213: The devil can't tempt a determined me.

Noon.

After finishing lunch with Old John, Little Fatty watched his retreating figure and said solemnly:

"Spu, your talent is slightly higher than mine, but during the Regularization Ceremony three months from now, I will definitely surpass you by a wide margin. I'm telling you this now so you don't get too surprised when I leave you in the dust, hmph."

Xu Le couldn't be bothered to respond. Just as he was about to return to his dorm to look at the Spells, he heard Little Fatty's angry voice: "Fine, fine, how dare you show such disdain for me! I will make sure you live your entire life in the shadow of the Legendary Priest, Hodge Lin John!"

Xu Le: "..."

Forget it. Idiotic youths have plenty of joy; let him be!

...Evening.

Xu Le took out the Holy Light Illumination and began to study it.

Although he was already a god, he had never relied on himself to Cultivate a certain Spell, making the experience somewhat novel.

The reason for choosing the Illumination Spell was that it was the only Spell that did not require any Rank of faith.

[The god of light said, "Let there be light," and so there was light in the world. Holy Light is sprinkled on every corner of the world. Whether day or night, they are active between heaven and earth...]

There were large passages praising the light, but clearly, the light mentioned here was not visible light, but rather an element similar to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—Light.

There were also many half-true, half-false allusions, similar to 'Lying on the Ice to Seek Carp' or 'Weeping Bamboo Grows Shoots,' which advocated for sincerity leading to efficacy and infinite love.

Only at the end did Xu Le see three lines of incantation and a hand gesture.

[Child of Light wandering between heaven and earth, in the name of the god of light's Servant of God, I command you, shine!]

Xu Le finished reciting, and felt Spu's Soul resonate with the unseen existence between heaven and earth. Immediately after, a white orb of light blossomed from his right index finger.

The light orb only lasted for three seconds, and afterward, he felt completely exhausted, but this also meant that he had learned a Skill purely through his own ability.

As long as he possesses Mana, this duration can be extended, and it won't drain the strength from his Physical Body.

"Wait, my dignified Divine-Grade Soul can only last for three seconds?"

"No, my Divine Soul didn't sense any reduction at all. Everything consumed just now was Spu's Soul Power and Physical Body strength."

"How is this Possession? It's clearly controlling a game character. Even if those Angels jump out, they won't be able to detect me."

"What kind of ability is this? A coincidence, or a trick left behind by the God of Death?"

"Should I just run away?"

In the end, Xu Le chose to give up.

If this were before, he might have chosen to flee immediately, but having witnessed Spu's misfortune, he could only conclude that Angels only existed in fiction; the Angels here were not so reasonable.

The next day.

Over 30 Acolyte Priests gathered in the Church and began to pray to the god of light under the leadership of Priest Barton.

Xu Le gave a slight guidance, then allowed Spu to follow the crowd in Prayer.

Whoosh!

After the Prayer was finished, brilliant white light erupted from Xu Le's body.

The white light surged madly into Xu Le's body, like a child returning to its mother's embrace.

Those were Light Elements.

Passing through all his Meridians, they finally took root in his Dantian, forming a drop of Mana.

Barton excitedly ran to Xu Le's side: "Priest Spu, congratulations! From this moment on, you are no longer a lowly Mortal."

Xu Le: "..."

This flattery was quite "fresh and unconventional." While everyone felt awkward, they were also deeply encouraged. Without waiting for Barton's further encouragement, they consciously devoted their entire minds to the task.

Little Fatty was even more serious than he was when eating a chicken drumstick.

"You are the only one, you are eternal... You created heaven and earth, you connect the past and the future... You hold a promising future. Embrace the Light, praise the Light, believe in the Light..."

Although he recited the Prayer in his mouth with all his might, he still couldn't help but pause. It hurt, it hurt too much!

It felt as if a stick was stirring his brain. Every line of the Prayer stirred it once, and each stir hurt more than the last.

