Chapter 8: Precept Holy Knight |
Regardless of the reason behind the gift, it was far too generous, which was why the previous Nels had always maintained a favorable attitude toward Opper.
To some extent, this also caused Nels to be less diligent in his supervision of Opper.
On the Floating Whales, churches could be found in every village and town. This served to guide the people''s faith on one hand, and to monitor local Extraordinary power users on the other.
Demons did not appear every day. In fact, many stationed Holy Knights could easily go over a decade without catching even a single whiff of a Demon.
However, there was never a shortage of Extraordinary power users breaking the rules.
One of the core teachings of the Precept Church was to promote Energy Conservation.
The God of Precepts had declared the universal truth: the resources of the world were limited, especially after the great cataclysm on the surface forced humanity to migrate onto the Floating Whales.
Under such circumstances, Energy Conservation was the only healthy way to live.
However, human greed knew no bounds. In their desire to obtain more for themselves, there would always be those who broke the rules to acquire various Supernatural powers.
...then there was a very high probability they would risk everything to take that path.
Of course, the most common violation was the over-extraction of non-renewable resources.
The most lucrative methods for making a fortune were often written into the penal code. Naturally, the more something was forbidden, the more people sought it out.
It was highly likely that Opper had walked down this exact path.
Finback Village was severely lacking in renewable resources, offering little more than some Herbs from Finback Mountain. However, its non-renewable resources might not be quite as scarce.
Nels, however, lacked even this basic foresight. One could only say it was perfectly normal for someone like him to fail.
Nemus narrowed his eyes slightly before breaking into a wide smile.
"I will investigate the problem thoroughly."
"That is good. You are a good child, so do not go down a path of no return!" The old priest''s eyes seemed to grow even more cloudy.
He was getting on in years, after all, and singing that impassioned Holy Chant earlier had not been easy for him.
The Priest system relied on the Meditation Method. They needed to reflect upon the deity''s Glory in deep Meditation, nurturing Holy Light from within their own spirits.
Every invocation of the Holy Light was a trial of mental fortitude and willpower. If one''s Faith was not resolute enough, bearing the weight of the Holy Light would only become increasingly difficult.
Many elderly Priests began to show signs of their bodies turning to light, simply because their gradually decaying physical forms could no longer bear the immense weight of the Holy Light.
"Furthermore, I discovered my own weaknesses during this recent battle with the Demon. Therefore, I wish to undergo Advancement to become a Precept Holy Knight." Only then did Nemus reveal his true purpose for coming to the Cathedral.
Having Downs come over to test the waters with his Demonic Aura was only one aspect of his plan. The other, naturally, was to investigate how the Power of Faith dedicated to the God of Precepts would influence the power of the Discipline Divinity.
The old priest was an Iron Rank Priest. Though he looked like nothing more than a frail old man, his very existence had already surpassed that of normal Mankind; he could even be considered a Supernatural creature.
Against such an entity, given his current resources, Nemus would need to build up his strength for at least another ten to fifteen days before he could kill the man without sustaining any injuries himself.
If he wanted to bypass the old priest and brazenly steal massive amounts of Faith under these circumstances, he could not do it in secret. He had to do it out in the open.
And judging from the information Nemus had gathered from various sources, becoming a Precept Holy Knight was currently the most viable Path.
A Precept Holy Knight needed to establish a Precept vow under the witness of the god, fully activate all of their Life Aura and Spirituality, and actively draw the Faith of the God of Precepts into their body. This would turn them into a human Divine Idol, granting them Numerical Power that shattered their absolute limits.
This was an incredibly extreme method. During his previous battle with Krog, Nemus had been reluctant to use too much of his vital Spirituality, as it was a strictly finite resource. Once completely activated, it meant that all of one''s potential had undergone Transformation, completely severing any future Supernatural Path.
At the same time, their lifespan would be drastically reduced.
Generally, only the Fanatics within the Church who had reached their absolute limits would choose to walk this Path.
Although the original Nels had been content to wallow in mediocrity, he still harbored a faint sliver of hope that he might achieve Advancement to the Iron Rank, so he had never even considered such an option.
"Are you certain?" The old priest froze, sounding completely incredulous. "Even with the limit-breaking power of a Precept Holy Knight, you still might not be able to defeat an Iron Rank!"
"I know, but this is my very last chance!" Nemus was not the original owner of this body. Naturally, he would choose whatever method allowed him to rise to power the fastest.
"Today?"
"Today!" Nemus nodded, his expression resolute.
The old priest stood up and paced back and forth in front of the Divine Idol. Every so often, he would turn back to look at Nemus, seemingly lost in deep thought.
"Sigh..." After a long, drawn-out sigh, the old priest finally made his decision.
"Come, then! Go and close the doors!"
"Consider this paying off my debt to you." As he said this, the old priest''s face seemed to grow even more sallow and withered.
The old priest then instructed Nemus to sit on the Kneeling Pads before the Divine Idol and begin circulating the secret Breathing Technique of the Holy Knights.
Nemus''s breathing constantly shifted in rhythm, stimulating the inner Life Aura to undergo Transformation into the body''s Numerical Power.
However, at this rate of breathing, it would likely take years to actually convert a meaningful amount of power.
This was the bottleneck inherent to this specific body.
Standard Breathing Technique Cultivation was essentially incapable of mobilizing any more Life Aura. As for the secret breathing method he had previously used against the Demon, that was merely a technique that consumed the aura as a temporary buff, which was even less worthwhile.
The breathing cycles continued steadily, quickly reaching their absolute limit.
It was right at this moment that a brilliant expanse of Holy Light abruptly materialized in front of the old priest.
This Holy Light condensed into countless sharp blades that ruthlessly pierced straight into Nemus''s body.
Like oil being poured onto a blazing Fire, the rate of his Breathing Technique was violently accelerated in that instant.
A significant amount of Life Aura was instantly squeezed out. This was actually quite similar to the previous secret breathing method; this suddenly extracted Life Aura was highly unstable and would quickly dissipate rather than rapidly increasing his physical Attribute Value.
However, it was also at this exact moment that the Holy Light shifted once again.
"God of Precepts above, today a Believer wishes to engrave the Precepts with his Faith! We beseech the divine to bestow your Glory upon him!"
Guided by the old priest''s prayer, the vast reservoirs of Faith accumulated upon the Divine Idol were drawn out. Following the shifting streams of Holy Light, this Faith drove itself into Nemus''s flesh like physical spikes.
The Method of the Precept Holy Knight—Holy Nails!
Nemus silently chanted his own Precept of Forgiveness. Sensing the resonance, the Holy Nails forged from pure Faith rapidly nailed themselves into his Life Aura, thoroughly stabilizing it.
With his Life Aura finally stabilized, a tremendous surge of power erupted from deep within his body.
His Attribute Value rapidly shot up from 8 to 9, then to 10, quickly shattering his previous limits. It continued to climb until it finally came to a halt at 13.
[Precept Information Updated]