I, Lord of Prayer

Obsidian round table meeting room. ☠🐲 💝🐻 Google search for more information.

Zhou Chen conjured a wishing bottle and placed it on the table, counting the number of stars inside.

—Fifteen pieces.

There were originally ten stars. Two were used to learn alchemy, one was used to wish for Lin Ya to recover her health, and the other party provided two more stars after she came to understand the concept of "salvation".

These are nine.

Zhou Chen speculated that the remaining six coins came from his helping Lin Ya uncover the truth about the strange illness, helping her get rid of the illness and letting her destroy the curse herself, as well as satisfying her obsession with being saved by the gods.

This was also the first time he had ever received so many wish points from someone at once. It was hard to imagine how much pain and torment Lin Ya had suffered over the years to be so eager to be redeemed.

"Abyssal Spells... It seems the deaths of Lin Ya's family members back then were very suspicious. Someone secretly targeted the followers of the Goddess of Life. Was it an enemy or the Abyssal Church? It's strange. Even if the Church of Life didn't notice in time, as a believer, Lin Ya's mother should have had time to contact the church or the Star Society for help. At the very least, her father could have gone to seek help..."

Zhou Chen's thoughts raced, and he felt that the various reasons behind it must be very complicated. Just thinking about Lin Ya's fanatical demeanor made him feel a bit overwhelmed.

"A believer...?"

He tapped the round table lightly and muttered to himself, "Developing followers is indeed beneficial to me, but the only problem is that if there are too many people, there is a possibility of being exposed. After all, I am only a first-order Ascended Being and do not have the great power of a god..."

Moreover, even a fifth-tier Ascended Being who wants to form a church must go through layers of approval from the Star Council; otherwise, it would be considered an illegal religious group and would be severely cracked down on…”

After some thought, Zhou Chen came to a conclusion. ☠🐲 💝🐻

—It's possible, but not right now.

"Perhaps we could start by organizing a small, secret gathering of Ascended Ones to exchange supplies and intelligence... That sounds promising, but we need to plan carefully. The people we bring in must be trustworthy, otherwise I'll be reported as an evil god, and I might even be caught red-handed by Jiang Che..."

Only now did Zhou Chen begin to feel mentally exhausted.

The restoration of his soul enhanced his mental strength and extended the time he could remain in this mysterious space.

Before leaving, Zhou Chen looked around at the place he had built not long ago.

In this space, the wishing fountain is the only creation. He cannot control it, nor can he hide it, so he simply built a second floor on top of the fountain. Anyway, once the door is locked and the windows are closed, no one can tell that he has been pulled into a closed and mysterious space.

He calls this place the Round Table Council.

He originally wanted to name it the Round Table Hall, but then he remembered that in the game, the Round Table Hall would wipe out the entire party, so he changed his mind—it was bad luck…

He had actually considered turning it into a fire-lighting ritual site, but the various procedures were too complicated, and there wasn't enough space here, so he had to give up.

·

After his consciousness returned to reality, Zhou Chen meditated for half an hour to recover his energy.

Next, he plans to improve the quality of his soul by making a wish—this is related to advancement.

First-level ascendants can enhance their spiritual power through meditation and other methods, and will advance to the next level after reaching a certain point.

Since mental strength is linked to the quality of the soul to a certain extent, improving the quality of the soul is equivalent to improving mental strength.

Zhou Chen could actually wish to enhance his spiritual power, but comparatively, making his soul stronger would be the best choice, as that would be a more comprehensive improvement. ☜✌ 6❾ˢ𝐇Ǘ𝕩.ᑕ𝑜𝐦 ♠♔

  

He entered his spiritual world through deep meditation, gazing at the stars. Many star fields appeared as empty darkness, representing the incomplete parts of his soul.

"I wish to improve the quality of my soul." He made the wish without much hesitation.

As the stars merged into the soul, the entire spiritual world brightened slightly in the next second, and the light emitted by those stars seemed even more dazzling.

Zhou Chen carefully sensed that if this were a game, the words "Soul Quality +1, Mental Power +1, Source Capacity +1" would definitely pop up above his head.

