Chapter Fifty-Eight: Faith Is Poison (Please Vote for Recommendation)

After witnessing Ethan’s life, Yang Qiu sighed deeply. This was a comrade of true conviction, yet he had never found anyone of like mind by his side, nor had the right opportunity presented itself. That was why he ended up in his current situation. If only time could be pushed back by a few decades, perhaps this place might have produced a formidable figure, though the challenge would have been greater, given its proximity to the United States.

A person who lived without regrets would naturally have no fear of the Sacred Flame probing his heart. Of course, that didn’t mean Ethan was without guilt. He always felt he had implicated his family, yet he never regretted his choices. Even if he could do it all over again, he would still walk the same path—at most, he would have arranged for his family’s safety in advance.

“Is he about to succeed?” Yang Qiu noticed the Sacred Flame flickering more violently and turned to ask Ancient One.

The Ancient One sighed, shook her head, a trace of regret in her eyes. “No, not quite. Someone of his caliber can’t pass the trial? Isn’t this mechanism a bit too strict?” Yang Qiu couldn’t help but protest. He had met many people by now, and few were as noble and selfless as Ethan.

“It’s not his fault,” Ancient One explained. “The energy activity on our planet has always been low. Recently, it increased slightly, giving this man a chance after death to resonate with the lingering faith of the Fire Worshippers and arrive at this shattered divine realm.”

“But the energy isn’t active enough. Faith energy is even more inert than ordinary generic energy. He’s passed the trial, but none of the accumulated faith energy in the divine realm can truly be mobilized. This means he cannot succeed, cannot become a Saint.”

“Is there any way to solve this?” Yang Qiu pressed further.

Ancient One shook her head. “There’s no solution. His soul remains because of the resonance his faith produces. The Sacred Flame has already half integrated with him, and you can sense how exclusionary the power here is. If you forcibly separate them, the most likely outcome is the dissolution of his soul.”

“Then how do we activate the faith in this place?” Yang Qiu watched the flickering Sacred Flame and asked again. Since he’d encountered someone like this, he was determined to help.

“Reshape the focus of the faith. As long as the target changes and the new target still lives on Earth, the activity level of the faith energy will rise. If the target cooperates a bit, the conversion success rate for Saints will improve. But the target must possess enough power to withstand the pressure during and after the reshaping.”

Ancient One pondered, then offered a comparison. “If that mage Blaze you assigned here manages to break through, he might barely suffice. But I suspect someone like him wouldn’t want to have anything to do with faith.”

She smiled as she spoke. Blaze had spent most of his time lately sequestered in his room, studying spells, occasionally concocting magical potions, rarely venturing out. She admired this sort of dedication—a true scientist’s attitude.

Blaze? Yang Qiu paused. Blaze was a master-level mage on the wizard’s path. After his breakthrough, he would become a legendary mage. Using someone of that level as the target was troublesome. Even if Yang Qiu specially designed a scenario to evolve a legendary profession, it would still be extremely difficult. His own spiritual power limited the scenario’s upper bounds, and if he forced it, he might be facing another failed evaluation.

“What about the original focus of these faiths?” Yang Qiu suddenly asked.

Once he’d gained enough power, Yang Qiu had researched the world’s mainstream faiths. He could confirm that their objects of worship no longer existed—at least, not on Earth. When the faith energy left the believers, it dispersed into the air, converted by the planetary energy cycle into ubiquitous generic energy.

“Killed by Odin,” Ancient One said quietly. “At that time, Odin led Asgard’s army to conquer the Nine Realms. The most powerful figure on Earth was the deity worshipped by the Fire Worshippers.”

“After a brutal war, that deity fell. The remaining Fire Worshippers scattered across other parts of the planet. The accumulated faith energy over the years gathered in this shattered divine realm and gradually dissipated.”

“Wait, if that’s the case, why does faith directed at Odin also simply dissipate into the air?” Yang Qiu felt something was off and asked.

“Faith is poisonous. The Fire Worshippers’ deity was not much weaker than Odin at the time, but faith-based gods have tremendous vulnerabilities. They can be struck down in one blow if the opportunity arises. Odin seized such an opportunity and naturally refused to absorb faith energy, especially not from our side,” Ancient One explained.

That was why she preferred to borrow power from other dimensions rather than meddle with faith. The risks of other-dimensional power, while great, lay in the future, whereas the dangers of faith remained ever-present.

For the sake of Earth’s protection, borrowing from other dimensions was more suitable. If one relied on faith energy and was caught off guard, the consequences could be dire. Even with the Eye of Agamotto, Ancient One would not take such risks.

“I understand. How much time does he have left?” Yang Qiu murmured as he gazed at Ethan in the distance.

“In the absence of a true god, the Sacred Flame will scan all available energy and, once it confirms none can be mobilized, it will slowly fade. As for the time...” Ancient One’s Eye of Agamotto flickered. In that instant, she saw a thousand futures. “On average, about half a year.”

Half a year... Not long, but there was still hope.

Ancient One could read Yang Qiu’s thoughts at a glance, and as they left the ruined divine realm, she reminded him again, “Remember, faith is poisonous. Never absorb faith power directly.”

“I understand.” Yang Qiu nodded.

He had no intention of using faith energy; with the power of the scenario, which even the Eye of Agamotto could not fully perceive, there was no need. Within half a year, all he needed was to raise himself to a level where he could evolve a legendary class. Then, he could simply redirect the Fire Worshippers’ deity toward himself.

At that point, not only would Ethan’s problem be solved, but Yang Qiu would also acquire a considerable reserve of energy.

The creation of recent scenarios had consumed vast amounts of energy—enough that Ancient One’s five centuries of accumulated power had already been partially depleted by Yang Qiu. He would need to find other ways to broaden his resources.