Chapter Seven: Trouble Befalls the Saga Siblings

Sorry, I accidentally left out a chapter earlier, but since the platform doesn't allow me to adjust chapter order, I had to delete the two chapters posted today and re-upload them. I hope all readers can understand; think of today as a mini-explosion of updates—three chapters in total.

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"Phew, so this is inner energy? It feels wonderful, my whole body is refreshed, and I feel as if I have endless strength. No wonder those martial arts masters remain formidable even in old age. With inner energy as a foundation, they stay vigorous no matter how old they get." After experiencing the changes within himself, Link couldn't help but smile.

However, after the initial surprise, Link soon regained his composure. The Nine Yang Divine Skill is divided into nine levels, with the true essence lying in the latter three. What he had achieved so far were only the first three levels—mere entry-level inner energy, not even as profound as the inner skills of ordinary sects. It only served to strengthen his body and health, not enough to instantly turn him into a master who could easily strike down his enemies.

"So I can't become a master overnight after all. It seems I'll have to take it slow," Link muttered helplessly, turning his attention to the new function the system had just unlocked.

He could now check the number and faith level of his followers. Silently reciting the command to display the number of believers, a figure appeared before his eyes—seventy-five. This was a few more than he was aware of, likely the result of his followers spreading the word to those around them.

Next came the faith points, totaling 108. The number of faith points corresponded to the number of believers, but different levels of followers granted different points: basic believers provided one point, intermediate believers two, advanced believers four, and the highest, fanatics, yielded eight points each—though he had no fanatics yet.

Currently, only Saga was an advanced believer. Including Yuna, the dozen or so he had healed were intermediate, and the rest were basic believers, their faith not yet firm.

Gazing at the faith points, Link couldn't help but ask, "System, what are faith points used for?"

He asked the question without much hope for an answer, as previous inquiries had always been met with silence from the system.

Yet this time, the system seemed determined to please him and actually responded.

Link's eyes lit up after hearing the answer. "What's the shop?" he immediately asked.

But once again, the system fell silent. Frustrated, Link asked several more questions, but received no replies, leaving him somewhat disheartened.

Finally, he casually asked, "System, what's the ultimate goal for collecting followers and faith points? Never mind, you probably won't answ—"

"To become a god!"

Link's eyes widened in disbelief, and then he was overtaken by uncontrollable joy.

To become a god—an eternal, immortal true deity. In the past, Link could only daydream about such things, yet now the opportunity had truly presented itself.

While in most novels gods are depicted as final bosses or objects of ridicule, in reality, if one truly had the chance to ascend to godhood, who would let it slip by? Forget becoming a god—even immortality alone would drive every powerful figure in the world to madness, let alone when the opportunity to become a god was right before him. How could Link not be excited?

But Link didn't remain elated for long. Soon, he realized a problem: the human population of the Solarcone world was less than two billion. To reach his goal of two billion followers, he'd have to rely on non-human races. In Solarcone, there were other intelligent species besides humans: elves, dragons, dwarves, sea-folk, and beastmen—classic races from Western fantasy. Yet each had their own religions and didn't get along well with humans. Expecting them to convert to the Father God Church was pure fantasy.

What's more, developing a religion was no easy feat. Not only would rival faiths surely become enemies of the Father God Church, but there was also the possibility that the so-called pantheon would intervene to stop him. Even if there were no other gods or religions, building up the Father God Church would take decades at the very least.

On Earth, the largest religion is Catholicism, which took nearly two thousand years to reach over a billion adherents. Would reaching two billion believers take a millennium or two?

A millennium or two? By then, Link would be nothing but a fossil.

With that thought, Link didn't even want to consider how to gather ten billion faith points from his followers; it all seemed hopelessly out of reach.

"All illusions, becoming a god is all just an illusion. Better to use the system to improve my own life," Link concluded, decisively setting aside the temptation of godhood.

Turning once more to the tattered copy of the Nine Yang Divine Skill on the table, Link considered and decided to keep the book. When the Father God Church grew, it would need protectors. He could gather some children and teach it to them. Although the Nine Yang Divine Skill was culturally foreign, there would always be geniuses able to comprehend it, and teaching divine skills could also increase their loyalty.

