On the Ark.

Eileen remained unresponsive, as if she were dead, but Lin Ye knew she was still alive and had feelings. It was precisely because of these feelings that she had fallen into such misfortune.

"Life is always painful, whether you are a child or an adult. But no matter what, you have to persevere. The darkest hour is before dawn, but as long as you get through this period, you will always see the sunrise."

Lin Ye didn't really know what he was saying. He was just trying to give Eileen some motivational advice, but whether it would work was another matter. Then again, he had read so much inspirational literature in his past life, but when it came to actually using it, he didn't know what to say. It was truly a headache.

Seeing that Eileen didn't respond, he had no choice but to leave. However, he didn't notice that when the eight of them were crammed into the tent earlier, Lin Ye had taken off [Maple] and placed it aside so as not to poke Chu Xue, who was standing nearby, and he hadn't taken it with him when he left.

After everyone except Eileen left the tent, Eileen slowly raised her head and immediately saw Maple not far from her. Without much hesitation, she reached out and took Maple.

A clear, resonant sound of a sword being drawn rang out.

Tears fell onto the blade.

……

Lin Ye stepped out of the tent and found Chuxue and Cliffheart waiting for him outside, along with Sussurro and Lappland. He didn't see SilverAsh and Horn Peak, who had probably already gone back.

"What's wrong?" Lin Ye walked towards Chu Xue and Ya Xin.

Chu Xue turned to look at Lin Ye and asked, "Are you really planning to help her?"

"if not?"

“If she really has important information, Goldman Ike still won’t let her go,” Chuxue said. “Tonight’s attack won’t be the last one either.”

“I know, but this is, after all, the city of Shelag. Even the Aiben family wouldn’t dare to act too recklessly,” Lin Ye said. “They can’t possibly send an entire assassination squad out to cause me trouble all at once.”

“That’s true, but you’re being far too stubborn.” Chu Xue sighed. “Are you really not afraid of losing your life? For you, losing your life in a place like this is far too unworthy. This isn’t even your country.”

"It's not that complicated," Lin Ye smiled. "I just found a girl here who needed my help, so I chose to help her. It's that simple."

Chu Xue looked at Lin Ye, remained silent for a while, and slowly said, "This may be the reason why the gods have chosen you. When I first heard White Owl talk about what you did on the island, I didn't quite believe it. How could there be someone like you? But now I believe it. You really are that kind of person."

"Hey, I already said I didn't... Wait, White Owl was talking about me?" Lin Ye immediately became alert. "Is she talking badly about me behind my back again?"

Is sleeping at work considered a bad thing?

"No, it's just slander."

Chu Xue smiled and said, "Then forget it."

The two looked at each other and smiled, and the atmosphere immediately became much more relaxed.

“Since you’ve made your decision, I can’t just stand by and do nothing.” Chuxue took out a bunch of worn-out keys from her pocket. “As the eldest daughter of the Shivaesh family, I can’t help you much, but as the saintess of Kalan, I think I can still do something.”

Lin Ye took the key from Chu Xue's hand and asked curiously, "What is this?"

“There are also temples in Shelag City that enshrine gods, and this is the key to one of them,” Chuxue said. “Although it’s a bit dilapidated inside, it’s still much better than you setting up a tent. Besides, it’s the gods’ territory. Even the Aiben family wouldn’t dare to make a move there, especially after the lesson learned from the Holy Road.”

"A temple? Isn't this a sacred place in your Shelag? Is it really okay for me to go?"

“If God hadn’t given you the [Maple], I wouldn’t have given you the key either,” Chu Xue said calmly. “In a sense, having received God’s token, you are now God’s agent.”

"what do you mean……"

“You are already the Holy Man of Kalan,” Chuxue said earnestly.

Lin Ye: "..."

……

After seeing Chu Xue and Ya Xin off, Lin Ye returned to the tent, but was shocked by what he saw as soon as he opened it.

Eileen held Lin Ye's "Maple" in her hand; the blade of "Maple" was stained with blood.

This was... suicide?

Lin Ye noticed the bloodstains on Eileen's neck and his eyes widened.

Eileen didn't die; she just sat in the corner, like a child who had lost everything, crying uncontrollably.

