Chapter 719: Section 506: Zhou Zhang: I Understand Now
The Fishmen were talking one after another, allowing everyone to understand roughly what had happened within the Ocean Nest—Cang Xu offered his prayers and once again received a Divine Blessing. Using the Divine Arts bestowed upon him, he guided many Fishmen in successful conversion, passing the Holy Beast’s test of death!
Fin Spirit stood still, dumbfounded in place.
Ship Ghost narrowed his eyes, showing a probing expression.
"How on earth did you do it? You clearly have Zhou Zhang’s double seal on you, yet you were able to perform Divine Arts?"
"Is it because: this is a Divine Blessing from the Charming Blue God, unaffected by the double seal? Or is it that Xu Jia has secretly removed the seal, and has been deceiving me all along?"
Like Ship Ghost, the surrounding Believers immediately voiced their doubts.
These voices quickly amplified, turning into continuous surging waves that swept over Cang Xu at the heart of the Fishmen.
Cang Xu naturally knew what to do in the face of public skepticism at this moment.
The next moment, he turned to face the Gold altar and paid homage to Zhou Zhang, who was on the altar.
Zhou Zhang stood on the altar, looking down at the Believers who had been transported back. Her gaze concentrated primarily on Cang Xu, but seeing him paying homage to her, her slightly furrowed brows relaxed somewhat.
Because Cang Xu had performed the rites of the Charming Blue Sect.
Cang Xu said, "By the grace of my Lord, I have been blessed once again, allowing me to master a series of Divine Arts, capable of guiding others swiftly to conversion."
"Although I am sealed, it’s strange, within the Ocean Nest, I could use these Divine Arts freely. But the previous Undead Magic is still unusable."
Cang Xu wasn’t just explaining to Zhou Zhang, he was also speaking for Ship Ghost to hear.
Cang Xu continued, "This must be the will of my Lord."
"Under the call of Divine Grace, I have realized my mistakes!"
"I was wrong! Before this, for my selfish desires and under the guise of testing faith, I was actually seeking revenge on my enemies. That’s why I suggested sending the Da Ji Tribe into the Ocean Nest."
"That was wrong, utterly wrong. After receiving the Divine Blessing, I deeply understood this."
"So, to redeem my sins, I took action myself and wholeheartedly converted the Fishmen of the Da Ji Tribe. Risking communication with the Holy Beast, I managed to save some of my Lord’s Believers."
"Regrettably, there wasn’t enough time. If given enough time, I should have been able to save most of the Fishmen."
"I am guilty! Please, Your Excellency Zhou Zhang, punish me."
"It’s all my fault."
"Originally, all the Fishmen of the Da Ji Tribe could have become followers of my Lord."
As Cang Xu spoke, he fell to his knees, nearly prostrating, letting out a cry of agony.
If he were not Undead Life, just by his acting alone, he would surely have produced many tears of remorse.
The surrounding Believers fell into a silent contemplation.
They all could feel the sorrow and remorse that Cang Xu expressed.
Some devout and even fanatical Believers empathized and forgave him on the spot.
While most still maintained their skepticism.
Fin Spirit: ...
She stared fixedly at Cang Xu, her face devoid of any relief.
By all logic, she should be happy and elated to see her great enemy kneeling, issuing a pained declaration of remorse.
But why did she feel an even stronger impulse to kill him? Why did she want to crush Xu Jia into ashes?
Zhou Zhang suddenly looked up and laughed loudly, pointing at Cang Xu below the altar and repeatedly saying, "Interesting, this is very interesting; you’re also very entertaining. More so than I had originally thought."
"Come with me."
"Let’s talk alone."
Even though she said this, Zhou Zhang extended one hand and with a clench of her fingers, water flowed and directly swept the kneeling Cang Xu away.
In the Deep Sea Monster Fish, the Fishman youth was in the cockpit, closely monitoring the scene through the Magic Image.
Zhou Zhang brought Cang Xu with her, holding the collar of his robe, and with a gentle leap, she jumped over everyone’s heads and swam to a secluded place.
The two began to converse.
Cang Xu first told Zhou Zhang that his Divine Office had been promoted from monk to missionary.
Unlike Faith, this Divine Office could be verified.
After confirming Cang Xu’s promotion to missionary, Zhou Zhang’s expression softened slightly.
Then, Cang Xu informed Zhou Zhang of a series of Divine Arts, except for the Concurrent Deception Skill.
Zhou Zhang’s expression revealed shock, and she immediately asked for detailed information about the Divine Arts.
Her reaction was unexpected to Cang Xu.
"My Lord, are these Divine Arts... wrong in some way?" Cang Xu inquired.
Zhou Zhang stared at the Undead Mage intently, silent for a good few seconds, making Cang Xu anxious until she finally said, "Do you know that even I do not possess these Divine Arts?"
Cang Xu was surprised: "How can that be?"
He had always assumed that the Preaching Divine Skills were common. But now, even Bishop-level Zhou Zhang indicated that she did not have them. This proved that these Divine Arts were quite rare.
Zhou Zhang shook her head: "It’s not just me; I fear other bishops don’t have them either. In fact, before you mentioned it, I had only heard of individual cases and they were not Divine Arts of the Charming Blue Sect."
