Soul Trigger

Chapter 633 Excitement
I am Odin.

These words struck him like a thunderbolt, leaving him completely stunned.

As a fanatic, what would be your first reaction if the person you truly believe in came before you?
"I must still be sleepy."

Jason immediately lay back down, ready to fall back asleep—

Get up, kneel down!

He sprang back to his feet, then slapped himself hard across the face. Confirming this wasn't a dream, he said tremblingly:

Did the Holy Father call me personally? But... how could that be?
How could a deity speak directly to believers? There's never been any record of such a thing in the family's records.

But if this voice really is the Father... wouldn't I be angering the gods if I didn't do as He said?
What should I do...?

"The world of the Awakened is more complex than you can imagine. If you encounter anything you can't understand or a situation you can't handle, first unleash your full spiritual power to enter combat mode, and then find an opportunity to call me."

In that moment of confusion, he remembered what Angelica Laurent had said to him earlier that day when she was "explaining" spirituality to him.

He instantly activated his spiritual energy, and with the power surging within him, he grabbed the phone beside him with almost lightning speed.

But the moment he made his move, he felt his power rapidly fading away.

He instantly felt like a mortal again and managed to grab his phone, but the strange sensation on his body prevented him from browsing his contacts.

As I pulled off my pajamas, I saw the "stigmata" flashing on my back in the mirror, which then completely disappeared within a few breaths.

The instant his pupils contracted, Jason believed it, and he fell to his knees with a thud.
"Great Holy Father, please forgive my ignorance! I repent to you!!!"

Sitting on the bed, Ji Li chuckled and covered her mouth.

Damn it, he'd done all sorts of things before, but he'd never pretended to be a charlatan before, which made him a little uneasy.

So what words should I use to maintain the grandeur of the gods? Ascension protocols without the necessary hardware can't do this.

Ji Li pondered briefly and decided to use the simplest method:

Speak less, and say less.

Responding to a believer's confession is something that sounds undignified no matter what you say, so the correct way to respond is:
Jansen, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly trembled as he felt his strength returning.

Looking up and turning around, I saw that the "stigmata" had indeed lit up again.

Now any doubt would be disrespectful to the gods. Since their power was bestowed by the Holy Father, the only being who could take back their power at any time must be the Holy Father.

He immediately launched into a tirade of prayers and thanks, rambling on and on, including a considerable amount of archaic English from the White Island that Ji Li found difficult to comprehend.

After muttering to himself for a while, Jason realized the Father had stopped moving. He opened his mouth to ask, but then immediately shut up.

The other party is a god, the father of all gods, the great Lord of Valhalla. Should I really ask such a stupid question as "What do you want from me?"
No, every action of the divine has its own meaning, including silence; He is testing me…

So I should think about it carefully first: why did He come to me?
Jason pondered for a moment, but as a sports student, his logical abilities weren't particularly outstanding. Seeing the silence growing longer and longer, he became increasingly anxious and finally spoke:

"Great Holy Father, did you choose me for the sake of the Holy Land?"

He felt the stigmata on his back heating up, so his answer was yes?
He had thought about it for a long time, and it wasn't without a result. His question was actually a clever trick; it was two questions in total.

One reason for receiving favor and power, and the other for the purpose of the gods, have now been answered.

The former, in particular, instantly excited Jason:

"Thank you, great Father! Where is your holy site now?"

If I knew, would I still need to play these tricks on you? Ji Li twitched the corner of his mouth.

Sensing no movement on his back, Jason understood that the Holy Father did not know where he was either, so the Holy Father meant that he hoped he would find the Holy Land.
But this also means that a very terrifying entity is hiding the sacred site, the location of which even the all-knowing Father of the Gods does not know:
"Will finding your holy site allow us to welcome your return?"

The stigmata were heating up, but this time it got hotter and hotter, instantly turning into high temperature.

Jason winced in pain and collapsed to the ground, begging for mercy.

"I repent! I shouldn't have tried to fathom your will! Great Father of the Gods, I repent to you!!!"

After a while, as his back gradually cooled, Jason breathed heavily, a sense of dread washing over him. He repeatedly reminded himself to remember the majesty of the gods and continued to ask questions:

"Holy Father, I need your guidance. How can I fulfill your divine decree and find the Holy Land?"

The next moment, accompanied by a burning sensation in his back, he heard a thunderous voice in his ear:

Angelica Laurent

[Yuk Museum Center High School]

[Maintaining confidentiality]

Jensen stared blankly:
Does this mean the key to finding the Holy Land lies with Ms. Laurent?

But how could Lady Laurent have any connection with the Holy Land? Obviously, that's not what the Father meant...

However, Ms. Laurent is investigating unusual events that occurred upstream, meaning that her investigation will involve the Holy Land.

What's truly connected to the holy site is the school...

As for the last point about keeping secrets, it is about firmly guarding the secrets of Odin's oracle.

