At the entrance of the Original God cathedral.
Father Luen was pitching a book to a young couple.
"Trust me, young believers, this Apocalyptic Revelations will surely solve all your current troubles. If you purchase it now, you can even enjoy a church discount. It only costs five silver coins—you heard that right, just five silver coins to take it home!"
Even though Father Luen praised the book to high heaven, five silver coins was not a small amount after all, so the young couple was a bit hesitant.
Seeing this, Father Luen realized he was just one step away from selling the Apocalyptic Revelations. He quickly added: "This book is a collector's edition blessed by the gods. Don't you want to increase your chances of obtaining a Life Crown title when you make a breakthrough?"
The man replied, "But we aren't mages."
Father Luen was momentarily stunned, realizing he had misspoken. He quickly recovered, saying: "I know that, of course, but don't you want the gods to see the determination of your faith?"
The couple was dazed.
They discussed it for a moment and finally decided to buy the book.
Father Luen looked at the five silver coins in his hand and couldn't help but beam with joy.
"Luen, forcing believers to buy books in the name of the gods is an act strictly prohibited by the church."
At some point, a tall figure suddenly blocked Luen's path.
He wore black casual clothes similar in style to Luen's, but the patterns on the fabric were much more detailed and exquisite.
Obviously, like Luen, the man was a clergyman of the Original God Church, but his rank was higher than Luen's.
"Bishop Sidal!"
Luen cried out in panic and lowered his head.
The management of the Original God Church over local cathedrals was generally loose, and bishops rarely appeared, so the highest-ranking clergyman in a cathedral was usually a priest.
Bishop Sidal's appearance at this time clearly didn't herald anything good.
Sidal held a copy of the church's tenets and didn't even glance at Luen.
He walked toward the cathedral entrance, and after a moment of hesitation, Luen quickly followed.
"I won't hold it against you that you deceived believers into buying books in the name of the gods, and I won't report this matter," Sidal said.
"Thank you for your magnanimity, Bishop." Luen breathed a sigh of relief, though he still appeared very nervous.
Promoting church books was a policy supported by the church. Although the official rules didn't allow for deceptive means, who didn't do it in private?
As long as it wasn't done too excessively to the point of causing public outcry against the church, the higher-ups wouldn't bother with it.
"You should know why I'm here, shouldn't you?" Sidal said.
Luen froze for a moment and nodded somewhat stiffly.
He could probably guess. After all, his chest still hurt slightly today.
"Since you're aware, I won't waste words."
Sidal stopped, looked up, and gazed at the Original God statue before him:
"Someone reported that you committed an indecent act toward the statue yesterday. Is this true?"
His gaze never once shifted toward Luen from start to finish, yet his pressure weighed on Luen until he could hardly breathe.
"Yes," Luen admitted somewhat bitterly.
After all, many people had witnessed the event yesterday; there was no need to lie about it.
"Luen..."
Sidal exhaled a long breath, his tone carrying both disappointment and a hint of disbelief:
"For a priest, don't you know that even if it is just a statue, you must not be disrespectful toward it?"
"But, Bishop Sidal..." Luen said aggrievedly, "you might not know, but there was a believer who first performed a disrespectful gesture toward the statue, yet she wasn't punished. Out of curiosity, I..."
"A believer acts out, so you, a priest, not only fail to stop her but follow suit instead?" Sidal's voice was filled with rage and dissatisfaction as he glared at Luen.
"But that believer wasn't just spared; she received a response from the Original God! She even leveled up because of it!" Luen said hurriedly.
Sidal was stunned for a moment before snapping, "Nonsense! How is such a thing possible!"
"But it's all true; I saw it with my own eyes."
"According to your words, even if that believer is disrespectful to the gods, she isn't punished but rewarded instead? Who do you think she is? The beloved child of the gods?" Sidal sneered.
"If that were truly the case, if I were to call her here, could she just appear out of thin air?"
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly saw Luen's eyes go wide, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
He turned his head blankly toward the statue.
Suddenly, the statue erupted with a brilliant golden light, instantly illuminating the entire cathedral in a radiant glow as if everything were melting within it!
The believers stared at the holy golden light in disbelief. Facing the reappearance of a miracle, they all knelt in prayer, not daring to look up.
As the golden light gradually faded, the figure of a young girl emerged.
It was Grinya.
"It's you again!" Father Luen exclaimed.
Bishop Sidal stood frozen like a wooden statue, his eyes filled with intense confusion and bewilderment.
He had just made a random remark, and someone really appeared out of thin air?!
How did he not know the statue had this kind of function?!
Lu Xun recognized Father Luen at a glance—mostly because the image of him being sent flying was too vivid—but to his surprise, Father Luen, as a church NPC, actually recognized him!
He had thought that every time he met Father Luen, they would just repeat the same few lines of dialogue.
However, he had nothing to do with Father Luen now, so he didn't intend to chat further with the NPC.
He—or more accurately, Grinya—turned to face the solemn yet slightly chaotic statue. Under Bishop Sidal's ghost-stricken gaze, Grinya boldly raised her middle finger.
The statue glowed with golden light, seemingly in response to Grinya.
This scene left Bishop Sidal stunned on the spot, almost unable to believe his eyes.
【You have unlocked this anchor point; rewards cannot be obtained again.】
Looking at the system prompt, Lu Xun sighed with some disappointment.
As expected, aside from being able to teleport, this nexus beacon had no other use.
"It has no more value."
Sidal and Luen suddenly heard Grinya say something incomprehensible before watching her turn and leave.
They didn't dare to stop her, nor did they dare to even call out.
"Bishop Sidal, you saw that scene just now, didn't you?" Luen said.
"That gesture... is it truly a gesture for seeking divine blessing?" Sidal muttered to himself.
"Uh... Bishop Sidal, I think you'd better not..."
Before Luen could finish his warning, Sidal suddenly raised his middle finger toward the statue and shouted:
"Great Original God, please witness your faithful believer's most supreme greeting!"
As soon as he spoke, Sidal saw the Original God statue suddenly move.
He was ecstatic.
"It works! It really works!"
In the next second, he saw the statue emit a golden light. At this moment, he was beyond excited, weeping with joy.
He opened his arms to embrace it.
"The god has responded to me! The god has truly responded to me!"
Before he could finish, he was slammed by the golden light, crashing through the roof.
His entire body vanished into the cerulean sky.
Luen looked up, dumbstruck.
"Holy crap!"
Rate on N.U.
