[Vol. 8] Chapter 115: Divine Mark
“This is a feature of the Divinity itself. Of course, it has some benefits, but compared to real high-level, permanent Holy Light magic, the effect is much weaker.”
If we are being honest, it’s probably because the statue was touched for a long time that it absorbed a tiny bit of the ‘Radiance’ Divinity energy. This energy makes low-level evil spirits and ghosts naturally afraid and keep their distance. It might also slightly increase the person’s affinity with light elements. But if this small effect is called the ‘Holy Blessing’, then the so-called gift from the gods sounds pretty weak…
As for the one-third circle pattern, it’s not really a circle, it’s more like an “egg.” The full form is the six-winged round egg-shaped holy mark that appeared on Leila and Rene’s forehead when she advanced to a transcendent angel level.
This design seems to be a special symbol of the ‘Radiance’ Divinity. Originally, it should have looked like three white wings on each side plus three ghostly wings, but after receiving and merging the ‘Reincarnation’ Divinity from the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden in the Ancient Spirit Realm, its shape changed a little. The holy marks on Leila and Rene also changed to show six white wings, which is somewhat similar to the Violet’s wings when fully spread.
Violet has checked this many times.
Although the priestess still doesn’t fully understand why this change happened, Frederica was right about one thing, the three trials are not just tests, they also gradually strengthen the connection between the ones who pass and the divine power. Step by step, they become more adapted to the divine power until finally they lose their mortal body, and their holy mark becomes fully complete and able to hold divine power smoothly.
At that time, the priestess can help them become powerful very quickly, and they may even qualify to join battles at the level of gods. For those who passed only one or two trials but were not chosen in the end, the experience of touching and sensing divine energy will still help them in the future, but it is much less than those who get Violet’s real help as chosen heroes.
That is the truth, but even Frederica herself probably doesn’t know all the details.
On the stage, seeing the excited crowd below and knowing her goal was reached, the Saintess smiled again and nodded to a certain swordsman to show she noticed him.
This swordsman is the top student of the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild’s diviner of Origin Realm branch, and captain of the legendary adventurer team called [Reaper's Scythe]. She had known him since the Fourth Demon War. Even the order for ‘Dead Soul’ to appear now was arranged secretly by the Church after discovering his involvement. This “backup plan” was meant to help calm the crowd when needed, like right now.
Compared to Glary Lambert, even though ‘Dead Soul’ has no faith, he trained under a certain ‘White Fox Saintess’ for a while. The few Saintesses who know the true identity of ‘Dawn’ and the Pope fully understand how valuable this connection is.
During the Fourth Demon War, this legendary swordsman once defeated a powerful ranked blade demon under the command of ‘Slaughter.’ If even he couldn’t pass the most basic first trial, then out of the thousands of candidates today, maybe at most ten would pass.
So ‘Dead Soul’ passing the trial was expected by Frederica long ago. Her earlier speech wasn’t made up on the spot.
“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Dead Soul. Please go inside the Great Church to rest for now and wait for the next, second trial. Since your turn came early, you might have to wait a bit longer. You can use this time to gather your strength. The next trials will only be harder than this one.”
Hearing the Saintess speak so kindly to him, the gray-haired swordsman who truly had great strength and always respected strong people quickly lowered his head and respectfully bowed.
“Your Holiness, you are too kind. Thank you for the reminder. In that case, I won’t waste anyone’s time.”
With two holy knights accompanying him, Mr. Dead Soul walked confidently down from the stage in a very different way than before. Countless people watched with respect and envy as he walked toward the opposite side inside the Church and soon disappeared behind the large doors.
Only at this moment did a certain priestess hidden in the crowd slowly withdraw her eyes from him.
This guy… in just over a year, his strength really improved. Could it be the result of that special training he had?
Violet, of course, knew that Mr. Dead Soul had come to join the divine selection trials. After all, he was a somewhat famous new legendary hero. The file Edwina gave her ranked him very high, one of the top candidates with excellent qualities in every way.
With his overall ability, he had a good chance to pass all three rounds of the trials and reach the final stage.
But meeting again after more than a year, Violet now had a very different understanding of this half-disciple who came from the Ancient Spirit Realm and whose background was once a mystery. Especially after seeing the recent “inner demon” scene naturally triggered by the “Reincarnation” power, she was even more sure of his true origin.
What a coincidence! There was another swordswoman from the Ancient Spirit Realm traveling inside the Holy Empire. She heard she had already received the “Righteous Sword-Wielder” reward and signed up for this selection of heroes. She was probably among the thousands of candidates here now.
She must have clearly seen everything that happened earlier, especially… that certain person’s face.
Oh dear, this is going to be interesting~
Mr. Dead Soul’s sudden rise changed the gloomy atmosphere of the trials all at once. Whether it was just luck before or his strong spirit really worked, more strong candidates began to appear among the next participants. They used their own willpower to defeat their inner demons and fears and successfully moved on to the next round.
Though it was still rare for even one out of dozens or hundreds to pass, the situation had improved a lot compared to the first dark and quiet stage. People in the waiting area were eager and ready to challenge the trials. Every time a new successful candidate appeared, cheers and applause erupted inside and outside the square.
With this, the first round of the open trials finally got on the right track.
The long first trial lasted from early morning until night fell, and then until the bright moon was high in the sky. But the pale silver cold light did not cool the passion in people’s hearts.
The fierce test did not stop because of the darkness. The holy knights lit countless torches and candles with sacred flames. The golden light blended with the city’s sky and the never-ending holy protective barrier, blocking out the darkness and turning the holy city into a true city without night.