Above The Sky
Chapter 616 - 616 585 Huai Guang Holy Rite 33

616: Chapter 585: Huai Guang Holy Rite (3/3) 616: Chapter 585: Huai Guang Holy Rite (3/3) “Where am I?

What on earth happened, Ian, how did you suddenly come to rescue me?”

Sio apologized with utter confusion, “I’m sorry, although I generally understand the process, it still feels somewhat… sudden.”

——Were the dragons captured and then directly locked up here?

Ian blinked.

Something odd sprang to mind, “Strange, I thought that after Sio was captured and taken to Avak Laboratory, and after experiencing quite the horrific ordeal, recalling the long past of loneliness and torture, then during the Deceased Monarch’s rebellion, he triggered many souls to riot, which sparked the Silent Abyss.”

“But from the looks of it, Sio wasn’t tortured at all; in fact, he was confined as soon as he was captured, and has been unconscious from beginning to end, with no connection to the collapse of Avak Laboratory at all!”

“Could it really all be the Deceased Monarch’s doing?”

This puzzlement made Ian feel he might have guessed wrong from the start, but now was not the time to think about these matters.

He said to Sio, who also seemed somewhat dumbfounded, “Next, I’ll remove your soul storage device and then just take you away… rest assured, I have looked at the user manual, thanks to Azure City Laboratory’s information, you in this form can last about a few weeks, as long as there is a continual input of Origin Quality for nurturing, not to mention that you are a dragon.”

“Mm-hmm.”

At this moment, Sio’s attention could also extend beyond the Draconic Binding Pillar.

Seeing Ian’s current appearance, his eyes lit up with excitement, “Wow, Ian, your new vestment looks great, can I borrow the design?

Or next time can you teach me how to sculpt this kind of mysterious and aloof charisma?

They always say my creations look the same…”

——Of course, even if I gave you my appearance, you would still portray it as nothing but a big cat or a big dog.

Ian mentally complained, but outwardly he remained very composed, “Let’s talk about that next time.

It wasn’t just me who came here; there’s also the Huai Guang Rescue Team… Besides you, we have to rescue those Fae and Lubeck as well… Luckily, this should not be too difficult.”

Indeed, it was not difficult.

The Huai Guang Rescue Team did not hesitate for long; they quickly followed in Ian’s footsteps and equally shared Ian’s surprise at the peculiarity of the eight pillars.

Since Ian had already used his authority to unlock Sio’s restraints, they went off to rescue the others.

And they clearly had prepared their own methods—Glorious Sword took out a mark glowing with a pale golden light from his bosom, and with it, he pressed against the pillar binding Lubeck, and the layered inscriptions and esoteric marks were forcefully decrypted, directly granting them access.

The Omnipotent Authority Seal, a kind of special Spirit Energy Artifact, is very rare.

Ian hadn’t expected to see one here.

When Ian removed the Core Crystal Pillar that contained Sio’s Dragon Soul from the Soul-Binding Pillar, he witnessed a rather peculiar scene among the Huai Guang folks.

It was a ritual.

A ritual intended for Lubeck, the Huai Guang Cleric conversion ritual.

“Indeed, they want to decipher the secrets of Huai Guang, but this secret is essentially meaningless.

As for Lubeck…

fortunately, the White Mist Bishop anticipated this.

He is worthy to become our true brother.”

Indistinctly, Ian heard Glorious Sword speak with a solemn tone to Redemption Light and Yingguang, “Proceed with the ritual, Yingguang, let’s join our efforts.

If Lubeck can pull through and become a Cleric, our chances of success this time would increase by that much more.”

“Redemption Light, you lack the blood of Huai Guang, so take the team and guard us.”

“Uh-huh,” Redemption Light didn’t feel excluded, she immediately called the team to guard all sides—upon seeing Ian taking out Sio’s soul from the Draconic Binding Pillar, the Milos person even smiled happily at him.

Clearly, having one more Huai Guang Cleric was something very joyous for her.

Their exchanges felt nothing out of the ordinary for the rescue team members, but to Ian, there was an odd taste to it.

Could it be…

becoming a Huai Guang Cleric requires a special occupation change ritual?

That wasn’t really something worth paying too much attention to; after all, Magic Potion is essentially just a ‘foolproof’ integration of ritual, surgery, and various transformations into a simple ‘drink it down’.

If so, given that ‘official Clerics’ are obviously very special, the Spiritual Tool Church’s Clerics need to elevate their body modifications to a quite high degree, and Huai Guang also having some special requirements is perfectly normal.

But the issue lies in…

Ian thought back to Lubeck being singled out.

Will Huai Guang’s ritual transform the person into a being utterly different from Humans?

“But the problem is, I have not seen this description on the White Mist Bishop or Glorious Sword…

or is it that for the Silver Chip, this slight difference on Terra is trivial?”

——Don’t say, it’s actually quite probable.

