A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Up close, face to face with tomb robbers.

For a moment, a faint glow seemed to appear on the crystal skull, but when he looked closely, he saw nothing.

The expression on the tomb robber's face was violently distorted. It was obvious that he was trying his best to escape, but he could not turn his head away or close his eyes no matter what.

Thomas couldn't help but stretch out his other hand to block the tomb robber's eyes and the eye sockets of the crystal skull.

But obviously, it was too late.

The tomb robber's eyes were empty, as if he was looking through Thomas's palm at some distant and unknown place.

Even if Thomas moved the crystal skull away, it would be useless.

His body twitched while maintaining its original stiff posture, as if he was suffering from some serious illness.

The twitching gradually calmed down.

"Hey, what's up?" Thomas touched the man's face and felt the tomb robber's skin was as cold as a corpse. Sweat was beading on the surface of his skin.

"No...it's okay..." the tomb robber said in an indescribable voice.

That's not the way a normal person speaks. If I had to describe it, it's more like talking in a dream.

"I want money... I want to get rich..." he said. "... so I can... so I can... go to the casino... and redeem all the mortgaged items..."

Thomas turned around, and the Blasphemous Knight's expression remained unchanged, but Eva was obviously frightened by the scene. She hid behind the man, with only half of her face exposed, looking at this side.

It was as if a stream of blood and ink dripped into his eyes, and in the blink of an eye the tomb robber's eyes had turned red and black.

Thomas took a few steps back, his alertness reaching the highest level.

The other party ignored the injuries on his body, got up and suddenly walked towards Thomas in front.

Thomas stepped back.

One step, two steps, three steps, and suddenly, he pounced on Thomas like a wild beast with indescribable agility and speed.

Thomas instantly drew out his magic sword and slashed at the opponent.

But this time, the sword didn't sever the opponent's flesh. The opponent's body surface had been strengthened, becoming like solid stone. The sword only made a small scratch, the kind that had almost no impact.

He used all four limbs and waved his body around like a weapon.

If the beast ghosts they'd encountered earlier were living creatures, then the tomb robbers now seemed more like puppets. Their movements were haphazard, devoid of any skill or technique, yet their power was immense. His attacks grew faster and heavier.

Although he was repelled by Thomas' counterattack every time, he had completely lost his mind and only knew to pounce on his opponent again and again.

Thomas was shocked, even though he hit his opponent again and again. Unfortunately, the tomb robber was just swinging randomly and was not afraid of being cut.

Every time the magic sword struck, it only caused a shallow wound, breaking the skin a little, and had no other effect. The electric current also had no effect.

But being hit by the opponent... the heavy force transmitted when the long sword blocked was enough to show that the consequences were serious.

It's not much better than being hit by a warhammer.

Chapter 129 Ancient Tomb 4

Just as Thomas was beginning to feel exhausted, a silver light suddenly appeared from the side.

Silver Judgment!

Countless silver rays of light hit the tomb robber, and the impact made him take a few steps back and fall to the ground.

The tomb robber stood up quickly, but suddenly, he maintained the action of "getting up" and stood still.

A trickle of blood flowed out from his seven orifices.

Suddenly, he collapsed, lifeless.

The originally strong body began to shrivele slowly, as if it had lost the supporting skin.

Thomas held the sword still for a long time, making sure that the other party seemed to be unable to move at all, and then he stepped forward to check.

What happened just now?

Luckily, this time it was Thomas who practiced the secret art of Steel Soul.

The defensive power of the Steel Soul Mystic Art surpasses its offensive power. And against an opponent with no skill at all, the Steel Soul Mystic Art is even more powerful, able to predict the opponent's next move one step ahead.

It was for this reason that Thomas supported it.

If it were someone else, even any other elite soldier, he would at least be injured after this wave.

The most important thing is that the opponent's body surface seemed to be covered with a layer of stone skin, which was difficult to be hurt by swords and knives.

Even Thomas's magic sword actually only functions as a stick.

