After breaking through the carnal realm, Han Shuo had no desire to have more mates. Therefore, he stayed away from Sophie as much as possible.
Gilbert was also in Brettel City. Although the resurrected Gilbert had much improved strength, Han Shuo did not let Gilbert follow him to Elysium.
At this point, Gilbert was still unaware of the massacre of the race of dark dragons, but Han Shuo knew that he would eventually find out. So before he left, he told Gilbert of the tragedy that had befallen the Dark Dragons.
Gilbert couldn't contain himself and howled and whimpered mournfully when he heard that his grandfather, Gilges, his only close relative, had been murdered.
Han Shuo did not know what to do as he watched Gilbert in all his agony. He could not even utter a word of comfort. The deaths of the dark dragons who had faithfully guarded the path to the third layer of the underground world had something to do with Han Shuo, directly or indirectly. He blamed himself for not being more careful, otherwise he could have prevented the tragedy.
Although he had personally killed both Emperor and Eriksson, Han Shuo's heart was still full of remorse and he could not get over it completely.
When Gilbert learned that the two main culprits, Emperor and Eriksson, had both been killed by Han Shuo, he suddenly felt very powerless. Without a target for his revenge, he couldn't find anything to vent his hatred on.
Han Shuo's departure was rather easy for Gilbert to accept. Perhaps his grandfather's death had softened his reluctance to part with Han Shuo.
Han Shuo knew that Gilbert would not be able to get over his grief so quickly. After giving Gilbert a few words of advice, he let Gilbert take his time to grieve and left.
Having taken care of all these things, Han Shuo made his way to the headquarters of the Church of Calamity.
With his status as a Cardinal, Han Shuo did not need to cross the desert on foot this time. He arrived directly at the headquarters of the Calamity Church using a magical transportation matrix.
A few days earlier, he had received messages from Calamity Church members in the Lancelot Empire, urging him to return to the headquarters as soon as possible.
Han Shuo assumed that Donna wanted to meet him and inform him of certain things concerning this continent.
After arriving at the Calamity Church through the Calamity Pope, he soon met Donna and the others at a secret shrine.
The matter of foreign experts arriving on the Profound Continent was only revealed to the plump Pope and certain Cardinals of the Calamity Church. Other ordinary church members were left in the dark.
When Han Shuo arrived at the secret shrine place, he was surprised to find that Kironlo, who had a grudge against him, was also present.
As the oldest member of the Church of Calamity on the Profound Continent, Kironlo was one of the few who knew the identity of Donna and her experts. Unfortunately for him, Kironlo was unaware of Han Shuo's relationship with these godly experts. As soon as Han Shuo entered the shrine, Kironlo, who had once been humiliated and punished by Han Shuo, thought that his own safety was guaranteed by their presence and immediately began to denounce Han Shuo.
When Han Shuo entered the shrine, Kironlo immediately stood up and denounced Han Shuo in a righteous manner. "Revered Divine Emissaries, this fellow named Bryan is certainly not a pious believer. His strength has only advanced so far because he relied on the divine weapon, the Skeleton Staff, which he obtained by chance. All these years he has been arrogant and condescending. He does not show us elders the respect we deserve. He has broken the rules of the Church!"
The Pope of Calamity had no idea about the previous interactions between Han Shuo and Donna. He only knew that Han Shuo played the role of a leader for the group and had absolutely no idea that Han Shuo had saved these eminent gods from possible death. The Pope began to worry when he heard Kironlo distort the facts so much, not knowing if Donna and the others would listen to Kironlo's accusations.
The Church of Calamity was indeed a religious organisation that valued seniority. Kironlo was well aware of that. He was also aware that his own strength was far inferior to Han Shuo's, so he took this golden opportunity to slander Han Shuo. He was determined to make Han Shuo suffer the wrath of Donna and her experts before they left this continent.
"Skeleton Staff. Hehe, that's the divine weapon my grandfather used before!" Li Wei giggled and shot a glance at Han Shuo.
