Chapter 1 A Start

The stern Cardinal Auberon led Hao Ren and the others away from the palace, taking a secret path to a church facility near the cathedral. Hao Ren curiously looked around at the scenery along the way, noting that the palace and the cathedral were very close—in fact, they were almost twin buildings, separated only by a wall. Such a sight was rare in other kingdoms: two authorities so closely linked, with royal and divine power acting without separation, each ruling the country in its own sphere. Holletta was indeed a unique place.

Night had already fallen, and the path they were taking was secluded, making the atmosphere quiet. The delicate brass lampposts on both sides of the road cast a soft white light, illuminating the road and outlining the shadowy shapes of the bushes, while in the distance, the tall and magnificent outer wall of the palace stood like a cliff in the night, two moons rising from the highest spire of the palace, their large red spots watching the earth like indifferent giant eyes.

Lily was slightly excited under the moonlight. She twitched her ears, listening to the noise of the night market from the distant streets, her golden eyes reflecting the shadows of the moons. She took a deep breath and wagged her tail. "Ah—fresh air. 'A light gauze is draped by the wind, the moon resembles frost, by the window I examine old clothes'—reminds me of when I had a house in Beiping. Every month, I could see the best moon. Alas, I didn't live there after the war. And for decades, I haven't seen such a good moon... This world is actually pretty good. At least it has more moons than Earth."

Everyone around her looked at Lily as if she were a monster, startling her. "What are you looking at?"

"Did you eat something bad?" Vivian kept two meters away from Lily, as if afraid the big dog would bite. "How did you suddenly become like a female literary youth from the Republican era—and who did you steal those two lines of poetry from?"

Lily glared, bared her teeth, and growled a threat. "I've always been a literary youth! You can't be so forgetful that you forgot that, right? And what do you mean, steal from someone? I wrote them myself!"

Hao Ren twitched at the corner of his mouth and glanced at Lily. "I know you're a literary youth, but your usual image is too deeply ingrained... Please say something next time you switch forms. Hearing a husky suddenly recite two lines of poetry under the moonlight is scary, you know?"

Lily rolled her eyes at Hao Ren and patted her stomach. "I'm full, so I'm inspired. Most of my works are written with a burp."

The group walked along, chatting idly. Cardinal Auberon, who was leading the way, managed to maintain a straight face the whole time. The bald uncle with the constantly moving face was like a wooden man, stern and showing no personal emotion towards the foreigners behind him. He didn't stop until he led everyone to a building attached to the cathedral, resembling a small monastery, and reminded Hao Ren, "This is where the tattoo ceremony and the training of clergy take place. There are twenty-two such places in the city. Being able to perform the tattoo ceremony in the capital is an honor for many clerics."

Serious as he was, Cardinal Auberon was still thoughtful enough to explain a bit more.

Then he gently knocked on the gate of the small monastery, called out the priest on duty, and gave him a few instructions before walking forward. "Come, a new believer is receiving the tattoo. You can see how a mortal receives the blessing of the goddess and becomes a spokesman for divine power."

The group entered the monastery and saw that it was brightly lit.

The Church of Glory was vast in scale, with countless clergy members, and the "tattoo" was a ceremony that even the most basic priests had to undergo. Therefore, these small monasteries had people receiving this blessing almost every moment. The newly promoted priests studied the scriptures, learned various mysterious knowledge, and underwent a series of training and tests in these small monasteries. Once they reached a certain "standard," they would be selected to perform the tattoo in the monastery's small chapel. Only after the tattoo would they be qualified to enter the cathedral to meet the Pope and assume various clerical positions.

In the brightly lit small chapel of the monastery, a sacred and bizarre ritual was underway. Hao Ren and the others were led into the scene through a side door by a page. Cardinal Auberon gestured for them to be silent and just watch.