Cang Xu was dumbfounded.
"Regardless of what’s said, there’s nothing better than witnessing it with my own eyes."
Zhou Zhang brought Cang Xu back to the gathering place of the believers. Here, she randomly selected a believer and gave Cang Xu an order, "Come, perform a set of Divine Arts before me."
Divine Arts — Missionary Mark.
Cang Xu first imprinted the mark of his own on the Charming Blue believer.
Zhou Zhang’s expression remained calm.
This Divine Art was standard for everyone. The promotion of believers in the future would include a contribution from the one who marked them.
Divine Arts — Soul Link.
Zhou Zhang watched the soul chain forming between Cang Xu and the Charming Blue believer, her eyes suddenly sparkling bright.
Divine Arts — Spiritual Navigation.
After Cang Xu performed the Divine Art, Zhou Zhang raised her hand to indicate a pause and then carefully inquired about the feelings of the Charming Blue believer.
The Charming Blue believer answered her: he had learned much of the Charming Blue doctrine, content that he had studied before. But now, as he received this information, he experienced a newfound understanding and insight that he previously lacked.
Zhou Zhang nodded slightly and then signaled Cang Xu to continue.
Divine Arts — Spiritual Navigation.
This time, Zhou Zhang could no longer maintain her composure.
She knew much more about the cultivation of a Divine Officer than Cang Xu or the Fishman youth did.
"The Spiritual Navigation Divine Art directly guides the believers’ spiritual energy to Our Lord."
"Normally, it is difficult for a believer alone to take this step. Often, it requires a divine statue to provide coordinates to accurately guide the direction of faith."
"All major sects set up churches, altars, and establish divine statues around the world to serve this purpose."
"Sometimes, even the divine statues and churches can lose connection with the deity itself. This leads to the accumulation of faith which can’t be offered up."
"But with the Spiritual Navigation Divine Art, believers don’t need divine statues, altars, and other aids to offer up their faith promptly."
"Just not sure what the loss rate is during this process?"
"No, the most important significance of this Divine Art is its accuracy."
"There are many Evil Gods, Demon Gods, that disguise altars, falsify statues, and intercept faith in transit. This Divine Art can effectively prevent such incidents."
"This Divine Art is really so practical!"
Thoughts churned in Zhou Zhang’s mind, her emotions stirred.
Cang Xu continued to cast Divine Arts.
Divine Arts — Synchronized Conversion!
Seeing this, Zhou Zhang’s heart was suddenly overwhelmed by a storm of emotions, and she couldn’t keep her composure, showing a clear look of shock.
"There’s actually such a Divine Art!"
"It’s amazing, with such Divine Arts, it’s practically possible to mass-produce believers."
"Our Lord has such Divine Arts, how can we fear a scarcity of believers?"
"Our Lord will certainly rise because of this!"
Laypeople watch the excitement, professionals see the technique.
The shock Zhou Zhang felt was much greater than that of Cang Xu and the Fishman youth. The latter two were laypeople and had no idea of the significant implications of these Divine Arts.
The Charming Blue believer trembled with excitement under the effect of the Divine Art.
As he felt the pain, tears also streamed down his face as he said with a crying voice, "I have never felt Our Lord’s true will and grace as I do in this moment!"
"Lord Xu Jia, your faith in Our Lord is more devout than mine!"
"Although you are Undead, you have my respect."
Cang Xu nodded slightly at him, then said with a puzzled look, "It’s a bit strange, why isn’t the effect of this Divine Art obvious in the Ocean Nest?"
"Is that so?" Zhou Zhang came to her senses.
Although faith was immeasurable, Zhou Zhang could tell from the expressions and words of the Charming Blue believer, combined with her immensely rich experience as a bishop, that the believer’s faith had soared in a short period of time.
"It’s a change in the soul... That’s why believers feel intense pain from within while being preached to!"
Zhou Zhang used Divine Arts and Spells to observe both the Charming Blue believer and Cang Xu thoroughly.
She was at the Holy Domain Level, the bishop of the Charming Blue Sect, and of course, knew many mysteries of the soul.
After Cang Xu had performed all the Preaching Divine Skills, he let his arms hang naturally and respectfully looked toward Zhou Zhang, quietly waiting for her judgement.
Zhou Zhang reevaluated Cang Xu, her gaze had completely changed.
Previously she had been merely interested, filled with exploratory desire, but now she looked at Cang Xu as if he were a priceless treasure.
Zhou Zhang dismissed the Charming Blue believer who had acted as the subject and took Cang Xu to a secluded corner for a private conversation, "Xu Jia, I’ve completely understood why Our Lord has given you the Divine Blessing and these special Divine Arts."
Cang Xu quickly made inquiries.
Zhou Zhang replied, "When you perform these Divine Arts, have you noticed that your spirit and soul are experiencing a severe consumption? And this consumption is much greater than that of Divine Power."
Cang Xu nodded quickly.
Zhou Zhang said, "These are Divine Arts modified by Our Lord, or perhaps, improved by someone in our sect."
"In essence, these Divine Arts are closer to Undead Magic, they are Spells targeting the soul."
"In fact, if you use Undead Mana, you might also be able to cast them successfully, but the effects would be significantly reduced."