One after another, faint golden souls erged from the void, landing behind the old man before vanishing.
They hadn’t heard the old man’s words in their final monts.
And yet, the old man’s words hadn’t been problematic.
Though sowhat frivolous and unremarkable, this little trick had allowed the souls to pass through the brink of corruption unscathed—sothing utterly unexpected.
At this point, the boy finally realized that the old man before him wasn’t as simple as he seed.
He wasn’t just a sorcerer.
"What do you want to do?" the boy asked warily.
The old man smiled. "I see a future where many corrupted souls attempt to consu my flesh, seeking to understand and inherit my power—but none succeed."
Without waiting for the boy’s response, he continued, "After this life, in your final existence in the distant future, you will have the chance to deceive those monsters. With an uncorrupted soul, you will reach their nest and encounter my flesh..."
It took the boy a few monts to grasp the old man’s aning.
"You can see the future?" he asked, incredulous.
"The future is uncertain. I can only believe you will achieve that step," the old man said.
"Then what exactly is your request?" the boy asked, intrigued.
"Let my Holy Kingdom stand behind you. All souls will find peace within it, and together, you can resist those monsters. I will give you a fitting reward," the old man said.
The boy laughed and shook his head. "I’m just a small-ti trickster, barely scraping by. Now you’re asking to take on a mythic task? That’s way beyond my abilities."
"What if you were capable?"
"Then it depends on whether the reward is worth it."
"And if it is?"
"...Then of course I’d agree. Wait—" The boy suddenly realized sothing. "This is your Holy Kingdom. If I’m the one helping here, where will you be?"
The old man’s expression turned solemn. "I am the Omniscient and Omnipotent Lord. Since I can live, I can also die—for a while. Once you’re strong enough to resist those monsters, I can return."
The boy was stunned.
This old guy... He was planning to hide, wasn’t he?
"Don’t look at like that. I have my reasons. Those monsters enter an ’invincible’ state once they understand your abilities. Almost nothing can counter them. It’s up to you to find a way," the old man said.
The boy silently processed this.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked, tilting his head.
"I do," the old man said, gazing at him deeply. "But wander between life and death for long and you’ll forget yourself eventually."
His eyes shifted past the boy, settling on the void—where Liu Ping’s perspective lay.
"Rember, before eating my flesh, you must say: ’Thank God for this food.’ Only then will my flesh recognize the purity of your soul and grant you its power."
"Also, the Close-Combat Mage has already erged. Its power has reached you."
"Do not abandon it."
With that, the vision shattered.
In the end, it had only been a fleeting thought surfacing from the depths of Liu Ping’s mind.
It was gone now.
Outside, barely a second had passed.
To an observer, Liu Ping might have seed lost in thought—or simply pausing for a mont.
Lines of fiery text appeared in the void:
[This is a mory from a past life, activated only under specific circumstances.]
[You have accepted the other party’s reward.]
[Reward: Unknown.]
[Contract established.]
[You will receive continuous rewards in exchange for saving God’s Divine Kingdom and resisting humanity’s enemies alongside it.]
Liu Ping was speechless.
The reward wasn’t even clear, yet the contract was already in effect.
Was this how the leader of the sacred faction operated?
He stared at the piece of at before him, recalling the old man’s words. With a sigh, he muttered:
"Thank God for this food."
The at showed no visible reaction.
But Liu Ping noticed a wisp of golden light seeping out of it and rging into his body.
As the light entered him, the at remained unchanged—but a new line of text appeared beside it:
[This flesh is a prepared marvel. Once its true power is absorbed, it will revert to a premium steak.]
[You have obtained the Seed of Sacred Power.]
[This seed will manifest sacred attributes perfectly suited to your combat style.]
[This is the first installnt of your reward.]
The text vanished.
Liu Ping cut into the steak and began eating.
Under the watchful eyes of his ’parents’, he finished the entire al.
"Tastes good," he said, smiling.
His parents seed to relax once he was done, exchanging subtle nods.
"Well... We’ll see how your ’Manifestation’ goes tomorrow morning," ’Father’ said.
