Chapter 1187: Chapter 935 Faith
Although the number three years was fabricated by Long Yi, he too wanted to buy himself some more time. Whether it was the soldiers of the two great Empires training for the construction of the Divine Armor, the research on the Cosmic Accelerator, or even Landers’ research on Reverse Summoning, all these things needed time. What Long Yi was least afraid of now was the start of war, because he was certain he could win. But what would happen after winning? As long as he hadn’t found a way to enter the middle Plane, it would be a loss for Long Yi.
Long Yi taught Elma a magic system that was a hybrid of White Dragon Empire magic and some Giant magic. He meticulously selected some knowledge that appeared complex and could genuinely enhance Mana effectiveness to impart to Elma. Poor Elma had no idea just how many detours he had taken to learn this knowledge because he was constantly immersed in the joy of his ever-increasing abilities.
Indeed, compared to before, his strength was always improving, and it was improving every day. This gave him tremendous confidence. In his view, it wouldn’t be long before Long Yi would no longer be his match.
While playing the role of an Ascender and mentoring Elma, Long Yi was also doing something else, cultivating followers.
As his leading disciple, Simon was almost overflowing with gratitude as he actively spread the tales of the Ascender on behalf of Long Yi. His power, his compassion. Soon, he had quickly amassed another group of followers for him.
And this time, there was no voice of chaos within.
The reason was simple, Long Yi didn’t arrange for those who would stir up trouble.
Indeed, those people back then had their minds influenced by the machinations of Solis. Greed and lust were already hidden in their hearts, and the God Chasers amplified this greed and lust to the extreme. Once magnified to a certain extent, greed and lust would dominate their actions.
Solis, having been unused for quite some time, worked especially hard this time. He planned rigorously for every detail, ensuring a flawless execution, and the outcome was naturally praiseworthy.
The followers began spontaneously spreading the notion to everyone around them: As long as you believe in the Ascender, the Ascender will sense it, and you will gain the Ascender’s power. At first, these words were dismissed as nonsense by most, but what happened next took everyone by surprise.
One day, some followers were usual in proclaiming the Ascender. A group of youths gathered around, shouting and swearing at the followers. These young people had friends or relatives who had been affected by the chaos of the previous incident, some injured, others losing their lives, so opposed to the Ascender, they were filled with hostility.
"You say, as long as you believe in the Ascender, you can gain power?" a young man stepped forward and asked.
"Yes, exactly that," a follower seriously replied.
"Then where is your power? Show me," the young man demanded, glaring.
"Our faith is not yet strong enough, not enough to gain favor from the Ascender. Only when our faith is steadfast enough, will the consciousness of the Ascender naturally be with us," the follower explained.
"Hahaha! Such an absurd notion! With so many of you believers, has even one of you gained power?"
"Of course! A brother of mine..."
"Shut up! You poor fool! You’ve been deceived! All of you have been deceived! There is no Ascender at all! It’s all just a trick to fool people! A conspiracy by Long Yi!"
The moment these words were uttered, the believers nearly erupted in rage. Mana boiled, and in an instant, tensions were at a breaking point.
But the leading follower stopped them.
"Be calm, my brothers. He is also our brother, just lost and confused now. Once he awakens, he will naturally repent for his disrespect towards the Ascender," the lead follower slowly said.
"Really? Have you noticed? We outnumber you. If we attack now, will you run away scared? Or will you wait honestly for the power of the Ascender that doesn’t even exist to save you?"
Hearing the young man say this, the followers at the back became even more agitated, but the lead follower slowly stepped out and held them back.
"I will bear all your hostility alone. I will prove it to you with my faith," he said.
Boom!
No sooner had he spoken than a magic missile had already struck him.
"Brother! Brother!"
The followers behind him immediately wanted to rush forward.
"Don’t come over!" the follower shouted, blocking them, "My faith is impregnable!"
More spells rained down, and the follower stood his ground, unwavering. Without even activating a magic shield, his skin split open, his body mangled and bloody. Yet he remained standing, his gaze fixed resolutely on the young people before him.
"I thought you might be impressive, but you’re just a fool," after a barrage of spells, the young men didn’t dare to actually kill someone and stopped.
