"Heh!" Ye Wen stood his ground, looking at Athena, who had a definite look of 'I've got you now' plastered on her face, and suddenly let out a burst of laughter. This sound actually sent a chill down Athena's spine, and in her confusion, she couldn't help but lift her head to look at Ye Wen more intently, as if trying to pierce the shadow cast by the helmet to see his expression clearly.

"You seem to have misunderstood something!" Seeing Athena staring at him, Ye Wen simply raised both hands, took off the Taurus helmet, and casually tossed it aside.

The golden helmet landed on the stone-paved floor with a sharp crack!

Ye Wen, revealing his true appearance, wore a look of mockery that slightly startled Athena; she sensed that something was gradually slipping beyond her control: "I don't see any necessity for me to follow your arrangement!"

Ye Wen tapped his chest armor with his hand, and following this action, a golden light erupted from the joints of the Gold Cloth—positions like under the elbows, shoulders, the roots of his thighs, and his waist. Then, the Golden Cloth covering his body violently detached itself and scattered across the floor with clanking sounds.

Some piece of armor or another rolled across the ground, its sound echoing endlessly in the vast hall. Ye Wen and Athena simply gazed at each other, and only when the hall had fallen silent again did Ye Wen continue speaking.

"Perhaps, as you say, we stand on common ground in certain matters, but that doesn't mean that simply because we share a common objective, I can allow you to manipulate me at will!"

Ye Wen was left wearing only a tight-fitting undershirt and shorts, both made of extremely elastic material. As he spoke, his body slowly began to shrink, finally returning to its original size. The shirt and shorts remained clinging to him; this was intentional wear for the sake of using the Gourd Art, preventing them from being ripped when he expanded or falling off when he returned to normal.

With a casual flip, a set of very ordinary clothes appeared in Ye Wen's hand. Then, under Athena's gaze, he calmly and smoothly dressed himself, even taking the time to retrieve his crown and tidy his hair.

In just a moment, Ye Wen had reverted to the image of the Shushan Sect Master: dressed in white Confucian robes, with some of his hair bound by the crown and the rest naturally falling down his back.

At this moment, Ye Wen no longer possessed the majestic might of the Taurus Gold Saint; instead, the scholarly air, long unseen, resurfaced.

Unfortunately, this hint of scholarly demeanor was entirely overshadowed by the rage etched across Ye Wen's face: "Then... our cooperation ends here, honored Goddess of Wisdom and War. I hope you enjoy the rest of your game!"

Athena now understood what Ye Wen intended to do; this Easterner was straightforwardly throwing in the towel!

"Why? This was clearly a situation where both of us could profit!"

Athena’s face was ashen. She found Ye Wen’s choice utterly incomprehensible—although she had been scheming against him, he hadn't exactly come away empty-handed? Why must he now turn hostile toward her?

"I am not your pawn!"

Ye Wen stated coldly, providing his answer: "Furthermore, I need you to understand... I am not someone you can simply boss around!"

He naturally spread his hands open, a seemingly ordinary gesture, but as he did so, the true qi around him suddenly surged. The full extent of his power, which he hadn't truly utilized in a long time, was now unleashed. The nascent power of the Profound Universe Qi erupted, and Ye Wen seemed to transform into the universe itself. Athena, facing him, felt as though the man before her was like the fathomless night sky.

This sensation lasted only an instant, but for Athena, even a single moment was enough to elicit caution. She rarely felt this way about anyone; even the King of the Gods, Zeus, didn't give her a sense of impenetrable depth.

"How much strength has this Easterner been hiding?"

Just as Athena assumed Ye Wen was merely displaying a small fraction of his power before departing, the man opposite her moved without any warning.

Athena barely registered what happened before a sharp pain struck her abdomen, immediately followed by her vision darkening, and her body collapsing weakly towards the floor.

"This man... he actually punched me?"

That was the last thought flashing through her mind. The bizarre force in her abdomen felt like it was tearing her divine power apart, scattering it wildly, with some energy actively being drawn away from her. Her inherent divine energy recognized the danger and reacted instantly, but that reaction only occurred after she had already lost consciousness.

Watching Athena slump to the ground, Ye Wen wasted no further time on her. He turned and walked straight out!

He was no longer in the Gold Saint attire. Thus, upon leaving the Goddess Temple and entering the Pope’s Hall, the perpetually rambling Pope looked up in astonishment as Ye Wen walked in from the rear, only reacting moments later.

"Who are you? How did you emerge from the Goddess Temple?"

The Pope immediately adopted a defensive stance: "Vile Easterner, are you an assassin sent by the Underworld? What have you done to the Goddess?"

Ye Wen, looking at the blustering Pope, didn't even have the inclination to tease him. He simply raised a hand, and a blast of Sword Qi, condensed from internal energy, shot forth.

