Chapter 302: Chapter 285: Holder of the Huai Guang Office (2/3)
"Morien Steel can be found in any labyrinth or ruins... itâs just a matter of how much,"
Master Gossay regarded Ian with a keen gaze, apparently recalling Ianâs fairy bloodline, and after contemplating for a moment, he spoke slowly, "Why Morien Steel appears remains a mystery to this day, but it can be found in the heart of various high energy level spirit energy fields and central regions of labyrinthine areas."
"Itâs not actually a metal, but rather a highly dense conglomerate of Origin Quality, similar to elemental crystals, but far more durable than they are. Within the Royal Alchemy Association, the artificial synthesis of Morien Steel has always been a major topic with continuous funding."
"Not actually a metal..." Ian nodded thoughtfully, his spirit energy intuition instinctively telling him this was an important point, yet he couldnât grasp the crux of it.
Ultimately, though, the young man shook his head, "Without killing the queen bug, even the finest materials are useless."
"Indeed."
In fact, even Master Gossay seemed visibly tempted by the amount of Morien Steel; while not immensely abundant, it was still considerably plentiful and very enticing.
The old man sighed with regret, "Living Steelâs applications are too broad, from magic potions, alchemy, inscriptions, to industry, biology, and astromancy, itâs useful in all of them. Therefore, despite its production not being low and fairly stable compared to Finegold Mithril, it is still in short supply."
"By the way, Master Gossay,"
Hearing this, Ian suddenly thought of the old manâs earlier exclamation and couldnât help but ask curiously, "You just mentioned âLight of Huai Guangâ... are you by chance a follower of the Huai Guang Church?"
Since there wasnât an immediate opportunity anyway, and the Fiery Flame Land in the distance was still battling the Giant Golden Centipede and Parasitic Beast, it would probably take a while for the outcome to be decided.
While waiting for an opportunity, he might as well inquire about something he was quite interested in.
"How should I put it..."
This question seemed to make Master Gossay hesitate; he furrowed his brows, glanced at Yisen Gard on the side, and then slowly nodded, "The Former Emperor collaborated with the Huai Guang Church to clear out all the magical beast nests between the Dark Mountain Range and Holy Mountain, and my hometown just happens to be in that area... so itâs not so much a belief as it is a local custom."
"What exactly are the doctrines of the Huai Guang Church?"
Ian was also a bit curious. Although the state religion of the Empire was that of Huai Guang and Harrison Port had its Huai Guang Church, because Teacher Hiliad had always been quite wary of the Bishop of White Mist, Ian had also naturally become accustomed to not interacting with them over the years.
Of course, Ian himself was also very cautious of the Bishop of White Mist... The man... didnât really seem to be a normal human, with thoughts and emotions as stable as a machineâs, yet he was a living being of flesh and blood, without having undergone any modifications to his body or brain like those of the Spiritual Tool Church.
Even Foresight View was unable to discern the manâs real emotions, or perhaps that deathly calm was indeed his true emotions.
Ian felt that the reason Teacher Hiliad was critical of the Huai Guang Church was probably because they, despite being allies of Yinaiga II, did not react at all to the Dark Moon uprising.
After all, it was Yinaiga II who supported the Huai Guang Church to become the state religion of the Empire and who brought in the Huai Guang Church to purify hundreds of minor and heterodox churches within the Empire, making the Huai Guang Church the largest Orthodox Church on the Terra Continent.
Yet they remained silent throughout the Dark Moon uprising, only re-establishing communication with the Empireâs Royal Family when Protector Axer ascended the throne.
To ordinary people, this would be tantamount to betrayalâbut what was strange was that when Ian posed such questions to Teacher Hiliad, he never expressed âhatredâ toward the Huai Guang Church.
"I donât like those weirdos... but indeed, they are not bad people," said the old knight, not wanting to elaborate further, "If you truly need help, then Huai Guang will surely assist youâthe problem is, their standards for judgment are always incomprehensible."
"Thatâs just the kind of weirdos they are, a group of... inexplicably kind people."
Interestingly, Master Gossay echoed a similar sentiment, "Once you spend enough time with them, youâll know that although they can be uncomfortable and disregard any emotional attachments, they might just be the only group in this world you can trust one hundred percent."
"As for the doctrines of the Huai Guang Church, they are quite simple."
"First, be grounded and truthful, and do not speak falsehoods. Second, help the innocent and protect the weak. Third, be fearless in the face of hardship and never give up. Fourth, be self-reliant and seek no personal gain. And finally, the fifth..."
"Bless all beings, sustain civilization."
After stating these five teachings, Master Gossay sighed again, "Quite simple, arenât they? Even a child could recite them. But the problem is, the simpler the teachings, the harder they are to follow, to the point that they barely spread among the massesâeveryone says the Huai Guang Churchâs teachings are to be good and do good deeds, to not lie or do evil, but no one delves into the origins behind them."
"Shamefully, in my life, I may not have fulfilled any one of the five teachings... but the clerics of the Huai Guang Church can practice them all."
Noticing Ianâs incredulous look, the elderly man smiled, "Unbelievable, right? But it is this incredulity that has created the miracles of Huai Guang."
"All of their official clerics are âSpirit Energy Usersâ... and their Spirit Energy is vastly different from the common understanding of Spirit Energy."
"Their Spirit Energy comes from âOathkeeping.â If ordinary people need the heart of a gifted individual at its extreme to awaken their Spirit Energy, then they start by placing themselves in extreme vows from the beginning, in turn obtaining power."
Ian nodded with some shock, genuinely surprised.
"That strict? No way, I couldnât even manage not lying, so how exactly does the Huai Guang Church cultivate their clerics? Do they adopt children from infancy to raise them?"
Ian did not consider himself a saint in any sense; he was too clever, and thus accustomed to using words to mislead, to deceive others for his own benefitâhe was certain he could never be a cleric of the Huai Guang Church.
Yet, he was still curious about such clerics, and so he asked.
"I know this!"
Yisen Gard lowered his voice, responding with a hint of excitement, "No, the Huai Guang Church doesnât cultivate clerics by adopting childrenâthey go to battlefields or to victims of various crimes to rescue those âmortally woundedâ and âbattered survivors,â and then they develop clerics from among them!"
"They believe that such people, having died once already, have become enlightened to the sins and virtues of the human world, surpassing newborns as re-born... But even so, not everyone can become a cleric of Huai Guang, only those who can journey to the Holy Mountain and receive baptism can rightfully claim to be clerics and awaken their Spirit Energy!"
Yisen Gard knew of this because he had an acquaintance, a guard who, after returning home, was gravely injured while defending the town from Magical Beasts. Subsequently, a cleric of Huai Guang who arrived from a nearby large city drove off the remaining Magical Beasts, then rescued and attempted to convert the guard.
The guard was willing, but unfortunately, he did not meet the requirements, so after healing he returned to his hometown without heading to the Holy Mountain for baptism.
âOne must have died once? This feels...
Upon hearing this, Ian became somewhat lost in thought.
Because it seemed somewhat similar to the process of awakening his Spirit Energy after regaining the memories of his past life.
But now was not the time to contemplate that.
Because as time passed, an opportunity began to emerge.
On the other side of the rift, a surge of abnormal noise from the water and a very distinctive dragging sound echoed loudly, with the cacophony of insect calls filling the entire Worm Nest canyon, prompting the people to look up towards the far side.
Buzz buzz buzz...
Then, they saw a gigantic Magical Beast âcorpseâ being slowly dragged along by dozens of various Parasitic Beasts from the other end of the river bank.
"A Tenglan Giant Eel?!"