Chapter 6: Becoming Temple Priest — Rejuvenation and a Surge of Faith

"As expected——"

"A god should display miracles at the right moment."

"Only by displaying miracles at the right moment will the faith of Believers grow more devout."

A smile spread across Li Yue's face.

Before——

He had only five Yi-Grade Believers.

But now, all at once, eleven more Yi-Grade Believers had appeared!

And subtracting the eleven who had been promoted to Yi-Grade Believers, the Bing-Grade Believers had also grown from sixty-five to seventy-nine!

This was only because the villagers who had witnessed the event were just a small portion of Li Family Village's population.

Once the news spread——

And once people saw the dramatic transformation in Li Youming——

He believed that the vast majority of Li Family Village's residents would become far more devout!

A god who had manifested a miracle, after all.

And a god whose miracle was so vivid and undeniable — naturally, it was enough to shake the villagers to their core and greatly strengthen their faith.

"At my Ninth Grade (Lower) divine grade——"

"The Temple Priest I consecrate should be able to reach the 'mid second-grade.'"

"Originally, Li Youming had only undergone two Blood Transformations. Even in his youth, he could only be considered a mid first-grade Body Tempering Realm Warrior."

"Now, in an instant, he has leaped past the upper first-grade, the peak first-grade, and the lower second-grade, reaching the 'mid second-grade.'"

Li Yue's expression remained calm.

If he were still the Unranked Feral God he once was——

Then the Temple Priest consecrated with a single unit of Divine Power could reach, at most, the upper first-grade.

"With Li Youming at the 'mid second-grade,' the Grand Sacrifice offering next year should be something more precious…"

He murmured to himself.

To him——

The two Grand Sacrifices held each year were of the utmost importance.

And of course, the most important thing of all was the Grand Sacrifice offering!

A hundredfold amplification, after all.

Even a first-grade item could be amplified into a fourth-grade item.

So what if he could obtain a second-grade item?

Although the Grand Sacrifice offering must not be tainted by even the slightest direct karmic connection to a god——

A Temple Priest, though consecrated by a god, does not create a direct karmic link between the god and the items the Temple Priest acquires.

Therefore——

Items obtained by the Temple Priest could also serve as Grand Sacrifice offerings!

Li Yue opened [Personal Mission].

[Personal Mission I] was now displayed as completed and ready to claim its reward.

He immediately claimed the reward.

In an instant——

Two units of Divine Power materialized within him from thin air.

Two radiant, brilliantly glowing first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans appeared before him, hovering silently in the air.

"Divine Blessing Talismans."

"Who would be best to bestow them upon?"

His gaze drifted toward the outside of the Land God Shrine.

At that moment, before the Land God Shrine——

Li Youming was feeling the changes within himself, his face filled with disbelief.

Was this really him?

He stretched out his hands and looked at them — were these still his own hands?

He felt that right now, in this very moment, his condition was ten times better than it had been even in his youth!

And within his body——

A kind of qi had been born.

It was not the True Qi that arose when a martial artist reached the second-grade True Qi Realm.

Rather, it was a qi that gave him a feeling of something ethereal and intangible.

Not only that——

He also felt that he had mastered five divine arts!

One was called the "Minor Golden Blade Art" — channeled through the qi within his body, it was equivalent to a single strike from a mid second-grade martial artist.

One was the "Minor Cloud Mist Protection Art" — it could condense cloud and mist into a defensive barrier, capable of blocking a full-power strike from a mid second-grade martial artist.

One was the "Underground Divine Stride Art" — it allowed him to travel underground for up to ten li in a single use.

One was the "Illness-Dispelling Talisman Water Art" — he could draw talismans and dissolve them into talisman water to treat various minor ailments.

As for the last one——

It was called the "God Invocation Art!"

It could call upon the power of a god to slay demons, destroy evil, drive away malevolent spirits, and cut down ghosts!

"Li Youming gives thanks for Lord Zhangyue's gracious gift!"

"Li Youming will do his utmost to walk the mortal world on Lord Zhangyue's behalf!"

He trembled with excitement as he spoke.

Originally, he had thought that becoming Lord Zhangyue's Temple Priest simply meant being a Temple Priest.