Thomas probed the grave robber's body with his hand.

He couldn't move at all, and his skin and flesh were like mud, with pits everywhere. It seemed as if all his bones had been pulled out.

Thomas cut off part of the opponent's limbs with his sword, but found that the opponent's body was just a layer of human skin, and the bones, flesh and blood inside had all dissolved into a mass like mud.

Looking at the crystal skull thrown aside, it looked intact, as if nothing had happened.

Thomas turned around and let out a long sigh.

So that’s it, it’s a trap!

This is a very vicious trap.

Thomas himself was not affected because of the Steel Soul Secret Technique.

"Let's go." Thomas put the crystal skull away and said to the Blasphemous Knight across from him. "There shouldn't be anything else here."

The Blasphemous Knight's cold face seemed to have a hint of expression, and he made a gesture towards Thomas.

"It's amazing," he said.

The tomb robber's strange puppet-like attack method, his invulnerability to swords and guns, and his crazy offensive that only attacked and did not defend, made it difficult for even him to escape unscathed.

Although Thomas looked very embarrassed, he did block all the attacks from start to finish.

This level is probably not just for the backbone.

The three of them went all the way back, found their mounts at the outskirts of the woods, and returned the same way.

Of course, before returning, I also found some dead branches and leaves and burned the bodies first.

I can't say it's completely incinerated, but at least it has to be burned to a point where no one can see it.

Thomas remembered clearly that the Grand Commander's order was "confirmed safety."

I'm afraid this thing can't be guaranteed.

After returning to the camp that day and simply washing and resting, Thomas took the two items to find Gandalf.

I'm lucky today, the old magician is at home.

The whole wooden house was filled with a pungent smell of chemicals. But no one knew what he was doing.

But when he saw Thomas, Gandalf looked unhappy.

"Aragorn, I told you that patience is needed...patience...uh, what is this?" Gandalf was disdainful at first, then surprised.

Because Thomas took out the crystal skull.

"Master," Thomas said in a good tone, because he knew that Gandalf could not charge any fees after the last transaction.

As long as the elderly don’t charge money, their bad temper can be tolerated.

"I stumbled upon this, but I don't know what it is."

Gandalf reached out to take the crystal skull, but was stopped by Thomas.

"Master, be careful, this thing is dangerous." Thomas explained the results of his previous experiment in detail, especially focusing on the tomb robber's invulnerability, immense strength, and how he turned into a ball of mud.

"Invulnerable..." Gandalf paused after hearing Thomas's story. "You describe it as stone-skin magic. But it's just mud... Even I can't explain it."

He reached out again, this time bringing over the crystal skull.

The old magician muttered something, and suddenly, a layer of blue light visible to the naked eye enveloped his eyes. It was like wearing a pair of rimless glasses.

Then, his eyes met the eye sockets of the crystal skull.

They kept staring at each other stiffly for dozens of seconds without moving.

Just when Thomas thought something was going to happen, Gandalf finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, it is a weapon," he said.

"arms?"

"To be specific, it's an instrument of assassination." Gandalf's eyes returned to normal. "It's a very clever thing. Very... very mysterious. I'm sure modern humans can't make this thing. Either its maker is not human, or it is a creation of ancient times."

"Is it an assassination tool?" Thomas was puzzled.

"Yes, assassination tools," Gandalf explained. "You know how a regular core member advances to the elite? It's called transcending life and death!"

"I know." Thomas nodded. Although he hadn't been promoted that way, he was well aware of the principle.

The principle is very simple. To put it bluntly, there is great terror between life and death. Therefore, if you take advantage of the great terror between life and death, you can forcibly awaken the potential of the human body.

"If transcending life and death is to awaken the latent power of the bloodline, then this thing is to develop the power of the bloodline in another way," Gandalf said. "To use a vivid metaphor, it can 'ignite' the bloodline."

"ignite?"

