Chapter 761 - 117: Divine Priest
The situation inside the church was also visible to Su Changxing; he could perceive the scene of each believer praying to him. The reception of such information was passive, requiring no consumption of spiritual power.
He had not expected Marquis Koles to join the All Beings Sect so readily; it seemed Koles was a very smart person too.
This was also a good thing for them, as Marquis Koles controlled a portion of the naval power, and his nephew was the vice admiral of the navy.
"The believers can offer faith to the divine spirit, and the divine spirit can, in turn, bestow gifts upon the trusted."
He continually sought to strengthen his connection with the statue, believing that even a half god should possess the ability to bestow gifts, only he had not yet realized it himself.
Then, he saw Mike standing in front of the statue, praying, and he attempted to channel faith into him inversely.
He tried it lightly and unexpectedly succeeded.
Under the cleansing of a large amount of faith, Mike’s soul became translucent, with a faint glow, visible golden light flickering between his eyes, and his aura rising step by step, showing signs of advancing.
This was somewhat astonishing.
He decided to go all out, channeling more converted faith into Mike’s soul.
It seemed Mike felt something too, showing a look of surprise, as other believers around also looked towards him.
The phenomenon on the statue was too obvious, shining with golden light.
Outside the church, people queuing to join the All Beings Sect were equally amazed upon witnessing this scene.
"A miracle, a miracle."
"Mike, the High Priest, has been blessed by the divine spirit!"
Mike himself suddenly knelt on the ground, tears in his eyes, exclaiming, "Thank you, dear lord, for the blessing."
The golden light on the statue dissipated, and Mike slowly stood up from the ground with a much more dignified and holy demeanor than before.
In such a scenario, he easily advanced, breaking through the world’s perception constraints.
[Divine Priest: Tier Six, Upper Rank, the most loyal servant of the divine spirit, can provide endless faith, and in return, can borrow power from the divine spirit, whose strength is directly related to the nature of the divine spirit served.]
Su Changxing stood atop the church, observing Mike’s condition with the Eye of Data; now there was not much difference between him and a normal extraordinary being.
But he was also quite special, considered a direct servant of the divine spirit, yet fundamentally utilizing an extraordinary system.
This concept of borrowing power was not in the usual sense of the term, more like a projection, to a certain extent, of replicating strength.
Mike borrowed his power, but he himself would not be affected in any way.
Previously, Su Changxing had worried whether the All Beings Sect would have the power to protect itself after his departure. Now it seemed, as long as more divine positions were developed, the All Beings Sect could rely on its own strength to establish itself firmly, even in his absence.
From the analysis through the Eye of Data, Mike could probably borrow about 10% to 30% of his power; how much exactly depended on Mike’s own understanding and perception of power, as well as his level of faith in Su Changxing.
Moreover, Su Changxing also discovered that the faith provided by Mike after advancing increased exponentially, almost doubling compared to before.
This gave him the sense of shearing wool, investing more in better fodder to produce more and higher quality wool.
In the long run, this method of backflowing faith was certainly profitable, considering all its impacts, one could even say it was quite profitable.
However, he could clearly feel that currently, he could support a maximum of only three divine priests.
This means he could only enable a maximum of three individuals to become divine priests through the backflow of faith, although by continuously harvesting faith, more divine positions should be developed.
The divine positions were simpler to advance compared to other extraordinary beings but did have obvious limitations.
That is, no one who accepted the divine positions could ever surpass him.
After that day, the city guard had completed the majority of the destruction of antiques and items from the ancient church, including those collectibles of nobility.
The captain of the city guard, Jia Jinlan, led a team out of Marquis Koles’ residence with several carriages full of antique cultural relics and books.
"Captain Jia Jinlan, thank you for your hard work," Koles said as he accompanied them out, smiling pleasantly.
Jia Jinlan shook his head repeatedly, "This little matter, there’s no need to trouble the Marquis."
He had a humble posture, facing a great noble, avoiding offense at all costs.
Koles patted his shoulder, "You have official duties, and we definitely have to cooperate with you."
"Marquis, we’re just doing our job."
"Indeed, this way, no one can gossip," Koles laughed heartily, his face full of sincerity.
Jia Jinlan, seeing the expression of the Marquis, felt a sense of unease all over. "Then we will take our leave."
...
Marquis Koles looked at the silhouettes of the Guards, with a cold expression on his face.