After clearing his mind, Jensen bowed again:

“Great Holy Father, your faithful followers will follow your guidance…”

A slight warmth spread across his back, a sign of his response, and Jason let out a long sigh of relief.

Although he had just been punished, he had never imagined that Odin's voice would echo so clearly in his ears, which filled him with indescribable joy.

Grandpa said that He was already dead, so the Holy Land was very important to Him, and might be the key to His resurrection.

However, after contacting the altar twice, I was able to receive His divine pronouncements directly. Could it be that my actions of cooperating with Ms. Laurent in killing the blood bear pleased Him and even further revived Him?

In that case, may I ask him for a favor?
At that moment, he felt a slight pang in his heart, as if Odin was about to leave.

He immediately spoke:

“Holy Father, your believers are grateful for your guidance, but in order to fulfill your divine decree, I would like to ask for more blessings…”

Ji Li was about to leave when he saw this guy kneeling down again, begging for some favor, and he was speechless.
They haven't done anything yet, and they're already asking for rewards?

However, upon further reflection, he realized that the kid probably realized that the god's task would be difficult to complete, which was why he wanted to pray for more power to save his life.

With his current spiritual quality boost, he's only at the third level of a transcendent projection. If he uses the [Rune Sacrifice] circuit, he might be able to barely contend with a ruler, but that would cost him his life.

Even so, he was no match for the tomb keeper, and he couldn't guarantee that there weren't others coveting the sacred land behind the tomb keeper or elsewhere.

After all, this place is an important site that was suspected to have been buried by the Ludwig family, and there may be other dark forces behind the town.

So Ji Li manipulated the spiritual circuits on his back to generate heat, which was considered as his agreement.

Just as he was about to ask him to make time to go to the altar again, Jason's face lit up with wild joy, and he suddenly prostrated himself on the ground, saying:
"Thank you, Father! I want Anya Foster to love me with all her heart!"

Ji Li's mind went blank for a moment, and he almost lost his composure:
what did you say?
Seeing Jason begin to pray devoutly, Ji Li lost her temper, rolled her eyes, and ended her act of pretending to be a shaman.
[Recite it to me every night late at night.]

This guy is really deeply in love.

The next day, on the way to school with Ji.

"What??? He prayed to God for something like this???"

Anya looked disgusted.

"What a disgusting guy!"

Ji Li, enjoying the breeze, listlessly scrolled through her phone.

"Weren't you quite interested in him before I came?"

"I must be blind!"

The high school students in Red Maple Town don't have a broad perspective; their discussions mostly revolve around celebrities, internet personalities, and various entertainment products. In reality, their lives revolve around everything in Red Maple Town and Yuke High School.

For example, so-and-so is in a relationship.

That lady's cat is so cute.

The famous brand XX opened a specialty store in the town.

Who was your first time with, and how old were you?
And the way Jason, the captain of the school soccer team, scored his goal yesterday was absolutely awesome.

"To be honest, if you think about it, Jason not only scared me by putting toads in my drawer when we were kids, but he also made fun of me for being fat with other boys in high school..."

Damn it, I actually think he's cool because he plays soccer!

Ji Li looked up: "Is that your sister in front of you?"

Anya, who was grumbling, took a closer look and it really was true—

Sally Foster was standing on the roadside, leaning on her cane, waving at the two of them.

Anya stopped at the roadside looking annoyed, while Sally immediately flashed a bright, youthful smile and greeted Ji Li:
Good morning, Pulitzer!

Ji Li raised his hand:

"Good morning."

Anya looked displeased.

"Where's your car?"

Sally: "It's been sent for repair. Aren't you going to ask me to come up?"

Anya tossed her bag onto the back seat:
"Sorry, the seats are full."

Then he stepped on the gas and left Sally standing there.

Facing the wind blowing through the convertible, Ji Li glanced at Anya:

"Is this really okay? She's still your sister, and she's injured."

"Hmph, she only came for you! As for the injuries, do you think I didn't know Angelica secretly treated you all? What a liar!"

Ji Li glanced at her own left arm, which was also wrapped in gauze.

Although Angelica treated both him and Sally and discharged them early, gauze was still wrapped around his arm to avoid any unnecessary sensationalism.

The gravedigger didn't move all night; instead, he was making some strange preparations.

He was holding a severed limb that appeared to be a byproduct of the evil entity, and it seemed he was turning it into some kind of spiritual tool, which would likely take some time.

It is certain that the gravedigger has decided to start with the sailing competition, and I can follow up appropriately.

However, Aiquier is a participant in the sailing competition, so to prevent this girl from getting involved, we need to find a way to get her to withdraw.

Although she was also an Awakened, she was better off not getting involved in unusual events like those involving the Gravekeeper and the Knights.

The following day, besides attending classes and exercising with Anya, Jason and Angelica's day also went smoothly.

Jason expressed his desire to participate in the investigation to Angelica.

