Chapter 147: The Hero Returns

Feeling refreshed and full of boundless strength, little Will gently moved his body, emitting a series of crackling sounds. His attributes appeared in his mind:

Name: Will Decland

Age: Thirteen

Strength: 4.1

Agility: 4.3

Constitution: 5.2

Spirit: 4.5

Supernatural Power: Dou Qi Seed (incomplete metamorphosis), Magic Power (First-level Wizard Apprentice, thirty-six basic runes inscribed, primordial magic power unavailable)

Bloodline: Human Primordial Bloodline

Cultivation Methods: Advanced Knight Cultivation Method, Intermediate Muscle and Bone Forging Method, Human Bloodline Evolution Art

Talent: Magic Power Shaping

Overall Evaluation: Young man, you are already on the fast track to becoming a transcendent. Follow the guidance of the great God of Wisdom and bravely run forward.

“Given that the original agent elf, Little Wei, was lax in supervising the apostle and showed much favoritism, causing the apostle’s strength to progress slowly, a new supervisor has been added. This second agent elf, Dean Kaster, also has the authority of the Apostle Space. So, my dear two-star apostle, Little Will, please guide me in the future!” The devilish boy’s voice echoed in Little Will’s mind, sending a shiver down his spine.

Only half an hour had passed in the outside world, but a full month had gone by in the soul space. In the last twenty days of that month, Little Will had to compete in twenty matches every day against the new envoy of the God of Wisdom: swordsmanship, archery, flying knives, soft whips, long spears, sword and shield, horsemanship, and team combat (coordinating with armies of skeletons and zombies). In just twenty days, Little Will had digested most of his physical benefits, completely solidifying his status as an official knight. His strength now surpassed that of the two female junior knights at the Rose Knight Guild, and even exceeded that of his father, Florret Decland, a junior knight, as he strode towards becoming an intermediate knight.

The blood-red light above his head dissipated, and the glittering seven-story pagoda rotated gently in mid-air. The entire altar vanished in an instant, along with everything on it, leaving only Little Will in mid-air, letting out a shriek as he plummeted towards the pond.

“Ah!” Splash! Little Will screamed as he fell from mid-air, plunging headfirst into the pond. It was then that the surrounding crowd awoke from the glow of the seven-story pagoda. Such a grand spectacle of a sacred artifact suppressing a devil was a rare sight, especially since this sacred artifact was a powerful one co-created by the gods.

A Water Dragon Wave spell lifted Little Will from the bottom of the pond and gently placed him on the bank. Wizard Stardashan rushed over and vigorously patted his back, making him spit out water. Fortunately, he wasn’t injured. However, as soon as he touched the boy’s body, Wizard Stardashan sensed something amiss; the boy’s strength seemed to have increased significantly.

“Little Will Decland, could you tell us about that seven-story pagoda just now?” The White-robed Bishop of the Church of the Morning Star Goddess walked over, and with a divine spell, Little Will immediately felt refreshed.

Upon hearing this, Little Will, who had been enjoying himself, suddenly pulled a long face. “It’s gone! My seven-story pagoda sacred artifact is gone! This was a reward I painstakingly earned by passing the gods’ strict tests. Although I can’t use it yet because I’m too weak, I’ll be able to use it once I become strong! That’s a powerful sacred artifact with seven entire spatial layers!”

“Can a sacred artifact bestowed by the gods be taken away?” Lyte Kendall asked, puzzled. “Was it taken back by the gods?”

“No, the seven-story pagoda is still mine. It’s just that the gods left a restriction that its primary duty is to suppress evil. So, when it encountered a devil invasion, the seven-story pagoda voluntarily jumped out to fulfill its mission, suppressing the devil and all devil-related things in an alternate dimension. Once the seven-story pagoda enters suppression mode, many of its functions become unusable. Although I am nominally its owner, I have no way to control it, at least not until the devil is suppressed and eroded away. But this suppression and erosion process takes hundreds or thousands of years,” Little Will complained with a mournful face. “What’s the difference between that and losing it?”

The Knight of the Temple of Vol patted Little Will’s shoulder, comforting him. “Don’t be sad, little one. Things aren’t as bad as you think. Thousands of years is the time it took to suppress the God of Death, Ramode. Ramode was a true powerhouse, a super-existence that required the combined efforts of the gods to defeat. But this devil is different; a single sacred artifact easily suppressed it. Perhaps it won’t take that long.”

“If a god could just eliminate it, wouldn’t you get your seven-story pagoda back? And no matter what, this sacred artifact is still yours.” Molly, the Advanced Knight, made Little Will roll his eyes. Were gods that easy to invite? Moreover, his true situation wasn’t like that at all. The seven-story pagoda wasn’t really used to suppress the devil; it was mortgaged to the God of Wisdom. The thought of his immense debt made Little Will gloomy again.

The seven-story pagoda currently belongs to the God of Wisdom temporarily, but he can borrow it for temporary use. However, the thought of Agent Elf Number Two being that terrifying devil made Little Will a little scared. Although named Agent Elf Number Two, this devil’s authority was even greater than that of Agent Elf Number One, Little Wei. In general, he could even fully represent the God of Wisdom. And it was when he was heavily in debt that he signed a contract, a contract almost equivalent to a slave contract. Little Will also realized the true nature of the God of Wisdom: a greedy devil!