Well, well! Han Shuo was astonished. His gaze towards Li Wei became a little more cordial.
""Revered Divine Emissaries, this person will only break the rules and practices of the Church of Calamity. This will be detrimental to the growth of the Church. But unfortunately, his power is great, and no one in the Church could restrain him. Even I have been seriously injured by him. It is fortunate that Your Holiness has come. Otherwise, who knows what havoc this person would have wreaked!" Kironlo said with righteous indignation. Those who didn't know otherwise might have thought that he had invested and contributed a lot to the Calamity Church.
"Bryan, how do you plead?" Donna smiled sweetly and asked Han Shuo amusingly.
Han Shuo had been through life and death situations with Donna and her experts, not to mention that he had saved them several times. The intimacy of their relationship simply wasn't something Kironlo could imagine.
In front of Donna's amused looks, Han Shuo couldn't help but laugh out loud. He chuckled, "Oh, that's absolutely right. I'm condescending and I like to throw my weight around. I'll kill anyone I don't like! I'm much worse than he describes. Give me whatever punishment you want!"
Han Shuo had learned from Olde that the decision had been made by the high echelons - the entire Profound Continent was to be given to him. This meant that Han Shuo was the rightful owner of every inch of land, every speck of dust, and every living being on this material plane. He was the true ruler of this world. With his friendly relationship with Donna and her experts, what was there for Han Shuo to fear?
However, the mere mortals around them were not aware of this information. When they heard Han Shuo utter such outrageous and disgraceful words to their divine emissaries, even the big fat pope was completely taken aback. He stared at Han Shuo foolishly, not knowing why the usually cautious Han Shuo would make such a mistake at such a critical time.
The other cardinals also stared at Han Shuo with their mouths agape in disbelief, while some of them looked at Han Shuo as if he were already dead. They thought, "Although you may have brave strength on the Profound Continent, you are as weak as a baby in front of these divine emissaries. You are courting death by being so unbridled in front of these beings!
Kironlo was overjoyed to hear these words from Han Shuo, and he immediately made a big fuss about it. "Do you see that? Revered Divine Emissaries, this person even dares to be condescending and disrespectful in front of your Lordships! He's outrageously arrogant! How can the Church properly grow and expand while this person remains on the Profound Continent?"
"Oh? What about you? Hehehe, don't forget that all these years under your leadership, the Church of Calamity has been subordinated to the Church of Light. It is also you who caused the Calamity Church to be despised by the masses and caused the Church members to spend their days in hiding all these years. I really doubt that I could do any worse!" Han Shuo said calmly, smiling at Kironlo.
"Shut up! I, I was just being flexible! If it hadn't been for my decision, the church wouldn't have survived to this day!" Kironlo said relentlessly, his face flushed with anger. Han Shuo's words had hit his sore spot.
"Old bastard, who are you telling to shut up?" Han Shuo's face suddenly turned cold and he said in a cold voice.
"You son of a bitch, how dare you behave like that in front of the Revered Divine Emissaries!" Kironlo replied angrily.
Han Shuo decided to stop this nonsense and suddenly shot at Kironlo. His left hand shot forward at lightning speed, instantly snapping Kironlo's neck and lifting him high into the air. Han Shuo then unfurled a Demonic Blade from the middle finger of his right hand and ruthlessly thrust the sharp edge into Kironlo's wide open mouth. After a moment's agitation, Kironlo's tongue was ripped out and mixed with his teeth, gums and blood. He whimpered miserably with a frightened face as blood gushed from his mutilated mouth.
Now Kironlo could not utter a word. His legs kicked in the air. His terrified and begging eyes looked at Donna and her experts, waiting for them to strike at Han Shuo.
