312: Candidate priest

She tilted her head to look at Chen Yu, the gaze beneath her hood filled with approval. "Why haven't you paid your respects to the Lord yet?"

[Oh ho, the White-Haired Loli's acting is not bad!]

Chen Yu gritted her teeth and said timidly, "Greetings... greetings to Lord Angmar."

"Hmm."

Angmar's tentacles retracted, wrapping around its own neck. "Mordecai says you are pure human flesh and blood, but contain refined energy..."

Its compound eyes narrowed, the crystalline spots gathering into two lines of blood, "Let me see where this energy actually comes from."

As soon as the words fell, a ray shot out from its compound eyes, grazing Chen Yu's ear and pinning into the wall.

The tumor on the wall burst open, and the splattered flesh and blood solidified in the air in a bizarre manner.

It transformed into a palm-sized flesh worm, buzzing as it flew toward Angmar, only to be coiled by its tentacles and swallowed.

Chen Yu was stiff with fear, the burnt smell of the ray's scorching still lingering by her ears.

Shang Wan Ning remained motionless, as if that attack had just been a passing breeze.

"They are uncut gems that Shadow Erosion found in the mortal world. They are unpolished, but favored by the mother of flesh and blood, and are naturally compatible with the power of flesh and blood."

"If they can stay in Wormrock City to be polished, they will surely become sharp blades under your command in the future."

Angmar fell silent.

The pulsing sound beneath the flesh carpet gradually slowed, and the tentacles on the dome stopped dripping mucus.

Its compound eyes swept across the faces of Shang Wan Ning and the others in turn, finally settling back on Mordecai.

"Mordecai."

"Subordinate is here." Mordecai bowed deeper, his white bones almost sinking into the flesh carpet.

"You have performed a meritorious service in making this recommendation." Angmar's tentacles pointed toward a pillar beside the throne.

Hanging on it was a necklace made of skulls, with ghostly blue flames dancing in the eye sockets of each skull.

"Take the 'Bone Fire Chain'. From now on, you may mobilize thirty percent of the flesh artisans in the Gray Mist Territory."

A burst of ecstatic red light erupted from Mordecai's white bone eye sockets. He knocked his head heavily, the impact against the flesh carpet making a thumping sound.

"Thank you, Lord, for your grace. This Subordinate will surely give his all for the mother of flesh and blood and for you."

Angmar no longer looked at him, its compound eyes locking onto Shang Wan Ning again: "Shadow Erosion, since you are willing to serve the mother of flesh and blood, leave your 'mark'."

The muscles on the side of the throne churned, revealing a recessed bone slot, "Drip your blood into it, and from now on, you are a part of Wormrock City."

Shang Wan Ning looked at the deep bone slot, and the withered hand in her sleeve slowly raised. Beneath her hood, the corners of her lips curled into a faint arc.

[Finally, they are handing me the key.]

The moment the blood bead fell into the bone slot, the flesh and blood of the entire great hall began to hum.

Angmar's compound eyes flickered slightly, and it laughed: "From this day on, you are a Candidate Priest of Wormrock City."

[It's settled, a meteoric rise.]

"Thank you, City Lord Angmar."

...

Wormrock City, City Lord's Mansion.

The welcome banquet was held in the side hall of the City Lord's Mansion. Glowing tumors were embedded in the flesh walls, and wriggling blood-colored organs were placed on the tables.

Just as Shang Wan Ning sat down in the seat for the Candidate Priest, a cold snort came from the side of the main seat.

"An outsider, a black mage, what right do you have to sit on equal footing with me?"

The speaker was an old man wearing a Candidate Priest robe, with a string of blood beads the size of baby fists hanging around his neck.

He was a veteran of Wormrock City, a senior Candidate Priest named Karon, who was said to have served the mother of flesh and blood for one hundred and eighty years.

"Lord Angmar must have gone soft again." Karon tapped his stone bowl with a bone spoon.

"Letting a mage of unknown origin become a Candidate Priest? Priest Mordecai, you dare to stuff someone you recommended into the mother god's hall?"

Mordecai's face turned pale green, and he was just about to scold the clueless thing.

Karon had already swept his gaze toward Shang Wan Ning, the contempt in his eyes almost overflowing.

"Shadow Erosion, do you know the rules for the priests of Wormrock City? Do you know how to refine the power of flesh and blood? Don't tell me you couldn't survive among the humans and came here to freeload."

A burst of low laughter sounded around them.

Several stewards who were on good terms with Karon joined in the jeering, their eyes full of anticipation for a good show.

Shang Wan Ning slowly picked up a trembling organ with bone chopsticks, not looking up: "Rules, refining?"

[This old man must have lived too long; has his brain been soaked rotten by flesh and blood???]

[A high-level mage daring to provoke a Great Mage.]

"What, cat got your tongue?" Karon slammed the table and stood up, the hem of his priest robe sweeping across the table, knocking over several cups filled with blood plasma.

"I see you don't even know the most basic flesh and blood sacrifice. Do you dare to compete with me?"

"If you lose, get out of Wormrock City and never step foot in here again."

Angmar sat at the main seat, its compound eyes slightly closed, remaining silent—it was clearly tacitly approving of this provocation.

By using Shadow Erosion's hand, perhaps it could discipline these idiots who had been pampered for years.

Chen Yu clenched her fists and quietly tugged at Shang Wan Ning's sleeve. What she was thinking was: "Your Majesty, take him down. Big Sister is so cool!"

Shang Wan Ning put down the bone chopsticks, her spiritual sense sweeping across Karon from beneath her hood: "What are we competing in?"

"We'll compete in refining flesh and blood essence!" Karon waved his hand triumphantly. Behind him, attendants brought over two bronze basins filled with viscous black blood, with over a dozen bone fragments covered in hair soaking in them.

"This is the flesh and blood of human soldiers collected during yesterday's siege; it has the most impurities. Within half an hour, whoever refines the purer energy wins."

As he spoke, a dark red flow of energy surged from his palm and reached into the bronze basin. The black blood immediately began to boil, sizzling loudly.

The black impurities were stripped away, gradually condensing into a blood bead the size of a pigeon egg, emitting a pungent, fishy odor.

"Do you see that?"

Karon held the blood bead, showing it off, "This is the result of over a hundred years of experience. If you can achieve even half of this, I will acknowledge your qualifications."

[Heh, you dare to show off a provocation at a kindergarten level?]

Shang Wan Ning stood up and walked to the bronze basin.

She didn't even use black magic; she simply pressed her withered fingers lightly into the black blood.

A bizarre scene occurred.

The churning black blood seemed to have been combed through by hands; the impurities settled at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the bone fragments turned into ash.

In less than a minute, a glistening white bead floated up in the bronze basin, so pure that there wasn't a single trace of discoloration.

The overflowing energy fluctuation was more than ten times stronger than Karon's blood bead, and even the tentacles on the dome drooped slightly, as if touching it affectionately.

"This... this is impossible." The blood bead in Karon's hand shattered with a "pop".

He pointed at Shang Wan Ning, his voice trembling, "What forbidden technique did you use? How could the power of flesh and blood be this pure?"

Shang Wan Ning picked up the white bead and casually tossed it to the tumor lantern nearby.

The lantern lit up, and even the light became much softer.

"There are so many impurities because your faith is not pious enough."

"Having served the mother of flesh and blood for over a hundred years, you haven't even grasped the most basic concept of 'purity'. No wonder you can only be a stubborn old piece of trash."