At this moment, his eldest son Gred walked out from behind: "Father, isn’t it said that these things will turn people into monsters? Why don’t we hand them over?"
"If there’s really a problem, wouldn’t we suffer the consequences ourselves?"
Marquis Koles turned and walked inside, glancing at this foolish eldest son, and said irritably: "Is everything people say true? You need to discern the truth from the false."
"This is obviously nonsense, although I don’t know what the Princess wants, we just need to cooperate and put on a show."
Some things can’t really be handed over, they are the foundation of the family.
As a Great Noble, they knew things that Ordinary People didn’t, such as Divine Spirits did once appear but then vanished, or many Heretics suddenly appeared, and some ancient items could exert unimaginable Power.
Night had fallen deep, and Marquis Koles walked into the study carrying a lantern, crouching down to open a secret door hidden beneath the desk.
"The thing is under here?" Gred showed a surprised expression, he never knew there was a secret door here.
Marquis Koles nodded and said: "Yes, besides me, few know about this. Now you count as one, only the Patriarch of our family is qualified to come here. Originally, it should be your brother, but unfortunately, he died down in the Southern Empire."
The two of them walked down the secret passage, and not too long before arriving at the bottom, a small secret chamber.
Marquis Koles placed the lantern on the table and used flint to ignite the wall-mounted oil lamps, and the whole room lit up instantly.
A pitch-black Longsword rested on the stone platform in the middle of the room, shiny and clearly often polished and maintained well.
"Our family stands where it is today not only because Grandfather achieved great military successes on the battlefield but also because of this Longsword, it can grant people Extraordinary Power."
"It’s said to be a Holy Artifact of the Ancient Church, possessing the strength of Divine Spirits. Your Grandfather wielded this sword back then, leading only a thousand men in a bloody battle against a legion. Although he didn’t win, he escaped in the end."
"This was also the turning point of that war; the northern country was pressed into Inland, and there has been no contact between the two sides."
"Anything can be handed over, but this cannot; this is the root of our family, the life of our family."
Though Gred might not be clever, he’s not foolish and understood the meaning of Marquis Koles: "But is this sword really that powerful?"
Marquis Koles affirmed: "Of course, although it requires a certain price, Grandfather died of old age at just over 40."
"Does using this sword reduce one’s lifespan?" Gred opened his eyes wide.
"That’s probably the case; if there’s no special situation, don’t easily use or touch this sword."
...
By nighttime, Su Changxing’s Mysteriousness had already risen to over seven hundred thousand and was steadily increasing, likely breaking a million after tomorrow.
He was clearly different from before; every move and gesture stirred ripples of Energy in the space around him.
Yet there was still no sign of a breakthrough, as if a massive chasm blocked him from moving forward.
Power from the heretic allowed him strong means while making advancement unusually difficult.
Or rather, there were no corresponding positions higher up; his path was different from those of normal Extraordinaries and dissimilar to those heretics.
This is probably a path no one has traveled before, requiring him to carve the way himself, making him the first on this journey.
Carving a path is always most difficult; following paths paved by predecessors is always somewhat easier.
"Great Sect Leader, is there anything?" Nobu entered the room within the cathedral, his face showing a hint of fatigue and said.
Since a few days ago, he had been busy without much sleep, but he didn’t feel too tired, his heart filled with joy.
Su Changxing showed a look of appreciation: "Well done."
"It’s my duty, as a High Priest." Nobu said with full respect.
Su Changxing tapped his finger on the chair’s armrest, and silver threads intertwined and shifted in his blue left eye: "Are you still willing to continue doing this High Priest position?"
Nobu promptly replied: "Of course, I am willing."
Su Changxing thought for a moment and said: "You should understand the teachings of our All Beings Sect, those who believe in me shall attain eternal life, those who defy me shall face perpetual punishment."
"Previously, due to a shortage of personnel, you replaced this position, and of course, you did well."
"This is your only chance to step down; if you choose to leave All Beings Sect, I will also compensate you otherwise."
Nobu lowered his head and declared firmly: "I am willing to follow the Master to the death, to follow the All Beings Sect!"
Su Changxing had roughly predicted his response, after all, All Beings Sect was thriving in Maelon, who would give up the High Priest position?
"Tomorrow morning, gather all the Believers, hold a blessing in the plaza, and you shall become the true High Priest!"