Chapter 375: Section 162: Bloodline is the Cornerstone of Everything
“Sir, I, I am guilty!” the priest said with a face full of panic, stuttering.
Hao Fu, the bishop, sat on the sofa, looking at the priest, and reminisced leisurely, “Cang Xu, I remember that it was because of that selection that you gained the qualifications and willingly joined the sect, right?”
The priest Cang Xu gave a bitter laugh, “Sir, you are right. I was originally just a commoner, participated in the selection, and my bloodline was stimulated, endowing me with the Cang Xu bloodline.”
Hao Fu, the bishop, nodded slightly, “That year’s selection shocked the whole world, and indeed too many lives were sacrificed, but it did select some people. You have not had it easy; it is about one in ten thousand who would turn out like you. Ah, indeed I have pressed down on you for too long. Cang Xu bloodline, Golden Level with divine arts…”
“Sir, it is my greed that has sinned! What I did to you is unforgivable! Please punish me, even if it means killing me…”
Hao Fu, the bishop, interrupted Priest Cang Xu’s words, “You are not guilty.”
Cang Xu was stunned.
Hao Fu, the bishop, turned his gaze towards the thick rainforest outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
The rainforest was cultivated artificially, carefully tended to, lush and thriving with vitality.
The tallest tree covered most of the sky, followed by many shorter, flourishing trees, and then dense shrubs under which lay a verdant grassland.
Hao Fu, the bishop, looked at the plants with a compassionate expression on his face, “Just like the trees longing for sunlight, they strive to grow tall and spread their branches and leaves as much as they can; it is nature. Life has its commonalities, and so do we. So, Cang Xu, you are not guilty.”
“Sir…”
“It is my mistake. I should have told you the secret.” As he spoke, Hao Fu, the bishop, completely released his Life Breath.
He was originally at Golden Level, but at this moment, a hint of Holy Domain’s presence emerged!
Cang Xu couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock, “Sir, you!”
“I should have become taller, so that you could then grow taller as well,” Hao Fu, the bishop, sighed, “Cang Xu, you have been following me for more than a decade, right? Do you still remember when we first met…”
Recollections stirred in Cang Xu, his eyes turned red, and tears quickly streamed down, “Sir, I am guilty, I am guilty!!”
He lay prostrate on the ground, crying inconsolably.
Hao Fu, the bishop, sighed again, “Go to the Abyss, I have already arranged everything. Take post at Outpost Six, guard it for a year. After one year, come back and succeed this place. I will nominate you to become the bishop of this temple.”
“By then, I will have become the archbishop.”
Cang Xu’s heart trembled violently, stuttering, “Sir, I have betrayed you, yet you still treat me like this, I…”
Hao Fu, the bishop, waved his hand, “As I’ve said, you are not guilty. Struggling upwards is the nature of life. I know you are also close to reaching Golden Level, and with the military achievements of guarding the Abyss Outpost, after one year as a Golden Level, taking the position of bishop, there will not be much criticism.”
“Sir, from now on I will follow your lead unquestioningly!” Cang Xu lay on the ground, prostrating himself before Hao Fu.
Overflowing with gratitude, he revealed a secret, “Sir, it was Marshal Bi Tong’s men who contacted me…”
“No need to say any more.” Hao Fu, the bishop, stopped him again.
“Sir?”
“I don’t wish to retaliate against them,” Hao Fu, the bishop, smiled, “In fact, even if it was Marshal Bi Tong’s men who contacted you, it might not have been his instruction. The Navy has four main factions; it’s very likely it was another faction’s plot, or even possibly Marshal Yan Tan’s own line.”
Priest Cang Xu looked at Hao Fu, the bishop, with a somewhat vacant expression, and after a while, managed to come to terms, “Sir, Marshal Yan Tan was also one who came out of the selection. Without the selection, he’d merely be a commoner as well! The Life Sect is the benefactor who changed his fate; it’s unlikely he would…”
“The people who came out of that selection don’t just feel gratitude towards our sect, you know. Yan Tan, that guy, despite his commoner background and weakest connections among the four factions in the Navy, he is quite capable and very cunning. Anyone who has underestimated him has learned their lesson.”
“Those who initiate these conspiracies and assassinations are also the ones competing with me for the position of archbishop.”
“But there’s no need to make unnecessary complications now.”
“Doing so will only scatter my focus and become my vulnerability.”
“For now, I just need to grow quietly.”
“Ah, speaking of which, it really is a pity.”
“That pirate group, I had originally planned to give them some space to grow as the trees around me.”
“I hadn’t expected they were not up to it.”
“Now I just have to let it be.”
Bloodline, bloodline.
It is the foundation of everything.
Whether it’s cultivating fighting energy or magic, those with superior bloodlines progress at a rate ten, a hundred, a thousand times, or even more, faster than ordinary people.
In terms of divine power infusion and faith devotion, those with superior bloodlines also outshine the ordinary.
Beings with higher-grade bloodlines find it easier to progress in power and knowledge, grow faster, survive more easily, live longer, and have lower costs of failure, making it easier to become leaders and establish personal prestige.
In militaristic, cultural, economic, and other forms of competition, those with superior bloodlines leave ordinary people far behind, even crushing them.
All around the world, every race is in pursuit of bloodlines, superior bloodlines, without exception.
Nobles intermarrying among close kin or with strong individuals, efforts like those of Alchemy Grandmaster War Merchants experimenting with Blood Cores, Charming Blue Divine Sect’s design of Fish God tests, Holy Water baptisms…
And as the god of life, Sen Xu, the mystery of bloodlines is inherently within His divine authority; He has always been studying it.