But he endured, bearing the risk of his brain being scrambled, and finally finished reciting the Prayer once.

Whoosh!

White light also lit up on Little Fatty's body, and he gained one drop of Mana.

But he felt no joy at the moment, only more pain, as if two ounces of grease had been scraped off his brain. The only thing he remembered was the Light.

It wasn't just Little Fatty; the other Acolyte Priests were the same, reciting the Prayer while grimacing in pain.

"Is this Prayer really just a Prayer?"

"Why didn't I feel the slightest bit of pain?"

"Could it be..."

Xu Le considered that the biggest difference between Spu and the others was that he, the controller, possessed a Divine Soul, but he quickly dismissed this option. He was currently controlling Spu like a game character; Spu's actions were not influenced by his Mana or Divine Soul.

Therefore, the difference between him and the others was that his Soul had been completely purified by Holy Light.

"Does it stop hurting once the Soul is completely purified?"

"No, Barton's Soul hasn't been completely purified, so this Prayer must be transforming the Souls of the congregation, making them more suitable for Cultivating Light Spells."

"This god of light isn't bright at all; he's too wicked!"

After one Prayer session, Xu Le gained six drops of Mana. Besides him, only Little Fatty gained a little Mana; the rest failed due to the pain.

Even Little Fatty, after succeeding once, could no longer bear the pain and spent the rest of the time resting while praying.

Time flowed by.

A month passed in a flash.

During this time, Xu Le leveled up to Rank 5 through the Prayers of his believers.

Besides the Devout Believers in the Contract Space, there seemed to be many other believers whose Rank was not high, but their numbers were considerable.

He had also advised Little Fatty to switch to Cultivating as a Knight, but the results were not ideal.

Tomorrow would be the first test of their Cultivation achievements.

If someone was exceptionally outstanding, they could even be promoted to Official Priest ahead of schedule.

Bang, bang, bang... The door was knocked.

Xu Le opened the door and found that it was Little Fatty.

After failing to convince him to switch to Cultivating as a Knight last time, he had deliberately distanced himself from Xu Le, claiming he wanted Xu Le to live in his shadow.

"Spu, tomorrow is the day to witness the great Priest Hodge Lin John embark on his legendary path. Accept your fate..."

As he spoke, Little Fatty's voice abruptly stopped. He pointed at Xu Le's desk and asked, "What is that?"

"Spell Books," Xu Le replied.

"I know they're Spell Books, but why are there so many? Holy Light Healing Spell! Oh god, 30 Gold Coins each! How did you get them?"

"god of light above! This is the Guard of Light!!! I remember it costs 1,200 Gold Coins to buy, right? Devil! You bought it now, but you can't even learn it yet! If you gave me 1,200 Gold Coins..."

"No! Devil, Devil, don't try to tempt my firm will..."

Little Fatty's expression shifted erratically. After a full 0.1 second, his eyes turned green, like a man who hadn't seen a woman in ten years suddenly spotting a peerless beauty.

"Spu, the great Legendary Priest Hodge Lin John is currently lacking some funds. If you just give me 30—no, 300 Gold Coins—I can start a legendary life, and I'll give you the position of Cardinal later..."

Xu Le suddenly felt he was worrying needlessly. The wicked god of light still hadn't managed to change the Chuunibyou Soul.

Little Fatty suddenly knelt down and hugged Xu Le's thigh: "My brother, Spu, your generosity will be spread throughout the world, your..."

"Stop! You have 30 seconds left," Xu Le said.

"Lend me 30 Gold Coins so I can learn the Holy Light Healing Spell. I'll pay you back when I make money."

"No! I have a test tomorrow too!"

Xu Le closed the door without hesitation.

His Spell Books were all obtained for free. All books belonging to the Holy See could only be read by himself; otherwise, he wouldn't mind giving them to Little Fatty.

In his space, he lacked neither gold nor food, but currently, he lacked a means of laundering the money, so even he couldn't use it.