The subsequent missionary activities went smoothly.
Chen Ge seemed to understand the gap in power and did not launch any further attacks.
Bai Pu escorted the team, and his daily routine was simple: using a replica Holy Thorns to strike himself.
This replica Holy Thorns could not be held by Blood Spider; her Basic Attributes were inadequate.
Therefore, Blood Spider couldnât help Bai Pu with his training, and she felt quite disappointed.
Bai Pu tried activating the active effect of the replica Holy Thorns, "Cruel Admonition," discovering that the Life loss increased over seconds: 1 point in the first second, 2 points in the second second, 3 points in the third...
This was true damage, with an additional priority of 3 points. In Bai Puâs possession, it meant 8 points of priority true damage! Any damage reduction Skills not exceeding 8 points of priority would be ineffective.
Hereâs the critical point.
Bai Pu grabbed the replica Holy Thorns and lashed himself. Being both the wearer and the target, he had to endure double the Life loss effect!
With Bai Puâs 3000 Life Value, he couldnât last more than a minute. Even with "Scaly Skin" for sharp damage reduction, he could only hold for seventy to eighty seconds.
Fortunately, Bai Pu could truly feel that his Combat Specialization and Skill Proficiency were increasing more swiftly, especially as the speed of Life loss accelerated, the augmentation grew greater!
Hitting himself, the Life loss rate doubled, but so did the gain in understanding! Double the delight, it seemed.
Not to mention, this rapid growth sensation was quite addictive.
But Bai Pu still practiced restraint, not continuously activating Cruel Admonition because this was the Original Sin World; he needed to keep his state intact and his Blood Volume healthy.
Initially, Bai Pu thought, with such an intense Life loss effect, why not use it to fight a BOSS, taking the BOSS down with him?
However, after obtaining it and examining it, Bai Pu realized that this replica Holy Thorns would only take effect if the other party willingly accepted the admonitionâsurprisingly, it was a buff Skill!
Indeed, the Holy Thorns is a Holy Artifact used by the Thorn Church to enlighten believers, and the replica naturally belongs to the same category as the Admonition Stick and Practice Heavy Sword, meant for specialized training rather than actual combat.
After fighting with Border Town Wanderer, his Steel Skin rose to Level 3 (Limit Breaker+1), currently granting 27 points of Natural Armor, with an active gain of 14 points of fixed Physical Damage reduction.
He remained diligent, using the Thorns on himself en route during missionary work, accumulating Skill Proficiency in Steel Skin, aiming to reach Level 4 soon.
While camping and resting, Bai Pu opened Lugoâs Treasure Chest.
Bai Pu obtained two drawing opportunities and could exclude 14 low-valued cards.
This was already quite decent; in the Mid-level Spirit Realm, even facing Level 6 Enhanced Leaders, Bai Pu might not get the option to exclude low-valued cards, usually just two draws.
Lugoâs Treasure Chest firstly gave Bai Pu 14520 Spiritual Points, and the two draws were fairly standard.
The first draw yielded two Golden Enhancement Crystals.
The second draw brought a Three-star Skill Book [Storm Arrow].
Bai Pu had witnessed this Skillâs power: it could shoot arrows with both wind and thunder attributes, incredibly potent with a knockback effect and a subsequent paralyzing effect from thunder power.
However, this Skill Book had stringent cultivation conditions.
It required the cultivator to possess at least one of the dual attributes of Wind and Thunder Mystical Arts! Upon enlightenment, it would enhance specific aspects of the Skills depending on the cultivatorâs existing Mystical Arts.
For instance, if a cultivator comprehended Wind Mystical Arts, they would enhance the knockback effect and direct damage; if they comprehended Thunder Mystical Arts, theyâd enhance the paralyzing effect and sustained thunder damage.
Bai Pu understood that Mystical Arts were techniques for utilizing Professional Energy.
The prerequisite was integrating energy into ordinary attacksâsimilar to the Shattering Mountain Special Effect.
Generally, Awakened who reached Advanced Level 7 in Combat Specialization had more adept control over Professional Energy, able to empower ordinary attacks.
But this didnât mean mastering Mystical Arts, it only set the conditions for mastering Mystical Arts.
Beyond enhancing Skill power into formidable Mystical Skills, Mystical Arts manifest in everyday movements, exuding skill-like prowess, difficult for ordinary Awakened to deflect.
Bai Pu felt himself nearing Mystical Arts.
Though his Combat Specialization hadnât reached Level 7, he had preemptively grasped the Shattering Mountain Special Effect, enabling him to utilize Professional Energy more efficiently than typical Mid-level Awakened, setting the premise for comprehending Mystical Arts.
This Skill Book wasnât currently usable for Bai Pu.
He considered selling it to Blood Spider, but she didnât have the wind or thunder Mystical Arts either, and forcing a sale wasnât Bai Puâs modus operandi.
Thus, it could only collect dust in Bai Puâs Storage Space for the time being.
...
Two days later, the missionary team returned to Miulan City.
When thirty Thorn Recruits returned to Miulan City, Bai Pu received a notification that he had earned 250 Merit.
Bai Pu didnât care much for Merit since he couldnât exchange it for anything worthwhile.
What delighted him was that the lease status of the [Holy Thorns (Replica)] had disappeared, and Bai Pu gained its ownershipâthe Spiritual Ability Resonance was complete, allowing it to be taken out of this world.
Father Arius proudly carried two foul-smelling heads to Lord Bishop to claim his reward.
The Bishop verbally praised Father Arius twice, then left Bai Pu behind.
"Was it you who killed that blasphemer named Lugo?" Bishop Yajino asked.
Bai Pu, adhering to his Contractual Spirit, shook his head, saying, "No, this was all Father Ariusâs achievement."
"Young man, donât be overly modest. With Ariusâs capability, merely defeating Lugo would be strenuous, let alone killing him."
With a wise gaze that seemed to see through everything, Bishop Yajino looked at Bai Pu, "You did well. You have qualified to participate in the upcoming Suffering Ceremony. May you open your Mind, embrace suffering, and truly become one of us!"
"Yes."
Bai Pu was quite interested in the Suffering Ceremony.
He wasnât afraid of danger because he had learned that the ceremony only involved Thorn Recruitsâthey were, after all, regular people with a Level 6 standard Template they brought back.
These Thorn Recruits were fervent believers selected from various villages.
In the Suffering Ceremony, most Thorn Recruits would perish, only a few would cross the threshold from Intermediate to Advanced, their Template elevating, transforming into Level 7 ElitesâThorn Fanatics.
A very few exceptionally gifted recruits would be blessed by Divine Favor, obtaining a twisted true form, becoming Level 7 Enhanced ElitesâThorn Saint Warriors.
As for the higher Warrior Template, it was exceedingly rareâa Warrior might not appear in ten Suffering Ceremonies.
Enhanced Warriors were impossible in the Miulan City Suffering Ceremony because Bishop Yajino himself only had an Enhanced Warrior Level Template.
Bai Puâs confidence lay in his formidable survival ability. Since those frail recruits had a chance of survival, Bai Pu certainly did too.
Even if encountering a low-probability event, such as receiving special "attention" from Bishop Yajino and reaching his limit, he could use Divine Power to escape.