The Pope didn't see what happened; he only perceived a flash of purple light, then his vision went black, and he knew nothing more!

Below, Yekaterina, who was kneeling, and Mino, who was bound by special iron chains and seated nearby, stared with wide-open mouths, unable to process the scene unfolding before them. They watched as the Pope slumped to the ground, rolled a few times down the stone steps, and his head made a very decisive 'intimate contact' with the stone floor.

That extraordinarily clear impact sound made anyone who heard it involuntarily wince, as if their own forehead had been struck. Both Yekaterina and Mino instinctively flinched when the sound rang out.

It was only then that Yekaterina snapped back to reality, immediately leaping to her feet and assuming a ready stance against this unknown Easterner.

But she was surprised to find that facing this man, she couldn't muster any killing intent whatsoever?

"Who... are you?"

The 'frail' man, whose appearance differed greatly from her own, examined her for a moment with a strange gaze, then said nothing, simply walking directly towards her.

"Damn it..."

Though confused about the situation, Yekaterina felt utterly scorned and was no longer prepared to waste words. In an instant, the Gold Bow was gripped in her right hand. But just as she nocked the golden arrow, the man before her had vanished.

As she stood there in shock, a sharp pain suddenly radiated from the back of her neck, followed by her head spinning, and she collapsed to the ground.

She couldn't fathom what happened, but Mino saw it clearly. She stared wide-eyed at Ye Wen from the side and finally uttered a sentence that made Ye Wen want to spit blood.

"Wow, handsome! Are you here to save me?"

Saying that, she continued to writhe on the floor while still chained: "Although your look is definitely my type, I'm not that easy! Just because you save me once doesn't mean I’ll... If you're really interested in me, then in the future, you have to..."

Ye Wen walked up to Mino and simply kicked the incessantly babbling girl until she passed out, ending her speech. Then he reached out, grasped the chains, lifted the girl in one hand, and with a single stride, he was outside the Pope’s Hall.

The guards at the entrance felt a blur before their eyes, and a person suddenly appeared in front of them. Before they could speak or react appropriately, that person vanished again.

The two guards exchanged glances; in that moment, both suspected they were hallucinating. But their almost identical expressions and movements made them realize that it wasn't an illusion.

"Something happened?"

Turning and rushing into the Pope's Hall, the two unfortunate guards saw the great Pope and the noble Sagittarius Gold Saint both unconscious on the floor...

Ignoring the ensuing chaos engulfing the Sanctuary, Ye Wen landed not far away (although the Sanctuary possessed a barrier that prevented teleportation and flight, such restrictions were ineffective against him).

His next destination was Mount Olympus, as Chris and Shen Gongbao were there, along with some of his belongings. Even if he intended to leave, he first needed to retrieve those things. As for the consequences of falling out with Athena this time, he hadn't entirely disregarded them.

In truth, the main purpose of his current trip to Mount Olympus had been largely achieved!

Zeus was now preoccupied with the Holy War game. Even if he decided to attack the East, it wouldn't happen overnight. Ye Wen had already bought the East ten years' time. And even if Zeus immediately attacked the East after finishing this Holy War, he would need several decades to prepare.

Moreover, Heaven wasn't quiet either. If Mount Olympus dared to attack the East, they would experience what it meant to fight on two fronts.

That feeling was certainly not pleasant!

Furthermore, to muddy the waters, he had deliberately planted Kratos, that little wrench in the works. Perhaps at the critical moment, this fellow might bring an unexpected surprise.

Of course, to ensure this wrench served a greater purpose, Ye Wen planned to give Kratos more leverage. He looked down at Mino in his hand: "Perhaps I should find out where the River Styx is!"

However, before doing any of that, he needed to deal with the person in his grasp first. No matter what, he couldn't let this girl go back. If she were to appear in the ranks of Hades' army, the ensuing Holy War would become unpredictable. If Zeus, displeased, decided to take his anger out on the Eastern Immortal Realm, all of Ye Wen's careful planning would be wasted effort.

Therefore, this little girl needed to be kept under strict guard...

"I might as well just kill her!"

It was said casually, but this sentence immediately provoked a vehement protest from the girl in his hands. Mino, who had already woken up, was horrified to realize she had fallen into the hands of an even more terrifying person. Not only was she completely powerless to resist, but the first thing he mentioned was killing her. Were all the people in this world this brutal?

"Don't kill me, I'm very useful!"

"Oh? How useful are you?" Ye Wen looked amusedly at Mino, who was trying to force an expression of 'I am cute.' He was genuinely curious what answer she would offer.

The result... was exactly as Ye Wen expected.

"I... I..." After a long string of 'I's, Mino couldn't draw a conclusion. Seeing Ye Wen's look of impatience, Mino panicked and blurted out: "I can warm the bed..."

"..."

