Chapter 499
Sitting at her desk, Dorothy carefully examined the ancient parchment scroll adorned with intricate symbols before her. It was clear that during his battle with Muhetar, he suddenly gained immense power, strengthening his malicious commandment and knocking out Vania and Shadi with it. He must have executed the terms of the contract, allowing Bamigula to grant him strength, but at the cost of one-third of his soul.
‘Martyr Beast Bamigula… a divine being residing in the Inner Realm. This thing seems to be of a similar type as Haemohois, the deity served by the Abyss Cult. They dwell on the edges of the Inner or Present Realms, powerful entities below the deities, and can form some kind of covenant agreement with human societies, offering their help after receiving a price.
‘The sacrifice ritual performed by the Abyss Cult could, in a sense, also be seen as fulfilling a covenant with Haemohois. With over two thousand lives as the price, what exactly did the Abyss Cult hope to obtain from Haemohois? Surely they weren’t just trying to please it.’
As she looked at the soul pact scroll on the table, Dorothy pondered about beings like Haemohois or Bamigula. However, after a moment’s thought, she redirected her attention back to the scroll, considering its potential uses for herself.
‘This thing can form covenants with divine beings; I could use it to contact Bamigula and ask if it would change the terms of the contract. But my understanding of this martyr beast is insufficient; I don’t know how closely it is related to the Savior Faction. Contacting it rashly poses significant risks, so I should refrain from doing so.
‘However, the content of the scroll can be erased and re-signed, meaning that if I encounter any powerful divine beings or Inner Realm existences in the future and form good relations with them, we could establish some beneficial agreements. However, I don’t know any powerful Inner Realm existences right now, so this scroll isn’t very useful for me at the moment…’
Dorothy thought to herself. She lacked a suitable contracting partner and wasn’t entirely clear about the contents she could contract through the scroll. She planned to take some time later to thoroughly study the scroll’s specific effects before making further plans.
Then, Dorothy put away the seemingly useless contract scroll and continued to inventory her spoils of war. All extraordinary items had already been accounted for, and the next item to be inventoried was the secret transmission.
Among Muhetar’s collection, Dorothy found two secret transmissions preserved on old leather scrolls. After carefully examining the first secret transmission, she discovered it was titled “Essentials of Precept Practice,” a summary of key points for practitioners of the Path of Endurance. After reading this secret transmission, Dorothy gained a deeper understanding of the Path of Endurance.
According to the record in this secret transmission, the black earth tier in the Path of Endurance is known as the Precept Monk, the white chalk tier as the Guardian Practitioner, the red tier as the Precept Patriarch, and the golden tier as the Keeper of Endurance. These correspond to four stages of precept observance—self, people, enemies, and nation—and represent a process from internal to external, self to others, and few to many.
Unlike other extraordinary paths, the Path of Endurance has an additional method for tempering one’s inner nature. When the practitioner is still a Precept Monk at the black earth tier, they must select several precepts to practice asceticism. The results of these practices not only affect the promotion ceremony of the ascetic but also determine the types of precepts that can be imposed on enemies once they reach the status of Precept Patriarch.
For instance, the Essentials recorded two methods of precept practice: the first called “Precept of Self-Restraint Not to Harm” and the second called “Precept of Overcoming Fear Without Avoidance.”
The practice of “Precept of Self-Restraint Not to Harm” requires the practitioner to restrain themselves from harming others in various trials, which involves controlling the desire to harm internally. For example, when faced with mosquito bites, snake entanglements, or mocking provocations, they must control their retaliatory and aggressive desires, even if they suffer. Through long-term psychological and physical discipline, they achieve the ability to arbitrarily control their aggressive impulses. After practicing self-restraint, they can extend this to restraining others, and even enemies.
In other words, after completing this precept practice, the ability manifested at the red tier is a nauseating counterattack precept. When this ability evolves to the golden tier, it becomes an even more nauseating malicious precept.
