Chapter 82: Chapter 24: What Is the World’s Primary Productive Force
After more than two months of cultivation, Su Li had grown from an ordinary mortal to the peak of a Middle Tier Apprentice Knight.
Although he wasn’t very diligent in his cultivation and couldn’t compare with someone like Hilude, who was a devout and diligent practitioner, the treasures and supportive cultivation tools he obtained were simply too numerous.
The Dragon Blood Stone strengthened his physique, the Light-Scaled Fish enhanced his aptitude, and the Fire Rabbit directly elevated his realm. Furthermore, Hilude helped him adjust his breathing and rhythm mouth-to-mouth, advancing his cultivation progress to a shocking degree among other knights.
He awakened his knight bloodline only a day before his eighteenth birthday, and within two months of awakening, he leaped two realms, almost reaching High Tier Apprentice Knight. This speed of ascent is something many Elite Knights didn’t have when they were young; even Oerstein, a Champion Level Knight, trained at this pace in his youth.
This further solidified the view that the Lord was capable of helping knights break through.
But Su Li was well aware that Hilude’s efforts as a female knight were indispensable to his fast cultivation rate. She never forgot to practice breathing techniques in knight training since Su Li initially convinced her of its importance. As a female knight, she guided his breathing rhythms while serving him, and Su Li merely had to comfortably enjoy it.
Men who frequently engage in cultivation know that once a female knight controls the rhythm, it’s inevitable to become wholeheartedly involved, especially when looking at the exquisite beauty and charming demeanor of the female knight; one’s breath naturally follows her rhythm.
Thus, while enjoying himself, Su Li also advanced in cultivation, with both passive and active progress, occasionally using the Candle-Biting Breathing Technique to enhance combat strength.
Perhaps even before the Fire Rabbits in the territory mature, he could break through to High Tier Apprentice Knight.
Reaching High Tier Apprentice Knight meant he would finally touch the threshold of the extraordinary world. Breaking through to a formal knight would push open this heavy door, unveiling the bizarre and magical world behind it.
Therefore, Su Li was keenly curious about extraordinary abilities and the power of divine grace.
When Su Li asked, knowledgeable Vandar explained, "Your idea is clearly unrealistic. There are so many followers of the Divine Spirit; they can’t respond to every believer’s prayer."
Su Li asked, "Not even for a more generous goddess like the Dawn Goddess?"
"Oh, Reya is, of course, an exception," Vandar declared righteously, his face full of undoubted pride. "Whether every believer receives divine magic depends on the generosity of the Divine Spirit. For a generous goddess like Reya, as long as you show her adequate respect, she will bring food. Her followers generally master one or two fundamental divine magic, just like the priests, priests, and nuns of the Dawn Goddess Church, who can use simple healing techniques. The higher the divine office, the more divine magic they wield."
"This is because the Dawn Goddess is quite affluent. Her followers will also devoutly repay her with offerings."
Su Li curiously asked, "Does our territory also need to offer tributes to her? What needs to be prepared?"
"Naturally. The Spring Brings Life to All Things ceremony honoring the Dawn Goddess will be held in the fields. At that time, priestesses and worshippers gather to sing, praying for a bountiful year from the goddess. As offerings, part of the surplus winter food will be plowed back into the earth or fed to livestock. That evening, those hoping to find a new love or to birth new life leave gifts at the goddess’s shrine and stone circle. Usually, these are requesters’ personal items, but handcrafted clothes, big loaves of bread, and fruit-carved figurines are common offerings."
"Besides this grand ceremony, after the harvest, rural communities believe they must return something to the earth to repay Reya’s generosity. Offerings can include the first bundle of wheat harvested from the fields, the first ripe fruit, or the firstborn of the village livestock. The offerings must provide nourishment for life’s growth—Reya is not interested in gold or material wealth."
Su Li nodded; if that’s the case, it was acceptable as a lord, indicating the goddess isn’t greedy; merely leaving the first bundle of wheat in the field suffices.
Yet he couldn’t help but remain curious, asking, "What happens if we don’t perform the offering?"
A trace of anger appeared on Vandar’s face, as if such a scenario was absolutely unacceptable and even contemplating it was a desecration of the goddess. He spoke sternly, "That would anger the goddess, and she would cast divine magic ’Reya’s Demand’ upon the priests of the Dawn Church. The priests would uncontrollably sing harmonious chants, gathering lingering resentment from the depths of the earth, compelling those who haven’t shown gratitude to Reya to make amends. All humanoid creatures in the community who haven’t treated Reya or the Reya Church kindly since last spring equinox would lose a year of life and suffer from a layer of fatigue for three months."
