Chapter 209: The Third-Tier Holy Art
Dey Commercial Street, House of Rest.
Several days had already passed since Gideon returned from the San Fernando Valley.
After parting ways with Faya, she had taken the Apostle's Hand to the Exorcism Institute's headquarters and had not appeared again since.
However, the reward for the commission had already been delivered to Gideon through the Theological Academy.
Faya had indeed kept her word—she sent him an entire bottle of holy oil, aged a full twenty years.
In today's market, such an item would undoubtedly attract enormous attention.
Many clerics might work themselves to exhaustion for years and still be unable to afford it.
Yet this very "precious" item was now casually tossed into a corner of the small shop.
Gideon placed two basins of holy water on the table, then headed toward the back lounge.
The space had been remodeled into a bedroom, allowing someone to stay overnight after the shop closed.
He turned the handle and stepped inside.
On the bed, Judy was sprawled out in deep sleep.
She wore a T-shirt on her upper body, while her lower half was wrapped only in shorts.
"…This kid," Gideon muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"I told her to dress properly when she's in the shop."
He picked up a blanket and covered her, then lightly tapped her cheek a few times.
"Mmm… no discounts on the merchandise… the shop owner is really fierce… I'm just helping out here…"
Judy hadn't even opened her eyes, yet she was already talking in her sleep.
"…fierce…"
Gideon covered his face.
"So this is how she talks about me behind my back."
Seeing that Judy still hadn't woken up, he cleared his throat and said deliberately:
"Mrs. Warren, you're here so early today."
The moment the words left his mouth, Judy shot upright in bed.
"Mom! I'm studying very seriously with Father Gideon!"
She rubbed her eyes—then realized it was only Gideon smiling at her.
She froze.
"Gideon! Do you know what time it is? This is child abuse!"
She glanced at the clock. It was barely dawn.
"Theological cultivation requires a tremendous amount of time," Gideon said calmly, sharing his experience.
"Only by training diligently will you appear 'effortless' when facing true evil."
"…Got it, Gideon." Judy yawned and kicked off the blanket.
"Oh, and if you keep sleeping without proper clothes," Gideon added lightly,
"I'll start spreading rumors that you wet the bed."
Gideon spoke as he stepped out of the lounge, closing the door behind him.
Judy jumped in fright.
She lowered her head and saw that she was clearly wearing underwear—her favorite kind, decorated with undead patterns.
"You—!"
Judy clenched her teeth at once.
"Who says this doesn't count as pants, you old geezer…"
she muttered under her breath.
"Old geezer" was a nickname Judy had secretly given Gideon, simply because although he was clearly young, he was extremely conservative about many things.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the time Judy spent changing clothes, Gideon walked alone to the holy water.
He had, of course, heard what the girl said.
But as a normal man, apart from church rules, he personally had absolutely no interest in kids like her.
Even if there were something to appreciate, it would have to be a fully blooming flower.
For example—Sadie, Faya, Flora, Caro…
no, Caroline could be excluded.
Gideon shook his head and refocused on his training.
He placed both hands on the rim of a metal basin, then lowered his head, letting his eyes fully immerse in the holy water.
[Holy Water Purification +1]
After wiping his eyes, Gideon entered his workshop.
He set up isolation formations around the room, then took out a wooden jar containing the mutated undead spirits he had collected earlier.
Gathering holy power in his eyes, two golden rings surfaced around his pupils.
He projected his holy power onto the spirits, capturing the hidden traces of corrupted aura.
At the same time, a third golden ring was slowly being etched outside his pupils.
"It's faster again," Gideon noted inwardly.
Each time his proficiency panel improved, his cultivation speed through the Four Theological Paths increased as well.
The first two golden rings had been completed under the same circumstances.
If other clergy knew about this, they would be utterly stunned.
Under normal progression, a single-marked, Dual-Eyes Manifestation cleric would need at least five years to etch just one golden ring.
Gideon had done it in roughly two weeks.
It was precisely because of this disparity that he understood the value of time all the more clearly.
And Judy—so young, yet carrying the bloodline of Saint Lucia—was destined to become a powerful exorcist in the future.
That was why he constantly pushed her.
"Only after losing it do people understand regret," Gideon sighed inwardly, recalling his own student days.
After absorbing the source power within the spirit, text appeared before his eyes.
Following the San Fernando Valley exorcism, [Psychological Counseling] had evolved into [Envoy of Sin].
The updated description read:
---
[Envoy of Sin]
Current Progress: Tier 3 (3/1000)
Existing Ability: Emotional Guidance
Able to distinguish emotions tied to sin, and to influence their direction to a certain extent.
