The Villain Saint is my secondary account

The two chased and fled through the chaotic and crowded slums. Even though the shadowy figure escaped early, Ye Xiao's agility was clearly superior. He managed to shorten the distance between them by dodging and weaving through a bunch of obstacles.

The opponent clearly noticed this as well, and with a wave of his staff, several orbs of holy light shot out backward one after another.

Upon hitting the obstacle, the spheres unleashed tremendous impact, continuously blowing away bricks and stones in the narrow streets, like dense raindrops assaulting Ye Xiao's face.

Thanks to the courses taught at the Sanctuary, Ye Xiao immediately recognized that this was a modified version of the Holy Light Impact spell. The original version could only release an impact in all directions centered on the user to prevent enemies from getting close.

However, the fact that the opponent can change it into an explosive ball and launch it as an attack shows that their mastery of holy light spells is already superb.

Ye Xiao, carrying the flying bricks and stones, also took out his staff and used a Wind Summoning spell to fly directly to the roof of the low building on the side, avoiding the continuous explosions of holy light.

Chapter Ten: An Unexpected Enemy

As Ye Xiao ran to the rooftop, the holy light orbs followed and shot upwards, but the angled shooting caused most of the orbs to explode only at the edge of the rooftop.

The remaining orbs of light that floated up were not a problem for Ye Xiao, who was on the wide rooftop, to dodge with his skill.

The flying debris startled the civilians in the alley, who scattered and fled. Although not crowded, it still hindered the black-robed sorcerer who was running through the narrow alley.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ye Xiao leaped down from the building and landed precisely on the thin back of the black-robed figure. With a swing of his staff, he knocked the staff out of the other's hand.

The figure let out a soft shout, then raised its hand, and golden light actually gathered in its palm.

Another powerful burst of holy light spread out, and Ye Xiao was thrown off his opponent and rolled twice before he stood up in a disheveled state.

Holy crap, no chanting, no staff, and instant casting—what kind of Holy Light affinity is this? Is he the son of the God of Light?!

Ye Xiao was amazed, but his hands didn't stop moving. He held the cane horizontally in front of him with his left hand, while his right hand secretly gripped the hilt of the knife at his waist.

The opponent had no intention of killing, but was too strong; he had to take this seriously.

The slightly shorter black-robed sorcerer seemed to realize that he wouldn't be able to escape so easily without killing Ye Xiao. So he slowly stood up, waved his hand, and the staff that had fallen to the side was enveloped in golden light and flew back into his palm. Along with it, the golden light also spun around and washed away the dust stuck to the other's black robe.

Ye Xiao became increasingly aware of his opponent's extraordinary abilities due to the smooth and effortless control he displayed with the Holy Light.

However, this made him even more puzzled as to why the high-ranking members of the Holy Temple would appear in this place.

But regardless, it's obvious that it wasn't for any legitimate reason—what good could a priest be who would be involved with the deeds of an evil god?

Of course, this doesn't include those who are both priests and evil gods. Ye Xiao thought with a double standard.

Seeing the gaze locked onto him from beneath the black hood and high collar of the other person's clothes, and holy light beginning to gather on the staff in his hand, Ye Xiao also took out a bottle of stamina enhancement potion from his spatial ring and put it in his mouth.

The air seemed to freeze. The civilians around them had long since disappeared. Only the two of them stood facing each other quietly in the narrow, dirty alley until Ye Xiao spat out the medicine bottle he had just finished drinking.

"Come on, you beasts of the Holy Temple!"

As the words he had repeated countless times in his previous life were uttered once more, a beam of holy light struck him head-on.

Ye Xiao leaped up to dodge the massive shockwave, but saw that the light in the sorcerer's staff was still gathering.

The spell was cast twice. The holy light blast was just a spell that the opponent casually released with his left hand. The second spell followed immediately after the staff was waved.

A dazzling golden magic circle unfolded from the ground, and countless slender chains surged upwards like a swarm of snakes.

Ye Xiao immediately kicked off the wall and rushed towards the sorcerer like an arrow, while simultaneously drawing his sword and slashing repeatedly.

As Ye Xiao's figure tumbled and flew, the chains that had been coiling around him were all broken by the sharp blade. Ye Xiao landed half a foot in front of the sorcerer, skimming along the moving chains, and then took a half-step forward before slashing horizontally with his blade.

However, the indestructible blade emitted a crisp metallic clang as it stopped on the holy light shield that the warlock had opened in his left hand.

The opponent swung his staff, but not to strike people like Ye Xiao did. Instead, a sword blade bursting with light suddenly appeared at the tip of the staff.

Ye Xiao's eyes widened slightly. He turned his body in the arc drawn by the sword blade while bending down, and just in time, he avoided the sword's edge.

The magic circle on the ground immediately began to rotate, and newly summoned chains rose from beneath Ye Xiao's feet, waving like countless vines to surround him.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the black-robed sorcerer swung his staff, and the sword light extending from the tip of the staff slashed towards Ye Xiao like the scythe of death.

