Pansen was very pleased with Allen's change of attitude.
This young disciple is quite sensible!
"Alan, in order to qualify for four years of cultivation in the secret realm, you must complete a mission assigned by the academy."
"Master, what exactly is that mission?"
"Combating cult activities!"
"Cults?" Allen was surprised. "Hasn't our South Island Federation long since banned all religious activities? How could there still be cults?"
"More than a few!"
Pansen sighed, his tone barely concealing his pessimism.
"The recent years have been tough, with both natural and man-made disasters. Life has been tough for the lower classes, and they're seeking spiritual solace."
"Various cults have taken advantage of this situation, spreading their perverse doctrines and winning over many ignorant people. Their influence is growing."
"At this rate, as the cults' power grows, they'll sooner or later threaten the rule of the major sorcerer families."
Pantheon hesitated.
This topic was too sensitive to discuss further.
In fact, even without the mentor saying it, Alan could guess about 80% of the answer.
A thick layer of ice doesn't form overnight.
Cults don't just appear out of thin air.
The sorcerer world was once a realm where gods and their churches existed.
Just like the normal fantasy worlds Alan had seen in novels in his previous life.
It's just that the once-glorious gods have long since fallen.
It was the ancestors of the sorcerers who pushed the gods down from their pedestals!
Every sorcerer bloodline that has been passed down to this day can trace its origins back to a single ancient ancestor.
The power of the sorcerer ancestors was terrifying, rivaling that of the gods!
The struggle between the ancestors and the gods lasted for millennia.
The struggle between the two camps wasn't just about profit.
In essence, it was a struggle between the two sides: "Power comes from oneself" or "Power comes from faith"!
The ancestors' power stemmed from their bloodline, from themselves.
The gods' power stemmed from faith, from the gathering of the masses.
The ancestors were powerful individually.
However, they couldn't impart their power to others in an efficient and universal way, such as through books.
Just as Allen, wanting to learn magic from his mentor, could only inject a bloodline awakening agent.
However, in the time of the Progenitors, even the expensive, ineffective, and highly risky awakening agents didn't exist.
The Progenitors could only pass on a portion of their gifts to their descendants through childbearing.
This method of inheritance couldn't be more efficient.
Conversely, the gods' greatest advantage lies in their ability to gather people!
The more devout believers a church has, the more faith energy it provides, and the more powerful the deity it worships.
The reverse is also true.
The more powerful the deity, the more and stronger the divine grace and magic it bestows upon its believers!
This creates a positive feedback loop.
Powerful churches, like a snowball, grow larger and more powerful.
In the early stages of the struggle, the gods led their followers, completely crushing the sorcerer Progenitors, nearly wiping them out.
The Progenitors were forced to abandon their wives and children and leave their homes.
Hiding in a secret realm, hidden from the gods, they devoted themselves to diligent training.
Years later, their cultivation reached its peak, and they emerged for revenge!
Gradually, the ancestors realized that fighting alone was inadequate.
So they joined forces, forming the "Warlock Alliance" to jointly fight against the gods.
After years of struggle and countless losses, the ancestors learned their lesson.
Rather than directly challenge the powerful gods, they first targeted the weaker ones.
What are weaker ones?
The gods' followers are the weaker ones!
The proper way for the ancestors to slay the gods was to begin by slaughtering their followers.
Massacre the city and exterminate the entire clan!
Let the corpses fill the fields!
Let the blood flow like a river!
After the slaughter, they fled!
Follow another location and continue the massacre.
No matter how quickly the Church of the Gods gained followers, it couldn't match the slaughter of the First Ancestors.
After all, destruction is always easier than construction.
If violence doesn't solve the problem...
Then use more violence!
It's that simple and brutal, but effective!
Ninety percent of the world's population was killed.
Were there any innocent people among them?
Yes! Absolutely countless!
Yet the First Ancestors felt no guilt.
This was a brutal struggle between two opposing parties.
It's better to kill a thousand people by mistake than to let a single person escape.
After the slaughter, until the land was deserted for thousands of miles, the Church lost the soil it needed to survive and thrive.
The Church declined and vanished.
The Gods lost the source of their faith, and their prosperity declined.
Their divine power waned, irreversibly.
As one rose and the other fell, the gods finally met their doom.
After the gods fell, the Progenitors became the new masters of this wasteland.