Then, he made a wish with nine stars, which improved the quality of his soul nine more times.

In the spiritual world, the stars twinkled and became even more dazzling, but there seemed to be a long way to go before advancing to the next level.

Advancing to the next level is by no means easy, especially since his soul is still in a fragmented stage.

The good news is that improving the quality of one's soul can alleviate the torment of emptiness caused by a flawed soul.

Secondly, his source mass capacity, or blue bar, has finally returned to the level of a normal Ascended being. Congratulations!

Finally, its extraordinary abilities were also enhanced to some extent, resulting in higher temperatures and greater destructive power.

If he were to unleash his full power now, he could burn his entire body with azure flames and be himself amidst the fire.

"I have five stars left. I'll save them for now, just in case I run out at a crucial moment..."

Zhou Chen muttered to himself as his consciousness returned from the mental world to reality, and then he heard his phone vibrate on the bedside table.

It was a list of prohibited items that Jiang Che had sent.

"It's finally here."

He felt a surge of excitement and rubbed his hands together with a joyful expression.

Let me see which lucky person I'll choose...

·

at the same time.

Lin Ya, dressed in rags and with messy hair, looking like she had been homeless for a long time, arrived at the entrance of a welfare home and was stopped by the gatekeeper who was reading a newspaper at the door.

"Who are you?" The old man looked Lin Ya up and down warily.

Lin Ya timidly handed over a flyer, which was a job posting for a male employee.

"I saw...I saw they were hiring here...so I thought I'd give it a try..."

"Looking for work, huh?" The old man suddenly realized. "Then wait here for a while, I'll go and call the priest over."

"A priest?" Lin Ya was bewildered. Would there be a priest in an orphanage? This didn't seem to be an orphanage under the jurisdiction of any major church.

A short while later, the gatekeeper led a black-clad priest with European features out of the orphanage. The priest looked very old, with gray hair, but he was very robust, with a straight back, sharp eyes, and full of energy.

"This is Father Dawn," the doorman said.

Father Dawn's face was solemn, and his gaze was serious and critical as he scrutinized Lin Ya, causing her to lower her head, her fingers intertwined, trembling with nervousness.

Lin Ya mustered her courage and stammered, "I...I'm here for a job interview..."

Father Dawn nodded: "Come in first. You need to take a hot shower, and then we can talk about the job application."

I've taken a shower.

Lin Ya changed into a clean set of clothes, dried her hair, and after tidying it up a bit, it was clear that she had a good foundation.

She went to the backyard of the orphanage and saw Father Dawn watering the vegetables planted in the yard.

"Introduce yourself first," Father Dawn said without turning his head.

"My name is Lin Ya, I'm seventeen years old..."

"Seventeen?" Father Dawn interrupted her, turning back to ask with a puzzled look, "Shouldn't someone that age be in school?"

Lin Ya had no choice but to recount her past, but she concealed many things. She didn't mention that her mother was a member of the Church of Life, that her strange illness was caused by a curse, or that she had just met the "Genius"...

"I see." Father Dawn was slightly moved. "In that case, you can stay here. Come with me, I'll arrange a job for you."

"Thank you..." Lin Ya smiled happily, finally no longer having to sleep on the streets or worry about food and clothing.

For the next half hour, Father Dawn introduced her to the children at the orphanage and showed her around the various locations: the dormitory, classroom, dining hall, study, and a prayer room.

Do you have a god you believe in?

In front of the prayer room, Father Dawn suddenly asked a question.

"I believe in the Genie..." Lin Ya thought to herself, shaking her head outwardly.

"I am a follower of the Dawn Church, and I believe in the sun of the past."

Father Dawn said solemnly, "If you are interested, you can go to the study and look at the relevant books."

"Okay." Lin Ya nodded, not refusing directly, because that would be very impolite. Besides, Father Dagen had only mentioned it briefly and had not forced anyone to proselytize.

To express her gratitude to Father Dawn, she decided to read some books on the subject when she had time, and then politely decline to preach, citing her lack of interest, since she already had a God she faithfully believed in for the rest of her life.

That was her only light in the long darkness.