Douluo Continent: The Sky Revealed, What the Hell is Honkai Academy?

Chapter 87: Seventh on the Opportunity Ranking, the Temple of Angels!
The golden light of the Azure Sky Ranking flowed, and the sinister Rakshasa Secret Realm receded like the tide, replaced by an incomparably holy and magnificent sacred hall, seemingly constructed from the pure power of angels of light!
Golden holy light flowed like a waterfall, and a huge angel statue stood solemnly, its pure white wings seemingly capable of purifying all the filth in the world.

[Ranking on the Opportunity List, Seventh Place – Angel Temple]

The celestial screen focuses on the sacred hall located deep within the Hall of Worship in Wuhun City, a hall constructed from the most devout faith and divine power.

This place is a symbol of light and order, the spiritual core of the Spirit Hall's rule over the continent!

[Location of the opportunity: Deep within the Hall of Spirit Offering in Spirit City, under the strict protection of generations of worshippers and the divine power of angels.]

[Description of the opportunity: This place is the site of the inheritance of the Angel God! It is the path to the supreme divine authority that wields the power of light, holy flame, judgment, and order!]

Within the temple, the purest and most majestic angelic power permeates the air. The process of inheritance aims to select successors who are devout, steadfast in their beliefs, and capable of bearing the mission of light and redemption. Because its inheritance is highly bound to the bloodline of the six-winged angel martial soul, it is essentially exclusive to a thousand families.

Those who successfully pass the Nine Trials of the Angels can inherit the position of an Angel, possessing the supreme power to purify evil, judge sin, and spread light. This divine position is the most crucial core and source of power for the Spirit Hall to dominate the Douluo Continent and maintain its faith-based rule!
[Heavenly Reward: Heaven, grateful for the orderly transmission of this sacred lineage, bestows blessings to encourage future generations:]

Divine Baptism: The angelic power within the temple will become more active and affinity-based, periodically performing small-scale divine baptisms on those with light talents within the temple's area, slightly increasing their affinity for light attributes and the purity of their soul power.

Descend the divine artifact—[Archangel's Sword] (projection): At the core altar of the temple, a golden holy sword projection radiating magnificent divine power is formed! Although this sword is not the real thing, it contains a wisp of the true laws of the angelic divine sword.

Only those who participate in the Angelic Trial and whose talents and beliefs are highly recognized by the temple have the opportunity to draw this sword!

Wielding this sword projection will greatly enhance all light-attribute abilities during the assessment, significantly increase resistance to darkness and evil attributes, and allow for a clearer perception of angelic guidance!

……

The announcement of this opportunity brought a completely different kind of shock.

It doesn't evoke the same blood-pumping excitement as Dragon Valley, nor the same fear as the Rakshasa Secret Realm. Instead, it evokes a sense of awe at the sudden rise of the Spirit Hall and awe of divine power.

"The Temple of Angels! The place where the Angel God's legacy is passed down!"

"So this is where the Spirit Hall's confidence comes from... the true inheritance of the gods!"

"Exclusive to the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul... It seems this opportunity is not meant for us."

"But that divine artifact projection is too powerful! It's practically a cheat device tailor-made for the divine examination!"

Countless Soul Masters understood why the Spirit Hall had stood at the pinnacle of the continent for so long.

This eighth-place ranking is even considered somewhat low by some.

However, the reaction was quite different at Honkai Academy.

...Honkai Academy, plaza.

Looking at the holy and radiant temple, the teachers and students of the academy discussed among themselves, but their tone did not show much awe; instead, it was filled with analysis and comparison.

"Wow, this place looks so warm and bright, much better than that gloomy place from before!" Kiana commented, blinking, purely based on the visual effect.

"The concentration of divine energy is extremely high, and the structure is stable, consistent with the characteristics of the divine realm on the order side. However, compared with some high-dimensional energy structures analyzed by Bronya's Temple of Reason, its complexity is relatively low." Data streams flickered in Bronya's heavily armored bunny eyes as it calmly conducted its analysis.

Fu Hua nodded slightly, her tone calm: "Light and order are the right path. However, it also has its drawbacks when one party monopolizes them and rules the world with divine authority. Overemphasizing faith and bloodline may lead to a lack of inclusiveness."

Theresa crossed her arms and pouted, "Hmph, they look all righteous, but who knows what they're really like behind the scenes? Compared to our academy's inclusive and individualized education, the Angel God's vision is a bit narrow."

Himeko was even more direct, carrying her greatsword and grinning: "Exclusive inheritance is really boring. The point is that I feel that the power of this angel god may not be able to withstand a punch from my Kiana in her final power release state. What's the difference between that and a slightly stronger ordinary person?"

The newly joined local students, such as Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er, initially felt a sense of awe and apprehension towards the Angel God's inheritance, since their sects mostly had a delicate or even hostile relationship with the Spirit Hall.

But hearing the calm, even slightly disdainful, discussions among the "senior sisters" and teachers around them, their nervousness dissipated considerably, replaced by a strange sense of pride—look, our academy doesn't even care much about divine inheritance!

Zhang Yi stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze calmly sweeping across the angelic temple in the sky, his expression as indifferent as if he were looking at an ordinary landscape painting.

He spoke softly, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears: "The Angel Temple of the Hall of Worship is the foundation upon which the Spirit Hall stands on the continent. Its lineage is orderly, and in the eyes of mortals, it is indeed a path to heaven."

He paused, a faint smile curving his lips—a calmness born of absolute power.

"However, even gods are ranked, and their lineages have their limits. Relying on the blessings of ancestors and clinging to a corner of power ultimately leads to a lower level. What our Honkai Academy seeks is transcendence and creation, the exploration of the truth of the universe, and the guidance of civilization forward. Let alone the mere lineage of the Angel God, even if the Angel God himself were to appear, it would be nothing more than this..."

Zhang Yi didn't continue speaking, but shook his head slightly. However, the meaning contained in his unfinished words shocked everyone who heard them!
He didn't even order anyone to pay attention to the artifact projection, because this path had always run counter to the Honkai Academy's path of "knowledge, creation, and transcendence." Their goal was the stars and the sea, to transcend the divine realm, not to inherit a fixed, limited divine position.

Zhang Yi's calm yet domineering attitude deeply shocked the representatives of various forces who had been closely watching him.

The avalanche of the Heavenly Dou royal family and the Xue Ke siblings were horrified: "Dean Zhang Yi even has the power of an angel god... It seems that our decision to align ourselves with the academy was absolutely correct! The future of humanity truly rests on this place!"

Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and Sword Bone Douluo exchanged a glance, both seeing the relief and determination in each other's eyes:

"Having fought against the Spirit Hall for many years, we know its formidable strength. But in Dean Zhang Yi's eyes, it seems... insignificant? Our sect must follow the academy's lead more closely."

The Moon Gate and Ghost, sent by the Papal Palace, felt their scalps tingle and lowered their heads even further, their hearts filled with deeper worry about Bibi Dong's orders:

"Even the lineage of the Angel God is so scorned... Is it truly wise for His Holiness the Pope to make an enemy of them?"

(End of this chapter)