Once, He issued an oracle, convening a grand prayer. The specifics were to recruit volunteers from all over the world, informing them of a high risk of death, but promising a leap in bloodline once they passed the test.
Once the prayer began, it immediately attracted the attention of the entire world.
The ordeal was suffered by commoners, slaves, low-level Transcendents, and more, with numbers reaching a million.
The outcome was extremely tragic.
In the end, only a hundred or so survived, and they indeed achieved a leap in their bloodline. The rest were all sacrificed!
As one of the bishops of the Life Sect, Hao Fu knew all too well how precious the bloodlines of the Legendary and Divine levels were.
Originally, when he accepted Bian Yan’s allegiance, it was because he valued his Golden Level bloodline, which held the possibility of him becoming a bishop in the future.
As a Scout, Hao Fu protected Bian Yan and gave him the space, time, and nourishment to grow.
After all, no matter how high the bloodline’s grade, if it couldn’t develop, it was meaningless.
His own bloodline was actually of the Holy Domain Level, but he had disguised it as Gold Level before.
It wasn’t until not long ago, as Hao Fu tried to compete for the position of Archbishop, that he attracted much attention and the probing of rivals, thus revealing the secret of his bloodline, and subsequently, he was ambushed.
Therefore, Hao Fu understood Bian Yan very well.
At the same time, he also recognized Bian Yan’s ambition.
To desire to become a bishop with a Gold Level bloodline, the Divine Arts bloodline of Zixu, is a common human desire.
Just like his possession of a Holy Domain Level bloodline and his desire to become an Archbishop, what’s wrong with that?
It’s only right!
The type of bloodline one has should dictate one’s status! Of course, this refers to a grown bloodline.
This is not just Hao Fu’s personal viewpoint, but a social norm recognized by the entire world.
Apart from understanding Bian Yan, Hao Fu also calculated his own gains and losses.
Killing Bian Yan would result in far less benefit than loss.
Hao Fu had cultivated Bian Yan for many years and invested a lot.
Bian Yan himself was a priest of the Life Sect, which made this identity more troublesome to deal with.
If Hao Fu eliminated Bian Yan, it would create the impression for others that he lacked clarity in reading people and sufficient leadership. Especially during the competition for Archbishop, such a move would mean even greater losses for Hao Fu.
“There’s another point.”
“My bloodline is only Holy Domain Level, and my lifetime achievement might only amount to Archbishop.”
A single tree does not make a forest, but many trees together create one.
Hao Fu needed to cultivate a grove of trees around himself. Bian Yan was one of them.
This diocese could not be lost, the potential of White Wings Port was immense, it was well-positioned, especially during the upcoming war between the Human Race and the Beast Race, when it would surely play an even more important role.
When Hao Fu became the Archbishop, he would hand over this diocese to Bian Yan, but it would still remain under Hao Fu’s control.
Hao Fu’s desire to recruit the youth and the big guy was sincere.
If in the future, the youth and the big guy grew, then the friendship and goodwill of one Legend, or even one Divine entity, would bring Hao Fu a thousandfold return.
“It’s really too regrettable, they were the handiwork of the Charming Blue Divine Sect.”
“Thinking about it, it makes sense. Are bloodlines of Legendary and Divine levels that easy to come across?”
“That spy chief had a point, adept at deception and disguise, the Charming Blue Divine, who could even fool the likes of the Holy Emperor and others. Disguising bloodlines, deceiving a small fry like me, what’s that really worth?”
While Bishop Hao Fu was feeling regretful, the Deep Sea Monster Fish swiftly stealth-ed through the deep sea.
In the cabin, the goblin Sanda, carrying several Pearl Bubbles, came before the Tower Spirit.
“Tower Spirit, I am a War Merchant, and you’re my master,” Sanda declared directly.
Tower Spirit: …
Behind him stood the Fishman youth, Zi Di, Cang Xu, and others, all looking a bit nervous.
The War Merchant was a goblin, and so was Sanda, with the most similar appearance. Hence, after Cang Xu gave his all to produce several Pearl Bubbles, Sanda became the most suitable candidate.
After a moment of silence, the Tower Spirit spoke, “Welcome back, great master!”
The Fishman youth, Zi Di, and others immediately lit up with excitement, barely able to contain their joy.
Sanda immediately said, “Grant these people in the cabin elevated privileges. Give them the highest privilege!”
Tower Spirit: “Great master, please forgive me, I cannot complete this task. There is and can only be one highest privilege, which only you can possess. Others can at most have Level 1 privileges. Are you sure you want to grant them these privileges? Please be aware, overly sharing privileges might result in security risks.”
Sanda looked at the Fishman youth, Cang Xu, and the others, saw them nodding at him, and said, “Then let it be so, elevate these people’s privileges to Level 1.”
Tower Spirit: “As you command, great master, your orders will be executed immediately.”
Sanda paused for a moment, then said, “Now, Tower Spirit, adjust all the access rights to the archives to Level 1.”
Tower Spirit: “As you command, my master.”
At this step, everyone in the cabin immediately engaged their spirits to communicate with the Tower Spirit, consulting the information within.
An abundance of Fighting energy techniques, Combat Skills, Spells, Meditation Techniques, Alchemy Diagrams, maps, and more, including the War Merchant’s production workshop, military research notes, and the Holy Spring Baptism alchemy array set up using the Blood Core…
“Look at this Alchemy Array for the Holy Spring Baptism! The War Merchant did indeed have close cooperation with the Charming Blue Divine Sect. With this array, we might also be able to enhance our bloodlines!” Zi Di suddenly spoke up, highly excited.