"Yes, ignite. It's not about digging out the latent power, mastering and controlling it. It's about igniting it directly. Its power will be fully unleashed, so powerful that even the source of the bloodline will be ashamed. But you know, after the brief glory of the flame, everything will turn to ashes."

Thomas understood immediately. So that's what it was. He stared at the crystal skull.

"So, it's ineffective against elite warriors and above?"

"It's effectiveness has diminished," Gandalf said. "You know, for elite warriors, the most powerful bloodline has already been developed. The rest is burned... well, there's definitely an impact, but it's definitely not enough to turn you into mud. Probably just death from excitement. If you're lucky, you won't die," he paused. "Just become disabled."

Thomas opened his mouth, but no words came out. He finally understood the benefits of the Steel Soul Mystic Art. Any attack, whether spiritual or mental, posed a much less threat to a practitioner of the Art. Yet, such attacks were particularly difficult to defend against.

"So...it can be used to murder?"

"It's hard to say. From what I see, the power contained in it is running low. Even if it wants to kill people, it can't kill many."

"It wasn't made by humans? Then who made it?" Thomas suddenly remembered what Gandalf had said before.

Chapter 130 The Second Mission

"I guess it's most likely Marlowett." Gandalf uttered the name easily.

Marlowe…Thomas was silent, put away the crystal skull, and then took out the unknown words he had copied.

"A sacrificial text," Gandalf took the rubbing and glanced at it casually. "A sacrificial text to Marlowet... Marlowet has shrouded the world in nightmares. Those foolish enough not to believe in Marlowet will be devoured by nightmares..."

"Classic evil god doctrine," Gandalf commented, curling his lips. "Nonsense. Normal religions all celebrate the divine side of gods, describing their greatness, kindness, and justice—though that's not all. God's mercy is reserved for believers, while pagans who don't believe in God will naturally suffer. But there are also some gods who specialize in scaring people, especially those who wield powers over disease, killing, and evil. These are usually called evil gods."

"Christian wants to hunt Marlowet," Thomas said suddenly.

"As you might expect," Gandalf nodded. "They've done this many times."

The old wizard was different from the others. Although he knew from the first time they met that Thomas was a Christian knight, he also knew that Thomas's faith was not very devout.

Otherwise, how could he have such unscrupulous dealings with a magician—a magician who was despised, attacked, and looked down upon by Christianity? And he even used the title of "Master" without any burden.

"Oh? Successful?"

"Of course, but I don't know who exactly. As powerful as the gods are, some always weaken and fall to the point where they can be controlled by mortals." Gandalf sighed. "These are all top secrets. If the church succeeds," he said, "then Christianity...the influence will be greatly enhanced. Even unifying the faith of Rus in a short period of time will no longer be a dream."

"Also, Master, how much do you know about Boris, the 'Profane Knight'?"

"I don't know much," Gandalf said. "This is a private matter, so I can't reveal it."

The most important thing is, there's no money to be made even if I reveal it, right? Thomas couldn't help but mutter inwardly.

"He seems to be naturally emotionally apathetic."

"So you know... Well, I admit, it is true," Gandalf said. "A very rare exception. He is born with very weak desires, or even no emotions at all, like a puppet, or a saint - a Christian saint."

Gandalf shrugged.

"However, having weak desires doesn't mean having no desires at all. Otherwise, he'd truly be a puppet," Gandalf said. "He came to me earlier and made two requests. One was to regain his lost emotions—like those of an ordinary person. The other was to obtain the secret to upgrading his defense of the realm."

"And I told him that the two are the same thing," Gandalf continued. "For others, becoming Protector of the Realm is difficult, but for an exception like him, becoming Protector of the Realm is simply a matter of spontaneously developing feelings within one's heart."

“Why?” Thomas asked.

"No reason," Gandalf shrugged again. "To become Protector of the Realm, one needs to make up for what they lack. Everyone lacks something different, and what he lacks is burning passion. With passion driving him, becoming Protector of the Realm would be a piece of cake. But without it... he would never be able to become Protector of the Realm!"