Ye Wen looked calmly at Mino, whom he was holding aloft: "Unnecessary. I think killing you would be cleaner and swifter!"

"Ah? Don't be like that! Look how beautiful and lovely I am, and my figure is great! Keeping me wouldn't be a loss for you! Besides, taking me out would highlight your status, wouldn't it?" She blinked her large, clear eyes incessantly, staring intently at Ye Wen. "Moreover, we are both Easterners with black hair and yellow skin—we're practically family! Can you bear to cruelly destroy this delicate flower of mine?"

It was true; Ye Wen found it hard to simply kill her, because she had never truly been hostile towards him from the beginning. As for their previous conflict, it was merely a matter of assigned roles.

Ye Wen could be ruthless in his attacks, but only toward true enemies. If Mino had truly intended to oppose him, he wouldn't have shown restraint. But under the current circumstances...

He tossed Mino onto the ground and casually waved his hand, sending out a sharp burst of Sword Qi. Mino didn't even perceive what had happened; she only saw a flash of purple light, and then the chains binding her were instantly severed—shattering into small pieces that scattered on the ground.

And yet, her body remained unharmed; even the Underworld Robes beneath the chains (though already tattered) suffered no damage.

"Wow! Is this Immortal Magic?"

In fact, after waking up in the sky, Mino had already grasped her predicament. Someone dressed in Eastern ancient-style robes, flying in the air—wasn't that a legendary Immortal? Considering what the man in the Taurus armor had told her—that this world was considered the Immortal Realm for Easterners—the conclusion was clear, wasn't it?

But why would an Immortal come to the Sanctuary? And why save her? Did it have something to do with that Taurus Saint?

With immediate mortal danger removed, Mino’s mind began to function normally again, pondering the connections within these events. After thinking it over, she realized that this man’s voice sounded familiar. "Hmm... it should be a voice I've been hearing frequently lately..."

After thinking for only a moment, an image of a burly man wearing Gold Cloth and a helmet adorned with a pair of bull horns flashed into her mind.

"Ah!" Mino's eyes widened, and she pointed her finger at Ye Wen: "Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Perhaps because the realization hit her too suddenly to process, she couldn't articulate anything for a moment, merely pointing at Ye Wen with her mouth agape in shock.

"Hm?" Noticing Mino's reaction, Ye Wen smiled humorously: "You realized it?"

This statement was equivalent to a direct confirmation. At this point, Mino calmed down, sitting there and carefully observing Ye Wen from head to toe: "Why is the body shape so different?"

Ye Wen smiled: "This Elder has already withdrawn his divine powers. This appearance now is my true form!"

Hearing his explanation, Mino actually broke into a brilliant smile: "This appearance... is much more lovable!" She then struck a pose of adoration, clasping her hands against her chest, staring at Ye Wen with a look of utter enchantment.

"..."

A sharp rap on the head brought the suddenly dazed Mino back to reality, and he tossed her a set of clothes before ignoring her. Ye Wen casually retrieved something from his ring that kept Mino stunned for a long time—a detector.

Through the detector, he established contact with Yuwen Tuo, who was still in the Sanctuary, and explained the general situation to his disciple. After he finished speaking, Yuwen Tuo was silent for a moment before asking: "Then should this disciple also depart?"

"No need... Although I've fallen out with Athena, it's just a minor friction! She wasn't wrong in one thing: in terms of stance, we are aligned! You continue doing what you should be doing, playing your role well, and accumulate some actual combat experience in this game!"

Yuwen Tuo remaining in the Sanctuary served as a final insurance policy, ensuring the Sanctuary’s eventual victory. If the situation developed unfavorably for the Sanctuary, Yuwen Tuo would rely on his personal strength to turn the tide, guaranteeing the Sanctuary won the Holy War while ensuring Pegasus could be happy, allowing Yuwen Tuo to 'depart gloriously' (i.e., sacrifice himself).

Besides that, Ye Wen also hoped Yuwen Tuo would look after Yekaterina.

Ye Wen was quite philosophical about this matter: if he couldn't let go, what harm was there in providing some care? As for Apollo? He truly didn't fear that sister-obsessed maniac.

As for Artemis...

Ye Wen raised his hand and looked at a cluster of faint light held between his fingers. This mass, emitting a moonlight-like glow, had been forcibly taken from Athena’s body, and it clearly did not belong to her.

"So that's how it is!" Ye Wen clicked his tongue: "This woman really knows how to stir things up!" With a casual wave, the cluster of light vanished as if it had never appeared, much to Mino's amazement.

When Ye Wen turned around again, Mino had already changed into the clothes provided. Seeing this, Ye Wen immediately unleashed a sharp sword light that enveloped Mino, taking her directly toward Mount Olympus. As for her original, tattered Underworld Robes? They were discarded on the mountaintop, forgotten.

P.S: Working hard to update sooner...