Hearing the young man immediately ask to see their Pope, and recalling his powerful strength against which he had no resistance, the white-robed transcendent guessed Zhang Fan's identity.
A Chinese man in his twenties, possessing such formidable strength, and clearly here with ill intent. Besides China's Saint Master Zhang, he couldn't think of anyone else.
Remembering the past grievances between Zhang Fan and their Papal Court, he desperately wanted to get up and notify the saints of the Papal Court to prepare defenses.
However, he had been casually flung to the ground by Zhang Fan's palm, suffering multiple severe injuries and completely incapacitated. He could only watch helplessly as the Chinese man strode step by step towards the sacred hall.
"Who dares to cause trouble in our Papal Court!"
Before Zhang Fan's footsteps had even entered the hall, a deep voice emanated from the grand hall. Immediately, Zhang Fan saw a mighty figure emerge from within, bathed in silvery-white light and radiating intense power of light.
"It's you!"
Audington recognized Zhang Fan at once, the Chinese man who had forced him to flee in disarray on Paradise Island.
Since becoming a Cardinal of the Papal Court, Audington had never felt so humiliated. Even saints would show some deference to a Cardinal of the Papal Court.
Therefore, after returning to the Papal Court that time, he had entered seclusion. After nearly two years of cultivation, he had now officially entered the ranks of saints and had even mastered the unique secret art of Light Element exclusive to saints of the Papal Court.
"Now that I have reached the Saint realm, I intended to find you to avenge my humiliation. I didn't expect you to come knocking on my door yourself. You're seeking death." Audington stared at Zhang Fan with a calm expression, his eyes faintly shimmering with holy light, and spoke.
"Seeking death?"
Zhang Fan shook his head gently. It seemed Audington had truly been diligently cultivating in seclusion, unaware of some of the events within the Papal Court. This was why he dared to be so confident in facing him.
"Very well. Since your Pope dares not show himself, I will have to fight my way in. I don't believe he can stand it." Zhang Fan said, and then began to walk into the hall.
"Cardinal Audington, please quickly inform the Pope. You are no match for him." The white-robed transcendent lying on the ground almost fainted upon hearing Audington's words.
"Why bother the Pope with such a trivial matter? I alone am enough to deal with him." Audington was full of confidence. Ever since becoming a saint, he had been yearning to fight Zhang Fan. Today, his wish was finally granted.
Therefore, he had no need for pleasantries with Zhang Fan. Just as he was about to make a move, he saw Zhang Fan casually wave his hand, and an irresistible, immense power swept towards him. He mobilized all the light power within his body to resist, but found himself like duckweed in the ocean, struggling even to maintain his footing.
The power within his body felt as though it was bound.
Boom!
His massive body appeared incredibly fragile and was sent flying, crashing into a giant stone pillar inside the hall. Blood spurted from his mouth, and he instantly lost the ability to fight.
"He… he is a Divine Realm expert!"
At this moment, the white-robed saint's words finally reached Audington's ears. His eyes were filled with uncontainable terror.
Zhang Fan hadn't taken Audington seriously at all and therefore couldn't be bothered to waste words on him. After swatting him aside, he proceeded into the hall.
Upon entering the hall, Zhang Fan felt as if he had stepped into another world, a world filled with the power of light. In this world, he felt his own True Qi subtly suppressed, and his spiritual sense also restrained.
"Saint Master Zhang has traveled a long distance. We apologize for not extending a grander welcome. We hope you will forgive us!"
In the center of the hall stood a massive statue of pure white stone. This voice emanated from the sculpture.
"It seems you have condensed a solid core and entered the Core Condensation realm." Zhang Fan surveyed the vast expanse of white space around him, resembling a small world of light.
He knew this was the Light Domain cultivated by the Pope after he had entered the Core Condensation realm.
When cultivators break through to the Heaven Human realm and develop spiritual sense, they can utilize their spiritual sense to mobilize the power of heaven and earth within a certain range.
Many Divine Realm experts believe this to be their domain. Such an idea is utterly laughable, simply because they have not witnessed a true domain.
Even this domain filled with light elements, as far as Zhang Fan was concerned, could at most be called a pseudo-domain.
A true domain is achieved by cultivating a Golden Core and using the power of the Golden Core to envelop a piece of heaven and earth. Only then can it be called a true domain.
Of course, even a pseudo-domain can greatly enhance a cultivator's strength within its range. If an ordinary Divine Realm expert were to be within this pseudo-domain filled with the world of light, mobilizing the power of heaven and earth would become extremely difficult, and their combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced.
Just like Zhang Fan's Gravity Domain and Repulsion Domain, cultivated through the Myriad Prison God Suppression Body. Although they are also considered pseudo-domains, at the Divine Realm level of combat, they give him a significant advantage. Even when facing an encirclement by a group of Divine Realm experts, he can deal with it calmly.
"Saint Master Zhang is not surprised at all, as if he had anticipated this." A middle-aged man, clad in a white robe, emerged from the stone statue. He wore an expression of immense compassion, making people feel an irresistible urge to be drawn to him.
His eyes, as he looked at Zhang Fan, were incredibly gentle, as if he were looking at his closest kin, making one's heart feel like it was being brushed by a feather, and one's consciousness drifted.
If Zhang Fan hadn't injured his spiritual sense clone before, Zhang Fan would have almost believed him.
"Audington, you may withdraw first." The white-robed Pope waved his hand, and a silvery light emerged from his palm, drifting towards Audington.
Audington was completely bathed in the silver light. In less than ten seconds, Audington, who had been knocked to the ground by Zhang Fan, instantly regained his vitality.
Upon hearing the white-robed Pope's words, he nodded respectfully and quietly glanced at Zhang Fan before silently retreating.
He knew that a divine battle was likely to erupt next. With his strength, staying here would only be a hindrance and serve no purpose, but rather would make the Pope hesitant.
Zhang Fan quietly watched Audington withdraw from the hall, making no attempt to stop him.
This was because, in Zhang Fan's eyes, Audington was merely a slightly stronger ant. If he had wished, he could have killed Audington in those brief few seconds.
"There's no need for further pleasantries. Even if I didn't come looking for you, you probably wouldn't have been able to hold on much longer." Zhang Fan sneered and said, "Since that's the case, I'll come to you proactively, so you don't have to go through the trouble."
With that, Zhang Fan made the first move.
...