The two of them walked among the crowd, unnoticed.
"These soul masters from outside the islands generally have mediocre talents. However, their faith in the Sea God is as devout as that of the islanders," Su Cheng said, scanning the passing crowd and quietly recounting stories he had once heard to Bo Saixi.
"Look, that man over there is named Philip. He was born on Sea God Island. Unfortunately, he was born without innate soul power, so he never had the chance to pass the test and left the island as an adult.
"But he didn't give up. He taught himself medicine, spending over a decade researching the meridians and acupoints of the human body, and developed a technique to stop bleeding and block soul power.
"Although he's not a soul master, he now travels with a fleet on the sea, striving to help those critically ill soul masters.
"His dream is simple: to help anyone in need in his own way. His only regret is not becoming a soul master, as he might have been able to heal more Sea God believers.
"Because he lacks soul power, three people died in front of him, and he felt helpless, burdened by guilt."
After finishing, he pointed to another girl. "That sister's name is Miwei. She was originally a soul master from the mainland. Because she longed for freedom, she came to the sea and became a sea soul master.
"She had decent talent, but unfortunately, Sea God Island's test for mainland soul masters is quite strict, requiring them to pass an annual examination, which she failed to do.
"But she wasn't discouraged. To her, living on the sea was already the happiest thing.
"Don't be fooled by Miwei's young age; she's actually the captain of a fleet. Her dream is to build the largest fleet at sea.
"That person's name is Zhang Ming, born on an island near Sea God Island..."
Bo Saixi followed Su Cheng's gaze and gestures, watching the sea soul masters coming and going not far away.
As she watched, her gaze gradually shifted to the child beside her, becoming somewhat absent-minded.
The pasts of these soul masters from outside the islands, their true pursuits, and their beliefs had never been noticed by anyone.
No, perhaps it wasn't just these people.
Even the soul masters on Sea God Island, how many of them did she truly understand?
Perhaps only those seven Douluo divine pillars could leave a trace in her heart.
To her, everyone else, even passing travelers, didn't register in her mind, not to mention those two peerless Douluo who had once come to Sea God Island, leaving a deep impression on her.
But those two people had only crossed paths with her once, while the people of Sea God Island had been with her for generations, worshipping the Sea God devoutly.
Was she truly qualified to be the High Priestess?
Bo Saixi's face was shrouded in a faint mist, concealing her expression at this moment.
But her eyes silently watched Su Cheng walking beside her.
She called herself his teacher.
But in fact, she had never taught him anything.
Whether it was the cultivation of soul power levels or the acquisition of soul rings, he had explored them all on his own without asking a single question.
Instead, during these days, she always found in his words what she lacked.
"Is it because he's pure enough?" Bo Saixi murmured to herself.
In comparison, she had lived for so many years, yet her understanding of faith was so shallow.
As one of the world's top experts, and also holding the position of High Priestess of Sea God Island, she considered herself a servant of the Sea God, unwavering in her faith.
Although she feared death like everyone else, she was willing to sacrifice her life for the Sea God.
Was it true, as the child had said before, that she was too aloof, never truly experienced life, never understood what the believers sought, and never grasped the true meaning of the Sea God's will?
Life in the Sea God Temple was naturally exceptionally dull.
Her own strength had long since reached its peak.
But Bo Saixi didn't have many worldly desires, so she didn't feel that there was anything wrong with it.
She had outstanding talent from a young age, unmatched among her peers.
By the time she accepted the top eighth examination at the age of eighteen, her cultivation had skyrocketed.
In the most restless years of her youth, her thoughts were almost entirely devoted to cultivation.
And now that her state of mind was gradually improving, she no longer had an interest in interacting with others. Coupled with the usual style of the High Priestess of Sea God Island, she simply went with the flow and secluded herself on Sea God Mountain.
Looking back today, it felt like a world away.
As Su Cheng spoke, he also noticed Bo Saixi's changing mood.
With his current strength, he naturally couldn't sense the fluctuations of her aura, let alone that she was currently cloaked in spiritual power, masking her presence.
But he sensed another kind of movement, the faint light of the soul.
A surge of immense joy welled up in Su Cheng's heart.
He had indeed harbored this thought, attempting to see if he could perceive Bo Saixi's soul fluctuations.
Her faith in the Sea God was naturally extremely firm and pure. Combining his talent as a "soul scholar" with the power of words, he had a chance.
But she had lived for so many years, and her cultivation was at the pinnacle of humanity. He had not dared to hope for such quick results.
Yet now, it seemed that this High Priestess of Sea God Island was even more... pure than he had imagined?
Of course, Bo Saixi was certain that the Sea God truly existed.
Her martial soul was the Sea God.
But the true image of the Sea God had always been vague in Bo Saixi's mind.
