Man on the ark, forced to become king

Lin Lu took out a palm-sized two-finger holy mark from her pocket and handed it over, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"...This is the key?"

Hearing Lin Lu say this, Chen was not angry at all. Instead, she felt a little proud. So it wasn't that she had a problem, but that her talent was so good that the teacher couldn't keep up with her pace and prepare her properly?

If that's the case, then her efforts these past few days haven't been in vain!

Seeing her holding the Holy Seal as if it were a precious treasure, Lin Lu couldn't help but secretly admire her own cleverness.

Saying the same thing in a hundred different ways, or retelling the same thing in different ways, makes it sound much better, doesn't it?

Chapter 101 Rebellious Girl Chen Huijie

Chen held the palm-sized holy mark and examined it closely. After looking at it for a long time, she couldn't find anything special about it. If she had to say, she felt that this thing was more like a slightly larger keychain.

The material... is probably iron? Or some kind of metal... anyway, it doesn't look very high-end. The shape is similar to a finger making a 'Y' shape, and it is engraved with many incomprehensible patterns, which seem to be some kind of writing. Other than that, there is nothing special about it.

Indeed, that was the case. The fingertip holy mark that Lin Lu took out was the lowest-grade prayer catalyst, which was originally intended for apprentices and had nothing special about it.

As a mass-produced product, this thing can be used to perform prayers and as a catalyst, but that's all it is. It doesn't offer any special advantages or benefits. Its greatest strengths are its mildness, mediocrity, and ease of control.

Prayer can actually be considered a kind of alternative spell, which has many similarities with the magic of mages and the combat skills of warriors. The only difference is the activation method—it requires 'faith'.

The power of faith, simply put, is a variant of the soul power of intelligent beings. The formless and intangible soul power is endowed with various tendencies, thus becoming different faiths. Prayer users use faith to connect with the various forces that already exist in the world, shaping and blending them into 'prayer'. In essence, it is the same path as a magician using magic, only the way it is expressed is different.

Magicians use staves as a medium for casting spells to communicate with external forces; the holy seal is the 'staff' of the prayer user, an essential key.

Without a holy seal, a normal person cannot perform prayer on their own. Just like a chef who is proficient in various cooking theories cannot cook porridge out of thin air, no matter how many ingredients are available, without a pot in hand. This is a necessary condition, and if you use it, you must abide by it.

Therefore, despite Chen's painstaking research into the Bloodflame Blade's Prayer technique for several days, he was unable to use it.

However, she was praying—at least in the Bloodflame Blade Prayer, her talent was undoubtedly exceptional, to the point of being a genius. She had mastered all the theories and details of using this prayer, and all she lacked was a key.

Now, Lin Lu has given her this key.

The little dragon man stood in the living room, holding his breath and concentrating, one hand holding a sword and the other hand gripping the Holy Mark on his finger, slowly tracing the blade.

Stab it!

Crimson flames suddenly ignited out of nowhere!

The crimson color gradually enveloped the blade, transforming the ordinary Royal Guard Bureau standard-issue sword into a burning, blood-red blade.

A success!

The longsword danced in the air, drawing a dazzling arc. Chen observed his masterpiece with delight, feeling extremely excited.

So many years! So many years! Chen Huijie has finally used magic once through her own efforts! This is a breakthrough from zero!

God knows how she's been all these years. Back at the Victoria Royal Guard Academy, she watched helplessly as her classmates, who were proficient in Originium Arts, used all sorts of spells. Didn't she envy them?

I am so envious!

No matter what, she was a normal teenage girl, and naturally she longed for things that looked cool, even if she didn't say it.

Compared to the dazzling Originium magic, her dry swordsmanship was hardly entertaining at all; just looking at it, it seemed inferior, but she had no choice.

Hundreds of attempts had ended in failure. Spells that were perfectly docile in the hands of others would inexplicably turn into uncontrollable, violent energy in her hands. Over time, even the school teachers became afraid of her and dared not bring her to the classroom where Originium Spells were taught, for fear that some accident would blow up the whole room of teachers and students. In the end, even she herself gave up the fantasy of using spells.