Ye Xiao simply sheathed his sword, closed his eyes slightly, and took a gentle breath.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

The damaged buildings, the swaying chains, the waving lightsabers, the billowing dust, the chaotic air currents—everything in the scene was cleaved in two by a blade of light in the next second.

The scene before my eyes seemed to break at this moment, with a straight line dividing my field of vision in two.

Time flowed again, and the airflow in the path of the blade's strike instantly spread to both sides like a storm, causing Ye Xiao's cloak to flutter loudly.

Since the opponent hadn't shown any murderous intent earlier—not counting the last few times when he had pushed them too far—Ye Xiao didn't choose to directly behead them with a horizontal slash. Instead, he slashed diagonally upwards, breaking the chains and the staff in the opponent's hand. At the same time, the subsequent sword energy only cut through the eaves of a few low houses and flew into the sky, avoiding affecting civilians who weren't in sight.

Perhaps the sword technique was too fierce, because the sorcerer whose hood had been cut off suddenly collapsed to his knees, and his staff broke in two.

Thanks to the boost to his stamina, Ye Xiao, who successfully executed a Grandmaster-level sword draw slash with the help of the enhancement potion, was not completely exhausted. However, he still quickly grabbed a bottle of stamina potion and guzzled it down.

[Skills already acquired: Addict]

[Potion effectiveness increased by 5%]

What do you mean, you broken system? Are you mocking me for taking medicine all the time?

Ye Xiao's forehead veins bulged slightly, but he didn't have time to care about the system going crazy. Taking advantage of the black-robed sorcerer's stunned state, he quickly stepped forward and pinned him down.

"You're scared like this by a single stab? What kind of coward dares to try being a secret agent?" Ye Xiao said mercilessly as he straddled his opponent's waist. He never hesitated to mock his defeated opponents.

Martial virtue is martial virtue, and verbal virtue is verbal virtue; the two are unrelated.

She pulled back her hood, and her long, golden curls cascaded down like fluffy pink blossoms. Beneath the collar, her delicate, porcelain-doll-like face was flushed, and her watery eyes resembled jade submerged in a clear lake.

The familiar face instantly made Ye Xiao feel terrible.

Holy crap... Freya!?

Ye Xiaoteng stood up abruptly.

But that doesn't make sense. Theoretically, it's Ella who knows her, not me, Ye Xiao. I shouldn't show this kind of surprise.

Thinking about it, Ye Xiao subconsciously wanted to ride back—wait, it seems even stranger to ride back now!?

This unexpected "acquaintance" left Ye Xiao momentarily confused.

Fortunately, Freya is still in a daze.

That fleeting brilliance just now truly made her feel the fear of brushing shoulders with death.

Her instincts told her that if the angle of that knife had been tilted even slightly, she would have been dead.

Freya, who has been under the protection of the sanctuary for many years, has fought against the Dark Cult and vanquished the minions of demons, but most of the time she has been utterly defeated. When facing more powerful enemies, the high priests and elders will hold them off.

Now that she finally has to face danger on her own, she realizes how real the fear of death can be.

Ye Xiao circled around the pitiful candidate for saintess, wondering if her reaction was a bit too exaggerated, when he noticed Freya's usually aloof face with a slight tremor at the tip of her nose.

“My lord of the Holy Temple, I admit I was a bit rude, but I think it’s very important for a professional soldier to control his emotions on the battlefield…”

Freya pursed her lips, seemingly trying to control herself, but two lines of tears still slid down her cheeks uncontrollably.

Ye Xiao rubbed his forehead; he really couldn't stand it.

If it's a fierce-looking enemy, he'll rush up and slap them twice, yelling, "Stop crying! Don't waste my time, or I'll chop off your finger!"

But looking at the beautiful girl with tears streaming down her face, I still couldn't bring myself to do it.

Chapter Eleven: A Brief Alliance

"Let me tell you, although I didn't tie you up, you lost the fight, so you've been captured by me and you have to abide by the rules of prisoners."

Freya followed Ye Xiao silently, putting her hood back on and pulling her collar up high to cover most of her face.

She had mixed feelings. She felt embarrassed and annoyed by her behavior. Watching the culprit who had ruined her image walking leisurely ahead, she couldn't help but pout and kick a small stone on the ground.

"Hey! Don't kick stones at me, where's your manners?"

Ye Xiao felt a chill run down her spine, as if she were coaxing a child.

The two walked through the chaotic streets made up of bungalows. Although the battle was over, it was not a suitable place to talk in such a public place, and Ye Xiao also had to rush back to check on his partner's safety.

Fortunately, Freya was relatively honest. Although she refused to say a word, her ability to silently follow behind Ye Xiao showed that she had compromised.

The fact that she couldn't run away even if she lost her staff was one thing, but more importantly, she realized that Ye Xiao wasn't the enemy she needed to deal with.

It was just some emotional issues that made her not really want to talk to this jerk.

On the way back to the dilapidated house, Ye Xiao saw Li Cheng and two other team members rushing over.