All the mortals in the shrine thought that Han Shuo must have gone mad to treat Kironlo with such bloody means right in front of Donna and her experts. The cardinals who were aligned with Han Shuo sighed and bowed their heads. They couldn't bear to see the horrible scene that Han Shuo was about to witness.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Even after they counted to five, strangely enough, other than Kironlo's pitiful grunts, which grew louder and louder, those with their heads lowered heard no sign of activity.
Confused, they raised their heads to investigate. They saw that Kironlo's face was badly mutilated and almost unrecognisable. Even his cheeks had been pierced by the sharp blade.
Meanwhile, those godly beings from the distant material plane not only did not look bothered, they even smiled as they watched Han Shuo in his violent manner. They showed not the slightest intention of interfering.
Kironlo's fear turned to despair. He looked at Donna and her experts with helpless eyes, while his hands and legs flailed about wildly, as if trying to express something. But soon, even his kicking and swinging limbs were broken by Han Shuo and they sagged powerlessly, just like his mood.
The cardinals who wanted to see Han Shuo humiliated and those who were worried about him were all stunned. They stopped looking at Kironlo and focused all their attention on Donna and her experts, trying to figure out what was really going on.
Gradually, from their glances at Han Shuo, the cardinals began to vaguely understand something.
In the eyes of Donna and her experts, they discovered admiration, the ease of watching a comedy unfold, the harmony between friends...
"Bryan, that's enough. Just kill this tactless guy. Don't make it too bloody!" Donna finally spoke up when she saw Han Shuo's intention to skin Kironlo alive.
Upon hearing these words, the cardinals turned pale with fear. Their eyes were filled with fear and awe that could not be hidden!
"Okay!" Han Shuo stopped torturing their minds and patted Kironlo's forehead. Splat! Kironlo's head exploded like an egg in a microwave.
As the cardinals panicked, Donna calmly announced, "From today, the Profound Continent will belong to Bryan. Everyone and everything will be under his authority. You will all obey his commands, and he has the right to punish those who defy his wishes. Do you understand?"
"Un... understood..." the cardinals, their faces filled with fear, replied hastily.
"Good. You are all dismissed!" Donna nodded her head in satisfaction and casually instructed.
To Donna and her experts, these cardinals of little strength were as insignificant as ants. They were not even qualified to speak to them.
At Donna's command, even the big fat Pope got up to make a hasty exit.
"Pope, you have nothing to worry about. Everything related to the Church of Calamity on the Profound Continent will still be under your control. In fact, you will soon find your power over others growing stronger and wider!" Han Shuo told the Calamity Pope.
"I understand!" By now, the Calamity Pope had realised the true situation. He made a respectful bow to Han Shuo and retreated solemnly.
"This is a tactful fellow. Looks like you saved yourself a lot of work," Donna said thoughtfully after the Pope left.
"He has to be clever to keep his position!" Han Shuo said smiling. He wasn't afraid that the big fat pope might have other intentions. After all, the fat guy was aware of his superior strength, and he had also figured out that the decision came from the higher-ups. With that, he definitely did not dare to have any other thoughts.
The reason Han Shuo consoled him was because Han Shuo needed him to manage the Calamity Church well. He did not want the big fat guy to become pessimistic and stop serving the Calamity Church with all his heart.
"Alright. Let me inform you of the current situation. There are some rules you have to follow!" Donna explained the exact same information that Olde had given him earlier.
"Congratulations, Bryan! Hehe, so it turns out that my grandfather's skeletal staff is in your possession. All the more reason for you to visit my family when you're in Elysium. By the way, do you know that old lizard? He's with my family too!" Li Wei giggled.
""I do know him. I will make sure to pay you a visit sooner or later!" Han Shuo made a promise immediately after hearing that the Ancient Lizard King Dagassi was there.
"Bryan, we will be leaving for home very soon. Would you like to come along?" asked Donna.
"I still have to cultivate for a while. But right after that, I will go to Elysium to look for you all," Han Shuo politely declined Donna's suggestion after thinking for a moment. He felt that he needed to familiarise himself with his current realm and forge some demonic treasures before going to the plane of gods.