Chapter 148: Noon

  Avery is a Saint, and the most obvious sign of being a Saint is that their skin emits a faint white glow, known as Holy Light.

  Although the holy light can be controlled and hidden, in general, the Holy Sacrifice will not hide the holy light, as it is a glory and also considered a gift from the Goddess of Life, making them appear even more sacred.

  Duke Avril had just woken up and would definitely not have casually hidden the holy light on her body, which means that her holy light has disappeared!

  Duke Avril's gentle smile emerged: "Unless the sacrifice reaches the realm of the divine, once the virginity is broken, one will lose the favor of the goddess of life. Either demotion or inability to pray for divine light again. As I am now..."

  "Then are you demoted?" Li Xie hastily asked.

  Duke Avril slightly shook her head: "My holy light has all disappeared, I'm afraid I've lost the favor of the Goddess of Life and can no longer pray for divine light to descend."

  "Ah!" Li Xie was furious: "Why didn't you stop me last night!"

  Li Xie actually knew about this matter, but he didn't understand the ritual sacrifice, so he always thought it was just a legend. How could it be possible that only virgins can get the favor of the goddess of life? He was afraid that it was just some legends to make the sacrificial rituals self-loving and keep them pure! Who would have thought it was true?!

  Duke Avril smiled wryly: "Last night, I said no..."

  Uh...

  When a woman says no, she means yes...

  How can I stop?

  Li Xie felt a great sense of depression, seeing him like this, Duke Aiwier said lightly: "It's okay, Mu Na is yours now and can't be used as a sacrifice anymore. Since the Goddess of Life no longer favors Mu Na, Mu Na hopes that Your Highness will always favor her."

  Li Xie kissed the forehead of Duke Aiwei: "If it's not a sacrifice, then it's nothing! Your husband is the great lord, and I'm not afraid to give you a high position! What kind of crappy life goddess, just broke her virginity and didn't care about her anymore, curse her to be an old spinster for ten thousand years!"

  "Ah!" Duke Avriel hastily covered Li Xie's mouth, not letting him continue: "Your Highness, you can't blaspheme the gods, or you'll suffer heavenly punishment!"

  Li Xie let go of Duke Avril's hand and laughed, saying: "What are you afraid of? I don't believe in any goddess of life anyway! If everyone remained a virgin, humanity would have gone extinct long ago! From now on, I won't believe in her, I'll believe in Master Mian! Master Mian once said: 'Those who believe in me will get roasted chicken!' Although I don't understand why there's such a shallow sentence in Master Mian's teachings, never mind, we just need something to believe in! Come on, let's say it together... Master Mian is above!"

  Although Duchess Avril was unclear which deity the Sleeping Master was, she had long since unknowingly broken her own faith due to her longing for Li Xie. Now that she had lost herself, her heart only had room for Li Xie, and she didn't care about her faith anymore! She nodded heavily: "The Sleeping Master is above!"

  "Heh heh......" Li Xie sat up, smiling: "A day's plan is made in the morning. How about we sleep in until noon today?"

  "Your Highness, you're laughing so wickedly..."

  "Heh heh, don't call me 'Your Highness', call me Xie Ge. You have a name to be called, right? Xie... Come on, my Meng Na!"

  "Don't..."

  "Hey! Are you really not going or just pretending not to?"

  "Really..."

  "Hmm, let me touch your conscience and see if it's real!"

  "Ah..."

  The sun is high at noon.

  The life of the Duchess Avril was simple, she usually did her own household chores herself, so there were no servants to call her, although the servants were puzzled, from last night to noon, upstairs kept making strange noises, was the Duchess Avril practicing some kind of magic?

  It wasn't until Li Xie escorted the properly dressed Duke of Evill down the stairs that the slaves suddenly realized! Each and every one of them was shocked beyond words! The sacred ritual of the imperial court, had actually emerged from the boudoir with a man!

  Of course, slaves would not dare to ask questions or speak out of turn; they had no right to inquire about anything their masters did.

  Riding in Duke Avril's carriage, Li Xie followed Duke Avril all the way to the imperial palace.

  It's been a night and half a day of house searches, the Pan and You families should have been searched thoroughly by now! After all, with 100,000 imperial guards in action, if they can't even search these two families within this time frame, then what kind of imperial guards are they?!

  "Mona, keep this scepter safe and don't let anyone find out. We'll take it out again when we're stronger." Li Xie suddenly remembered this as he saw Duke Aiwier playing with the Life Goddess' hymn, and hastily instructed her.

  This staff not only has the usual function of a magic crystal staff, but also can store divine light. It is not only a sacred instrument for worship, but also a coveted treasure for some powerful mages! If he were to provoke any saintly or divine mages, Li Xie would have to hand it over with both hands!

  So, wealth is not shown off, without the ability to protect it, just honestly hide it.

  Duke Avril nodded: "Mona won't take it out in front of others, this is our token of love, Mona will only take it out when no one is around."

  "Hmm, you may no longer be a Holy Priest, but this staff still holds considerable power. The Starlight Crystal can amplify magic by 500% to 50%, and when we go to Chrysanthemum City, I'll have the mages teach you magic. If not as a Holy Priest, then let's make you a Holy Mage! What do you say?"

