Chapter 836: Chapter 624: Death Makes No Difference
"Dear squad leader, do you think the Charming Blue God might have already awakened?"
Cang Xu suddenly posed this question, causing a chill to run down the Fishman youth’s spine.
He pondered and then chuckled lightly: "How could that be possible? Our actions are a blasphemy to the gods! If the Charming Blue God had truly awakened, he would definitely be furious and impose the harshest punishment on us."
"Rather than continuing to bestow divine blessings upon us as he does now."
Cang Xu sighed, still appearing worried: "Squad leader, my speculation is not baseless; I have two factual grounds."
"The first basis is me."
"I am an Undead Mage, yet I became a believer of Charming Blue, and the divine blessings I received included special divine arts allowing me to guide others in their faith towards the gods. And these divine arts touch upon soul secrets, even Zhou Zhang has not received such gifts."
"These special divine arts were clearly crafted. If the Charming Blue God were in slumber, could he have crafted these divine arts?"
"The second basis is your recent two prayers, squad leader."
"We utilized Divine Grace for our prayers. According to logic, it should be directed divine blessings."
"However, the blessings you received twice recently did not match the requests in your prayers."
"It’s as if the Charming Blue God doesn’t want you to find a way to leave here, and instead wishes to keep you here."
These words enlightened the heart of the Fishman youth.
He remained silent for a moment before slowly shaking his head, his expression becoming serious: "You are right, these are indeed facts."
"But I am more inclined to believe that due to the urgent situation of the Charming Blue Sect, they created these special divine arts as a necessary breakthrough."
"If the Charming Blue God were awake, he would certainly notice us. Our means could deal with other gods, but not Him! In such a case, He could certainly take more action against us rather than allowing us to continue to benefit."
"I think the Divinity is handling affairs, while the Charming Blue God’s essence remains in slumber."
The Fishman youth became a substitute divine agent, gaining a wealth of relevant experience, and coupled with the War Merchant’s database, he had a deep understanding of the secrets of the gods.
He understood Divinity.
What is Divinity then?
Simply put, it is akin to an enhanced version of the Tower Spirit.
Shuanglian in the Honey Snow Tower had created her own Tower Spirit by splitting her soul. The Tower Spirit possesses a certain level of wisdom, capable of handling many tasks and loyally executing its master’s commands.
While the gods sleep, Divinity tirelessly carries out tasks set by the gods themselves.
"I just met a certain standard set by the Charming Blue God before He went to sleep."
"I’ve used the divine art [Perception of believers] many times and am very aware of the dire straits of the Charming Blue Sect at present. They desperately need a powerful figure."
"But becoming such a key figure isn’t possible for everyone."
"Someone like Zhou Zhang, despite being at the Holy Domain Level, has reached his limit. Even though he is a bishop, he can’t change the profound difficulties of the Charming Blue Sect."
"Qualification and bloodline are the foremost key factors. Once I possessed the foundational concentration of Bolang Fishman Bloodline, this possibility became apparent."
"Thus, the Charming Blue God made such a significant investment in me."
"On one hand, cases like mine are extremely rare. On the other hand, His situation doesn’t allow Him to wait and carefully select anymore."
After a pause, the Fishman youth continued: "My latest two prayers resulted in divine blessings different from my requests, no longer directed blessings."
"But I don’t believe this indicates that the Charming Blue God has awoken."
"If He were awake, He could instantly see through our disguises; how could He continue to invest in me?"
"Compared to such possibilities, I am more inclined to believe this is a setting established long ago by the Charming Blue God before He went to sleep. He manages sect affairs through Divinity, and the settings must include nurturing and supporting top talent."
"He probably originally planned to cultivate a qualified substitute divine agent, because His essence in slumber greatly needed this kind of assistance."
The Fishman youth’s words were reasonable, and Cang Xu nodded quietly, probing along this direction: "What does the Charming Blue God wish to achieve by heavily nurturing a substitute divine agent? Does He have any plans or goals?"
The Fishman youth mused: "The development of the sect and the expansion of faith should be the primary goals."
"Faith is exceedingly important for the gods. Although the source of a god’s power isn’t faith, faith can be viewed as the most appropriate resource for cultivation."
"For a deity like the Charming Blue God, the more faith, the more aid it provides to Him for healing while in slumber. Faith is equivalent to His lifeline."
Cang Xu suggested another possibility: "I noticed an urgency in how the Charming Blue God is cultivating you. Could it be that He is nurturing top-level combat strength to face imminent formidable enemies?"
"Although your current strength is limited to the Golden Level."
"The effect of the Divine Descent Technique is to elevates the recipient to a transcendent level instantly. This is well-documented across various sects."
"For the gods, all that’s lacking is a qualified temporary vessel."
"Consider historical records of the renowned youth mercenary corps; all their members met tragic ends."
The Fishman youth nodded slightly, his tone becoming heavier: "I’ve already used the [Divine Descent Technique]. It is indeed so."
"If I became the recipient of the [Divine Descent Technique], for the gods, the experience would be smoother than when they descended into the big guy, with minimal obstruction and loss. After all, my current life form is a Bolang Fishman form. And my bloodline concentration has already risen to the Divine Level."