……

……

Author's Note: I've already updated 6,000 words today, which counts as one chapter made up for it. I still owe (37 + 6 - 1) forty-two chapters. Thank you to the author for the razor blades and the reward; one person's contribution points are almost equal to four "cute masters"... I'm amazed...

There will be another update in the early morning, but I advise everyone not to stay up to wait. You can wait until tomorrow.

By the way, there's only one day left for the razor blade bounty. It will be closed after I finish updating tomorrow. I currently owe a total of 42 chapters.

Chapter 275 Are you out of your mind?! Cut yourself! (41 chapters owed)

The next morning, as the sun rose, Lin Ye led Eileen and Lappland to the temple that Chuxue had mentioned. It was a rather old temple; the walls and wooden doors showed signs of age. When Lin Ye took out his key to unlock it, the snow on the lock fell away, revealing the rust inside, making Lin Ye wonder if the lock was still usable.

Fortunately, it can be driven.

After entering, Lin Ye said to Eileen, "Let's stay here for three days. After three days, we can leave and go to a place called Rhodes Island. Although I've said this many times before, I still want to say that the outside world is completely different from Kjerag. You can look forward to it."

Eileen glanced at Lin Ye, but quickly lowered her gaze again, carrying the tent as she walked towards the temple. Lin Ye watched her retreating figure, recalling the scene from a few hours earlier, and felt a pang of regret.

"I get the feeling that you're quite attached to the Felin tribe."

Lapland's lazy voice sounded from behind.

Lin Ye turned his head and saw Lappland standing behind him, arms crossed, with a piece of dry grass she had found somewhere dangling from her mouth.

"Am I that obsessed with her?" Lin Ye asked.

“Otherwise?” Lappland rolled her eyes and said, “You’ve only known her for a few days, why are you going to such lengths? We could have just slept in the house for three days and waited for that guy named En something to finish everything before we could go back.”

"Are you in such a hurry to go back?" Lin Ye asked. "Isn't the snow mountain your hometown?"

“This isn’t my hometown,” Lappland said with a hint of disdain. “Besides, it’s boring here, like a herd of livestock kept in a pen.”

"Uh, why do you say that?"

“Despite living in such harsh conditions, there is absolutely no competitiveness,” Lappland said. “The people here never have to worry about not surviving.”

"Yes, because of the Messiah... who is God. Although the Messiah may seem to do nothing, he is truly protecting this place."

"Hmm... the only thing that interests me about this place is that god." Lappland spat out the dry grass in her mouth, then sighed, "Unfortunately, I can't beat him, I can't beat him at all."

Lin Ye was quite surprised that Lappland would admit defeat to someone, given her personality. However, considering that the person she was admitting defeat to was Messiah, it wasn't so surprising after all. No matter how strong Lappland was, she was still just a warrior, while Messiah was a true god.

Speaking of the Messiah...

Lin Ye drew the [Maple] sword from his back. With a clear, melodious sound, the dark red blade reflected in Lin Ye's eyes under the rising sun.

Lappland noticed Lin Ye's actions and pouted, "What's wrong? You want to spar with me so early in the morning? You don't think that just because I can't beat that god, I can't beat you with a divine weapon, do you?"

Lin Ye didn't want to waste any more words explaining the logic behind Lappland's artifact.

He remembered what had happened a few hours earlier. In a moment of despair, Eileen had tried to commit suicide using the "Maple" he had left in the tent, as evidenced by the bloodstains on her neck. But Eileen failed to die. Lin Ye initially thought it was because Eileen lacked the courage to take her own life, but as he bandaged her wounds, he discovered some other clues.

That means Eileen's wound consisted of multiple small cuts, indicating that she didn't lose the courage to commit suicide when she held [Maple] to her neck and was ultimately grazed by the sharp blade. Rather, Eileen had the courage to commit suicide and actually did it.

However, Maple, capable of easily severing Rhodes Island's training black steel sword and the elite sabers of the Kjerag border guards, failed to cut Eileen's neck. It only left a very shallow wound. Eileen tried many times, but failed each time. Eventually, her strength waned, and she completely lost the courage to commit suicide.

Lin Ye didn't believe that Eileen, an ordinary Felin girl, could have a physical strength superior to that of swords and blades. The only explanation was that there was something wrong with [Maple].

