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Three days later, in the border city.
Dusk, with a light rain.
The evening breeze tinted the afterglow of the sunset, and the twilight hues of the border city exuded a unique laziness, as fine streams of water trickled down the eaves of the city-state's buildings. Autumn was nearing its end, and winter was gradually approaching. The streets of the small town were sparsely populated, and the vendors had already packed up and returned home early.
An Su walked along the desolate urban path, holding an umbrella and heading towards the Radiant Grand Cathedral.
He had received the news at noon that his recommendation to join the Church had been accepted.
He was now on his way to the cathedral. After registering and receiving the holy seal, he would become a preparatory saint.
An Su, in his past life, was a speedrunner broadcaster on his seventeenth cycle, where each cycle he challenged his own record and pondered the quickest start and the most powerful school.
The Life Sacrifice School he developed in the sixteenth cycle had already set the world record for the fastest ascension to divinity.
By recruiting relentlessly malicious people to the Church and making them work non-stop for 24 hours to stir up the dark emotions in their hearts, he "farmed" the believers like pigs, cultivating their dark elements until they reached the Fourth Order, then slaughtering them all to sacrifice to the Mother Goddess and harvest skill points.
But An Su always felt that his school had room for improvement and progress.
It was not extreme enough.
During the seventeenth cycle, An Su finally developed the simplest and most powerful start. Unfortunately, he died suddenly and was transported to another world halfway through the game.
— Joining the Radiant Church was the first step in forming his sect.
The Radiant Grand Cathedral was located at the center of the border city.
The setting sun tinged the drizzle with shades of orange, and the cathedral stood solemn and sacred within the orange-lit rain.
"Name."
At the entrance, the old Priest in charge of registration yawned. He seemed ready to close up and go home, and so he spoke somewhat impatiently to An Su without even looking up.
"An Su Moningsta."
"An Su Moningsta," he repeated, writing down the name. Then he looked up and asked, "Recommended by Lord Luojia? The one from the Morningstar Family?"
"That's right," An Su said, squinting.
"Hmph..." The old Priest snorted softly and muttered, "Nowadays, anybody can become a preparatory believer..."
He had certainly heard about the Morningstar Family's child, born with a tragically small amount of Holy Light within him, causing the death of his mother during childbirth.
It had caused quite a stir throughout the city at the time.
The irony was, years later, this Child of the Curse could become a preparatory saint within the Radiant Holy See, even securing a recommendation from a preparatory Holy Maiden.
It was most likely the power of money at play.
Otherwise, how could the preparatory Holy Maiden take interest in this Child of the Curse?
And what about himself?
He had watched over the Church's door for most of his life, yet he hadn't received a recommendation, still an external member, receiving a salary of one Gold Coin a month.
"Your holy seal is not ready yet." The Priest said without looking up. "We're closed, come back tomorrow."
"Can't you make an exception?" An Su asked calmly.
He remembered it was certainly not time to close yet.
"Closed means closed." The Priest was busy arranging papers, no longer glancing at An Su, "Even if you are nobility, there are no privileges here."
He believed in the Radiant Goddess and despised such spoiled brats the most.
The old Priest wasn't afraid of An Su taking revenge later; this preparatory saint status was temporary, and if the child failed the saint examination three times, even his preparatory status would be stripped away.
How could such a spoiled brat possibly pass the test?
You can't bribe your way through the Church's entrance exams.
The Priest felt he was keeping An Su at the door to protect the sacred cathedral from the corruption of capital.
"I know what you're thinking," An Su said, staring into the Priest's face, "You think I secured my recommendation with money."
"You're mistaken," the Priest replied with a forced smile, "That's not the case at all. However, I just don't want the stench of money to reach the Goddess's sanctuary."
"No. In fact, you're right," An Su responded with a laugh, "I am indeed wealthy."
Such candidness from An Su took the Priest by surprise.
Who confesses so brightly and openly to their faults!
Even more shocking to him was An Su's next move—the latter placed a heavy purse of coins on the counter.
A quick estimate suggested it contained at least sixty Gold Coins.
This was the front hall, with other people around.
Who bribes so blatantly in plain sight!
"I'll leave this money with you for safekeeping," An Su said, "Can I go in now?"