In the center of the room was a thick leather cushion more than two meters in diameter, covered with obscure and difficult-to-understand mysterious symbols drawn in light gold paint. Some of them were Leta runes, and the rest were ancient runes even older and more powerful than Leta runes. These symbols of power flickered, constantly projecting blurry words into the air. A young monk in a linen robe was lying in the center of the round cushion, the newcomer receiving the tattoo today. Three old priests stood around the young man, each holding a heavy classic and softly reciting the most sacred sentences from it—that is, the chapters that were the most incomprehensible.

The tattoo ceremony seemed to start with three teachers teaming up to torment an unlucky student.

The young monk noticed the unexpected strangers entering the scene, even Cardinal Auberon appearing. He subconsciously became nervous. Cardinal Auberon shook his head at him, and he quickly composed himself and returned to the ritual.

After a passage of scripture was recited, an old priest placed the scripture on the young monk's chest. "Bier Raymond, servant favored by the goddess, do you have a strong mind to see through the deceptions of all evils in the world? Do you have a firm belief to follow all the teachings of the goddess? Do you have a tenacious will to face all the difficulties and obstacles you will face in fulfilling your mission?"

"In the name of the goddess, I swear by my life to follow the path she has designated."

"Then you will receive the sacred blood, which is the wine given by the goddess. It will wash away your soul as a mortal, so that you can hear the voice of God and practice the greatest justice in the world. It will also test your heart. If there is darkness in your heart, it will be swallowed by this darkness. Bier Raymond, now silently recite the name of God, and you will be promoted."

Lily stared at the ritual with wide eyes, suddenly muttering, "Looks like a cult ritual..."

Hearing this, Hao Ren quickly covered the girl's mouth. The female literary youth from those few seconds earlier was indeed an illusion. He couldn't relax his vigilance against this idiot even for a moment! The fact that the husky's brainless habit of speaking hadn't gotten her killed yet was simply because she was lucky, right?

But in fact, Hao Ren wasn't qualified to criticize others: his mouth wasn't much better. In fact, what Lily muttered was exactly the thought running through his mind at this moment...

Fortunately, the voice was very low, and even Auberon, who was standing closest, didn't hear it. In the center of the room, the tattoo ceremony had reached its final step.

A page delivered a light-golden "artifact" to the old priest presiding over the ceremony. It was a strangely shaped long-necked container, half of which was made of gold, and the other half was transparent glass. Through the glass shell, a liquid that looked like blood could be seen shaking inside.

The old priest pointed the tip of the container at the forehead of the young monk receiving the "tattoo" and then gently pressed down. "May you be accepted by God."

The tip of the container had a hollow needle that pierced the initiate's skin. The blood-colored liquid in the container immediately began to release a faint light and was injected into the young monk's body through the needle.

Almost at the same time, the round cushion covered with mysterious symbols shone brightly. The ancient runes with various effects were activated one by one, beginning to assist the ritual, and the initiate's whole body suddenly tensed up. Fine strands of golden-red lines spread out from the small hole pierced in his forehead, as if the blood vessels under his skin were bulging one by one. The young monk let out a suppressed growl in his throat, his whole body trembling violently as if struck by lightning.

Something powerful was changing his body structure—especially his brain structure.

The whole process lasted for a few minutes, then everything calmed down. The young monk sat up, covered in sweat, and when he opened his eyes again, a strange light seemed to flash in his eyes.

"The voice of the goddess is echoing in my mind..." the young monk said incredulously.

"This is the tattoo ceremony," Cardinal Auberon's voice startled Hao Ren. "The sacred blood will grant this young man extraordinary power. He will be able to use the divine arts that only the baptized can master, and from then on, he will hear the voice of the goddess in his mind."

"What's in that bottle?" Vivian's voice was unusually serious. "It feels very familiar... like the 'Source Blood' flowing from the First Born."

Cardinal Auberon was silent for a moment, his voice low. "When we first learned about the 'First Born,' some high-level church officials did speculate that, and it even caused a little panic. But we have found in the manuscripts discovered from the second sacred cave that it is not the 'Source Blood' of the First Born, but a more ancient and sacred root blood..."

Hao Ren suddenly realized what it was. "It's a sample of the First Seed."