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At this moment, I somewhat understand the longing and envy of those nomads from my past life—whether they were the Khitans, Jurchens, or even the Mongols—for the Central Plains. However, unlike in my past life, this time around, I will join the ranks of the invaders in this endless racial war.

The envoy's journey was not slow; within three days, we had traveled hundreds of miles. The "Holy Chain Knights," who guarded our envoy, lived up to their reputation as the wealthiest knightly order in the Temple and even among all human nations. Before our arrival, countless noble servants had already set up lodgings along the predetermined route, preparing and repairing houses and carriages. Although we were staying in ordinary towns along the way, everything was prepared according to noble standards. Despite the size of our group exceeding a thousand people, there was no oversight or lapse, demonstrating the immense power of authority, wealth, and faith working together.

It must be said that the Radiant Temple's millennia-old existence model is highly commendable. Even though we were an envoy seeking help due to challenges, every time we arrived at a place, the priests in our group would still hold preaching assemblies, spreading the teachings and performing divine miracles, including blessings, healing, soul pacification, prophecy, and redemption. Sometimes, the Holy Maiden herself would appear, further increasing the devotion and piety of all believers.

Meanwhile, Knight Apu, known as the "kindest person in the Temple," finally revealed his completely different side. Every day, he wore an extremely heavy suit of armor and wielded a bronze-colored mace weighing at least two to three hundred pounds, driving the noble-born Holy Chain Knights to drill and practice formations. He firmly punished those who disobeyed, employing methods as strict as those of my master Huang Yaoshi, making me secretly marvel.

"Knight Apu is not a weak or incompetent person. He is the third-strongest among the Holy Cup Knights and one of the most distinguished generals in the Temple," explained a self-proclaimed artist among the Holy Cup Knights. "He is merely humble and gentle. However, because he never acts superior due to his strength and status, nor changes his attitude based on others' positions, even when facing the Pope, he never compromises on principles. You can tease him all you want, and he won't get angry, but when he gets serious, no one dares to defy him."

"So formidable?" I thought, truly impressed by the Temple's hidden talents. Even someone who seemed the weakest turned out to be a deeply concealed figure. However, upon closer reflection, it seemed I was the one hiding the deepest.

While the high-ranking officials preached and trained soldiers, and the lone eccentric performed his art in the town square, I was not idle either. My task for these three days was—to teach a disciple.

Yes, not the little girl Jin Luosha, but a twelve-year-old boy named Xi Luo, a handsome youth with the appearance of an Eastern Yellow Dragon person.

To clarify, he was not a disciple from my past life or a martial arts successor in our Orc Alliance's tradition. Instead, he was a squire assigned to me by the Temple. In the human world, squires belong to a quasi-noble class. Commoners' children could become proper knights, and knights who achieved great deeds could easily gain noble titles. As the gateway from commoner to noble, the nobility naturally wouldn't allow unlimited access, preventing lower-class individuals from flooding into the noble circles. Thus, becoming a knight required passing numerous hurdles, making it extremely rare for anyone to achieve noble status through this path. The first step was serving as a squire, learning from a proper knight. During this process, these children not only learned basic knightly skills and etiquette but also the importance of obedience. Those who couldn't conform to the rules of the noble circles were gradually eliminated.

This boy named Xi Luo was a squire of common birth, reportedly an orphan whose parents had died. He would have had no chance of such an opportunity in the armies of several kingdoms, but due to his excellent aptitude, he was selected by the Temple and became a member of its reserve forces. If he achieved success, he might join the "Sacred Sword Knights" or the "Sacred Shield Knights."

As a Holy Cup Knight, guiding squires was part of the job. However, having only become a knight due to activating the "Holy Ice Thorns Aura," I needed much training myself and could not instruct Xi Luo in knightly etiquette. Fortunately, the Temple did not expect me to produce a perfectly virtuous knight; they simply wanted me to impart some martial secrets. This child had outstanding aptitude and intelligence but struggled to grasp the essence of battle aura. While twelve years old was young for most humans to comprehend battle aura, it was already late for the geniuses nurtured by the Temple.

I carefully examined the boy and found that his innate energy seemed to be restrained by something. Although it had been activated, it could not transform into battle aura. To break the restraint, he could spend years refining his energy or I could personally intervene using the supreme profound Nine Yin True Qi to accelerate the process. Of course, there was a trade-off: his battle aura would be ten times harder to attain than others', but once he broke through, his future achievements would far surpass his peers.

Ironically, if this were the past, as an orc, I would not only refuse to help a gifted human but might even destroy him to reduce future threats. But now, to cover my plan to steal the "Doomsday Horn," I had to act like the wise elders in boring legends, pretending to be thrilled by his exceptional talent, glowing with excitement, and teaching him my martial arts every night, even using the Nine Yin True Qi to speed up his progress.

All I wanted was an alibi to avoid suspicion. Three days after leaving Saint Spirit Mountain, I planned to take action. On that night, I had to leave the group and return to Saint Spirit Mountain. To prevent the Temple from detecting my movements and ensuring the alliance could use the "Doomsday Horn" without human countermeasures, I had to hide myself. Therefore, I fabricated an excuse of spending the entire evening teaching my disciple.