But now he discovered——

That becoming a Temple Priest and walking the mortal world on Lord Zhangyue's behalf was no empty promise!

He now possessed strength ten times greater than before!

This was power no weaker than that of a mid second-grade True Qi Realm Martial Master!

A True Qi Realm Martial Master, after all——

Even within the county town, such a person held a position of considerable standing.

And yet he, Li Youming, had in an instant gone from an aging, weakened mid first-grade Body Tempering Realm Warrior to a mid second-grade True Qi Realm Martial Master!

At this moment——

More and more villagers came rushing from all directions.

They listened with wide eyes as others animatedly recounted what had happened, then stared at the astonishingly transformed Li Youming and dropped to their knees, mouths agape.

Lord Zhangyue had actually manifested a miracle!

This was the Earth God of their Li Family Village!

Many people had brought incense sticks and hurriedly lit them, offering them to Lord Zhangyue with the utmost reverence.

"Lord Zhangyue! Please bless my son in the county town with peace and prosperity! This devotee will light incense for you every single day!"

"Lord Zhangyue! Please bless my whole family with good health, free from illness and pain…"

"Lord Zhangyue… I want to get rich! Please bless me so I can find money just by walking out the door…"

"Lord Zhangyue! I'm thirty-two years old and still haven't found a wife — you must bless me with a beautiful and virtuous woman…!"

The villagers all began to pray with sincere devotion.

Many of them had come to worship the Earth God in the past merely out of habit and formality.

Few had ever prayed with genuine sincerity.

After all, no one had ever seen the Earth God truly manifest a miracle.

But now it was different.

The Earth God had truly manifested a miracle!

Who wouldn't want to receive a god's blessing?

"Uncle Youming's aura…"

Village Chief Li Deyang's pupils contracted as he stared at Li Youming in shock.

While everyone else was stunned by the enormous change that had come over Li Youming, he — as a mid first-grade Body Tempering Realm Warrior who had undergone two Blood Transformations — could sense that the aura emanating from Li Youming had become terrifyingly powerful!

"It feels like…"

"It feels just like those powerful Martial Masters in the county town!"

"Could it be that after Uncle Youming became Lord Zhangyue's Temple Priest, Lord Zhangyue elevated his strength by a great margin?"

"Is this the divine might of a god?"

Li Deyang's heart surged with waves of shock, and he was filled with boundless envy.

So——

Devoutly believing in a god came with such an earth-shattering benefit!

"What 'martial arts is the only path.'"

"No matter how hard you train in martial arts, can you become a second-grade Martial Master in an instant?"

"Devoutly believing in Lord Zhangyue is the only path!!"

Li Deyang immediately prostrated himself with absolute devotion.

He yearned so desperately to improve!

"Hm?"

"Two Jia-Grade Believers appeared all at once?"

Within the Divine Domain, a flicker of surprise crossed Li Yue's face.

Jia-Grade Believers——

Each one was equivalent to ten Yi-Grade Believers, providing him with one hundred units of Incense Faith every day.

In just ten days, the Incense Faith provided by a single Jia-Grade Believer would be enough to condense into one unit of Divine Power.

Without question, every Jia-Grade Believer was one of the most precious assets a god could possess.

And reaching the Jia-Grade as a Believer was no easy feat.

It was not simply a matter of being sufficiently devout.

One also needed to deeply identify with the god, and to hold them in profound awe and absolute faith from the very bottom of one's heart!

"Of the two Jia-Grade Believers, one is Li Youming — that was well within my expectations."

"After all, he became the Temple Priest and his strength leaped directly to the mid second-grade. It's perfectly natural that his faith would transform."

"But the other one turns out to be Village Chief Li Deyang…"

"I recall that before, he was only a Ding-Grade Believer…"

"Skipping past Bing-Grade Believer and Yi-Grade Believer in one go, to become a Jia-Grade Believer?"

"Interesting…"

"His wish is…"

Li Yue's gaze fell upon Village Chief Li Deyang, who was kneeling on the ground.

The Earth God Registry beside him flipped open on its own, revealing the record of Li Deyang's life and deeds.

And in his ears, he could hear Li Deyang's devout prayer.