What exactly was The Artificer supposed to mean?
The moment the Soul Flame kindled within him, Anthony felt it — the imagery embedded in the spiritual concept of The Artificer, the direction his soul power had chosen. It was as though the connection between himself and this aspect was deepening in real time, his understanding sharpening with every passing second.
The Artificer — one who uses the self as the crucible, who takes creation as the medium through which all things evolve, and in the act of forging, entrusts themselves with the mighty power to remake heaven and earth...
That was The Artificer.
Having brushed up against that deeper layer of meaning, Anthony startled — and then startled again.
And then he set it aside entirely and got back to work on the Shrine of Offerings in his hands.
What's the use of me, a small-timer, sitting here pondering something like that .JPG
After thinking about it for approximately half a second, Anthony gave up thinking about it entirely.
The immediate priority right now was robbery — ah, no, income generation.
And so, within the scorching blaze of the Soul Flame, countless Points converted at a furious pace — carried on the current of soul power, flowing into Anthony's palm, and slowly, gradually, condensing into something with physical substance.
Reborn through forging. Born again within the Soul Flame.
In the corner of the old temple, the Candlebearer sat with both eyes closed, making no effort to watch what Anthony was doing. After all, this scene was not entirely unlike an Agent exercising their Authority — and as a Candlebearer, it was hardly his place to interfere.
And so time flew.
Twenty minutes later, the forging was complete. Anthony opened his hand — and a brand-new shrine materialized in the center of the old temple. He gave a single wave, and[Soul Splitting]activated.
Within Anthony's soul, the Soul Circuit existed everywhere at once — that had been a given the moment he acquired the ability. And now, by attaching a fragment of his soul to the shrine before him, the Soul Circuit was anchored to it as well.
From here on out, the Soul Circuit would continuously absorb the ambient soul energy overflowing from the area and convert it into Points, funneling them back to Anthony.
"That's... that sorted, then."
Anthony tilted his head slightly downward. On the Primordial River, his main body swung the fishing rod in a smooth arc — and diverted a portion of the Point conversion directly toward Jie.
He was just about to move on to the next step when the temple doors swung open. He turned — and saw Wang walking in.
"The True Dragon has agreed."
Wang spotted Anthony and spoke immediately. "This old temple will be granted to you. If it proves effective, the majority of future shrine rituals will be tied to you."
"Furthermore, starting soon, this temple will be publicized. Give it a little time, and the worshippers should start rolling in."
"Couldn't ask for more."
Anthony nodded. Wang turned — and his gaze landed on the shrine. He stopped.
"This is... you've already finished it?"
"Mm. And once the worshippers start coming, Second Brother, you'll probably need to find somewhere else to stay."
Anthony gave Wang a brief once-over and said, "That face of yours is going to traumatize small children."
"...I'll find another place to confine myself."
Wang was silent for a very long time. When he finally spoke, his expression was thunderous. Anthony let out a quiet laugh, then reached out and touched the shrine, blinking slowly.
"Although... while we're basically done, there's still one last step."
"Oh?"
"Obviously..." Anthony smiled, gaze dropping to the shrine. "Deciding what, exactly, we're going to enshrine in it."
Naturally, he had already given that considerable thought.
...
The following day. Within the Hundred-Cookfire Academy, in the heart of Hundred-Cookfire City.
A rumor began to spread — no one knew where it started.
The gist of it was this: somewhere in Hundred-Cookfire City, there was an old temple. And apparently, burning incense there worked absurdly well.
Whatever you wanted, you just had to bow three times before the corresponding deity — and your wish would come true. More than a few people who'd visited claimed their energy and spirit had improved noticeably too.
For instance: Lord Wenchang, the god of study and culture. Bow before him, and your learning efficiency supposedly doubled.
Then there was some figure called Lord Guigu the Strategist. Bow before him and you'd apparently be cooking up clever schemes all day long — though you'd be stuck wearing a thoroughly grim expression the whole time...