"If five or more individuals in a community are affected by this layer of divine magic, then within the land’s affected area, extending by ten miles per priest of the Dawn Church, the land’s fertility will be sapped, resulting in barren land for the next ten years."
What a marvel.
Su Li listened intently and was mesmerized. The divine power in this world is indeed the primary driving force of production.
Su Li assured Vandar, saying, "My erudite Religious Advisor, you can rest easy. I will not neglect the rituals for the Dawn Goddess. If I hadn’t received the divine grace of the Dawn Goddess back then, it would have been another matter. Since we have received the Goddess’s blessings and gifts, it is only natural to make offerings."
Vandar’s face blossomed into a satisfied smile, his wrinkles almost forming a flower, and he said excitedly, "Respected Lord, although you have always resisted, I sincerely believe that you are truly suited to be the Divine Chosen Champion of our Dawn Church. Your racial genes are etched with the virtues of resilience and progressiveness. You will be an exemplary knight of honor, justice, faith, and compassion, virtues you embody so perfectly."
This flattery made Su Li feel quite at ease, yet he still knew whether or not he had faith ingrained in his genes.
So Su Li waved his hand with a smile and said, "Shall we return to the previous topic? Don’t the divine spirits provide divine magic to every believer?"
Vandar nodded and succinctly summarized, "To the best of my knowledge, most divine spirits do not. It takes a remarkably capable knight to access divine magic formally, usually reaching the Elite Level before obtaining the first divine magic in life, and the majority never encounter a second one in their lifetime."
"As for strict and harsh divine spirits like Yurik, the White Wolf God, even his Elite Knights may not receive divine magic, as he encourages his knights to defeat more powerful opponents with their own strength."
Su Li immediately turned to look at Elite Knight and Beast Slayer Jerald and asked, "My Elite Knight, do you have Yurik’s blessing?"
Jerald proudly raised his chin and said, "Naturally. I have the divine magic ’Crushing the Weak’ directly bestowed by His Eminence Yurik. This is a powerful divine magic that permanently enhances me. When I fight, my heart fills with Yurik’s disdain for the weak and cowardly. If my attack is parried, blocked, or evaded, I can immediately launch a follow-up strike under Yurik’s divine power, using heavy blows and successive slashes to crush the weak."
Su Li nodded slightly. This shows that although both Yurik and the Sun Goddess are divine spirits overseeing war, their divine magic focuses are evidently different. Yurik’s divine magic tends to enhance the individual combat power of soldiers, while the Sun Goddess’s divine magic focuses more on improving tactical capability. Of course, it’s not absolutely clear-cut, as Hilude’s divine magic enhances her individual combat prowess.
Thus, the choice Su Li needs to make in terms of which divine spirit to believe in must be weighed carefully.
He pondered this matter until the afternoon. In this extraordinary world with cultivation abilities, achieving greater strength means a longer lifespan, and in this regard, Yurik arguably has a relative advantage.
But as a Lord, he would not charge into battle boldly as his values don’t allow him to act rashly. As Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies, he should remain stationed to command, where the sword points is where thousands of elite armored warriors strive. In this respect, the Sun Goddess’s divine magic undoubtedly presents more advantages.
Contemplating this, he couldn’t help but sigh and asked Hilude, "Can’t I believe in multiple divine spirits? There should be more tolerance; the coexistence of gods is necessary! As such an outstanding knight, I should become the Divine Chosen Champion of two or even three gods."
Hilude regretfully replied, "I’m afraid that’s very difficult to achieve. The Empire is already tolerant enough, allowing its citizens to freely believe in various divine spirits. However, for one believer to become the Divine Chosen of multiple gods is only likely in those Evil God Sects."
This is akin to loyal ministers not serving two lords and virtuous women not serving two husbands.
In consideration, Su Li could empathize with the mindset of the divine spirits. If Hilude were serving him and another man, it might instantly cause his mindset to explode. Not to mention allowing her to continue being his Guardian Knight, he might act immediately to strangle those two bastards.
Therefore, it’s understandable why the orderly and righteous divine spirits do not allow a knight to be both their follower and a visitor to other divine spirits’ divine halls. Such agreements are far better than the occurrence of religious holy wars due to competition for followers.
There are already enough external threats to the Empire, and the orderly gods absolutely cannot be allowed to engage in internal conflicts and undermine each other.
While Su Li was contemplating matters of the divine spirits, the deep and excited voice of a Dwarf came from afar: "Lord, Lord, I’ve brought something good for you. According to our agreement, it’s time for you to grant me the Giant Brew."