I just reached the maximum level, and you want me to be a puppet emperor?

Chapter 745 My Lord, you must believe me! (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)

Outside the barrier, Li Chen found the energy node almost effortlessly, and he even found it somewhat boring.

Perhaps he overestimated the strength of the Wind Whisperer family's barrier, or perhaps his strength far surpassed that of his opponent.

He extended his finger, a barely perceptible wisp of chaotic energy swirling around its tip, and gently touched the weakest point of the pale blue barrier.

There was no dazzling light, no burst of energy, not even a ripple.

The barrier seemed to be gently parted by an invisible force, quietly opening a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Li Chen's figure flickered, and he was already inside the barrier. The gap in the barrier behind him silently closed the moment he entered, as if it had never existed.

However, just as he stepped onto the soft grass inside the castle, he unexpectedly discovered that the place where he broke through the barrier was right next to a lush cluster of glowing moonflowers.

And a figure was crouching beside the flower bushes!
She was a young girl wearing a long, sheer white dress, and her figure suggested she was in her prime.

She seemed to be searching for some lost item among the flowers. She was half-squatting, looking up at Li Chen, who had suddenly "walked" in from outside the barrier like a ghost.

With the help of the dim moonlight and the faint glow of the fluorescent flowers, Li Chen could see the girl clearly from his vantage point.

She had long, silver hair that looked like it was woven from moonlight, casually draped over her shoulders, and her skin was so white it was almost translucent.

Pointed ears peeked out from her hair, revealing her half-elf lineage.

Her features were exquisite, as if sculpted by the most outstanding artist. Her large eyes were filled with horror, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly with fear.

The sheer long dress outlined her budding, exquisite figure, and under the moonlight, she resembled a startled, budding orchid, breathtakingly beautiful.

The girl's name was Sylph. When she saw the simple and clean dark bishop's robes that Li Chen was wearing, which represented his status in the Holy See, her face turned ashen.

Just as Li Chen's eyes turned slightly cold, considering whether to subdue him instantly or silence him to prevent future troubles,

"Pfft!"

Sylph made the most correct and wisest decision of her life.

Without any hesitation, her knees buckled, and she knelt on the cold grass, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. In a trembling voice, choked with sobs, she pleaded, "Holy Lord! Spare me! I shouldn't have been here at night! I didn't see anything! Please, don't kill me! I won't say anything!"

The faint energy that Li Chen had gathered at his fingertips quietly dissipated.

He did intend to silence them, but the other party's overly spontaneous, no, overly decisive surrender piqued his curiosity.

He looked down at Sylph, who was kneeling on the ground, cowering in fear, and spoke with interest, his voice coming through the hood, deep and mysterious: "Oh? Why are you so afraid of me? Raise your head." Sylph trembled and cautiously raised her head, her beautiful amethyst eyes filled with fear and pleading, yet deeper within them lay a barely perceptible intelligence.

To save her life, she spoke rapidly, "Because this isn't the first time the clergy have come to our family like this! They even came to our family's residence before His Holiness the Pope disappeared! I'm just a lowly stepdaughter who came with my mother after her remarriage. I'm insignificant in the family. I don't know anything, I really don't know anything! Please, don't kill me to silence me!"

Li Chen's heart stirred; this girl not only reacted quickly, but also seemed to know some inside information.

He continued, his tone unreadable: "Then do you know what I'm here to do?"

Without a second thought, Sylph replied immediately, "My lord, you must be a powerful figure secretly sent by the Holy See to investigate His Holiness the Pope's disappearance, right? Don't worry, I'm very obedient, I won't reveal anything! As long as you don't kill me, I'll do anything you ask!"

Her survival instincts were running high. She cleverly guessed Li Chen's intentions and quickly demonstrated her usefulness.

Li Chen found it even more interesting; this girl's quick wit far surpassed that of ordinary people.

He simply asked directly, "So, how do you think I should investigate?"

Sylph knelt on the ground, pondered nervously for a moment, then mustered her courage and said in a low voice, "My lord, I overheard some of the core members of the family discussing that His Holiness the Pope's secret visit seemed to... seemed to have taken him to the forbidden area behind our family's mountain."

Several powerful clerics have come to investigate openly before, but they certainly didn't find anything substantial. I think you might be able to start secretly from the forbidden area in the back mountain.”

Li Chen nodded; that was a direction to consider.

He then asked, "Tell me about the population composition of your Wind Whisperer family. Are there any powerful individuals we need to be wary of?"

Sylph dared not hide anything and spilled the beans: "The strongest in the family should be the patriarch, Losema. It is said that he is already a Saint Realm expert, but no one has ever seen him actually make a move, so his specific strength cannot be accurately judged. However, many people say that this is a rumor, which is actually just to scare other families."

After a moment's thought, Sylph continued, "Besides them, there are three clan elders, all family patriarchs, whose strength is unfathomable. They are at least at the peak of the Heavenly Abyss Realm, and may have even touched the threshold of the Saint Realm."
My stepfather is Elder Elrond, who manages the family finances and is at the mid-stage of the Heavenly Abyss Realm. Furthermore, the patriarch has a son named Galadriel, the family's top young expert, with exceptional talent, reportedly nearing the peak of the Heavenly Abyss Realm. And…

She recounted everything she knew about the Wind Whisperer family's main members, their distribution of power, and other important details, afraid of omitting anything that might displease this mysterious and powerful "priest."

Li Chen listened quietly, memorizing the information.

It seems that this half-elf girl, whom I've stumbled upon by chance, might be a good temporary guide and source of information.

As if he had just thought of something, Li Chen glanced at the cluster of moonlit flowers and casually asked, "What are you looking for, hiding here all alone in the middle of the night?"

Mentioning this, Sylph couldn't help but feel sad, her voice lowered, and she choked up slightly: "It was the only keepsake my biological father left me, a very ordinary crystal pendant."
My adoptive father and some members of the family disliked seeing me wear it, considering it a lowly item that would tarnish the Wind Whisperer family's reputation. So I always secretly hid it in my pocket, afraid to take it out.

This afternoon, I fell down when they were pushing and shoving me. I guess that's when I accidentally fell around here. I just wanted to secretly find it; I really didn't hide anything from you, sir, you must believe me!

(End of this chapter)