  Li Xie didn't care about the elimination of Evie's sacred identity as a duchess. He had always looked down on the faith in the gods of the mainland, and even if he did care, it was only because Evie had lost her ability to protect herself.

  However, Li Xie's current strength is not enough to protect Duke Aiwier without a problem. Nevertheless, Li Xie does not want to keep Duke Aiwier in captivity like a canary, he wants to give her freedom, and therefore cannot restrict Duke Aiwier's actions, nor can he give Duke Aiwier separate space.

  In the continent of gods, or rather anywhere, a beautiful woman like Duchess Aiwier, without self-defense capabilities, is in danger wherever she goes. Therefore, Li Xie wants Duchess Aiwier to learn magic, and with the amplification effect of the Life Goddess's blessing, as long as she reaches level 7 or 8, she will have self-defense capabilities. This way, even if she wants to go out and play on her own, she won't need Li Xie to accompany her all the time.

  Avril nodded obediently: "Everything depends on Yige."

  Nowadays, Avril's whole heart and soul are on Li Xie, what he says is what it is.

  The two chatted sweetly until the carriage arrived at the imperial palace. Li Xie took Duke Aiwei'er's hand and strode into the palace, where the guards on duty merely saluted but no one dared to step forward to ask questions.

  Who doesn't know that these two hand-in-hand are the most popular figures in the imperial court? One is one of the eight sacred sacrificial rituals on the mainland of the gods; one is the duke with the greatest power in the imperial court, with the power to kill and live without even looking at the object!

  Who dares to come and ask more?

  They walked all the way to the square in front of the main hall, only to see that the square was surrounded by heavily armed imperial guards. In the middle of the square, there were thousands of people kneeling on the ground, including men and women, young and old, all shackled with iron chains and locks. Roughly estimated, there were about three or four thousand people. These were members of the Pan and Right Prime Minister's families, and perhaps some who were only remotely related had also been implicated.

  Mercedes VII sat on a golden chair on the front steps of the great hall, with Left Minister standing to his left and Er to his right, while civil and military officials lined up in two rows below.

  Ai Er is loudly reading out the crimes of the Pan Sen family and the You Xiang family, judging from his expression, it seems that there are many crimes, he has read until his mouth is dry.

  Li Xie led Duke Aiwei by the hand, immediately attracting the attention of countless people, especially those high-ranking officials and nobles. They were either shocked or amazed, wondering what it meant that the imperial capital's goddess, Duke Aiwei, was being led by the hand. She had been taken down! By Duke Xie!

  They were shocked that the infamous Duke Everel, who was known for not being romantic, could also be so charming and affectionate. They marveled at the magical powers of the Evil Duke, wondering what he couldn't do if even the unattainable Duke Everel had fallen for him.

  After their astonishment and admiration, a hint of mockery flickered across their faces.

  Because they knew that Duke Avril was a sacrificial vessel, she had to remain a virgin before becoming a demigod, and even if the evil duke succeeded, he wouldn't be able to enjoy her!

  This is probably what they mean by "sour grapes"!

  Li Xie didn't notice their subtle expressions, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. He led Duchess Aiwier into the imperial palace, making it clear to everyone that she was his, and anyone who dared to have any other thoughts would be beheaded!

  "Older brother!"

  Vandy Sael and Zayn Nad ran over, Vandy Sael glanced at Li Xie, then looked at the blissfully sweet Duke Avril, his small eyebrows twitching: "Sir, last night..."

  "Heh heh, how was your harvest last night?" Li Xie threw a flirtatious glance at Vandy Sell.

  Vandy Seer smiled and chuckled, then blinked his eyes and said in a low voice: "Sir, it's a bumper harvest! Here..."

  Li Xie smiled like a thief, it seems that the house has been looted quite a bit! However, this is not a place to show off, so he said: "Hehe, let's talk about it later!"

  The two of them exchanged sly smiles and then walked up the stairs together.

  Li Xie still held the hand of Duke Aiwei'er, and from a distance, nodded slightly towards Mercedes VII, which was considered as paying respects.

  This move will certainly not escape the notice of the officials present!

  For a moment, they were secretly sighing in their hearts, but also harboring evil intentions!

  It's all because Li Ye's status and power have grown so great that he only needs to nod at Your Majesty!

  As for harboring evil intentions, these people are very astute and know what it means to be arrogant and overbearing, what it means to have great accomplishments that intimidate their superiors! They have already foreseen that one day, Li Xie will also kneel here like the people in the square, waiting to be dealt with!

  And what about Li Xie? He didn't pay his respects, indeed it was out of habit, only others paid their respects to him! Another reason, in fact Li Xie simply didn't think much of it, he just looked at the many people present and didn't want to kneel down to pay his respects, so as not to be too embarrassed. Moreover, he had his own woman by his side, when a man has a woman beside him, he always wants to appear more majestic. The status of Countess Evie doesn't require her to pay respects to Mercedes VII, why should Li Xie?

  Mercedes-Benz VII didn't care about Li Xie's courtesy, instead smiled and nodded in response. Until Li Xie walked to his side, Mercedes-Benz VII suddenly changed his face, furiously roaring: "Li Xie! You dare!"