Chapter 100: The New Medicine

Lin Ke smiled upon hearing this and stopped, saying, “Sister Xi, you don’t need to explain. I never intended to keep this set of martial arts secret. If you want to learn it, I can teach you. However, this technique is an immensely vigorous and masculine divine skill. After practicing it, one’s yang energy will greatly increase. For a woman, it might even cause her to grow a beard.”

“A beard?” Lin Xi’s expression changed, but then she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not planning to learn it; I just find the technique fascinating and wanted to see if some of its principles could help with my own cultivation.”

“Oh, I see. Well then,” Lin Ke nodded immediately and proceeded to explain the contents of the Nine Yang Divine Skill. Once the knot was untied, Lin Xi’s faith level rose to advanced, indicating she now fully trusted Lin Ke.

As for the carefree Ling Meng beside them, Lin Ke was even less worried. Despite Ling Meng’s usual carefree and shameless demeanor, after learning what had happened during her unconsciousness, she had already become a novice believer and was gradually increasing her faith. By now, she had reached the level of an intermediate believer.

However, Ling Meng’s personality meant she wouldn’t praise the Father God openly like others; instead, she kept her faith quietly in her heart.

After integrating the intermediate demon core, Lin Ke gained a new talent: an extraordinary memory. While not quite photographic, with careful attention, he could remember almost everything. For instance, he could now recite the entire Nine Yang Divine Skill effortlessly and even translate its content into terms Lin Xi could understand as he recited.

Ten minutes later, having finished reciting and explaining the entire Nine Yang Divine Skill, Lin Xi closed her eyes and fell into deep contemplation. Lin Ke didn’t disturb her, allowing her to ponder freely.

In terms of martial arts talent, Lin Xi was unquestionably the best Lin Ke had ever seen. Even Saga and Aeolus, both already Saint Warriors, could not compare to her; they were simply on different levels altogether.

According to the three cardinal archbishops, inheriting the Heavenly Spirit Divine Fist was a sign of a martial prodigy. Lin Xi’s talent was so rare it was difficult to find even among the legendary Heavenly Spirit Female Saints. Coupled with her diligent efforts, no one could predict how far she would go in the future.

Such a person—an advanced believer with familial bonds—made Lin Ke eager to see her fully realize her potential and grow even stronger. Had it not been for the system only providing skills without training methods, he would have gladly taught all kinds of ancient martial arts to Lin Xi in one go.

Not long after, Lin Xi opened her eyes with a look of delight. “This divine skill is incredible. It not only awakens potential but also regulates one’s abilities, heals wounds, prolongs life, and even accelerates the recovery of internal energy. Neil, the way your inner strength recovers now… it should be so fast that the energy consumption is almost negligible, right?”

Lin Ke was surprised that Lin Xi had analyzed the Nine Yang Divine Skill’s effects so thoroughly in such a short time. He nodded. “Yes, my inner strength now flows endlessly. As long as I don’t exert myself at full power, I won’t suffer from exhaustion.”

“Just as I thought,” Lin Xi nodded in understanding but then hesitated slightly. “Neil, I have a new insight from this skill and want to meditate on it alone for a while. Could you grant me a few days’ leave?”

Lin Ke knew she intended to enter seclusion and smiled as he nodded. “Of course, Sister Xi. Take all the time you need. Ling Meng’s place is quiet and there are some vacant rooms. You can seclude yourself here.”

“Ling Meng’s place?” Lin Xi glanced at the small chapel and nodded. “This place is indeed nice, but won’t it trouble Ling Meng?”

“Don’t worry, Ling Meng won’t mind,” Lin Ke said with a slight smile, looking toward Ling Meng, who wore a displeased expression. “Ling Meng, please take care of Sister Xi during this time. Once she succeeds, I’ll reward you with a thousand Sola.”

“Deal!” Ling Meng immediately beamed and patted her chest, promising, “Don’t worry at all. I won’t let anyone disturb her.”

“That’s perfect,” Lin Ke smiled at Lin Xi. “See? It’s all settled.”

“...” Lin Xi stared wordlessly at this couple who, under the guise of betrothed archbishop and former Heavenly Spirit High Priestess, exchanged such banter. They were probably the only couple in the religious world who talked like this.

And so, Lin Xi entered seclusion to meditate, while Lin Ke refocused on his work. A day later, Mirin, a former Order of the Lotus Knight, came to Lin Ke, saying that her mistress Sisley had refined something extraordinary and invited Lin Ke to take a look.

During these days, Sisley and Mirin had been assisting the Father God’s Church in crafting potions, providing many effective remedies that could quickly restore magic power and heal wounds. Though these potions were not very useful to Lin Ke personally, they were invaluable to the faithful, especially the less skilled warriors. During the last Rift Monster attack, those potions had greatly aided the Church’s defenders. Without them, casualties would have been much worse—although in the end, all the dead had been revived.

