Fanghui Goddess Aeciphysis, the founder of the Fanghui Church, creator of the Root Soul Art [Holy Messenger], one of the ancient Sages, and the bloodline carrier of the Blessed Angel.
Among the many Sages, some of their titles were self-proclaimed and spread widely, but Aeciphysisâ title, the Fanghui Goddess, was passed down by others.
She was called the Fanghui Goddess because, during a time when the continent of Terellis was plagued by both disease and war, the sick and injured could only lie in bed waiting to die. The continent was overwhelmed by despair, and death hung heavily over it.
The Fanghui Goddess Aeciphysis, compassionate towards all life, generously offered the Root Soul Art she had created, Holy Messenger, for free to anyone who could learn it. It was then that the first healing-type Soul Art appeared on the continent.
This generosity set Aeciphysis apart from other Sage families, as most other Sages kept their Root Soul Arts hidden or only taught them to their loyal followers. Only Aeciphysis openly shared her creation with the world, showing no greed.
As the strongest healing Soul Art ever created, Holy Messenger saved countless lives. Even today, Holy Messenger remains the only healing Soul Art in the human kingdoms, still revered by the Fanghui Church as their "Fanghui Treasure."
This is also the reason the Fanghui Church exists todayâHoly Messenger has become their exclusive Soul Art, with only those who join the Church allowed to absorb and learn it.
Interestingly, as a direct descendant of Aeciphysis, Winnie couldnât learn Holy Messenger, because the magical aptitude requirement for Holy Messenger was four stars, and Winnie only had one star.
Aside from his dislike of the Church, Winnie might have also found it hard to accept that as a descendant of the Fanghui Goddess, he couldnât even absorb Holy Messenger. He was afraid of being ridiculed, so he avoided interacting with the Church.
Itâs worth mentioning that Aeciphysis is depicted in the game Karelman Citrus, where she is portrayed as a beautiful young girl with pale cherry-colored hair, pink heart-shaped eyes, and a gentle smile that radiates healing energy while also carrying a certain seductive charm.
In the artwork, she wears an immaculate white lace dress and white thigh-high boots, perfectly embodying the image of a compassionate angel.
Having seen the artwork of Aeciphysis, Winnie felt an immense sense of regretâwhy wasnât she a character that could be pursued?
In Karelman Citrus, all the female characters were stunning beauties, but compared to the heroine Aeciphysis, they were still a step behind. Only Aeciphysis could match her in both appearance and figure. To Winnie, Aeciphysis was even more to his liking.
Unfortunately, she wasnât a character that could be pursued, and in the gameâs background, Aeciphysis had died over a thousand years ago.
Winnie couldnât understand why the developers had gone out of their way to create an illustration of a character who had been dead for over a thousand years.
Arriving in front of Aeciphysisâ statue, Winnie looked up at the sculpture.
He wasnât here just to admire his ancestorâs statue. He had come up with an idea.
After a day of experimentation, he felt like he was beginning to understand the Virtue system.
Since good deeds earned Virtue, wouldnât praying in front of the Goddess in the church count as a good deed?
Besides, the Virtue system was clearly tied to Aeciphysisâ family, wasnât this a sign?
If praying could earn Virtue, then why waste money? He could simply pray to his ancestor!
Out with the money!
Start praying!
With that, Winnie stood before the statue, hands clasped in prayer, head lowered in silence.
During this time, several members of the Church walked by, noticing Winnieâs devout prayer. Some recognized him and wore expressions of disbelief. Their faces were mixed, with many showing contempt or sarcastic smiles.
In just one day, Winnieâs clownish behavior at the banquet had become the talk of the entire capital. Not only that, but the scandal was spreading beyond the kingdom to other nations as well.
After all, the absurd things he did were so abstract that even the pursuers of Mirecia enjoyed watching the situation escalate. Some even secretly fueled the fire.