But! From today onwards, everything will be completely different!

She is also a sorcerer who can use magic!

Although this spell is different from traditional Originium Arts, and even its method of action is completely different, what does it matter? A spell that looks cool and can actually enhance melee damage, could there be one more suitable for her?

"Congratulations! See? I told you you were a genius and would definitely master the Bloodflame Blade. Isn't this a great success?"

Lin Lu glanced briefly at the blood flames burning on Chen's longsword and was quite satisfied with it.

The same prayer can have different effects when used by different people. Ultimately, both magic and prayer are just constructs of a framework. Once the framework is successfully built, the rest is up to the user to fill in and manipulate.

Chen's Bloodflame Blade is still quite lacking in quality, only at the beginner level, and its effectiveness is rather limited. However, as long as she persists in practicing, its effectiveness will become stronger and stronger, even to the point of being comparable to some powerful prayers. Given her talent, that is entirely possible.

If she continues at the pace of her prayer learning, it won't be long before the Bloodflame Blade will be able to exert considerable power in her hands. So... it seems like it's time to teach her the next lesson?

'But what should I teach?'

Lin Lu pondered for a moment, feeling conflicted. Sometimes, a student's exceptional talent can be a source of trouble for a teacher. According to his plan, Chen was supposed to wait several months until he could fully master the Bloodflame Blade before being qualified to learn the next type of prayer.

But to his surprise, she mastered it completely in just a few days. The rest was just a matter of time. As her teacher, he couldn't continue to ask Chen to practice the Bloodflame Blade for several more months, as that would be pointless.

To be fair, Lin Lu really didn't intend to hold back in teaching Chen. Since he had accepted the title of teacher, he had to do his best. He had many shortcomings, but there was one thing he always adhered to—that was keeping his promises. He would do whatever it took to keep what he promised others!

So... what should I teach?

Lin Lu's eyes darted around, her gaze settling on Chen's dashing figure as he sheathed his sword. After a moment's thought, she had an idea.

The Bloodflame Blade is an extension of attack power. Chen, who is used to melee combat and has practiced swordsmanship for more than ten years, is not suitable to switch to a ranged profession. Since that's the case, he might as well put all his energy into the melee path.

What is most important for melee classes?

Lin Lu could answer this question without even thinking about it—the most important things are attack power and defense power. Now that the attack power is there, the next step is to improve the Little Dragon's defense power, and the latter is even more important.

From a weakling to someone whose power didn't even fade like a witch, Lin Lu had endured countless hardships and faced numerous life-or-death battles in the borderlands, making him a highly qualified person to speak on this matter.

In his understanding, no matter how fancy the attack is, it is secondary. Only by being physically strong and having strong skills can you deal damage and be the last one standing!

So what if the greatsword in your hand is so sharp that it can even harm gods?

Without a strong enough body and sufficient defense, you won't even have a chance to swing your sword when you encounter a truly powerful opponent. You'll be instantly killed in one move, and no matter how powerful your attack is, it will be useless.

Of course, skills honed through countless battles can make up for it to some extent, but that's not something you can acquire overnight. There are no shortcuts other than honing your skills through battle.

So, it wasn't hard to decide what to teach next—he would teach Chen's defensive type of prayer!

A powerful attack is not scary, nor is a strong physique. What is truly terrifying is a person who possesses both formidable offensive capabilities and an exceptionally resilient body!

How can you hit someone if you can't take a beating?!

When fighting against the demons and monsters in the border region, Lin Lu was well aware of this. Before each battle, he would eat and pray at the same time to maximize his buffs. As his disciple, Chen naturally had to inherit this glorious tradition.

However, there is still a question of whether Chen can actually learn it.

