Chapter 522
Chapter 522 - 502: Praying for Fire
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8 min read
"...So, it’s totally impossible, right?"
The first person Lu Ping’an sought was the source of his own abilities, the "Chosen Hero" who had gained a bunch of fire-control related abilities - Catherine.
Recently, she’s been quite busy.
At this point in time, her identity is very special. She is both a core figure in the knights corps and the local person most trusted by the outsiders (Lu Ping’an and his group).
Her identity as a devotee of the Beast God? It seems to be ignored by everyone but the informed people know that she can’t be on the same track as the knight corps anymore. The existence of her mother and the reality of siding with the outsiders without any hesitation make her destined to become an "outsider" within the knight corps.
But at this time, it’s a good thing.
As a bridge between the knight corps and Lu Ping’an, the lord and Lu Ping’an, and the ordinary people outside and Lu Ping’an, she has countless people seeking her at all times.
Just the informed people coming to "seek boat tickets" has brought her many opportunities and connections... She doesn’t need to make promises, just an introduction is enough for others to owe her a huge favor.
And Lu Ping’an is also annoyed by these endless "visitors", so he needs an agent to help him deal with these trivial matters.
The knight commander? No, they’re not shrewd enough.
Nobles like the old lord? They’re even worse, as they’re too cunning.
On the other hand, Catherine, who has awakened her previous memories and with the support of her mother and Lu Ping’an, has suddenly risen to the political and economic stage of the locals, becoming a superstar pursued by everyone.
"Huh, isn’t this just being a comprador...."
Xia Qin’s honest words made Lu Ping’an feel even more subtle.
But now, at least when Lu Ping’an asks Catherine to do anything, she won’t refuse, let alone impart some secrets of the deity she "once" believed in.
However, what she can teach not only mostly repeats what Lu Ping’an already knows, but also is of no use to him at the core.
𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
"In the end, Holy Fire Knights are fire keepers. The stronger the flame, the stronger they become. They don’t need to worry about burning themselves since they are flames themselves, and controlling fire is very simple and crude... Most importantly, as fire creatures, controlling fire is an instinct for them. What you can learn from her is very limited, even though she is probably the strongest Holy Fire professional currently."
At this point, Catherine has survived great danger and successfully broken through the Decree-level restrictions, and is now a starting fourth-tier Extraordinary Fire Controller.
But her stuff is of no use to Lu Ping’an... Just the teaching itself, the idea of "sticking flames to your body and controlling them like your own arms," seems like a way to seek death in Lu Ping’an’s eyes.
He can only seek guidance from other Holy Fire prayers, and meanwhile, browse some scripture and knowledge about Holy Fire.
Admittedly, the progress is quite subtle... On one hand, with Silver-level Flaming Affinity, especially Holy Fire Mastery in the direction of flame control, Lu Ping’an learns low-level techniques extremely quickly.
On the other hand, the Church’s various headaches about knowledge and prayer rituals of the Sun God make people cringe.
Unfortunately, the extraordinary ability of Eternal Scorching Sun is hidden in this long and winding religious story full of legends, with spells hidden in poetry and the model of magic hidden in philosophical stories.
This stuff is headache-inducing even for the locals, let alone Lu Ping’an, an outsider who has only recently grasped the basic reading and writing abilities of the locals.
He also knows that this isn’t deliberate difficulty, but the result of years of accumulation and demand. Devout believers who are well-versed in scriptures will naturally become excellent Holy Fire prayer and their "faith coordinates" will be more qualified in this world to summon Holy Fire.
Faith coordinates are another interesting thing that Lu Ping’an has encountered in this world.
Just as on Earth, reciting the name of a deity during a ritual often establishes a connection with the deity (avatar), and is commonly used in advancement rituals.
"The name of a deity" is a coordinate. When you call upon the deity, a natural connection is formed between the two parties. If the deity is interested in you, it can naturally interfere further.
In this world, the prerequisite for summoning Holy Fire is to recite the prayer of the Eternal Scorching Sun and the name of the Great Sun God as a Holy Fire believer.
The more devout you are, and the greater the compatibility between you and the deity in terms of will, character, and soul, the more attention you will receive from the deity and the more "blessings" you will receive.
This system is complicated, but to put it simply, fire prayors with higher status, contributions, and battle achievements have the advantage in this aspect, as they can summon more and stronger Holy Fire.
But the Sun God has already fled... That’s also the root cause that the Holy Flame Priests notice something was wrong at the first moment.
Now, no matter how devout the believer, even a Pope-level Saint, the Holy Fire summoned through prayer is only one-third as powerful as before.
A certain cold-blooded Sun God not only took away his position as the "core of the Holy Fire System," it seems he also took away most of the components of the Holy Fire System.
Now, most of the Holy Fire burning in the world has been accumulated over the centuries. It’s hard to say how long it will last.
Remember, the Solar faith is the largest local church, even Glory Crown doesn’t have as many followers spread out like the Holy Fire believers.
After all, Holy Fire Priests who can summon Holy Fire are powerful and reliable against pollution, and the entry threshold is not high... Besides, they usually don’t interfere with politics too much, even rural areas like Schlei Domain have local branches to support them.
Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why this world is longing for another Sun God... If the sun is rekindled, providing enough power to the Holy Fire system alone can bring a new lease of life to the world.
With no other choice, Lu Ping’an had to invest in other Holy Flame Priests to help share the burden of learning... The very next day, Lu Ping’an gave up. The returns were too low, as the noobs priests offered almost no improvement to him.
But some things were easily accomplished.
"Becoming an apprentice Holy Flame Priest, is it really that simple?"
It’s hard to embark on a new path, even harder to become an expert or strongman. However, as a strongman, stepping onto a new path with some connection to the previous one is a breeze.
Lu Ping’an merely tried to connect to the "Holy Fire Network" and, following the ritual requirements, activated his Flaming Affinity, summoning the first fragile pale Holy Fire. The system then responded.
[Beep, Host, contacted an unknown faith network, downloaded corresponding Holy Fire rules, applied for the first-time Holy Fire guidance.]
[Inauguration ceremony completed, earned title ’unknown’... After analysis, reorganization, and modularization, congratulations to the Host for obtaining 0-tier profession ’Fire prayor’]
[Fire prayor profession correction: Physique is slightly reduced, Spirit is slightly increased]
[Detection of general skill ’Fire-control Skill lv10’, combined into professional skill ’Holy Fire Exorcism Skill LV10’. Please choose a Mastery direction as soon as possible to continue breaking through.]
[Obtained professional skill, ’Summon Flame lv1’... Modified by unknown ability to ’Holy Fire Incarnation lv1’. This ability requires a designated fire source and is locked to ’Purifying Holy Fire’].
[General Abnormal Ability Flaming Affinity is baptized by rules, transformed into Flaming Affinity (Holy Fire Mastery)]
[Awakened professional Abnormal Ability, Holy Fire Summoning (Lower Black Iron Level): Specify a target, complete three-to-five-seconds of hymns and mental locking, summon Holy Fire.]
The screens of the system’s notifications once again showcased the power of the Life Bank.
It effortlessly completed the integration and distortion, transforming the "Holy Fire prayer" route into a comprehensible and controllable professional system.
— End of Chapter 522 —