A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"No, this is my power. I named this move 'Thunder Step' because everyone says it's as fast as lightning." Crow smiled. "Every elite warrior has different abilities."

"Ah, still different?" Thomas was even more confused.

"So, Mr. Crow," he asked. "How did you do that just now?"

"You've already reached this point in your training... Perhaps you've already mastered the Qi-raising Slash, right?"

"Yes," Thomas admitted.

"Then how did you learn the Qi-raising Slash?" asked the crow.

"Ah, this..." Thomas couldn't admit that he was cheating by relying on the broken godhead to increase his skills a little, and then he inexplicably comprehended the Qi-Boosting Slash.

"Suddenly, for some reason, you knew you could do this?" Crow laughed. "Even though you haven't even touched the magic web yet, you still instinctively feel—just 'feel'—that you understand the Qi-raising Slash."

"Elite strength isn't something you train for. Or rather, no matter how hard you train, you can't achieve it." He paused. "Based on my personal understanding and insights, I can only say that elite strength requires developing one's potential. That strength isn't in your muscles, but in your blood, your bones, your soul."

"what?"

"The only reliable way to develop this potential is to transcend death!"

"Across...death?"

"Because death is terrifying," the crow said. "Although I'd like to say I'm not afraid of death, I assure you, no matter what expression a human puts on their face when facing death, they're absolutely terrified inside. No matter how many times you've faced death, no matter if you're a hero or a philosopher (the former has faced death many times on the battlefield, the latter has faced death many times in their imaginations), it's still terrifying!"

Thomas immediately recalled a sentence he knew from his past life: "Between life and death lies great terror."

"Death is so terrifying that when faced with it, your life, your soul, everything you have will engage in the most frantic struggle. No matter how desperate you are, this struggle will not weaken in the slightest. In fact, the more desperate you are, the stronger the struggle will be. This kind of fear can truly squeeze out the deepest hidden strength in your bones!"

"You mean... you need to challenge death again and again." Seeking death?

"Two methods, I only know of two reliable ones." Crow held up two fingers. "The first, and a popular one among warriors these days, is a life-or-death struggle. You know, these kinds of life-or-death struggles are plentiful on the battlefield. When you," he said, "are in a near-death situation, struggling to survive without sustaining irreversible damage, then after eight or ten times, you'll probably understand."

"Be careful," the crow said emphatically. "Don't try to deceive. You can deceive others, but not yourself. Only in the deepest despair and fear, when every last shred of hope is completely shattered, can you unleash your hidden strength."

Thomas remained silent.

He never dreamed that the answer would be like this.

But when you think about it carefully, it seems normal.

Why did Giuliano, a warrior in his prime, never mention his breakthrough to become an elite warrior?

Now that I think about it, it's obvious that he knew it a long time ago.

To become an elite soldier, one must risk one's life. According to what Crow had just said, it was a gamble with a 90% chance of death.

Different people will naturally give different answers to this question.

Take myself for example... Thomas now feels himself starting to back off.

At least this approach is not advisable.

“What about the other one?” Thomas asked.

"Oh, that's a typical Eastern style, a kind of... potion," said the crow. "Of course, it's different from what we usually call a potion. It's a very complex poison. Its effect, well, how should I put it? It's deadly. But after five or six hours in the human body... I don't know exactly how long, probably five or six hours. Anyway, at that time, the deadly poison is transformed into a healing elixir."

Thomas understood completely.

This is still a life-threatening situation, just using a different method.

Drink the potion, then endure a life-or-death struggle for five or six hours. Failure is game over, but success unlocks your body's potential. The poison becomes a remedy, so there's no need to worry about any aftereffects.

To be honest, it's not as good as the first one.

"Why does this poison exist? What's its success rate?" Thomas asked.

"The success rate is very low," Crow shrugged. "The potion is expensive, but that doesn't stop it from having a mortality rate exceeding 95%. Only one out of 20 people who drink it will succeed. To be frank, if you can accept disability as the price of failure, going to the battlefield is far better than drinking poison. You know, even in the most treacherous battlefields, the soldier's mortality rate is usually less than 50%. Not to mention, this poison is also very expensive. So, I believe this potion is entirely due to an Eastern belief—that it is better to die with an intact body. As we all know, those Easterners believe that beheading is a more severe punishment than hanging. We hardly have such a belief here. You know, although Easterners are our mentors in many ways, some ideas are still difficult to spread."

Section 87 New Teaching 4

"So, is there any less reliable method?" Thomas asked.

"Well, there are indeed unreliable methods." The crow pondered for a long time. "But I've only heard about them, so I'm not sure. I've heard there's evil magic that can do this. But I assure you, even if there really is a magician who possesses such a spell and is willing to help you, he'll demand an unimaginable price from you."

