Chapter 146 Don't Play the Delicate Flower in Front of Me

Leaving the royal palace, Mulan did not return immediately, nor did he take a carriage. Instead, he left the palace on foot.

Passing through various avenues and streets with somewhat sparse pedestrians, Mulan’s footsteps finally halted outside the Digo Grand Cathedral. Here, quite a few devout believers were already waiting to enter for prayer.

Mulan pulled the brim of his hat down low. Like an ordinary believer, he did not use any privileges and waited patiently. When a clergyman opened the doors of the grand cathedral, Mulan entered in an orderly fashion along with the other believers.

Last night, there had been a grand choral performance of hymns inside the cathedral. To someone with as keen a perception as Mulan, entering the cathedral hall at this moment felt as though the echoes of the pipe organ and hymns could still be faintly heard.

"What a beautiful melody."

Mulan murmured, casually finding a seat in a corner. As the believers settled into their places, a clergyman at the front of the cathedral hall began leading the prayer. However, none of this concerned Mulan; he merely clasped his hands together resting on his walking stick, lowering his head slightly to let his chin rest upon his hands.

Amidst the murmurs of prayer within the grand cathedral, Mulan drifted into a state of calm slumber. Aside from his even breathing becoming even fainter, he did not sway at all, and his posture remained completely unchanged.

Of course, Mulan could no longer be considered a devout believer; he had come here merely seeking a relatively peaceful moment of rest. Here, the aura of the evil deity above the cathedral overpowered all other chaotic auras, granting Mulan a sense of tranquility instead. The guilt he felt toward his friends, his students, and the queen was also carried into his slumber within this tranquility.

Moreover, this self-contained serenity of Mulan’s seemed to influence his surroundings as well. None of the believers passing by him disturbed him, at most merely casting a few glances in his direction.

There were several waves of prayer in the early morning; believers came and went, yet Mulan never moved his position. It was not until the morning prayer time concluded, as the last batch of believers stood up one after another, that Mulan slowly opened his eyes.

Mulan raised his head. Before the sacred light statue ahead, a young clergyman was closing his book, preparing to leave. This was a newly arrived intern clergyman whom Mulan had never seen before; the energetic excitement and nervousness on his face were quite obvious.

A young man eager to prove himself.

At this moment, however, Mulan thought of his previous private research in Solens.

Interfering through resonance, the influence generated by the power of one's own strong existence—direct stimulation like the one applied to Matt last time might not necessarily be the right approach. After all, ever since that incident, even though they were both in the imperial capital, Matt seemed to have been constantly avoiding Mulan.

The correct method should perhaps rely primarily on various hints and guidance, gradually planting seeds at the psychological level, allowing them to sprout and grow slowly, and delivering a decisive stimulus at the appropriate moment.

Considering time and energy constraints, even verification experiments needed to be optimized as much as possible.

Mulan fell into contemplation.

The clergyman over there had only taken a few steps before suddenly frowning. He always had a strange feeling, and turned to look toward the corner of the hall, but that side was completely empty—no, it seemed as though something could be seen.

The clergyman stopped in his tracks, walked along the pew aisle to that row of seats, and found a piece of paper placed face-down on the corner of the bench.

"Whose is this, left behind?"

The clergyman picked it up instinctively, and upon flipping it over, he indeed saw text written upon it. The handwriting was extremely neat and squared; had the brush marks not been clear, it would have looked almost like machine-printed text.

[Dedicated to the clergyman under the sacred light, hoping that you, who represent the sacred light, can help me keep a humble secret...]

The clergyman read the first line, instinctively looked around his surroundings, and then lowered his head to read the second line.

[I am a sinner, unable to live up to the teachings of the Gospel in many matters, but every day I strive to overcome my various misfortunes. I do not wish to give up, and I beseech the sacred light not to give up on me either. If the divine permits me to atone for my sins, I hope I can continue to leave my mark behind...]

The clergyman instinctively whispered a prayer.

"The sacred light will not abandon any devout believer."

Then the text on the paper ended, seeming to start and end abruptly. Through the words, one could faintly sense the torment of that believer.

As a newly appointed member of the clergy, the young clergyman instantly felt a rising sense of responsibility. If he were to encounter this believer, he would surely listen to his sorrows and troubles and guide him under the sacred light.

Thinking thus, he looked at the paper carefully once more, folded it, and tucked it into his pocket. He would show it to no second person; that was out of respect for the believer.