At this point, the Fishman youth sighed, folded his hands behind his back, and started pacing.
He paced as he thought.
After several rounds, he stopped and looked up at the metallic ceiling: "Perhaps it’s time I leave here."
"Through Divine Blessing, I can indeed gain a tremendous boost. But it’s becoming more like a sweet trap."
"Moreover, the Mercenary Group needs me. I am the squad leader, after all."
Cang Xu remained silent.
A few days ago, the Fishman youth learned of some of the Mercenary Group’s branch experiences and predicaments through the Big guy’s memories and informed Cang Xu.
Thus, Cang Xu was also somewhat aware of the situation with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Hearing the Fishman youth speak this way, he couldn’t help but feel admiration.
The Fishman youth making such a decision is not easy at all!
To know that having such a means of enhancement is truly a rare opportunity.
If the Fishman youth relies solely on himself to become Golden Level in life, it would take a long, gradual effort.
And now, his Life Level is not only Golden Level, but both his fighter and Divine Officer have also been promoted to Golden Level.
The youth has mastered hundreds of Divine Arts, and most of these Divine Arts come with related experience.
These achievements, if relying on personal effort, would take at least ten years!
More importantly is the Fishman youth’s bloodline. He now possesses a Divine Level Bloodline — this is not something that can be changed through mere time and effort!!
Cang Xu was also one of the involved in the blasphemy prayer.
He benefited from it, and has now become a true Silver Level Mage, unlike how he pretended before.
Cang Xu’s gains are far less compared to the Fishman youth, but even he found it difficult to stop.
And now, the Fishman youth is resolutely determined to leave.
The potential benefits he carries are still immense!
To decisively give up such vast interests to do what one believes is right, the Fishman youth’s humanity shines at this moment, his leadership charm exuding now.
While Cang Xu admired this, he didn’t want the Fishman youth to leave.
Human nature is complex.
This elderly Undead Mage felt comforted seeing this display by the Fishman youth, reaffirming how reliable he was and how deserving of following.
But Cang Xu didn’t want the Fishman youth to sacrifice such a great interest!
His loyalty to the Dragon-man youth often meant he cared more for the Fishman youth. Cang Xu anticipated a stronger Fishman youth, placing others at a lower priority. If sacrificing other members for the young squad leader’s personal gain, Cang Xu saw no negatives.
Of course, under satisfying the young squad leader, ensuring the survival of other members is even better.
After all, survivors are in the same situation, in the same boat.
With the Blood Core assuring bloodline, the trust and loyalty between survivors become valuable.
So, Cang Xu began persuading, "Squad Leader, you need not rush to leave now."
"According to our intelligence, the size of the invading enemy is small. Even if they killed ’Zong Ge,’ they didn’t reveal a Golden Level aura. At least the Big guy hasn’t felt it, indicating the enemy is holding back."
"After all, once employing Golden Level forces for assassination, it isn’t child’s play. The City Lord of Snowbird Port will certainly respond. Moreover, we’ve cooperated well before, he’s our friend."
"On the other hand, Shuanglian is an elder of the Alchemy Guild. Her power should not be underestimated. When the Alchemy Guild safeguarded Bu Quan, the Saber Gang could only back off, showing the guild’s influence. Now that Bu Quan has joined us, Shuanglian is still her mentor. The latter used a Mage Tower directly to try retrieving the Big guy, indicating Shuanglian is at least in a cooperative state with us, and she personally values this greatly. I suspect it’s probably Chairman Zi Di who utilized War Merchant’s information for a benefit exchange."
"Given all these factors, it’s unlikely for the Mercenary Group to be trapped in a life-and-death crisis. So, there’s no need for you to worry excessively, Squad Leader."
"For you, staying here yields significantly greater benefits."
"Opportunities for strength to progress so rapidly, where else outside could they exist?"
Missing it would make it hard to replicate.
That would be too unfortunate.
"This is a world of the powerful, the stronger, the better."
"Squad Leader, suppose you become a Holy Domain here. Imagine the immense help you’d provide your allies back at the Mercenary Group?"
"Of course, even becoming a Holy Domain cannot resist the Holy Bright Empire’s investigation. But it can at least serve as a significant bargaining chip."
"Holy Domain Level would at least make the Empire take us seriously. This becomes crucial in future negotiations for atonement!"
"Without reaching the Holy Domain, I’m afraid these Divine Artifacts will have to be sold for cheap."
"Sigh..." Cang Xu sighed deeply, "I previously worried about the Charming Blue God awakening, simply because I sensed something amiss."
"We are too weak to be opponents of the Charming Blue God. Once She truly awakens, not only you and I, the Squad Leader, would face complete disaster, but other companions would also be affected, spared none."
"However, thinking again now, precisely because of the vast disparity in strength, we don’t need to overly consider the Charming Blue God’s awakening anymore."
This strategy seems like defeatism but thinking carefully, it is the most suitable approach.
After all, doing so yields enormous gains.
Of course, the risk is also great.
But think about it, failing in atonement and hunted by the Empire is death. Being discovered and punished or executed by the Charming Blue God is also death.
Is there any difference between the two?