Afterward, Sisley and Mirin, like others, became Lin Ke’s believers. Though only novice believers, for them to abandon their past faith and believe in another deity was already astonishing. After all, they had been high-ranking members of the Order of the Lotus and indoctrinated from childhood. Changing belief was extremely difficult. Had the Order not been destroyed, even witnessing miracles wouldn’t have persuaded them to become Lin Ke’s believers.

Now, the pair had settled comfortably in the Father God’s Church and seemed unlikely to leave unless something major happened. A few days ago, Lin Ke had given Sisley some medicinal herbs obtained from the system. Though these were only basic-grade herbs, they were rare treasures in the Star Kingdom. Sisley was ecstatic and immediately promised to concoct excellent medicines.

Lin Ke had merely hoped for the best, but Sisley and Mirin’s efficiency surprised him—within just a few days, they had produced results.

Upon arriving at the alchemy room, Mirin hurriedly said to Sisley, “Mistress, the archbishop is here.”

“Ah? Wait, I’m coming,” Sisley replied, surprised, then ran over with a bright smile. However, to everyone’s amusement, just as she reached Lin Ke, she tripped and fell flat on the ground. The suddenness left even Lin Ke momentarily stunned.

Seeing Sisley sprawled like a clumsy puppy, Lin Ke couldn’t help but feel a bit speechless. Despite her remarkable alchemical talents, she was still as scatterbrained as ever—tripping over her own feet. Could this be what they called a natural airhead?

“Miss!” After a few seconds, Mirin quickly rushed over to help Sisley up. Sisley, wearing a distressed expression, stood up and noticed she had hit her forehead quite hard. But more than the injury, she worried about Lin Ke’s impression—would he think she was unreliable because of this fall? The thought made her even more dejected.

Just as Sisley was feeling down and nursing her aching head, a gentle golden light bathed her. Immediately, her pain vanished, and her strength was fully restored. Both she and Mirin were astonished, instinctively glancing at Lin Ke, who was smiling warmly.

Lin Ke softly said, “Miss Sisley, you shouldn’t feel any pain now, right?”

Sisley quickly stood up, gratitude shining on her face. “No, it’s gone. Thank you, Archbishop Neil.”

“You’re welcome. Miss Sisley has done so much for our Church and is now a part of us. Helping you is only right,” Lin Ke said with a smile, his words carrying a subtle hint that Sisley and Mirin, being somewhat naive, didn’t pick up on.

Indeed, they found nothing odd in his words. Sisley smiled and nodded, then suddenly remembered something. She quickly pulled out a small vial from her clothes. Seeing it was intact, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Archbishop Neil, this is a new medicine I refined using the herbs you gave me. It’s called the Swift Speech Pill—it can increase the user’s casting speed by 50% for a short period!”

“Increase casting speed by 50%?” Lin Ke’s eyes widened in surprise. He took the vial, opened it, and was greeted by a refreshing herbal aroma. Inside were about ten small brown pills.

He carefully examined one and asked, “Is this effective for warriors of all levels?”

Sisley shook her head. “Only for those below the seventh rank. Beyond seventh rank, the casting methods change completely, so this medicine won’t work.”

Lin Ke recalled what Lin Xi had told him about Saint Origin Power and nodded thoughtfully. “Though limited to below seventh rank, the effect is strong enough. Used well, it could easily turn the tide of a battle.” He then looked at Sisley. “How long does the effect last? Are there any other restrictions?”

“The effect lasts from one to three minutes, depending on the user’s strength—the stronger the user, the shorter the effect; conversely, the weaker, the longer. There are no side effects, but after taking one pill, you must wait half an hour before taking another, or the pill won’t work.”

“Hmm, that’s a good effect with acceptable limitations. This is a fine medicine. Miss Sisley, you’re truly talented. Your alchemy surpasses that of many large church alchemists,” Lin Ke praised, satisfied. He had heard of similar potions but they had more severe restrictions and often side effects.

Hearing his praise, Sisley’s face lit up as if she had tasted honey, while Mirin smiled happily for her mistress, eyes narrowed in joy.

Sisley then handed Lin Ke all thirty-two Swift Speech Pills she had refined and promised to soon create even better medicines. Her determined look made Lin Ke laugh and commend her further. For Sisley, Lin Ke’s praise was the greatest gift, and the scatterbrained girl was overjoyed.

This scene made Lin Ke feel somewhat guilty. After all, he had initially tricked the two women into joining the Father God’s Church just because he needed an alchemist. To make amends, he asked the faithful to look after them well. If they had any needs, they were to be met as much as possible; if not, they could come to him. Their treatment was now on par with Aelia, the three cardinal archbishops, and a select few others.