Thereupon, they recuperated and rebuilt civilization.
Thus, the Warlock World was born.
The Progenitors achieved the final victory.
The Progenitors' bloodline spread across the land, forming the major Warlock families of today.
This was a victory for the aristocratic elite, a victory for the theory of bloodline, but also a disaster for the masses.
The Progenitors and their bloodline families suppressed everything with violence.
They needed no followers.
They needed no worship.
They needed no bribes.
They had more capital for selfishness than religions.
They cared less about the lives of the people than the gods did.
Warlocks of noble blood never minded exploiting the common people.
Treating common people like slaves, toys, and even food.
This social system has persisted for thousands of years, accumulating countless resentments among the people.
Where there is oppression, there is resistance.
Oppressed people, seeking survival, have once again embraced religion.
Religion is the opium of the people, but their suffering is real and present, and cannot be eliminated simply by removing the opium.
As a result, popular beliefs have revived, and secret societies have emerged one after another.
There are underground churches that pray for the resurrection of the gods and for divine grace.
There are also brotherhoods that support each other.
Their goal is to resist the rule of the sorcerer families.
As the ruling class, the sorcerer families have also noticed these dangerous signs.
Beyond internal strife, the major families share a common mission:
Monitor, capture, and destroy underground churches and resistance organizations!
Just within the South Island Federation, one of the most threatening cults today is the "Beast Cult"!
In the Beast Cult's belief system, various beasts, even insects, have corresponding deities.
Devout believers who worship these half-human, half-beast deities are said to have the opportunity to receive divine grace and awaken their beastly bloodline, transforming into powerful beastmen!
Even more terrifyingly, beastmen of the Beast Cult can spread their bloodline like a virus.
For example, the most typical beastman is the werewolf.
People bitten by a werewolf have a high chance of contracting the disease.
On full-moon nights, they go uncontrollably mad.
From normal human to bloodthirsty werewolf, they continue to spread the disease.
Like a rabid dog, biting people and spreading rabies.
Areas where the Beast Cult is rampant are often accompanied by outbreaks of Lycanthropy.
In fact, the Beast Cult spreads more than just Lycanthropy.
The Ratmen, the most despicable of the Lycan clans,
Their specialty is spreading the plague!
Wherever they pass, the shadow of the Black Death casts a shadow over the land.
Now, a similar tragedy is unfolding on Magic Stone Island.
Magic Stone Island is one of the Warlock Academy's most important resource points.
Its mining industry is well-developed, rich in magic stone.
Magic stone is a key resource for meditation and practice.
The importance of Magic Stone Island is self-evident.
Starting this spring, the Beast Cult's evil tentacles extended to Magic Stone Island.
First, a small underground church emerged.
Then, a multi-point plague outbreak occurred.
As the islanders were terrified by the epidemic, the cultists, who had long been lurking on the island, stepped forward.
They claimed that joining their church would cure the plague and ensure the safety of their families. In reality, the cultists had caused the disaster.
Through this self-directed and self-performed approach, they quickly won the adoration of the island's ignorant inhabitants.
As the Beast Cult's influence grew, the Warlock Academy's rule over the island was threatened.
Many mines had slipped out of the Academy's control and become the property of the Beast Cult.
The greedy cultists stirred up trouble on the island, their ultimate goal being to control the mines and engage in rampant theft of magic stones.
The major families that controlled the Warlock Academy cared little about the lives of the island's civilians.
However, the cult's theft of magic stone resources is like stabbing a wound in the Warlock family's veins, draining their blood.
This is unbearable!
Master Randolph, the dean, personally issued the order.
A group of elite students was selected to form a team to go to Magic Stone Island to combat the cult's activities.
The first team set out a month ago and has now lost contact.
The whereabouts of all members are unknown, and their fate remains uncertain.
As a result, the academy is preparing to form a second investigation team.
A more powerful team.
Not only will they crack down on the cult, but they will also be tasked with rescuing their former team members who have gone missing.
This mission is extremely risky.
The previous team's annihilation serves as a bloody lesson!
Only when there's a big reward can a brave man be found.
Enter the Secret Realm of Time and cultivate for four years.
In real time, it's only one year.
This is the mission reward!
The opportunity Pantheon intends to secure for Allen is a spot on the Magic Stone Island Investigation Team!