"...most grateful for your help...cannot express our thanks..." the Pope thanked Lex for his service, which was beyond his expectations. 

Although he personally witnessed Agartha and Grom becoming Level 7s, somehow for Theresa becoming a Level 7 was still a dream for the Pope, since she was his disciple whom he personally taught, while Agartha and Grom were already famous mages. 

Both Lex and Theresa were dressed in robes the monks wore, since all their clothes were destroyed with the cabin.

Lex wondered where he would go next. The academy with the headmaster? The Royal Court with the Chief Magician Monor?

He wondered what was the real purpose of sending him to all these master mages. Initially he thought it was because the fathers of Angelica, Jessica, Stacy and Jane wanted him away from his daughters, yet still keep and eye on him and evaluate him. 

That was possibly true with the male masters.  Perhaps the intention was that they could learned something from each other. Lex did admit, studying with Thomas was enlightening, but all he did was tell Jasmine's sex adventures with Lucius and watching Alburus stare at rocks!

But after spending time with the female ones who wanted to fuck him, it now seemed to him they wanted to raise their battle power, especially after the Pope openly got him to level up his disciple Theresa in preparation for the war with the Demon King. 

Dual cultivating with more powerful beings like the Level 6 Agartha, or the Level 5 Grom and Theresa wasn't only for their benefit, but his as well. Not only did he level them up to Level 7, he himself went up from the low level Xiantian to Mid level Xiantian within the 3 weeks he dual cultivated with them. 

And because of his life as Quan Yu, he knew this isn't the end of the road yet, as he has yet to get to High Level and Peak Level Xiantian. But is that the highest level? Is there a level beyond Peak Xiantian?

The same goes for the levels of this world. Is it possible to go beyond Level 7 in this world? 

He kept his ponderings to himself. He didn't want to let them know of the possibility, lest he be used purely to cultivate their females. 

"Your next destination is with the King's Palace! You have been summoned to go there after your week here" the Pope finally said. 

"The palace? Ok. It was a pleasure to meet you Your Excellency, Your Grace" he said to both the Pope and Theresa the Saintess.  

He gave a smile to Theresa, who blushed. It was strange saying goodbye after spending the whole week as one body. 

One of the priests guided him back to the Palace, easily passing through the security and leading him to the throne room. 

"You're back" the King said

"Yes Your Majesty" Lex bowed, still unsure whether or not to rebel and go out on his own. 

"We... we will be setting out for war tomorrow. You will be joining the Tower Mages and their followers to the City of Zentopia, 200 kilometers away in the south and making a stand there. 

That city must not fall, lest the rest of the country collapses. It's the last bastion before sweeping through the towns towards the capital city of Archos! And if Archos falls, the nation of Alegloria falls" the King said grimly

Lex nodded. Now that they found out he was not a useless hero, he had to fight for them? Didn't they want to kill him when they found that he was crippled? Or was that only Monor, who also wanted to castrate him when he found out that he could help level up some of the magicians?

But Angelica treated him relatively well, even though she used him as a sex slave. But he wasn't complaining. It was better than being an actual slave doing slave labor.

"You may... ah... spend time with Angelica before you leave. She has been crying daily for over a month now. Just... ah... prepare her... as much as possible for the war" the King ordered

"Yes your Highness" Lex said, smiling inside. This was an implicit approval to fuck his daughter. 

--

"Lex!" Angelica screamed seeing him enter her room door. 

She suddenly stopped when she looked at him. 

"Are.. are you a priest now?" she asked, looking at his outfit

"No... My clothes were destroyed when lightning struck" Lex laughed

Angelica remembered the same thing happening in the dungeon and nodded. 

Suddenly she pouted

"Who... who did you... cultivate with?" she asked

Lex wasn't sure if he should say, as the Pope seemed to be keeping the Saintess Theresa a secret even from his own priests. 

"Fine... don't say. But you have to bathe me... like before" she pouted, grabbing his cock with familiarity and dragging him into the bathroom. 

A luxurious bath had already been prepared and she stripped in front of him without hesitation. 

Lex smiled. He might as well enjoy himself with the familiar surroundings and actions before going to war. Who knows when, if ever he would be returning. 

--

They had a all night long session dual cultivating. 

However, Angelica was a Level 5 now, and it took a tremendous amount of energy to level up. 

It took Lex one week each to level up Grom and Theresa from Level 5 to 7. Even if he is a Mid level Xiantian now and could process more energy, it would take at least 2-3 days in his estimation, to get Angelica to Level 6. 

The next morning, they separated their bodies and Lex helped Angelica clean herself in the toilet, and then cleaned each other in the bath. 

He would be separating from her again, and had decided to pamper her. 

"Have I grown attached to her?" he wondered as he dressed her in formal clothes to formally see off the troops. 

She had prepared for him smart leather armor, all in black and his sword Duramir hung in a scabbard by his side. 

She gave him a long and lingering kiss, with tongues wrapped around each other, before they separated. 

"Too bad we can't have breakfast the way we used to. I had requested for those thick sausages for breakfast" she whispered in her ear. 

They parted ways as they left the room, the princess to join her father in seeing off the troops from above. Lex would be with the troops below, marching out to war. 

There was a procession, a long winded speech by the King, more speeches by General Flamehart who was in charge of this contingent and the Pope, who would be joining this group to Zentopia.

During the speech, Lex discovered that the other masters, Thomas, Lucius, Agartha, Alburus and Grom had already left for war a week prior. This must mean that Grom left for war after dropping him off at the church!

The armies of Duke Reinhart and Margrave Goldenlion also left at the same time.

It seemed that of the forces he knew off, the only powerhouse mages left in the capital were Headmaster Goron, the Chief Magician Monor, the Saintess Theresa and Angelica!

Lex departed with the troops. He wasn't given any titles or positions. He wasn't even dressed in uniform. He was ordered to mix with the volunteer troops that mostly consisted of adventurers, private guards, hunters and whoever else that thought they could fight in a war.

The King said in private that he hoped Lex could conjure another miracle, and left him with the volunteers so he could act freely and not have to take orders from anyone.

The 200 kilometer journey would take roughly a week as they were marching there by foot. An army of 40,000 men wasn't easy to move quickly, and if they are rushed, they might arrive to the battle exhausted.

Even so, 30 km or so per day was 3/4 the distance of a marathon!

The journey for the first 3 days were uneventful and tediously boring

Unfortunately, that wouldn't last for long