Vale left the duel hall after Cecilia's victory, but his mind was already thinking about which Arcane Arts Competition he should check next.
'Ahh… Right… I should check on those three.'
The Knights Arts, Combat Arts, and even Summoning Arts had all been impressive. Yet, what he was curious about was the Holy Arts Competition.
Unlike the others, Vale believed this contest would not be about combat or duels. Holy Arts were different.
They were about purity, devotion, and resonance with the holy energy or faith energy instead.
If the Valor Realm was to be conquered, he probably needed soone who had a good understanding of it…
Soon, he learned the competition was divided into three parts.
The first part was the Purity Test.
Each student would perform their most confident Holy Art and strike a massive crystal. The crystal would react…
Then, it would start glowing and releasing strands of light.
The higher the purity of the spell, the more strands appeared. These strands were the indicator of a practitioner's depth and alignnt with Holy Arts.
When Vale arrived, a student from Kaiser Holy Academy, a small kingdom's pride, was already taking the test.
He raised his staff and invoked Blessing Dew, his most perfected spell.
Cool droplets appeared in the air, falling gently onto the crystal. The crystal lit up, strands forming one after another.
The student's eyes widened with hope, but soon the count stopped.
Only 24 strands.
"What?! Why? I'm sure the crystal in the Academy gave at least 30 strands…"
The student was disappointed. The score was too low compared to his previous tests back in the Academy...
It was as if the Holy Energy here had actually been tampered.
Unfortunately, his complaints just got ignored.
After all, they knew that there was nothing wrong with the crystal itself… The student's holy energy was simply unable to gather quickly because of the competition hall itself.
Nonetheless, 24 strands was indeed not too impressive, especially compared to Jamielyn of Larkinson Holy Academy, who had earlier used Sacred Fla and achieved 32 strands.
The crowd, however, just wanted to see so flashy Spells…
Vale's eyes focused on the students below…
'So even perfected spells had issues like that if their purity is shallow.'
Next ca a student from Trinity Holy Academy, known for their strict devotion to an unorthodox church…
She invoked Radiant Hymn this ti… It was a spell that filled the hall with a soft chant.
The crystal responded, glowing warmly. Strands appeared one after another until they reached 28 strands. Respectable, but not enough to surpass Jamielyn.
"Ugh… Can I at least try one last ti? I think I can do better." She said.
Unfortunately, everyone only had one chance since this trial was just one of the three. They had to complete this task.
After getting rejected by the officials, the test continued.
Soon, a representative from Silverlight Holy Academy stepped forward.
His spell was Healing Bloom, a technique that summoned a flower of light to nd wounds.
"Beautiful Spell!"
"Healing Spells are always cool to see…"
"There are flowers everywhere… Aweso!"
Obviously, the crowd liked such spells appearing in the stage…
Just like that, the crystal pulsed gently, strands rising to 23. The crowd applauded politely, saying that it could surely cure a group of people… but Vale could tell it wasn't extraordinary.
From Aurora Holy Academy, a student invoked Holy Barrier. The crystal shone brightly, strands climbing to 31. The audience gasped… this was the second-highest so far after Jamielyn's 32 strands.
Vale leaned forward slightly.
'Interesting. Defense and purity combined can surpass fla.'
Another competitor, from Sunspire Holy Academy, used Blessed Chant. The crystal responded with 29 strands. Solid, but still below Aurora's record.
The competition continued. Vale watched carefully, noting each spell and result. It was quite amazing to see various new spells…
The announcer's voice carried across the hall, calling the next academy.
Now, it was ti for Marshall Academy.
"Finally… Why did that even take long?" Vale muttered to himself as he watched the student of his Academy.
Although his Marshall Academy was new with Holy Arts, he was confident that they'd be able to perform well… Now, he just had to focus.
The first to step forward was Galatea. Unlike what Vale had expected, she did not choose the Church's foundational spell. Instead, she raised her hand and invoked sothing far simpler… Holy Hand.
She actually used the Academy's Foundation Spell. Sothing that others could also used!
The crowd murmured in confusion.
"A common spell?"
"Why would she use that?"
"Surely she has stronger techniques."
"That's true… They have a literal immortal as their principal…"
"It must be tested by the Immortal or sothing."
However, Vale's lips curved into a faint smile. He understood her plan... Sotis, simplicity revealed true purity.
Galatea's holy hand glowed with soft light and she pressed it against the crystal. The glow spread, and the crystal pulsed like it had done to other attacks…
Soon, her Strands began to appear. One, two, three… then more. The audience leaned forward, counting.
Ten… fifteen… twenty…
The strands kept rising.
Twenty‑five… twenty‑eight… thirty…
The crystal continued to shine.
Finally, the strands stopped at 34.
The hall erupted in shock.
"Impossible!"
"She used a basic spell!"
"How can Holy Hand surpass Sacred Fla and Holy Barrier?"
The announcer's voice trembled with excitent. "Marshall Academy's Galatea… 34 strands!"
Vale's eyes lit up…
'Yes… she chose wisely. The academy's foundational spell is pure and untainted… Since it's basic, it easily resonated more deeply than the Church's techniques. This is what I wanted to see.'
Soon, Galatea bowed calmly, and her expression remained serene. She had proven that purity was not about complexity, but about alignnt with the essence of Holy Arts.
Thirty‑four strands from a simple Holy Hand had truly shocked the audience…
But Marshall Academy was not finished yet.
The next student to step forward was Irene.
Just like Galatea, Irene chose a similar basic spell, one that was taught by the Academy…
Holy Light.
A beam of brilliance descended, striking the crystal…
The glow spread instantly, and strands started showing up.
Twenty… twenty‑five… thirty… thirty‑five.
The crystal pulsed one last ti before stopping. Thirty‑five strands.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
"She surpassed Galatea!"
"Marshall Academy again!"
"Incredible!"
However, it wasn't over yet… the Homunculus was next, and they had no idea!
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