---
Gideon had already fully understood this ability.
Simply put, he could now clearly perceive emotions in humans, spirits, and even animals.
In fact, this ability had already manifested during the "Apostle's Hand" question-and-answer trial—he just hadn't realized it at the time.
"Sin," in this context, referred to: love, hatred, desire, pain, pride, selfishness, and deceit.
Every being—human or spiritual—was entangled with sin in some way.
Obsessions and actions were often driven by these forces.
If one accurately identified the dominant emotion influencing an individual, it became possible to guide their actions accordingly.
That was the strength of emotional guidance.
According to church texts, this corresponded to the third tier of Soul-Body cultivation.
By guiding the most critical emotion within a spirit, a cleric could embed holy power into it, forming an Emotional Chain capable of restraining the spirit.
Reaching this point meant the cleric had completed the Third-Tier Holy Art.
But the prerequisite was identifying the color of emotion.
Each type of sin had its own unique color, long documented in church records.
However, for most clerics, distinguishing those emotions was the most difficult step.
Spirits often carried multiple sins simultaneously, but only one determined their actions.
And emotions did not naturally display color—
(Except, apparently, for Gideon.)
Thus, ordinary clerics had to rely on dialogue, obsession resolution, and gradual probing to uncover a spirit's true intent.
The first two tiers of Soul-Body Manifestation existed solely to prepare for this moment.
If the judgment was wrong, the emotional chain could instead backfire on the cleric.
At best, it would cause temporary emotional instability.
At worst, it could lead to mental collapse—or madness.
That was why this holy art required strict church supervision.
Fortunately, very few clerics reached this tier, and Gideon's Dual-Eyes Manifestation made him an outlier the church hadn't yet noticed.
After dismissing the text, he took out the bottle of twenty-year holy oil.
His eye-path foundation was already complete.
From here on, he only needed to proceed step by step along the remaining holy arts.
He therefore decided to begin the next stage: the Flesh Path.
For ordinary clerics, this stage merely involved strengthening the skin to resist corruption.
But Gideon was different.
He was cultivating an entire path.
That meant starting with Flesh Reconstitution.
At this stage, a cleric must use holy power to link every inch of skin together—
Turning it into something akin to detachable armor.
This allowed skin to shift locations at will.
For instance, if an attack targeted the heart, the skin could be displaced before penetration, avoiding a fatal blow.
An extremely powerful survival ability.
That was why Flesh-Manifestation clerics were highly sought after in exorcism teams.
Corrupted areas were steeped in filth.
Sometimes one had to enter the heart of corruption to retrieve key purification items.
Without Flesh Manifestation, entering such zones was essentially suicide.
Flesh clerics often volunteered—not out of kindness, but because Flesh Reconstitution required constant exposure to evil to strengthen itself.
Thus, Gideon would need to deliberately expose himself to controlled corruption.
There were risks, of course.
That was why he planned to begin with low-tier spirits.
Combined with high-quality holy oil, he estimated his success rate could reach 99%.
Not perfect—but far safer than most clerics, whose success rates barely exceeded 50%.
An hour later, Gideon completed his daily training.
He then prepared to head to the church to find suitable flesh-path commissions.
Before leaving, he found Judy and instructed her to pack her things.
Since they were dealing with low-tier spirits, it was a perfect opportunity to bring her along.
She could accumulate real exorcism experience—
and become Gideon's reliable assistant.
---
Dey Exorcism Theological Academy
Gideon and Judy walked along the paths.
Although it was still early, most students had already begun their daily training.
Due to the surge in commissions, many were already out on fieldwork.
As a result, the academy felt unusually quiet.
They soon arrived at the commission office.
Since Gideon frequently accepted missions, Flora had given him an internal key.
Even if she wasn't present, he could retrieve mission tokens himself.
Just as he was about to bypass the counter, he heard raised voices.
"Please don't cancel this commission—let me do it alone if I have to!"
A young nun pleaded.
Across from her, Flora looked troubled.
"Sister Lynn, only ordained clergy can accept missions independently. Stopping you is for your safety."
"Then—no instructor, fine! Just assign a student!"
"I'll cooperate fully and handle any dangerous tasks myself!"
Lynn Lopez still refused to give up.
Flora shook her head.
"Your willingness to serve the Church is admirable."
"But the difficulty of this commission hasn't been assessed. According to church regulations, academy students can't take it."
Disappointment flickered in Lynn's eyes, her posture collapsing.
At that moment, Flora sensed someone entering.
She turned around—and her eyes lit up.
"Father Gideon!"