That is ultimately just a totem, and all the colors added to it are based on the framework outlined by previous generations, with Bo Saixi adding her own touches to it.
But what exactly is the intention behind this totem? What spiritual insights and principles does it contain? Bo Saixi could never understand.
In fact, the Sea God himself only managed to ascend to godhood by relying on his own formidable power to consolidate belief; there are no other explanations.
But now, the Sea God has become the spiritual pillar of the residents of Sea God Island, becoming a special symbol that naturally separates from the Sea God himself.
Faith is like this, interpreted by the hopes in people's hearts.
And human hearts are fickle.
When the gods reside high in the heavens and occasionally manifest their holiness, how can they manipulate the changes in human hearts?
Today, someone finally told Bo Saixi what the spirit of the Sea God truly is, which naturally shook her to the core.
And this person, through his own words, attitude, emotions, and miraculous talents, proved to her that the will of the Sea God truly guides him.
Bo Saixi's turmoil and shock were only natural.
Three years later, at the Sea God Island market.
Su Cheng stood in front, looking at the 180 or so people before him.
Over the years, he had developed a network of contacts that far exceeded this number.
But these people before him could be considered the core.
Because in his view, the shimmer of their souls was extremely dazzling.
These people were all fanatical believers of the Sea God.
No, more precisely, they were fanatical believers of what he referred to as the "Sea God."
The preliminary preparations had been completed, and now it was time to enter the phase of accelerated expansion with these people at the core.
During these years, Su Cheng's progress in strength had been astonishingly fast, even surpassing the speed of cultivation of his peers in reality, astonishing even Bo Saixi.
At just ten years old, he had already reached the level of a high-ranked Soul Ancestor, not far from becoming a Soul King.
Logically speaking, it shouldn't have been possible to reach this level with just the help of medicines and the Nirvana Scripture, especially since the Nirvana Scripture couldn't perfectly integrate with his martial soul.
And his martial soul was still just close to the ninth level of innate quality, far from the level of the Eternal Sword.
The reason for all this lay in his progress in soul studies.
Body, soul power, and soul—when these three simultaneously improved, Su Cheng discovered that they could resonate with each other in a miraculous way.
Although these three powers were still far from being integrated, just the resonance during cultivation had increased his cultivation speed by more than forty percent.
It wasn't surprising that he could progress so rapidly.
Su Cheng even had a premonition. The power generated when these three were truly integrated would be completely different from pure soul power, representing a leap in power levels.
Because he had the Nirvana Scripture, Su Cheng hadn't bothered to add any additional soul ring attributes to his Sword Martial Soul this time.
It was difficult to find extreme attribute soul beasts at sea, and it wasn't appropriate to do so in such a place.
Aligning his martial soul with those of sea soul masters would better reflect his pure faith; sacrificing long-term benefits for short-term gains wouldn't be wise.
Moreover, bringing his martial soul to its current state, simply completing his martial soul, would yield limited benefits.
Su Cheng looked at the people before him, his expression solemn.
"Under the light, the world is like a shadow. The brilliance of the Sea God illuminates all living beings.
"Finding your own direction is what gives meaning to your life.
"Today, I establish the Bright Church for the believers of the Sea God, aiming to find the true guiding light for them!"
Under the rapid development of his physical fitness and soul power level, his growth rate was also extremely fast.
Although he was only ten years old, he was already over 1.7 meters tall.
Although his face still showed a hint of youthfulness, he didn't seem like a child at all, speaking with increasing solemnity.
The sea soul masters below, too, wore serious expressions.
Repeatedly, they echoed, "Under the light, the world is like a shadow. The brilliance of the Sea God illuminates all living beings..."
"Hey, Su Cheng."
After those people left, Luo Leilei, popped her head out from the shore, using her long tail to slap the surface of the sea.
Looking at Su Cheng with a puzzled expression, she said, "This Bright Church of yours, is it a serious thing? I feel like something's off."
"What's off?" Su Cheng's expression remained unchanged as he walked over to her, now tall enough to be on par with Luo Leilei,.
Of course, that was under the condition of the sea witch manifesting her legs.
"My mind reading doesn't seem to work on those people anymore," Loleilai said with a slightly narrowed, bewitching gaze, her youthful face showing astonishing charm for a moment. "This isn't normal."
Before, it was understandable that she couldn't read Su Cheng's mind, but now even those ordinary sea soul masters were able to block her supernatural abilities?
That's impossible!
You know, she's a peerless genius of the mermaid clan, her strength reaching the level of a Soul Douluo, and her spiritual power intensity enough to crush everyone present.
"It's because of faith," Su Cheng smiled.
In front of Luo Leilei, he appeared unusually relaxed, no longer maintaining the pseudo-prophet attitude he had before.
"That doctrine, didn't we develop it together? You should know whether it's serious or not, right?"
...
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