"Yes, I can’t wait. With proper nourishnt, you might succeed in one attempt," ’Mother’ added eagerly.
Dinner concluded.
The three stood and left the chapel, returning to a villa.
The door opened automatically.
"Go upstairs and rest," ’Mother’ urged.
"Alright, I’m really tired. See you tomorrow," Liu Ping said, yawning.
"Sleep early. You have school tomorrow—and your ’Manifestation,’" ’Father’ reminded him seriously.
Liu Ping waved and headed upstairs, entering his room.
It was an ordinary bedroom, devoid of anything unusual.
After a quick scan, he lay down and closed his eyes.
Ti passed.
The room remained utterly silent.
Ten minutes.
Twenty.
Half an hour.
Liu Ping sat up and glanced at the door.
Text appeared in the void:
[Dozens of soundproofing spells have been cast outside the room.]
How considerate of those monsters.
"Liu Ping," Andrea’s voice suddenly rang out.
"Hmm?"
"I think I’ve received a significant power boost... It’s sacred in nature, but stronger than usual. What’s going on?"
A line of burning text appeared:
[Reward from the Omniscient and Omnipotent Lord.]
Liu Ping’s interest was piqued.
Of course—everything that had happened earlier had been confined to his mind, a fleeting thought.
Andrea wouldn’t know about it.
He still didn’t understand what this "reward" entailed, given that it required him to save an entire Divine Kingdom.
"It’s the Seed of Sacred Power, ant to adapt to my combat style... But it went to you instead. Is it useful?" he asked.
"Extrely. Rember how I can summon weapons for you?"
"Yes."
"Now every weapon I summon carries the essence of sacred power. Their potency has increased exponentially," Andrea said.
Weapons of various shapes and sizes flickered in and out of the void, each radiating an ancient aura.
But now, their surfaces shimred with a faint, Divine glow.
Liu Ping picked up a dagger and gave it an experintal stab.
The blade instantly multiplied into hundreds of afterimages, lashing out thousands of tis in the blink of an eye.
"Was... that the dagger’s original ability?" he asked.
"The rapid strikes were innate," Andrea said.
"What did the sacred enhancent add?"
"Look!"
The space where the dagger had struck suddenly erupted with another flurry of strikes—this ti, the afterimages were erald green.
"The attack ended, but it can trigger a second wave," Andrea explained.
"Like an ambush... But is that all?"
"Each strike carries a unique sacred poison—thousands of variants, with effects that compound. Far deadlier than a single toxin," Andrea said.
"Sacred power uses poison? Since when?" Liu Ping asked, baffled.
"This is the essence of sacred power. It manifests according to the user’s nature—aning it takes on the characteristics of its wielder," Andrea said, barely suppressing a laugh.
And the wielder was Liu Ping.
Liu Ping imdiately said, "Perfect. Now the Divine faction has toxins too. How effective are they?"
"Any evil enemy struck will suffer fatal poisoning."
"But it’s just poison. How does it determine who’s evil?"
"Anyone who opposes you is evil."
"...Very intuitive."
Liu Ping set the dagger aside and grabbed a sword.
With a press of a button, the blade shot forward, nearly hitting the door.
Startled, Liu Ping quickly recalled the weapon.
"That was... unexpected."
"Yes. That sword turns into a sacred bomb upon impact," Andrea said.
"Effect?"
"Sowhat like a nuke."
"Wouldn’t that kill too?"
"It only affects evil targets... Because you wield it, it’s adapted to your... unique disposition."
Liu Ping fell silent.
"Try this one. I’m curious what sacred trait it’ll develop for you," Andrea said, producing a sci-fi weapon—a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher.
Liu Ping hefted it.
"Well?"
"Hmm... It’s manifested a sacred escape chanism. Press the trigger, and you’ll instantly return to the last safe location. It’s now a getaway tool."
Andrea seed to be enjoying this, summoning increasingly bizarre weapons to test their altered properties.
Liu Ping watched the parade of armants, then finally said:
"That guy told not to abandon the Close-Combat Mage profession... I think I understand why now."
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