As for the practice of “Precept of Overcoming Fear Without Avoidance,” it is similarly arduous. It involves completing various self-punishing and dangerous practices and persisting without evasion. For example, sitting in meditation on a snowy mountain in thin clothing, or enduring not eating for months. As long as one persists in completing such self-punishing practices without any evasion, they can accomplish the “Precept of Overcoming Fear Without Avoidance.” At the red tier, this precept compels enemies to fight without fleeing or avoiding.
In other words, the essence of the Precept Patriarch’s abilities lies in using the precepts they observed during their own practice to restrain their enemies. Whatever kind of practice they underwent, they can elevate and utilize it as a precept ability at the red tier. This is the essence of practicing self-restraint before restraining others.
Another notable point is that no extraordinary abilities can be used as auxiliary tools during these precept practices. The practice itself must be arduous for the practitioner, who must experience pain to make the practice valid, thereby eliminating any possibility of cheating.
‘So, self-restraint and restraining others—that is the essence of the Path of Endurance. These precepts need to be strictly observed before they can be used to govern others.
‘I understand now why Muhetar didn’t suddenly impose an “inability to breathe” precept. Because he himself cannot stop breathing, he couldn’t complete long-term breathing precept practice, and thus couldn’t use this precept to restrain others. After all, one must first practice self-restraint before restraining others.’
Holding the secret transmission, Dorothy reflected deeply. She also thought that according to the teachings in this document, the precepts that a Precept Patriarch could use might vary greatly, as everyone’s practice methods differ, leading to different precepts ultimately achieved.
However, according to the teachings in this document, the practices of self-restraint and overcoming fear are the most widespread, making them likely the preferred choices for most practitioners of the Path of Endurance. Due to limited energy and physical endurance, each person’s final precepts won’t be numerous, and at most two could be used against enemies at the red tier.
‘No matter what, since these precepts focus on restraint, the main abilities of this extraordinary path are passive in nature. Compared to individual combat, the abilities are more effective in a team setting. If Muhetar possessed active offensive abilities like an elementalist, then Vania probably wouldn’t stand a chance.’
Dorothy concluded her thoughts and then placed the secret transmission aside. She began extracting spirituality, as the content of this secret transmission was substantial and involved up to the red tier and golden tier. Consequently, Dorothy obtained quite a bit of spirituality—nine “Lamps,” seven “Silences,” and five “Enlightenments.”
Next, Dorothy reviewed the second secret transmission, which was also on a leather scroll. This time, there were not only texts but also illustrations. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a copy of another painting.
“Copy of the Main Wall Diagram of the Sovereign of Light,” the title of this leather scroll painting. It depicted a detailed drawing of a long-haired, bare-chested, handsome, muscular man wearing a laurel wreath, with no pupils in his eyes. He stood at the top of the image, arms spread wide, facing forward, expressionless, surrounded by radiating sun wheels. In his outstretched hands, he held two objects.
In his right hand, he held a scepter, while in his left, a curved saber. Behind him, on either side of the sun wheel, stood two small figures.
Beside the scepter in his right hand stood a boy with short hair, wearing a cloak with the hood pulled back. He stood beside the sun wheel, looking up at the man within the sun wheel with admiration and reverence. His posture seemed to want to step into the sun wheel to embrace the man. His face bore a slight resemblance to the man.
On the side of the curved saber, stood a girl. Unlike the boy, she did not look toward the sun wheel but stood quietly in place without any large movements. Her hood was properly worn, covering the upper part of her face, leaving her mouth expressionless. Her smooth, long hair flowed down from under the hood to her waist, creating a stark contrast with the boy on the other side.
Below the three figures—a man and two children—was a world map. The map depicted familiar continents: the Western New World, the Southern Ufeiga continent, the Northern Ice continent, and the central Main Continent, all located beneath the three figures above. Around the map and figures were many texts, which Dorothy immediately recognized as Imperial script.
