Chapter 634: Cardinal!!

Nie Yan dashed through the jungle. After about half an hour, he finally locked onto his target.

It was a Bloodthirsty Silver Wolf, entirely silver-white except for its blood-red eyes. Agile and athletic, it roamed among the trees.

Nie Yan slowly crept forward, closing the distance until he was only about five or six yards away. The Bloodthirsty Silver Wolf still hadn’t noticed him.

Suddenly, Nie Yan lunged, leaping onto the wolf’s back with startling speed.

In Nie Yan’s hand, the Zennarde Sword gleamed sharply, carving a strange arc through the air.

The Bloodthirsty Silver Wolf caught a whiff of danger, leaping forward to dodge Nie Yan’s strike, then quickly counterattacked.

The wolf’s reaction was extremely fast and its movements highly agile.

After his class change to Holy Shadow Dancer, Nie Yan felt a slight difference in strength. He wasn’t yet fully accustomed to it, which caused his attack to slightly miss its mark.

As the Bloodthirsty Silver Wolf charged, Nie Yan suddenly felt an odd sensation. His joints shifted slightly, each one brimming with violent energy. Looking at the wolf, its movements seemed to slow dramatically, like a slow-motion scene in a movie, allowing him to easily spot its weaknesses. This feeling grew increasingly clear, and within moments, Nie Yan had figured out how to respond.

Nie Yan shifted his body sideways, narrowly avoiding the wolf’s attack by mere centimeters. Then, he delivered a powerful elbow strike to the wolf’s forehead. With a dull thud, the wolf howled in pain and was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the ground two or three yards away.

This was the Holy Shadow Dancer, a combat sensation so exhilarating that Nie Yan felt invigorated.

Previously, when he fought against Mirror Thieves, Nie Yan hadn’t felt the Holy Shadow Dancer’s superiority because the Mirror Thieves had 130% of his attributes, making them stronger than him, so he hadn’t noticed the difference.

It wasn’t until he faced the Bloodthirsty Silver Wolf that Nie Yan experienced a completely different sensation. His speed far surpassed the wolf’s, making the wolf’s movements seem painfully slow to him.

The battle was completely under his control.

The Bloodthirsty Silver Wolf rolled and landed on the ground, growling lowly as it circled Nie Yan. After a brief pause, it charged again.

Nie Yan’s perception quickly spread out, and just like before, the wolf’s speed seemed unbearably slow.

As the wolf lunged at him, Nie Yan raised his leg and delivered a powerful downward kick to the wolf’s head. Another dull thud echoed as the wolf’s head slammed onto the ground, leaving it dazed and confused.

The timing and positioning of his attack were spot-on.

This was the Shadow Dancer!

Once his attributes reached a certain level, he could easily dominate lower-tier creatures like the Bloodthirsty Silver Wolf.

After that, the Bloodthirsty Silver Wolf kept getting back up, trying to attack Nie Yan from various angles, but Nie Yan effortlessly countered each attempt. After about thirty seconds, the wolf’s health finally dropped to zero, and it collapsed to the ground.

This was the Shadow Dancer! No wonder, in his past life, when he was over level 160, he encountered a Shadow Dancer thief at level 120 who still managed to defeat him effortlessly.

In the following days, Nie Yan continued to challenge stronger creatures. He could easily defeat creatures up to the sixth tier, while creatures above the sixth tier posed some difficulty. However, he could ensure his own safety, even if he encountered an eighth-tier creature, he could easily escape.

After becoming a Holy Shadow Dancer, Nie Yan continued staying in the Ancient World, gathering various materials and honing his production skills. Although it was extremely tedious, he understood that he was building his strength. Once he left the Ancient World, it would be time for him to shine.

Nie Yan stayed in the Ancient World for another month and a half.

As he defeated more and more monsters, his combat skills became increasingly refined. Checking his inventory, rows upon rows of potions, ores, and crystal cores filled his bag, amounting to about one or two hundred different items, grouped into sets of twenty, totaling around five or six hundred stacks.

Nie Yan found it hard to estimate the value of these items. Most of them wouldn’t be sold, as the market could only absorb a limited amount, so they would be reserved for his allies.

All his production skills had advanced to the Master level, with Alchemy, Herbalism, and Engineering reaching the Grandmaster level. These three production skills could greatly assist in combat.

Nie Yan checked the current levels of other players. He had stayed in the Ancient World for quite a while, and more and more players had surpassed level 100. He received a message from Guo Huai, stating that Sun, King’s Domain, Xie Yao, Tang Yao, and a total of 36 top experts from the Bull Tribe had begun pursuing elite class advancements. Completing the elite class quests would take at least a month, with faster players like Sun, King’s Domain, and Xie Yao already entering the elite class quest maps over ten days ago, while slower ones had just entered.

