Yan Xiu finished working until five in the afternoon. As the association hadn't experienced any new situations, he clocked out and returned home.
Going home on time was a special circumstance for Yan Xiu.
Despite his perpetual scowl, he was remarkably dedicated to his work, often being the last one to leave the association.
However, today he had a significant undertaking at home, a decision that would impact his future and very survival!
After witnessing Wen Wen's overwhelming power once more, Yan Xiu no longer wished to remain stagnant.
Recently, the conflict between the Divine Grace Faction and the Divine Descent Faction within the Glorious Church had escalated dramatically, becoming so fierce that skirmishes were practically commonplace.
As a member of the Divine Grace Faction, Yan Xiu was compelled to be drawn into this struggle.
In Yan Xiu's opinion, this conflict was utterly foolish. Regardless of which faction emerged victorious, the Glorious Church would ultimately suffer.
If the Divine Descent Faction triumphed, it would signify a complete rupture between the Glorious Church and the Hunter Association. Could the already declining Glorious Church truly contend with the Hunter Association?
It was more likely that the Hunter Association would simply eradicate them.
Conversely, the Divine Grace Faction was too weak and their doctrines too gentle. Upon victory, they would inevitably be gradually squeezed of their rights by the Hunter Association, ultimately losing their voice.
The conflict between the two factions might even have the Hunter Association's subtle influence at play.
However, Yan Xiu was not worried about the Glorious Church's future fate, as he was already preparing to switch jobs.
He saw no reason to remain with an organization that had rotted from its very foundations, choosing to sink with this sinking ship.
Initially, while he wasn't as fanatically devoted as others who had been brainwashed, he had never harbored rebellious thoughts of leaving.
But as his understanding of his own power and the Glorious Church grew, this idea became increasingly difficult to dismiss.
Yan Xiu himself was one of the rare individuals within the Glorious Church who possessed his own extraordinary abilities, an anomaly among the superpowered individuals.
Most other priests and knights derived their strength from their fervent faith in the "Creator" and the various angels.
This was true for both the Divine Descent Faction and the Divine Grace Faction.
Over a decade ago, at the tender age of ten, Yan Xiu was forcibly separated from his parents and sent to the Sacred Hall of Glory for rigorous special training.
Upon completion of his training, he discovered that his parents were already deceased.
Initially, Yan Xiu felt nothing about this, merely musing on the impermanence of life and the unfairness of fate.
However, as he spent more time working at the Hunter Association and gained a deeper understanding of extraordinary powers, he gradually uncovered the truth behind his decade of training.
It wasn't training to enhance his abilities, but rather to bind him to the Glorious Church!
During those ten years, he was in constant proximity to an angelic statue, his abilities becoming inextricably linked to that statue.
Once bound, even his own power required sufficient devotion to that angel for even the slightest progress!
In other words, without those ten years of training, Yan Xiu would have been far stronger than he was now.
This revelation alone engendered a profound aversion in Yan Xiu towards the Divine Grace Faction, which had raised him for years. He then utilized the channels of the demon hunters to investigate his parents' situation.
The results revealed that their supposed demise was a fabrication!
His parents had been given a sum of money by the Glorious Church, relocated overseas, and sworn to cease all contact with Yan Xiu.
This was simply to prevent familial affection from potentially influencing Yan Xiu's devotion to the angels.
Once Yan Xiu shed the filter of faith, the Glorious Church in his eyes had transformed into a place he loathed from the bottom of his heart.
However, his abilities were so intertwined with the angel that he couldn't break free, leading him to desperately strive to improve his power in hopes of severing the church's shackles.
But he soon despaired to discover that after developing a negative sentiment towards the Glorious Church, his own power had stagnated completely!
No matter how hard he tried, his progress was capped at merely maintaining his current level, never regressing.
Whenever this fact ignited intense hatred within him, his abilities would act up, making it difficult for him to control his power.
Enduring this torment, and witnessing Wen Wen's rapid advancement in strength, Yan Xiu could no longer bear it. He resolved to take a drastic, perilous step: to sever the connection and bid farewell to the Glorious Church definitively.
Under normal circumstances, Yan Xiu would have been utterly incapable of achieving this.
But the mysterious substance that the Divine Grace Faction had instructed him to collect and produce offered a glimmer of hope.
That substance was called 'Soul Jade.'
It was a mystical material created through a specialized process, utilizing the faith of the populace in the Creator and the energy cores of numerous spirits.
This substance could be used to summon angels or to mend spatial rifts caused by the descent of powerful beings into reality.
Through his research and investigation, Yan Xiu became convinced that he could utilize Soul Jade to sever his connection with the Glorious Church.
From then on, every time Yan Xiu condensed Soul Jade, he would secretly retain a small portion when submitting it.
Now, he possessed a piece of Soul Jade the size of a bottle cap, which was more than enough for his needs.
Yan Xiu took a deep breath, produced a palm-sized iron box, and retrieved a gray crystal from within.
This was the Soul Jade; this small fragment alone required the cores of at least dozens of spirits and a vast amount of faith.
He lifted his shirt and, using spiritual materials, drew a complex magic circle on his chest before pressing the Soul Jade against his heart.
Upon contact with his skin, the Soul Jade began to burrow into Yan Xiu's body, causing him to tremble with pain.
Yet, a smiling face appeared on Yan Xiu's mask.
The Soul Jade entering his body was gradually thinning the bond between him and the angel.
His calculations proved correct; the Soul Jade, containing this miraculous victory, could indeed extricate him from his predicament.
As the bond's constriction on his body lessened, Yan Xiu's power became increasingly active, prompting him to burst into laughter.
The strength accumulated through his diligent training caused Yan Xiu's power to surge like a rocket, gradually approaching the Assimilation realm.
Initially, Yan Xiu was elated, but he soon sensed something was amiss.
His power was increasing at a normal pace, but to advance to the Assimilation realm, he would need to contend for control of his body with the residual spirit of the powerful entity from which his power originated.
However, his strength was escalating almost in a straight line, with no sign of the supposed residual spirit. Moreover, this sudden influx of power seemed beyond his control!
It was at this moment that Yan Xiu realized that the bond connecting him to the angel, while thinned, had not been dissolved.
Instead, it had transformed into countless infinitesimally fine strands that infiltrated every corner of his body, exerting further control.
The Soul Jade that had burrowed into his body was also continuously reshaping Yan Xiu's physique, making him progressively more powerful.
But this newfound strength was developing in a grotesque, distorted direction.