"By the way, this type of magician is basically the target of the church's crackdown. Any place with a strong church cannot tolerate this type of magician. Perhaps you can go to the territory of other religions to look for them."

"Other than that?"

"Another method involves some sacred artifacts left over from ancient times," said the crow. "Have you heard of the Golden Apple?"

"No." Thomas denied decisively.

"Beyond the glory of God, some pagan demons created things that led to human depravity. The golden apple is just one of them," said the crow. "But from what I understand, these ancient relics can indeed stimulate potential."

"Where can I get these things?" Thomas asked.

"It's all by God's grace," the crow said, looking at Thomas with amusement. "Let's put it this way, if you can get the Pope to help you, then there's a good chance you'll get a treasure like this. It's even possible that there's a golden apple in the Roman treasury."

The disappointed look on Thomas's face made the crow laugh a few times happily.

Either fight with all your might or risk your reputation... Is there no other way?

"Ah, I remember now. It's said there's a special method of cultivation that can achieve this," Crow said suddenly. "Some ancient method that requires extremely demanding talent and aptitude. I remember hearing about it in Kiev a long time ago. Okay." He shrugged. "Back then, I was pretty much like you are now."

"almost?"

"I was also looking for a way to break through to the Elite level without spending any money." He laughed. "That's normal. Everyone has similar thoughts at this stage. After all, this thing is just too... excessive. Too risky. But unfortunately, I came back empty-handed. My qualifications don't meet the standard. Haha..."

He laughed.

"Ah, there's a way?" Thomas was surprised at first, then delighted. "You know?"

"But it's useless." Crow shrugged. "If you want to learn, I can teach you. I remember it was a monastery... a monastery in Kiev. They had an ancient scroll from who knows where that described a special training method. This training method, well, is a bit similar to magic. It doesn't rely on pure muscle training, but rather long-term meditation and some kind of massage method to stimulate the body and achieve the effect of unleashing potential. The entire scroll is divided into three volumes, each volume forming the basis for learning the next. So many people came to learn it that the local priests saw it as a way to make money and copied many copies of the first volume. And I, like countless other fools, bought one too."

"Ah, there's such a thing?" Thomas was even happier. "Can't you practice it?"

"It had absolutely no effect, at least not that I could feel," Crow said. "If I were to follow the instructions, I'd probably have to practice for decades before I could achieve a breakthrough. But after practicing for decades, my body would have worn out. So, in the end, I had no choice but to follow the path most people take."

"You have that scroll?" Thomas

"You want it?" Crow smiled. "But this is not within the scope of my promise to Giuliano. I can give it to you, but it requires money."

"How many?"

"One hundred and fifty florins," said the Crow. "I bought it for two hundred florins from those black-hearted priests. Those people... I must say, I almost thought they were all Jews in disguise!"

Thomas noticed the expression on Crow's face. At that moment, there was a kind of mockery on Crow's face, a look of innocent contempt. Clearly, in Crow's mind, this was a complete scam. While Thomas's chances of breaking through the elite troops in this way were possible, they were so slim as to be insignificant that they were not worth mentioning.

But Thomas knew that this was the only reliable method for him.

Even if the damaged divine nature has the ability to repair injuries, it is too dangerous to go to the battlefield.

Not only the harm from the enemy, but also the suspicion from comrades.

After all, you were stabbed in the vitals just now, and the next second you continued to fight with full energy... This kind of thing would be fine if it happened once or twice, but if it happened too often, even a fool would think there was something wrong with you.

And people in this era would immediately react to this situation: "Did you use some kind of blasphemous witchcraft?"

There is no hope for those who drink poison.

Because the damaged godhead will spontaneously heal itself when the body is injured. This spontaneous healing is beyond Thomas' control.

"I don't have any money with me today," Thomas said. "I have to go back and get some."

The crow smiled even brighter.

……

At dusk, the crow stood in front of the farmhouse, gazing at the sunset in the distance.

There were footsteps behind him. Crow turned around and saw Giuliano.

"Ah, you're here." Crow wasn't surprised. After all, it had only been a few days. "How are things going?"

"Not yet, it will take some time," Giuliano said. "The food supply is too slow."

"There's nothing I can do about it. If I don't want to draw attention, I'll just have to take it slow. How long will it take?"

"At least two months." Giuliano sighed. "But the rest is fine."

Two months later, the plan can be launched.

"Is the Pusemes family's rule over Litomerice coming to an end?" the crow muttered to himself.

"It's too early to say that now, right? It's not certain. Only God knows whether we will succeed or not."

"We've essentially already won the battle in Litoměřice County," Crow said. "Your strategy is perfect, and the timing is perfect. The Psemís family is fighting among themselves, and at the same time, they're plotting against the Church... This presents us with a perfect opportunity."

“It’s just God’s arrangement.”

"Your student came to see me today." said the crow.

"Oh, you mentored him?"