Winnie had long been known as a notorious and disliked young scoundrel in the capital, with a reputation as bad as a rat in the street. Even the dogs would turn their noses up and walk away from him. Yet, without self-awareness, he relentlessly pursued the kingdomâs most dazzling jewel, Mirecia. Everyone loved to see him fail and would gladly join in on the ridicule, spreading exaggerated rumors.
With rumors swirling that Winnie was an imposter pretending to be a descendant of the Goddess, most Church members held him in disdain.
"That useless good-for-nothing must have been triggered too much, running to the Church to pray to the Goddess," one of the clergy muttered quietly.
"Shh, keep your voice down, donât let anyone hear."
"So what if they hear? The whole capital is already condemning this fool who doesnât know his own worth. What can he do to me?"
"Hey, donât say that~ After all, doesnât he still claim to be a descendant of the Fanghui Goddess? Hahaha."
"A descendant of the Goddess? Tch, you really believe heâs the Goddessâ descendant? Isnât there a saying...?"
"Everyone says, how could the Goddessâ Divine Favor just disappear like that? Maybe the real Aeciphysis family has died out, and thatâs why this shameless little family had the chance to impersonate them!"
"Look at him. Everyone knows that the Aeciphysis family is full of beautiful women with cherry-blossom-colored hair and peach-colored eyes like the Goddess. But him? Heâs so plain, with light blue hair. How can he possibly be Aeciphysis? He doesnât even deserve the family name."
Winnie ignored the surrounding insults and jeers. He was too busy with his own thoughts and had no time to care about the irrelevant chatter.
At this moment, there was only one thing on his mind: Old Deng! Explode the gold coins!
The clergymen continued to discuss loudly, thinking they were being quiet.
Even if they werenât being quiet, it didnât matter. Winnie, this villainous scoundrel, was now hated by everyone in the capital, and anyone who condemned him would have people backing them up. What was he going to do about it?
What they didnât know was that while Winnie didnât care, someone else had been watching the whole scene closely.
"Please forgive me for this," said the embarrassed Fanghui Church Father, following Mireciaâs gaze, looking at the scene in the church courtyard, nervously gripping the porcelain tea cup in his °⢠N o v e l i g h t â˘Â° hands.
"Your Churchâs clergy really have a unique way of greeting the faithful," Mirecia, dressed in a gorgeous lace-edged gown, remarked calmly without acknowledging the Father beside her.
With golden hair, sapphire eyes, skin as fair as frost, and eyelashes as delicate as wings, her noble and elegant aura made her appear like a gemstone adorning a crown.
She rested one hand on a tea tray, sipping delicately, her piercing gaze coldly watching the two clergy members below, and Winnie, who clearly heard them but ignored them completely.
"Uh, well..." The Father was visibly embarrassed. Today was an important day for Mireciaâs visit to the church, and this incident was certainly not expected.
The Father remembered just earlier how he had praised the Churchâs rigorous selection process for clergy, highlighting their attention to etiquette and manners...
Now, it felt like a slap in the face.
Mirecia's words were elegant and cold, as usual, with no hint of mockery or criticism. But to those who heard it, it felt like a sharp, biting satire.
Perhaps this was the art of royal speechâchoosing words and tone that seemed to express no personal emotion yet conveyed everything.
"No offense, Iâm just curious. Do your clergy greet other believers this way?"
"This... this... I beg your pardon, Princess. I will ensure better management in the future. As for these two, I will handle it today," the Father said, sweating profusely.
Yes, the Camellia royal family couldnât directly manage Church affairs, but as the first heir of Camellia, Mirecia could easily send a letter to the Pope, subtly hinting at the matter, and those responsible could be replaced on the spot.
Mirecia, however, remained silent, her gaze drifting back to Winnie, who was still praying before the statue. She took another sip of her tea.
It was rare to see such a spoiled young master in the Church.
She had thought that after being rejected at the banquet, Winnie would have laid low for a while. But now, what was he up to?
Mirecia couldnât figure it out just yet.