Spreading the scroll on the desk, Dorothy carefully observed it, her face showing fascination. Clearly, she was deeply attracted by the content as soon as she saw the scroll, and only after a long gaze did she sigh and begin to slowly think about the contents depicted in the image.
At this moment, Dorothy subconsciously felt that the content of this image was unusual.
‘This picture… depicts the Sovereign of True Radiance, or perhaps the Savior of Radiance? From the background of the sun wheel and the title Muhetar wrote, it seems so, but there’s a problem. If this picture depicts the Savior of Radiance, who are these two children?’
Looking at the scroll before her, Dorothy thought in puzzlement. She had seen depictions of deities from previous eras, such as the Goddess of Abundance in Dalena’s relics, which depicted the goddess and her four demigods as seen by the church in the previous era. Each demigod was distinct, making it clear which branch of the “Cup” system they represented. Similarly, there was a depiction of the Duke Barret’s research materials, showing knights with moon emblems and shields from the Prit wind rebellion a few centuries ago.
This scroll, however, was different. It wasn’t in the format of one main deity and four attendants but rather one main deity and two attendants. Moreover, these two attendants were children, and there was no trace of any “Lamp” system demigod on them. Neither the Holy Mother nor the Holy Son seemed to fit, which was confusing. If the main figure depicted was indeed the Sovereign of True Radiance or the Savior of Radiance, who else would be qualified to stand beside Him?
‘The text on this scroll is in Imperial script, meaning it was created during the Third Era of the Empire. Therefore, the person depicted is most likely the King of Light. Judging from the title, the Savior Faction equates the Sovereign of True Radiance and the Savior of Radiance with the King of Light. Although they share many commonalities, can they truly be considered equivalent?
‘Additionally, the props in the man’s hands are also intriguing. A scepter in the right hand and a curved saber in the left… it feels strange. Typically, scepters are common elements in the art of the Radiant sect, but curved sabers are extremely rare…’
Looking at the two items held by the man in the drawing, Dorothy’s confusion deepened. According to Muhetar’s annotation, this scroll was a copy of a mural from some unknown ruins. Religious murals were not freely created but meticulously carved, with every element having symbolic significance. There couldn’t be any superfluous elements.
In religious paintings, the objects held by deities carried significant meanings, often representing the core message of the entire painting. Therefore, they couldn’t be drawn haphazardly. Since the curved saber was in the man’s hand, it must have profound meaning.
In the secret transmission given to Dorothy by Audric at the beginning of her journey into the hidden extraordinary, it clearly stated that the scepter was the most prominent symbol of “Lamp.” A scepter with a glowing tip represented a torch, the sun, the center of attention, a landmark, and the fusion of power and faith. Thus, scepters frequently appeared in the art of the Radiant Church. However, curved sabers were different; they not only didn’t appear in “Lamp” art but also typically represented meanings incompatible with “Lamp” in mysticism…
Gazing at the animal skin scroll before her, Dorothy’s expression grew increasingly serious. As she continued to observe, her gaze shifted from the deity statue at the top of the scroll to the map below. She had previously overlooked the map.
The map only showed a rough outline, with no detailed location information. It looked much simpler compared to the deity statues above.
Originally, Dorothy wanted to see if there were any special locations marked on the map or if there were any ancient names from the Third Era. After scanning the extremely simplified map, she found no noteworthy information, leaving her somewhat disappointed. She prepared to focus on studying the deity statue above, but just then, she noticed something amiss.
Furrowing her brows, Dorothy fixed her eyes on the map on the scroll, especially the area to the east of the Main Continent. The more she looked, the more she felt that the shape of this area seemed odd.
After observing for a while, Dorothy recalled the world map she had seen before and compared them. Immediately, she realized where the anomaly lay.
The map on this scroll, particularly the eastern part of the Main Continent, seemed larger than the current map! Other parts were unchanged, but the eastern region of this map was notably larger!
The map on the scroll showed that the eastern part of the Main Continent was significantly larger than the current map. In fact, the Main Continent on the scroll was about one-third larger than the current map!