The old Priest stared at the purse, his throat dry with the temptation of those wicked coins. The foul stench of money hadn't yet had the chance to corrupt the sacred Church, but it was about to corrode this loyal old believer first.
The fault lay with how brazenly the boy offered the bribe!
"... Here is your preparatory saint certificate."
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The old Priest pocketed the bag of Gold Coins without a change in expression and handed a copper token to An Su, "The Radiant Holy See is one of the seven major Churches of true gods. After becoming a prospective saint, you will enjoy certain rights and interests."
As expected, he actually had finished the task long ago; he just didn't want to give it to himself.
An Su wasn't angry; he accepted the holy token and wore it on his chest.
"As a prospective saint... as long as you make a contribution to the eradication of cultists, you can accumulate faith points in the token. By praying to the statue of the Goddess, you can exchange for low-level divine blessings from the Goddess—To exchange for higher-level blessings, you must become an official saint," the Priest continued.
By hunting cultists to accumulate faith points and using these points for advancement, this was the traditional school of the past, known as the 'Witch-Hunting Saint School'.
An Su impatiently listened to the Priest explain rules he already knew.
Why isn't there a skip button...
Does skipping the plot equate to skipping life?
"Now, go inside and pray to the Goddess to activate your mark," the old Priest added, "The first time a believer prays, they might receive a title of blessing from the Goddess."
"Of course..." he glanced at An Su with visible annoyance, his lips moved, but in the end, he chose to swallow the last half of the sentence for the sake of money.
'You definitely stand no chance.'—This was what he intended to say to An Su.
An Su took the token and walked through the vestibule into the cathedral.
The rain had stopped outside; the sunset was shattered into scattered specks of light by the colorful glass of the dome and spilled over the statue of the Radiant Goddess.
There were still many believers in the cathedral—It seemed that the old Priest had lied to An Su about closing the doors.
An Su wasn't angry; he walked straight up to the statue, pressed his hands together, and prayed quietly.
He could feel that the saint's mark in his hand was establishing a connection with himself.
"Is that young man a prospective saint?"
"He looks so devout... Is this his first time praying?"
"So young, and this young man has such a handsome face...?"
"Dressed so magnificently, he must be a noble."
"Do you think he will receive the Goddess's blessing and title?"
"It's very unlikely... to get the title upon the first prayer, one has to be one in a thousand... but he is so good looking!"
The female believers below whispered among themselves, all discussing An Su in front of the statue, especially the young girls who blushed slightly at the ears as they gazed at An Su's delicate profile.
An Su paid no heed to these noisy voices, immersing himself entirely in communication with the statue of the Goddess.
As the saint's mark gradually activated, holy and glorious voices echoed in An Su's ears.
A smile formed on the corners of An Su's mouth.
[An Su]
[Magic Points: 3]
[Prospective Saint]
[Current Faith Points: ＋15 (Elimination of twenty first-order believers of the Mother Goddess, one third-order priest)]
[Prospective Saints are eligible to exchange for low-level blessings or add points to their body]
Indeed!
He felt a joy akin to a bountiful harvest.
The twenty-one cultists he sacrificed were considered faith points in the eyes of the Radiant Sacred Church.
He had only sacrificed once, yet he could receive rewards twice: once from the Mother Goddess and once from the Radiant Sacred Church.
This was the ultimate school that An Su had researched—The Light and Dark Priesthood School!
It was the upgraded version of his sixteenth-loop Life Sacrifice School.
By joining the Radiant Holy See and becoming a saint, he qualified to exchange for blessings, while also catching cultists to sacrifice to the Mother Goddess. On the one hand, the Mother Goddess received the dark sacrifice and would bestow An Su with her divine blessings.
On the other hand, by eliminating the evil cultists for the Radiant Holy See, erasing the darkness, the Radiant Goddess would offer another round of divine blessings.
Believing in the Holy Light ≠ Not sacrificing.
His vow to Luojia was 'never again to sacrifice the innocent,' not to cease all sacrifices!
Are cultists innocent people?
They are not.
Besides, An Su wouldn't sacrifice common folks as they hardly contain any dark elements.
Of course, he would target whoever was darker!
By merging the Life Sacrifice School with the Witch-Hunting Saint School,
A so-called win-win situation was achieved.
The Mother Goddess wins once, the Radiant Goddess wins once,
And An Su wins twice!