However, this devil was not an evil devil like Dean Kaster, but a free-spirited and unrestrained devil who enjoyed manipulating people’s hearts and playing in the mortal world, taking pleasure in toying with pure youths like himself. He was also a devil immensely greedy for knowledge. He had more than one apostle; Professor Weiser was not the first, but he himself was currently the last. What he sought most was knowledge, and what he gave most was also knowledge. Because Little Will had seen through his true nature, the grace period ended, and the period of exploitation and oppression officially began.

The devil’s helper was also a devil, Dean Kaster, a genuine devil acting as his enforcer. The thought of being constantly watched by two devils and being heavily in debt made Little Will feel incredibly sad. Gods, when will I ever be free?!

“Heh heh, I’ll take your word for it. I hope one day I can meet a great god and receive their merciful help.” Little Will rolled his eyes again.

Lyte Kendall scrutinized Little Will and suddenly asked, “Little one, have you awakened your bloodline? Hmm, it seems to be a bloodline leaning towards the elven race?”

“That Had Felt collected a pile of knights’ hearts and sacrificed them to the devil, attempting to exchange them for the devil’s power. Before the devil could enjoy these hearts, it drew out a powerful force, but before it could absorb it, it was suppressed by the seven-story pagoda. So all that vast blood energy ultimately benefited me. These energies were excessively powerful, and their sudden infusion into my body triggered a bloodline awakening. With the help of the seven-story pagoda, I suppose I awakened my bloodline. However, my awakening isn’t complete; it’s a bit chaotic. Roughly speaking, it’s a half-elf bloodline, and my talent seems to be Magic Power Shaping.” Little Will’s words made everyone exchange glances. They didn’t know whether to call this little fellow lucky or unlucky.

“No wonder. You must be an official knight by now,” Lyte Kendall said with great certainty. “And your overall strength is considered outstanding among early-stage knights.”

“One hundred and forty hearts, and I absorbed most of the immense blood energy contained within them, more than half of which came from intermediate knights. If I still couldn’t advance to junior knight after that, wouldn’t that be too pathetic?” Little Will’s words made everyone suddenly realize, and at the same time, they shook their heads in regret. Had Felt collected so many official knights’ hearts, probably hoping to use the devil’s power to advance further, from advanced knight directly to great knight, or even sky knight. Unfortunately, it ended up benefiting this kid, who only advanced from apprentice knight to junior knight. It was simply a waste of heavenly resources.

Moreover, using such a shortcut to advance would probably hinder his future progress, right? Thinking of this, many people began to gloat over this lucky kid. What if you had good luck? What if you had the favor of the gods? In the end, weren’t you still scammed by the devil?

“Little Will, tell your grandfather truthfully, did those two who kidnapped you use a Blood Essence Bead on you and bestow the Soul Singer’s Blessing?” Wizard Stardashan looked at Little Will with a slight frown. The latter nodded gently: “I used both of those, and it seemed like more than once. It felt pretty good.”

Wizard Stardashan was momentarily stunned, looking somewhat distraught. However, many people felt a slight joy in their hearts. This kid had awakened an incomplete bloodline and had the potential to advance to a Great Knight. If he also showed extraordinary talent in wizardry, then he would truly be an object of envy, jealousy, and hatred. Although this kid had awakened his bloodline, his talent leaned towards the wizarding system; Magic Power Shaping required magic power. This little fellow had the Soul Singer’s Blessing, so his progress in the wizard apprentice stage would be very fast, but not becoming an official wizard meant not being a true powerhouse. The magic power of a wizard apprentice, combined with the Magic Power Shaping talent, could barely grant him the combat power of a first-level wizard. Coupled with the Great Knight strength after bloodline awakening, his overall strength was quite decent. Gains and losses, it was truly hard to say for a while, but such potential was considered top-tier in the entire City of Drake.

“Little Will, would you like to join the Church of the Morning Star Goddess? You are a favored one of the Goddess, and you will have better development in the temple.” The White-robed Bishop of the Church of the Morning Star Goddess patted Little Will’s shoulder kindly.

“Old man, Little Will is my grandson, and he is to inherit my wizarding legacy. The Soul Singer’s Blessing does have a slight problem, but Little Will is still young. At worst, he can stay at the first-level wizard apprentice stage for a few more years, completely eliminate the after-effects, and then advance.” Wizard Stardashan’s words made the White-robed Bishop of the Church of the Morning Star Goddess helpless. The Soul Singer’s Blessing indeed had after-effects, but these after-effects were not without a solution. The most foolish method was indeed what he had just mentioned: staying at the first-level wizard apprentice stage for a few more years, completely visualizing and inscribing the thirty-six basic runes, then not rushing to advance but continuing to visualize and purify his spiritual power. After a few years, the after-effects could still be eliminated. However, such an investment would be significant, as spending too much time in the wizard apprentice stage was also detrimental to future advancement. But then, thinking that Little Will had awakened a half-elf bloodline and might have a longer lifespan than ordinary people, coupled with his knightly talents, it didn’t seem so difficult to accept.