Since they weren't seriously injured, they rushed over to provide support after a quick bandage. However, they were quite confused when they saw the black-robed sorcerer following obediently behind Ye Xiao.

"Brother Ye, are you guys... done?" Li Cheng asked, touching the slightly swollen back of his head.

"What you're saying sounds a bit strange to me." Ye Xiao's lips twitched, and he pointed to Freya behind him with his thumb. "This guy isn't exactly an enemy, but he's probably just a bit mute, making communication a bit difficult."

"You're the one who's mute." Freya finally lost her temper.

"So it's a girl?" Because Freya was wearing a large cloak that looked like a raincoat, and her face was mostly covered, so apart from her short stature, no other physical information could be seen, which was why Li Cheng was a little surprised.

"As long as you're willing to speak, at least I don't have to learn sign language." Ye Xiao shrugged. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Freya ignored Ye Xiao and simply tossed something into his hand.

Ye Xiao instinctively caught it and found it was a wooden statue.

The statue depicts a tall, thin demon with enormous, thick hands. At first glance, Ye Xiao found it somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen it before.

“This is the statue that was placed in the wall cavity of the house you broke into,” Freya explained softly, her voice melodious and calm as a cool spring. “The owner of the house, Mr. Abbott Phil, was worshipping this thing.”

"Offering sacrifices to demons?" Li Cheng moved closer to Ye Xiao, staring at the item in his hand. "Don't you Holy Temples care about this?"

“The lost sheep will find their way back to God at the end of the road,” Freya said coldly.

"What does she mean by that?" Li Cheng asked Ye Xiao in a low voice.

"The Sanctuary doesn't care about these nobody," Ye Xiao translated. "They can't make money off them anyway."

Li Cheng nodded knowingly.

"That's not what I meant at all!" Freya almost lost her temper as she watched these two idiots, one asking questions and the other giving nonsensical explanations. "Haven't you read the Sanctuary's lecture notes? This sentence is from Undine's original text!"

"Who would look at that for no reason?" Ye Xiao shrugged. "I'm not a priest."

Of course, he didn't dare say that even a famous clergyman wouldn't read it.

"Don't distort the meaning if you haven't read it!"

Freya's chest heaved slightly with anger, but fortunately, her good upbringing allowed her to control her emotions and calm herself down—don't stoop to the level of these faithless outsiders!

“Never mind, let’s not discuss this with you… This wooden statue is engraved with the image of the original sin demon ‘greed’,” she chose to steer the conversation back on track. “If you know the history of the Sanctuary… well, you probably don’t. In short, all you need to understand is that this demonic image is now worshipped by many secret societies or organizations engaged in sinful activities. It’s more of a symbol of the pursuit of money than a matter of faith.”

"I get it. Simply put, everyone secretly worships this thing as a god of wealth," Ye Xiao summarized.

Li Cheng's mind was a little foggy. "A demon as a god of wealth... that's too weird."

“There are real gods in this world, but there is no god of gold among the true gods, so people who want money can only find some unorthodox ways to worship.” Ye Xiao was not surprised at all.

“Your bizarre explanation is not a reason to believe in heresy,” Freya said, somewhat displeased.

“Then you’ll have to convince the God of Light to give them gold coins first,” Ye Xiao said, not backing down at all.

"Ahem." Seeing that there seemed to be some tension between the two, Li Cheng quickly smoothed things over, "Then, sir of the Holy Temple, are you also here to investigate the missing persons case?"

"I'm sorry, I have no comment," Freya said irritably. "Anyway, I've already told you the meaning of the statue, so consider it repayment for not killing this guy."

"You bastard, your life is only worth a statue's backstory, huh?"

"I haven't even told you that you broke my staff!"

"Alright, alright, you two, please don't be in such a hurry," Li Cheng said, feeling strange that he had gone from being the team leader to a peacemaker. "Let me be frank first. We are here on behalf of someone to investigate the situation of this missing person. If you are also here, sir, I think there is still room for us to try to cooperate."

From Li Cheng's perspective, although he didn't know much about this figure from the Sanctuary, the other party, as an indigenous person, had a professional understanding of these religious myths. He believed that cooperating with the investigation would definitely yield more useful information. Therefore, seeing that the other party's position was not adversarial, he decided to cooperate.

As mentioned earlier, Li Cheng's logic and analytical skills may not be as good as Ye Xiao's, but he has leadership talent and can subconsciously judge which people can be recruited as partners.

Freya pondered for a long time. Her main purpose was to investigate Ella Havil, but she certainly couldn't tell these guys in front of her whose origins were still unclear.

However, it is not so simple for her to sort out the clues from these complicated missing persons cases by herself. Now it has also involved a secret society that believes in demons. Heaven knows how complicated the intricacies are.

If she could have some helpers, even if their ultimate goals were different, they could still provide a lot of assistance to her, who is all alone now.

Of course, Freya didn't know that Li Cheng and his group's client was the Holy Maiden of Light; otherwise, she wouldn't be considering how to cooperate but how to fight.

"...How do you want to cooperate?" Freya finally made her decision.

Chapter Twelve Five Fingers Bar