The trio had a discussion about whether to simply steal knowledge or to take physical items as well.

In the end, Lu Cang posed a question.

If Ruijia and Lorren went to war, would these Churches get involved?

With this question in mind, Lu Cang went to ask Kumironi.

Kumironi’s answer was that when a Church operates within a country, it is obligated to provide various forms of aid to that nation, including, but not limited to, wartime assistance.

The Life Church, for example, would send Healing Mages to the front lines to treat the wounded.

The other Churches would provide their own forms of aid during a war as well.

The exact nature of their assistance would depend on each Church’s internal decisions, but there would always be some level of support.

After reaching this conclusion...

Hmm.

In that case, as the Chief Mage of the Lorren Kingdom, it was his undeniable duty to weaken the strength of an enemy nation.

He then asked Kumironi for more details about the Churches.

The situation with the Churches was, in fact, far more complex than it appeared.

Even branches of the same Church, despite their shared affiliation, were in competition with each other in different regions.

There were also numerous power struggles within the Church’s hierarchy.

Not everyone was like Kumironi, naturally blessed and born into a high position.

Climbing the ladder within the Church system required a great deal of maneuvering.

If the Dark Church in the Ruijia Kingdom were to be robbed...

As long as it wasn’t a major Holy Artifact, it was highly likely that only the local branch would be held accountable.

Branches in other regions wouldn’t get involved.

If the Church in Ruijia lost something, the branch in Lorren most likely wouldn’t be expected to help chase down the culprits or search for the items.

A single branch having a mishap wouldn’t throw every other branch on the continent into chaos, after all.

Right. He had assessed the enemy’s situation.

Lu Cang could now act with confidence.

He really had to thank Kumironi, his high-level contact within the system, for the intel.

...

[Light Church—Forbidden Hall of Light]

Upon revisiting the restricted area of the Light Church...

He discovered that the scriptures were all the same... It seemed every Light Church headquarters in each Kingdom was allocated identical resources.

However, only the scriptures were nearly identical.

The other items were different.

In the very center, protected by hundreds of layers of Restrictions and exuding an inviolable aura, was a silver Holy Spear. That had to be the Holy Artifact.

Besides that, there was also a large, sacred white banner wreathed in light.

This banner had far fewer protections, with only about thirty-odd Restrictions layered upon it.

A Church only ever housed a single Holy Artifact, which meant this banner was not one.

Leng Qingying simply picked it up...

Leng Qingying had no idea how Lu Cang managed to break through the seemingly impenetrable layers of Restrictions from so far away.

But even though Leng Qingying didn’t understand, she acted quickly.

She put the great banner directly into her Storage Space.

Then she took a pair of shoes, a suit of light-infused Armor, a large bag of pure Light Crystal Stones, a translucent white feather, a pure white Light Saber, and a Magic Staff that was completely clear and white.

After taking these items, Leng Qingying’s Illusion vanished.

Meanwhile, Lu Cang was in a shop, where he casually picked an item off a shelf, paid for it, and left.

What a haul.

As before, they first returned to give the items to Iz.

After all, the stolen goods had to be fenced.

This was mainly to guard against Divination Masters.

Finding the whereabouts of stolen items was what Divination Masters excelled at, and Pari had said that Divination Masters themselves were neutral.

As he learned more, Lu Cang discovered that Pari’s words were a load of bull.

Sure enough, you really couldn’t trust a word a Divination Master said.

’This neutrality only applied to Divination Masters who truly wished to ascend to the High Tiers.’

’If a Divination Master didn’t plan on advancing further...’

’...they could get away with not strictly adhering to the principles of Destiny.’

’But once they became personally involved, the results of their Divination would no longer be as accurate or effective.’

’Once they entered the mortal fray and subjectively interfered with Destiny...’

’...the Profession of Divination Master could only ever be a side-gig for them, never their main calling.’

Fortunately, however, there seemed to be only one Level 6 Divination Master on the entire continent.

And when it came to Low Tier Divination Masters, there were many ways to block them—a problem Iz could solve.

One person to break the Restrictions, one to retrieve the goods, and one to fence the loot.

Lu Cang’s little crew operated with a precise and clear division of labor.

After handing over the loot to Iz, Lu Cang took Leng Qingying to the Divine Hall of Fortune.

The Divine Hall of Fortune was decorated primarily in shades of gold, with hints of emerald green.

This was the Divine Hall for worshiping Yakadikto of Luck and Harvest. If you had to say which Divine Spirit among all the Churches had the most followers, it would undoubtedly be Yakadikto, the symbol of luck.

It was said that this Church’s benefits were the most generous of all, and the work was also the easiest.

The clergy members within were even blessed with a certain degree of good luck. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The benefits distributed by the Church were all highly related to Luck and Harvest.

This also made it the favorite Church among Planters.

Unlike Sophia of Life and Growth, whose Life Church lowered the cultivation requirements for crops, accelerated their growth cycles, and enabled the farming of otherwise ungrowable plants...

...Yakadikto of Luck and Harvest allowed Planters to reap a greater yield from each planting.

Unlike the other Churches...