As more top-tier members pursued elite class advancements, tensions in the Granland Empire began to rise, with many factions becoming restless. Therefore, Guo Huai urgently needed Nie Yan to return and take charge.

Nie Yan must be present in the Bull Tribe before these top-tier members completed their quests; otherwise, any unexpected incidents could cause trouble.

Although the Bull Tribe had grown significantly, tripling in size and solidifying its position in the Granland Empire, there were still many factions capable of threatening it. After careful consideration, Nie Yan made his way to the teleportation array beneath the World Heart and stepped into it.

Light swirled around him, and when Nie Yan opened his eyes again, he was inside the Holy Temple.

The temple’s interior vaguely felt familiar. Looking ahead, he saw Priest Anneson at the entrance, giving him a sense of returning to the real world.

Priest Anneson approached him, respectfully bowing: “Respected Archangel Karlena, Holy Shadow Dancer Nie Yan, welcome back.”

The priest’s formal greeting slightly overwhelmed Nie Yan. Anneson held a very high status in Carolton City, at least equivalent to a Grand Duke. Yet now, he had bowed before Nie Yan.

In the Granland Empire, the hierarchy of status and rank was extremely strict, almost to the point of being harsh. Anyone who offended someone of higher rank would face severe punishment. Figures like Priest Anneson generally didn’t bow to others in the entire Carolton City.

Nie Yan felt curious again about the rank of the Holy Shadow Dancer title. Was it higher than that of a Grand Duke?

He also glanced curiously at Karlena, the guardian angel on his left shoulder. Karlena was actually a battle angel, and Nie Yan remembered that battle angels held a very high status among all angels.

Karlena glanced at Priest Anneson, flapped her wings, and hovered on Nie Yan’s left shoulder, playfully toying with a ball of white light.

Nie Yan searched the official website for information on the Holy Shadow Dancer. There was some introduction available. In secular terms, the Holy Shadow Dancer held the same rank as a regular Shadow Dancer, roughly equivalent to an Earl. However, within the Holy Temple, the rank was very high, equivalent to that of a Cardinal.

The Holy Temple’s title system started from the lowest ranks: Third-Class Cleric, Second-Class Cleric, First-Class Cleric, then higher ranks like Priest, followed by Cardinal and Archbishop. Above them was the Pope, but since the Pope was missing, the Holy Temple was now led by three Archbishops, who were the elders of the temple. Below them were over a hundred cardinals. The three Archbishops rarely appeared, and the cardinals were usually hidden among the common people. The Holy Temple in Carolton City was managed by Priest Anneson.

After reading this information, Nie Yan had a general understanding of his position.

Cardinals had a privilege: they could command thirty Holy Knights from the temple branch at will, using them as their personal forces. Except for the Archbishops and Cardinals, every other believer in the Holy Temple must show them utmost respect.

These privileges were quite impressive.

“Hello, Priest Anneson,” Nie Yan greeted with a smile.

“You’ve finally succeeded in your class change. Congratulations, Holy Shadow Dancer Nie Yan. May the glory of the divine be with you,” Priest Anneson placed his right hand on his chest and slightly bowed.

“The glory of the divine,” Nie Yan wanted to say that the gods had mostly killed each other off long ago, wondering whether the Light Deity worshipped by the Holy Temple still existed. However, since he had entered this system, he had to follow its rules.

“Thank you for your blessings, Priest Anneson,” Nie Yan nodded.

After a brief exchange with Priest Anneson, the priest led Nie Yan through the temple, explaining its history and Nie Yan’s status and rights. Nie Yan listened carefully, noting that some information matched what he had found, but there were also rules he had to follow within the Holy Temple, such as helping commoners in distress and curing the sick when encountered. Although Nie Yan couldn’t heal, such tasks were effortless for the battle angel Karlena.

After chatting with Priest Anneson for a while, Nie Yan bid him farewell and stepped outside the Holy Temple. The sunlight shone brightly, making him feel refreshed.

Looking ahead, the streets were bustling with people flowing continuously, a lively scene.

Nie Yan suddenly felt a deep sense of emotion. He had been alone in the Ancient World for so long without seeing a single soul, the loneliness almost driving him to madness. Now, he truly appreciated the joy of returning.

At present, whether in the Granland Empire or the Saturn Empire, among the undead or the demonkin, he was the sole individual who had reached the elite tier. From this moment onward, the ocean was vast for fish to leap and the heavens boundless for birds to soar! Where in this world could he not venture?

Nie Yan suddenly remembered—he was the first to change into a Shadow Dancer class and could still receive a reward from the Thieves’ Guild. He wondered what the Thieves’ Guild would give him as a reward.