【Maple】only stayed in Lin Ye's hands for three days, and when Messiah gave 【Maple】to him, he did not explain the special use of 【Maple】, intending for him to discover it himself.

Last night's battle also made Lin Ye realize that when he gripped [Maple] tightly, his perception of danger would be greatly enhanced. He could even filter out all noise and easily hear the heartbeat of an enemy ten meters away. This was simply a divine reconnaissance skill; any enemy with a heartbeat, no matter how well disguised, would be exposed in front of Lin Ye.

Lin Ye initially thought that [Maple] possessed all that it did: formidable reconnaissance capabilities and an exaggeratedly sharp edge. However, judging from Eileen's failed suicide attempt using [Maple], its abilities likely extend far beyond that.

This wasn't the first time Lin Ye had encountered a weapon of this caliber. He had already been surprised by Chen's Crimson Sky weapon before, which could even select the one that could draw its blade. Moreover, judging from Chen's performance, Crimson Sky would automatically attack as soon as it was drawn, and all Chen could do was control its attack direction.

While it's unclear whether Crimson Sky qualifies as a divine artifact in this world, Maple is undoubtedly one. If Crimson Sky's ability to choose its user stems from its "consciousness," then does Eileen's failed suicide attempt with Maple also indicate that Maple's "consciousness" rejected the attempt?

Furthermore, if [Maple] truly possesses "consciousness," could that consciousness represent the Messiah?

Hmm... Lin Ye felt he wasn't very good at this kind of idealistic thinking, so he decided to conduct an experiment first.

"Lappland." Lin Ye fixed his gaze on Lappland. "Can you do me a favor?"

Lappland suddenly felt uneasy, her ears perked up, and she asked warily, "What?"

Lin Ye made a tactful request: "Could you let me use [Maple] to cut you once?"

Lappland's eyes widened: "Damn it, do you want to die?"

"No, I just wanted to do an experiment," Lin Ye said. "Don't worry, when I said 'cut,' I really just wanted to make a light cut; I wouldn't use any force."

"Are you crazy?" Lappland glared at Lin Ye. "Why don't you cut yourself? If you cut yourself, I'll let you cut yourself too!"

"Hmm... okay."

Lappland was surprised that Lin Ye actually agreed.

Although somewhat reluctant, Lin Ye was also prepared to use himself as a test subject. So, under Lappland's watchful gaze, he lightly traced a line on his arm with [Maple].

But nothing happened. The [Maple] sword, which was sharp enough to cut through swords, seemed to have become much duller, leaving only a faint red mark on Lin Ye's wrist.

So Lin Ye tried twice more, even increasing the pressure a little, but he still couldn't get any blood on his arm with [Maple]. He tried other parts of his body as well, but none of them worked.

Lappland was also stunned: "Why is this happening?"

"I don't know either, but I should know soon." Lin Ye looked at Lappland. "I've already cut myself down, now it's your turn... Tell me, where should I start?"

……

……

Author's note: Forty-one chapters still owed.

Chapter 276 Even the Blade of God Can't Hurt You (3K)

Originally, Lappland was just watching Lin Ye "self-harm" with a "let's see what happens" attitude. She thought Lin Ye wouldn't dare to hurt himself, which is why she said that. But what Lappland didn't expect was that Lin Ye not only hurt himself, but also came out unscathed.

how can that be!

Lappland had fought Messiah before and knew the sharpness of [Maple]; it was absolutely impossible for it not to pierce even skin. So she thought Lin Ye was deliberately putting on a show, but Lin Ye was standing right in front of her; if it were a show, she couldn't possibly not see through it.

But the facts were also undeniable, leaving her bewildered.

It turns out it couldn't hurt itself.

Lin Ye seemed to be deep in thought.

So, it's time to move on to the next experiment. Thinking back carefully, Lin Ye hadn't used [Maple] to injure anyone yet. The only time he used [Maple] in battle was when he decisively severed the enemy's sword, but because he missed, he couldn't determine the exact nature of [Maple].

Could this be the "Sword of Kindness" forged by the Messiah? It can't harm a person's body, but it can easily cut through weapons? Thinking about it carefully, this possibility seems quite high, so he first tested it on himself, and then planned to test it on Lappland.