Lord of Prayer

"Hm?"

Just then, Li Xiye suddenly made a sound of surprise.

"What’s wrong?" Zhou Chen asked subconsciously.

Li Xiye looked at the emaciated man climbing to his feet in the distance and communicated with Zhou Chen telepathically through the Bonds Ring. ’Something’s wrong with this Tier Four’s state. His Spirituality is turbid, his mind is chaotic, and his eyes are vacant—he’s like a mindless puppet. I encountered an enemy in a similar state many years ago. He’s been afflicted by the Joyful Holy Sect’s Spiritual Desire Enchantment. Victims are reduced to slaves who obey the caster’s every command through repeated sexual intercourse. The more it happens, the more their sanity erodes, until they eventually become a completely obedient puppet like this one.

’Judging by his condition, he was probably controlled back when he was a Tier Three. Excessive indulgence later damaged his Life Origin, causing his Life Force to be depleted. Even though he’s a Strength Type Ascender and even advanced to Tier Four, he could never make up for the damage. Otherwise, he’d be much stronger right now... But that’s meaningless, since his self-awareness is long gone.’

’Joyful Holy Sect...’ Zhou Chen glanced at the nun in the black robe-dress. "Does that mean she’s a follower of the Joyful Holy Sect?"

’The female followers of the Joyful Holy Sect are all sluts. Does she look like one to you? I get the feeling she’s a follower of one of the five great Churches, but I can’t tell which one yet. In any case, be careful.’

"What if it’s for contrast?" Zhou Chen argued. "The purely slutty look is out of style. Everyone loves contrast. The corruption of a holy nun is the hottest trope out there. Maybe that Tier Four fell for exactly that."

Li Xiye shot him a look. ’Now I know why you’re always so keen on making Erin break the rules of nobility. So this was your little scheme all along. You... you little brat...’

The thought had barely faded when the emaciated man charged at them again. Li Xiye clenched her fist and threw a punch made of Cyan Thunder.

In that instant, a magnificent tempest of thunder and wind erupted. A tyrannical power capable of sundering the heavens burst forth from her fist. Although it was merely a simple collision, the resulting impact was terrifying to the extreme, shaking the entire building and making the very space seem on the verge of collapse.

The emaciated man was once again sent flying into a wall, triggering a tremor. It was unclear what materials the building was made of to be able to withstand the attacks of a Tier Four Ascender.

The next second, Li Xiye appeared in front of the emaciated man and threw a punch at his face. Even without a conscious mind and despite his weak aura, the man was still a Tier Four, and his combat instincts remained. He raised his arms to block the punch. It was a good thing he was a Strength Type Ascender; otherwise, Li Xiye’s first punch would have killed him.

Their collision unleashed a fierce hurricane. Fortunately, most of the force was absorbed and filtered by the matrix in the central control room; otherwise, the two Tier Threes present would have definitely been killed by the aftershock.

The nun clutched her ears in pain, blood trickling from between her fingers. The deafening roar had ruptured her eardrums.

Zhou Chen let out a muffled grunt. Blood trickled from his ears as well, and his insides felt as if they had been punched one by one, making him feel nauseous enough to vomit.

Fighting through the pain, he used Flame Teleportation to appear before the nun, swinging his spear’s blade, which glowed with a dreamlike light, in a horizontal slash.

The nun, her face full of holy pity, parted her rosy lips and let out a shriek that could damage the soul. Zhou Chen’s vision went black, and his slashing spear blade slowed by half a beat, allowing the nun to sidestep and dodge it.

"What’s so good about that woman? Come into my arms, and I can give you endless pleasure," the nun cooed, her red lips curling. A pink light glowed in her eyes, tiny hearts appearing in her pupils as a sweet fragrance wafted out.

Zhou Chen’s heart couldn’t help but race, and he felt a strange excitement, finding the nun before him exceptionally alluring. However, this state lasted only an instant before his Willpower suppressed it. He immediately thrust out his Crystal Spear.

The nun hadn’t expected him to break free from her charm so quickly. In her panic, she had no time to use an ability and could only rely on instinct, throwing herself to the side. She scrambled awkwardly on all fours for a few steps like a dog before rolling away to create more distance.

An angry expression appeared on the nun’s face. She felt her dignity had been insulted. Her alluring aura instantly vanished, replaced by a sacred, dangerous presence as a blazing light began to coalesce in her hand.

"Sinner, die!"

A searing Sword of Light instantly materialized in the nun’s hand, and she slashed down at the stunned Zhou Chen.

BOOM!

The spearhead and sword blade collided, unleashing a storm of Essence. In a flash, Zhou Chen stepped forward to close the distance. His arm muscles tensed, and his Crystal Spear coiled around the Sword of Light like a venomous snake, stabbing forward. With a SQUELCH, it pierced through the nun’s chest.

After all, Zhou Chen had been trained by Li Xiye for quite some time. If his combat skills weren’t perfect, they were at least highly refined. Had they not been using weapons, the nun might have held her own with her various Extraordinary Abilities. But as soon as weapons were involved, there was only one possible outcome—

Defeat!

Cyan Flame ignited on the spearhead, acting like a high explosive. The nun’s curvaceous body was blown to smithereens in the fiery light.

A second before the explosion, the nun defiantly unleashed a bolt of silver-white thunderbolt. It seemed to be a secret art of the Storm Church.

However, the silver-white thunderbolt had barely traveled halfway before it automatically dissipated in midair—from a certain perspective, Li Xiye could be called a ’Thunder God.’ All thunderbolt-based Power within her vicinity was suppressed.

Seeing that the enemy was dealt with, Zhou Chen prepared to overwrite the mark on the Soul Rest Cemetery. But just moments later, the fragments of flesh and blood began to reconverge in midair, transforming into a grotesque monster. The faint shape and silhouette of the nun were still visible, but it was now covered in all sorts of mutated organs and constantly oozed a transparent, viscous fluid. The sight made Zhou Chen’s skin crawl.