Angelica initially disagreed, but Jansen persuaded her with reasons such as Odin's faith and the local people, which allowed Ji Li's little pawn to successfully infiltrate Angelica's knight squad.

The team consists of three people, including Angelica.

Apart from Angelica, who is suspected to be a fifth-tier ruler, the other two are fourth-tier rulers, which is not considered a high level.

After confirming the number of Awakened individuals in the town's high school, Angelica briefly contacted both Jason and Aquil.

All those involved in the incident were required to sign confidentiality agreements and receive a sum of money as a form of compensation.

Since the Blood Bear's anomaly wasn't particularly alarming, the Knights' squad didn't need to resort to special spiritual methods to deal with ordinary people's witnessing it.

Then they disappeared for a whole day, searching and interviewing people throughout the town.

He reappeared at school a day later.

According to Ji Li's observations and Jansen's report, Angelica did not reveal much about the Green family or the Odin faith within the team.

Clearly, she had no intention of getting involved in the local history of the Awakened, but was focused on her own mission, and discovered traces of unusual spiritual energy on the riverbank, which seemed to have come from upstream.

This made Angelica extremely cautious, and she intended to persuade the town to cancel or postpone the sailing race, since the race was taking place on that great river.

This is the first time Red Maple Town has hosted a county-level competition, and Anya's father attaches great importance to it. He has not only sent invitations to many town officials, but also secured local investment from the local steel mill for the competition.

Let alone cancel it, the time cannot be changed.

Because of the mayor's rank, directly revealing spiritual qualities required reporting to higher authorities. Angelica, who did not receive a reply immediately, could only return to Yuk High School the next day and make the same request to the school, which was still rejected.

With no other option, Angelica could only search throughout the town, hoping to find their mission objective before the sailing competition.

A spindle-shaped scale, an unnamed extraordinary mortise object, the root cause of the upstream murders.

They killed the possessed and corrupted human spirit, but lost the resting place.

Angelica, who arrived in Red Maple Town ahead of others, sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations throughout the town. She then went to the Yuk Museum Central School, the center of the town, to investigate all the teachers and students and see if they were similarly polluted as those upstream.

As for now, their investigation has also stalled. If no abnormalities are found in the next day, they must be declared a security incident and leave, as required by their superior, the Royal Assumption.

Because there are other anomalies in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Duke of Ludwig's mansion, it is necessary to allocate manpower to resolve them.

Upon discovering this situation, Ji Li believed that some external stimulus was necessary to intervene.

Disregarding the risks, he allowed Clementine, who still possessed the Gravekeeper's spiritual abilities, to leave spiritual clues at the Knights' next investigation location.

Then, a divine decree was immediately issued to Jensen, instructing him to find a reason to lead his knight squad directly to the Red Maple Town Cemetery and confront the gravedigger.

If the gravedigger is exposed, his spiritual essence will immediately match the characteristics of the Clementine copy that the knight squad investigated.

In this way, the existence of the gravedigger will be confirmed by the knight squad, and the two sides may even directly clash.

According to Ji Li's speculation, the tomb keeper should not die in a direct confrontation, but it will definitely spur him on, making him quicken his pace and use more radical methods to search for spiritual places.

However, this guy hid himself very well, and the Knights squad did not discover any clues from him.

But the gravedigger didn't dare tell the knight squad about the disappearance of his man, the town priest.

That would point the clues to the underground castle, which would be detrimental to his goal of getting rid of the knight squad.

Although it seems that Ji Li's goal has not been achieved, there is no doubt that the Knights' visit has spurred him to take further action.

After seeing off the knight squad and confirming their departure, the gravedigger returned to his hidden basement, set up a special spiritual array, and began to pray to the opposite side.

Clearly, that seemed to be a superior of the "Scarecrow" organization. Based on Ji Li's assessment of this small, secretive society, it was very likely the leader of the organization.

The gravedigger didn't seem to be good at spirit circuits, so his methods hit a bottleneck, making it impossible for him to complete the spirit communication item. Therefore, he chose to ask his superiors for help.

It was 3 p.m. on the school's outdoor soccer field.

Two football teams were battling it out, cheerleaders and spectators were cheering enthusiastically, and Ji Li, sitting in the stands, was looking at his wrist:

His superiors replied, instructing him to "transfer" the half-finished psychic artifact out, and that the completed artifact would be sent back to him by noon the next day.

At the same time, Ji Li also saw crucial information: the other party's superiors remotely issued orders through the spiritual energy circuit, urging him to find the spiritual land as soon as possible.

The teleportation ability appears to be stronger than the Gravekeeper's own "Scarecrow" ability.

The superior's final urging made Ji Li somewhat suspicious. Could it be that the tomb keeper was just a pawn, and the superior behind him was the one who truly held the World Tree mark?

At this moment, two dark figures appeared in front of Ji Li.

He looked up and saw Anya and Sally dressed in cheerleader outfits.

(End of this chapter)