Outside the cathedral, Mulan was striding forward. Although extremely faint, he did indeed sense a trace of weak resonance. The troubled believer represented on that piece of paper had been remembered by the clergyman, which also signified a trace of fragile existence.

Digo First Hospital, Mulan's destination for this trip. He was discovered even before he had reached the outside of the hospital.

"Professor Jon斯特!"

A service personnel member greeted Mulan somewhat restrainedly, and shortly after, other personnel nearby also spotted Mulan, their expressions all turning somewhat tense.

Mulan had never put on airs at the Black Castle, and the service personnel were always very relaxed around him, but today was different—or rather, things would be different from now on.

Sure enough, the adults of the Black Castle were all terrifying existences, even Professor Jon斯特, who was usually very friendly.

"Aha, Mulan Jon斯特? You finally deigned to show yourself!"

A noble man spoke from not far down the corridor, looking at Mulan with a rather unfriendly gaze, followed shortly by others emerging nearby.

"Lord Jon斯特, your actions this time were hardly wise!" "Is this how an imperial mage wields his power?"

"Lord Jon斯特, my child has indeed been under your care."

Mulan simply kept walking forward, seeming to turn a deaf ear to the unfriendly voices around him. After all, it was impossible to please everyone, so he simply chose to ignore them.

At the same time, Mulan’s gaze swept across the passing hospital rooms, sensing the auras of his students within them.

During this process, some individuals followed him closely, seemingly acting as some sort of supervision. It truly amused Mulan; did they really think he would harm the students in the hospital under these circumstances? Or perhaps it was merely a posture born of distrust.

"Simply disgraceful..."

Walking and walking, Mulan, who had returned to the hospital entrance once more, murmured softly. Before those nearby could clearly hear him, someone immediately spoke up to question him.

"What did you say?"

Mulan stopped in his tracks and turned to look toward the interior.

"Truly, disgraceful!"

In that instant, everyone around instinctively half-crouched and covered their ears.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

This time the sound was loud—exceedingly loud, so loud that it felt as though the entire hospital was producing some kind of tremor.

"A person who stands out from the common masses, whose goal is to surpass human limits and step onto the side of the mystical world, who yearns to transcend conventional reason to acquire magical power, who takes loyalty to the empire and loyalty to the queen as their duty..."

"Sooner or later, he/she must break away from laughable fragility. The winds and rains have not yet lashed down, and merely looking at the storm through a window causes them to wither into such a state. Truly, disgraceful—"

Behind Mulan, a twisting radiance seemed to manifest. A blurry, brilliant shadow appeared to be the portrayal of Mulan's imposing aura, expanding faintly throughout the hospital.

Everyone, from the service personnel of the Black Castle to the various nobles, merchants, and so-called relatives inside the hospital, was suppressed by this formidable aura, their breathing instinctively turning cautious.

This was a transcendent!

Mulan looked into the depths of the hospital, seemingly gazing not at walls and corridors, but directly at all the students.

"Do you still remember the first lesson on the power of existence? Conviction is the initial expression, and shaking oneself equates to shaking the power of existence!"

"I can tell you that everything in that exam was precisely controllable, incapable of damaging any foundational roots. Those who study diligently on ordinary days should already faintly perceive this. If any of you lot remain listless and unable to recover, it can only prove one thing: the Black Castle and the transcendent world have no need for your existence!"

Having said this, Mulan gradually收敛 (withdrew) his imposing aura, turned, and walked out of the hospital. The moment his footsteps crossed the threshold of the courtyard gates, he turned his head once more and spoke.

"Half a month from now, in the Grand Hall, we will hold the summary of this exam along with the evaluation of performance and talent. Tardiness will not be tolerated!"

This tone that brooked no negotiation, just like Mulan's previous words, was filled with confidence and even arrogance. Yet, it inexplicably gave the service department and the other people present a strong feeling—were these students actually all completely fine after all?

However, releasing that kind of power—could Mulan Jon斯特 truly manage to control it? Some people he had consulted previously had all said there was little certainty, but perhaps it wasn't necessarily impossible for him?

A promising noble knight, someone who had just begun to emerge in both official and transcendent realms, would surely not ruin his own future, right? Might he even have received the Queen’s authorization prior to this matter?

Once this feeling took root, the resentment toward Mulan peculiarly diminished, and the focus of their thoughts began shifting in other directions instead—such as the so-called talent evaluation!