Oh, and apparently there was also something called the Pallid Throne Lord of the Underworld, who could soothe the souls of dearly departed ancestors. All very mysterious and arcane.
The names were a little unusual — all single characters, from what people said — but the students discussing it didn't seem to mind. They were far too busy gossiping enthusiastically.
Before long, a good number of curious students had gone to bow their three bows after class.
And so it spread. Ten told a hundred. A hundred told a thousand.
The rumor spilled out of the Hundred-Cookfire Academy and into the city at large. Before long, it seemed as though all of Hundred-Cookfire City had somehow heard of this uncannily effective old temple.
Worshippers came in a steady, unbroken stream — practically wearing a groove in the threshold.
The person seemingly in charge of the temple was a black-haired young man of dragon blood, always wearing a mild smile, who gave the impression of being quite approachable. Occasionally, you could also spot another dragon-blood man lurking about — one who perpetually looked like he'd bitten into a lemon and was deeply unhappy about it. He did not look like someone you'd want to approach...
But the temple's reputation kept spreading, quietly and steadily.
Everyone who visited had nothing but praise for this remarkably spiritual old shrine. Everyone, that is, except for one person who seemed to have some objections.
"So I'm being enshrined now too?"
Wang stared at the statue of himself mounted on the wall — artistically reimagined in a way that made it look considerably more fearsome than the original — and his eye twitched. He turned to Anthony.
"Yes."
Anthony answered with no hesitation whatsoever. "One more doesn't hurt. Might as well add you in — who knows, it could bring in extra worshippers. Don't worry, it won't interfere with Jie's resurrection at all."
For a moment, Wang looked as though words had failed him entirely. He stared at the statue before him, and his headache visibly worsened.
"Jie's being enshrined — that makes perfect sense. Yours is a little odd, but I can follow the logic. But why do I have to be part of this?"
He exhaled, shook his head, and let his gaze drift to the other side of the room.
The Pallid Throne Lord of the Underworld.
This was something Po had concocted. Honestly, Wang had no idea what the origin of the thing was supposed to be.
Apparently reading the question in Wang's expression, Anthony finally offered an explanation for the first time:
"Well... mine is a bit of a personal project."
"I won't ask about it."
Wang nodded at once, with an air of perfect, wordless understanding. Anthony smiled and returned the nod.
"That said — you should be aware that we've basically hit the ceiling," Wang said, his tone shifting. "The True Dragon is unlikely to make any further concessions. They'll keep a close eye on you as a member of the Sui family. The current scale and number of shrines — maybe a few more temples at most. Beyond that, it won't be possible."
"That's fine. It's enough."
Anthony shook his head — though a flicker of genuine regret crossed his eyes.
Ugh. Less money to make. That actually hurts more than getting this avatar killed, man. I'm not even joking.
But there was nothing for it. Shrines and ritual worship had real implications for a nation's lifeblood — Great Yan wasn't about to watch a second Jie situation unfold with her Scribe-Blade. The current arrangement benefited Great Yan without posing a threat. That was the best outcome they'd accept.
Still... if the Sui Beast got taken out, and Great Yan broke out the champagne, maybe then he'd finally be free to rake in money without restriction.
Somewhere deep in his heart, Anthony — who had fallen headfirst into the money pit — began quietly scheming about the eventual fate of the Sui Beast.
He reined his thoughts back in.
All of a sudden, Anthony heard the sound of footsteps at the entrance.
And then a travel-worn figure strode inside.
"I haven't arrived too late, I hope? I came rushing over from Yumen — long road, took a bit longer than expected."
"So... they're saying Third Sister can be brought back to consciousness — is that right?"
Chongyue came hurrying in, glancing around the room as he spoke.
And in that instant, Anthony noticed something quite clearly: Wang seemed to instinctively take a small step backward — as if trying, on some level, to put distance between himself and Chongyue.
Now that was interesting.
An expression of barely-concealed amusement crept across Anthony's face.
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