The perspective of the Silver Chip is clearly different from that of Humans.

Whether it’s what’s considered Edible or inedible, or its given recommendations, like the stance on the Ether Stardust Dragon as an ‘endangered species’, or the attitude towards Void Spawn as ‘pests’, it’s a perspective unreachable by the civilization of Terra.

It is a description that, despite trying to treat all life as equal as possible, still reveals a slight bias.

Ian frowned slightly, standing still, his curiosity prompting him to want to observe the ritual.

But he was also clear that if such matters should not be seen by others, then out of respect for Glorious Sword and others, as well as the old White Mist Bishop, he would refrain from paying attention.

What was fortunate was that the Glorious Sword seemed to understand Ian’s character very well.

“If you want to observe, then observe,”

the Cleric of the White Folk said to Ian with a smile, causing Ian to pause briefly.

He wanted to ask happily, ‘Really?’ but remembering that he was currently playing the role of a quirky and aloof Ghost Valley Knight with an inexplicable tendency to sermonize, he held back.

“Hmm.”

He kept a straight face and responded seriously, “Thank you for your permission.”

The ritual began.

Glorious Sword and Yingguang removed Lubeck’s body from the binding array and drew a circular formation on his chest, then started to carve bloodstreaks with a small knife, extending like a spider web across his entire body.

For a while, Ian couldn’t quite understand whether they were dismembering Lubeck or doing something else—but soon, he saw that these seemingly torturous lines were essentially Inscription Circuits that could take effect on a living body.

Not only that…

Ian also realized that the process of engraving these circuits required the recipient’s complete non-resistance for precise inscription…

Any instinctual reaction would result in failure.

—It was said that the Holder of the Huai Guang Office would only choose from those who were gravely injured, even close to death’s door.

Ian felt he might have found the real reason.

Then, what the Glorious Sword did next took him aback.

For he drew from his bosom a golden, fine gold mixed with Luminous Dragonstone forged bleeding dagger.

He plunged it straight into his own heart, and a pure white, slightly crystalline liquid surged out.

The Dragoness Nun immediately retrieved a small vial—with her Sublimation Skills assisting, the crystalline fluid flowing from the Glorious Sword’s heart was collected within it, and his wound rapidly healed.

For a Second Level Sublimator, a wound to the heart wasn’t considered serious, and the Primordial Seed could even control the exchange of blood throughout the body if the heart was blown apart…

But the decisiveness of the Glorious Sword and the actions of Yingguang proved that this was a maneuver well-practiced.

This ritual was very important to the Huai Guang Church.

The complexion of the Glorious Sword paled for an instant but quickly recovered, and Yingguang mixed this pale white light liquid with some potions, spreading it evenly over the lines on Lubeck’s body surface.

The luminous potion seeped into Lubeck’s body, then triggered the operation of an organ that had been prepared beforehand.

[Confirmation]At this moment, the Glorious Sword, as the presider of the ritual, stretched out his hand and made a virtual press towards Lubeck, who still had his eyes closed and whose life force was extremely faint.

His eyes shimmered with a white Spirit Energy Halo: [This person is one who offers himself, a protector of all beings]

In that instant.

Ian sensed it.

In Subspace, a flash of light appeared.

Like the dawn of early morning, a faint white light ignited from the center of the circle on Lubeck’s chest—then it continued to persist, flickering uncertainly at the center of the chest.

The Rescue Team, along with the other members standing guard, such as Redemption Light, also noticed this and revealed understanding smiles, clearly aware that the light’s significance represented a kind of ‘success’.

“Cheer for our new comrade!”

The Person from Milos raised her great sword high, her voice booming, and the members of the Rescue Team also lifted their weapons, laughing heartily in response: “Protected by the Embrace Light!”

The glow came from the far end of the Domain of Void, the white patterns swaying in Subspace, wavering and circling the weapons raised by the Rescue Team, eventually forming strands of flickering light that flowed into the center of Lubeck’s chest.

And the voice of the Glorious Sword mysteriously became ethereal and majestic, echoed by a chorus of holy sounds.

[Confirmation.

This person is unyielding and resolute, a combatant against natural disasters]

[Confirmation.

This person longs for the light, yet knows he is not the harbinger of hope]

[We are the Light of Huai Guang, the Light Beyond Light—Lubeck, you have proven yourself.

To protect more people, to prevent the coming of man-made and natural disasters, you are willing to give your life, never regretting or fearing death even when facing it]

The white Spirit Energy Halo in the Glorious Sword’s eyes became even more brilliant, to the point where his pupils were invisible—and at the same time, the previously lifeless Lubeck also slowly opened his eyes, revealing a white Spirit Energy Halo shining within.

A mysterious resonance occurred between the two of them.

[Lubeck, our comrade]

The Holy Hall Enforcer of Huai Guang solemnly decreed: [You are both dead and yet not]

[Now, you are one with the Embrace Light]