"Yeah, he's pretty good. How long has he been practicing?"

"Two years, maybe less than two years." Giuliano also looked at the sunset in the sky. "He is a genius, and a little peculiar."

"A strange genius?"

"He doesn't have the talent to master martial arts right away, and learning can sometimes be quite difficult. But with patience and a little time, in just a few days, he can master his martial arts to an unimaginable level. It's amazing, isn't it?"

"Interesting. But while he has talent, he's not a qualified fighter."

"how?"

"He lacks courage," Crow said. "He doesn't want to go to war at all. I asked him what his original purpose for learning martial arts was. He actually told me it was for self-defense. Ha, self-defense! So, he's reached this point... which is probably his limit."

Without the trials of life and death on the battlefield, it is impossible to surpass human limits and reach elite levels.

Not to mention potions, even those highly poisonous potions have a lower success rate than fighting in battles!

"Lack of courage..." Giuliano smiled. "Not wanting to fight doesn't mean lack of courage... He's very pious."

"Pious? I don't see it."

"When I was at the monastery, there was a weekly Mass in the city. You know that kind of ceremony, everyone gets tired of it after a few times. But Thomas never missed a single one. Even when he was very busy, he never gave up!"

Chapter 88 Knights 1

"To think there's such a person... Well, it seems he wishes to fight for the glory of God. Indeed, his ambitions are lofty, beyond the reach of us mere mortals. However, I ultimately taught him that secret technique." Crow seemed a little proud of this. "And he's even willing to buy that scroll from me... I think your student has a knack for making money! He doesn't come from an ordinary family."

"Ha, he had a conflict with a monk at the monastery, so he disguised himself and went to rob him," Giuliano said, unconcerned. "He ended up taking all the money. It was a lesson for him."

He shrugged. "I don't know how rich that guy is, but... a few hundred florins should be no problem!"

"Haha, he spent 150 florins from me." Crow beamed with delight at this. "That was the first time I knew this business was so easy to do. I even taught him everything I knew just for me. Actually, I wasn't comfortable with that much money, so I even had to teach him the Evil Slash and the Good Slash."

"He hasn't even touched the magic network yet, what's the point of teaching him this?"

"Oh, at least he seems to have learned." Crow shrugged. "Well, aside from that, what about your student's future? He's clearly not interested in our cause. Staying in Cardan? But once the war breaks out, no place in Litoměřice County will be spared. Cardan is no exception. If he doesn't want to join us, that's fine, but if he goes to war with us, that's too bad."

"I prepared a letter of recommendation," Giuliano said. "It's the first document the new abbot signed. He wants to join a knightly order, and I recommended one to him."

"Which Knight Order? If you're going to send him to Jerusalem, you might as well let him stay in Cardan City! The knights over there, tsk tsk, several of them die every day! The Crescent Moon Cultists are not easy to deal with!"

"There are more than just those famous knightly orders in this world. Rostislav recommended the Sunflower Knights of Kiev to me."

"Damn it! I've been to Kiev, too. How come I've never heard of this knightly order?"

"A little-known knightly order," Giuliano said. "I don't even know who founded it, but it seems to have the support of the Grand Duke of Kiev. And this is perfect, we have some families here. We can just form a team and take refuge in Kiev. Rostislav can lead the team and come back after arranging the people. When he returns, it will be almost time for us to take action."

"Honestly," Crow sighed suddenly. "You should convince that student of yours."

"An extra mid-level or junior officer wouldn't be worth much," Giuliano said. "Why force it?"

"Okay, let's sort out our plan," said the crow. "First, two months from now, we'll provoke a conflict on the border..."

"Then, Count Jaromil will definitely strengthen border defenses and transfer most of the military forces he can mobilize!" Giuliano said.

"Then we will launch a surprise attack on the Chomutov Monastery, expel the monks, and turn the monastery into our stronghold," said the crow.

"Most of the knights at the monastery are willing to join us," Giuliano replied. "Taking the monastery is easy. The real key is the Duke. Normally, the Church would launch a counterattack through the Duke. But this time, the Duke will definitely not intervene. He will just go through the motions, because he also wants to capture Fortress Mountain Monastery!"

The entrance to the Red Maidens' treasure lies at the Fortress Mountain Monastery. If the Duke wants to obtain the treasure, he must control the Fortress Mountain Monastery. In other words, he must either bribe the church with a large sum of money or use force.

Whether the Duke is not ambitious or not, he can still do this simple addition and subtraction problem.

"Once we take the monastery, we'll have driven a nail into Litoměřice County," the crow continued. "Whatever remains of Count Jaromír's power will be tied down."

This is the geographical advantage, and the Chomutov Monastery has this value. It can contain a large number of enemies with a small number of troops.

"Then," Giuliano gave the crow a meaningful look. "It's up to you."