She's not qualified to learn special types of prayers like Giant's Prayer or Black Flame Prayer at her current level. She might not even be able to learn Golden Tree's Blessing or Ancient Dragon's Prayer. She's only just learned to walk and she's already thinking about running. She's too impatient.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Lin Lu quickly selected a defensive prayer that was suitable for Chen Qu to learn at this stage.

Two-finger prayer - restoration.

Two-finger prayer - magical protection.

Beast Priest's Prayer - Beast Firepower.

The Beast Priest prays: May the beast be strong.

These four prayers are relatively simple and don't have many requirements. As long as you study hard, almost anyone can use them. They don't really test your talent. The key is that although they have a low barrier to entry, their effects are just as good.

"Thank you."

Sheathing his sword, Chen's excitement subsided slightly. Only then did he realize that his attire was somewhat indecent. He had been feeling frustrated earlier because he couldn't use his prayer technique, so he hadn't thought much about it and had just put on a shirt and shorts while lounging on the sofa, deep in thought. This kind of outfit was ultimately unacceptable in front of the opposite sex...

Thinking of this, Officer Long couldn't help but blush. His gaze darted around, and he hurriedly said something before running back to his house.

"..."

Lin Lu shook her head with amusement and sat down on the sofa. The soft, sunken sofa seemed to still retain the warmth of the girl's body and a faint fragrance, probably the scent of the shower gel.

It smells quite nice...

The decisive and efficient dragon police officer didn't keep anyone waiting for long. A few minutes later, the neatly dressed dragon girl hurriedly came out of the house, her face still flushed, her hands tightly clenched with the Holy Mark on her fingers. Almost without thinking, she subconsciously sat down in the empty seat on the sofa.

The sofa in this apartment wasn't very big; it could only accommodate three people sitting side by side at most. When she sat down, the sofa immediately sank inwards, and the two of them were suddenly very close, almost touching.

"..."

Chen's blush deepened, feeling a little embarrassed, but too ashamed to do anything unnecessary, she could only pretend to be nonchalant and try to maintain a calm expression before asking, "Teacher, shall I continue studying the Bloodflame Blade?"

This attitude is completely different from the serious and rigid Chen Huijie that others usually see. If someone saw this, they would probably be very surprised.

Undoubtedly, this is a sign of intimacy, and she would only show such a lack of vigilance in front of someone she trusts implicitly.

However, no one has been able to enjoy a state like hers for more than a decade.

Lin Lu was naturally unaware of this, but he was still quite pleased and nodded with a smile: "You can't neglect the study of the Bloodflame Blade. Your prayer is only the beginning. To truly unleash its full power, you need to practice diligently. However, you can't neglect other areas either. You don't need to put all your energy into one type of prayer. With your talent, you are already qualified to explore the next type of prayer."

"real?!"

Upon hearing this, Chen's eyes lit up, and he showed a surprised expression.

If it were anyone else, even Wei Yanwu's praise, Chen wouldn't have taken it to heart, but hearing it from Lin Lu made her very happy.

Some words are said differently when they come from someone you care about.

"of course it's true."

Lin Lu smiled and extended her palm. Chen was a little confused, but after thinking for a moment, he understood. He hesitated for a moment and then put his hand, which was holding the Holy Mark, into her palm.

She remembered that when Lin Lu taught her the Bloodflame Blade before, she taught her in the same way, letting her feel the specific process of prayer through direct physical contact. This time should be the same, right?

Chen doesn't like having overly close contact with the opposite sex, but if the person is Lin Lu... she's not against it. Physical contact between teachers and students during teaching is quite normal... I guess?

"...What you will learn next is a kind of prayer that blesses the body. It can strengthen your physique to a certain extent and allow minor injuries and physical exhaustion from battle to recover quickly."

The prayer lesson was a theoretical knowledge instruction. Lin Lu only meant for her to hand over the holy seal. Unexpectedly, after letting down her guard, the slightly naive little dragon girl immediately came close and even took the initiative to hold the two of their hands together.

But who would dislike direct contact with a beautiful girl?