But just then, a red glow suddenly emerged all over the believer’s body! It was the unique radiance of an Ascender!
Suddenly, a sound like a bell tolling came from the sky, followed by a series of runes appearing within the blurred, bloodied body. In the blink of an eye, the wounds healed completely, and the tattered clothing burnt to ashes amidst intense flames. The twisting runes astonishingly formed a robe made entirely of runes on his body! The red glow on the rune robe flickered with his breathing, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.
"This is... the power of an Ascender! My faith has been recognized by the Ascender!" the believer exclaimed excitedly.
The energy emanating from the rune robe was far greater than any challenge these young troublemakers could pose; even facing such power was immensely pressurizing!
"Bastards! It’s all a sham!"
The young man roared furiously, unleashing a powerful beam. However, the moment the magic hit the rune robe, it was instantly devoured by the twinkling runes, and simultaneously, a lethal beam was reflected right back at its source. The youth hadn’t even time to react before a large hole appeared in his chest.
"Ah... why bother with this." The lead believer walked over, casting a spell to stop the bleeding.
"The power of the Ascender far exceeds your understanding. This time, I changed the direction of the beam at the last moment. Hence, it missed your head, but next time I will not do the same. The dignity of the Ascender is not to be challenged; remember that."
The young man was quickly taken away by his friends, but the miracle that had suddenly occurred made everyone aware of one thing: Faith is strength.
And such events were still unfolding.
Later on, Long Yi gathered the first thirteen, including Simon, around him and named them the Thirteen Apostles.
Yes, that was Long Yi’s purpose.
And these thirteen weren’t randomly chosen; they were all personally selected by Solis, meant to represent the Ascender throughout the Ancient Mage Tower to spread his will.
Elma knew about these things early on but remained uninvolved and indifferent. In his view, this was just the old man Ascender’s eccentric hobby. Let him do whatever he pleases, as long as one can become stronger.
Indeed, Elma had truly grown stronger, and he didn’t need any comparison to feel his own power.
"I believe that now, you can have a small fight with one of Little Zi’s avatars," Long Yi, posing as the Ascender, said suddenly one day to Elma.
"Just one of Little Zi’s avatars?" Elma was slightly dissatisfied. Little Zi was Long Yi’s maid, a bonded servant, but could her avatar be that strong?
"Yes, in my opinion, you have reached such strength, but I think it’s just enough for a fight, albeit hardly a victory," Long Yi said.
"Heh, teacher, you seem to underestimate your student," said Elma, now considering himself a student of the Ascender, a status higher than the Thirteen Apostles.
"Do not underestimate one of Little Zi’s avatars; if that avatar’s full power were to erupt..." Long Yi didn’t finish the sentence, leaving room for the imagination.
"What a pity there’s no chance. If given the opportunity, I would definitely prove my strength to you, teacher. Not just one of Little Zi’s avatars, even if Little Zi herself came here, she might not be my match," Elma said.
At that moment, Elma could vividly feel his own strength. However, he did not become so arrogant as to place himself in Long Yi’s position, after all, Long Yi had risen to a power far beyond his own level.
"Opportunity, I can find for you. But if you cannot deal with it cautiously, death will quickly come to you,"
Long Yi said.
"Teacher! Do you mean you have a way for me to fight them?" Elma asked in surprise.
"Yes, but it will depend on your courage. Because even if it’s just one of Little Zi’s Female Demon avatars, it still means formidable combat power!" Long Yi said.
"Let me go, teacher! I will prove my strength to you!" Elma said excitedly.
Long Yi thought that if the learning process was just dull and dry, Elma would soon grow bored. Thus, he specially set this stage for Elma to inspire his spirit. Long Yi’s method was simple and direct; recently, Little Zi had sent three Female Demon avatars to the Stellar Realm Arena to compete individually, purportedly to gain practical experience—a move that certainly had its effects. After all, these Female Demon avatars began as delicate girls, and after transforming into Female Demons, they only relied on their innate instincts to harm, having very limited combat ability. Little Zi learned a great deal about combat from Long Yi, and through shared knowledge, the Female Demons acquired it, but applying this knowledge in real combat required a process.
And now, participating in the Arena was precisely this process.(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or a monthly ticket at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