With this in mind, Link resolved to make the incomplete Nine Yang Divine Skill and other divine skill manuals he would acquire in the future the sacred treasures of the Father God Church, to be passed down through generations.

Of course, that was for the future. After putting away the incomplete manual, Link closed his eyes and went to sleep. Early the next morning, he returned to the slums, ready to continue recruiting followers.

But as soon as Link arrived, several of Saga's neighbors rushed up to him with bad news—early that morning, a gang of thugs had kidnapped Yuna while Saga wasn't watching. Saga had gone after them, and the gang was led by Jack, the very man Link had encountered the previous day.

After hearing the whole story, Link frowned and asked, "Did you report this to the town guards?"

The impoverished residents could only give bitter smiles. One of them explained, "Father, to be honest, those guards don't care about what happens in the slums. If they don't come here to squeeze us for what little we have, we consider ourselves lucky. Helping us? If we report something, they just brush us off with promises to 'look into it.' We… sigh…" With that, he could only end with a sigh filled with anger and helplessness.

Link's frown deepened. He knew life in the slums was hard, but hadn't realized it was so dire. Anger welled up inside him.

But getting angry wouldn't help. Suppressing his fury, Link asked, "Did you go after them?"

"We did, Father. Everyone is out looking, but Saga left in such a hurry he didn't tell us where he was going. We know what happened, but not where they went. Now everyone's anxious and we hoped you might have a way."

Link smiled ruefully. What could he do? Maybe one day he'd have skills to find people, but not yet.

Just as Link was about to say he had no solution, a man came running up, a resident of the slums, his right eye swollen and bruised as if he'd just been in a fight.

He paused in surprise when he saw Link, then his eyes lit up and he hurried forward. "Father, bad news! Jack has taken a group out to the old monastery outside town and they're ganging up on Saga—there's even a first-rank warrior among them! Do you have any way to stop those damned thugs?"

At these words, the slum dwellers around Link all turned pale. The world of Solarcone, like many fantasy realms, had a ranking system from one to nine, with one being the lowest and nine the highest.

Of course, this was the scale for ordinary people—supposedly there were higher levels beyond ninth rank, but Link had no idea what they were.

For the slum dwellers—mostly frail, malnourished wretches—a first-rank warrior was an unbeatable master. News that the thugs had one among them sent their courage fleeing.

One of the residents looked at Link in distress. "Father, those people are dangerous. Maybe we should think of another way—or call the guards!"

Link glanced at the man, then at the others, seeing fear and hesitation written on all their faces. He realized they were all too scared to act, and frowned slightly. He then turned to the man with the black eye and said, "Take me there. I want to see just what those thugs are capable of."

Everyone was taken aback; Link's tone suggested he meant to confront the thugs himself. But what was Link? Just a priest, with perhaps some healing skills, but that didn't mean he was good in a fight!

Even if Link was a first-rank mage, he wouldn't be a match for a first-rank warrior. Usually, up to the fourth rank, warriors overwhelmingly beat mages. The two classes only reached parity from the fourth rank onward, and only after the seventh did mages gain the upper hand.

With that in mind, and seeing Link calm and unafraid, one of the slum residents hesitantly asked, "Father, are you a second-rank mage?"

Link replied with a slight smile, "No, I'm a zero-rank mage."

Everyone was speechless, but Link didn't give them a chance to argue. He pressed the man with the black eye to lead the way, leaving the nervous slum dwellers staring helplessly at one another.

The old monastery outside town had once belonged to some religious order. It lay about five kilometers from Chinko Town, nestled beside a copse and a small river. The setting was beautiful and the location excellent, but after mismanagement and fierce competition it had closed down. Later, a wild animal attack had driven off even the vagrants, and after several twists and turns, it had become the gathering place for the area's thugs.

Link and his guide hurried to the monastery, passing many idle hoodlums who eyed them suspiciously. But seeing Link's priestly garb, none dared pick a fight, so the two made it into the monastery unimpeded.

Inside, they found a large crowd of thugs gathered in the courtyard, watching with gleeful shouts and laughter as Saga was beset by a mob. Though he struggled valiantly, he was battered and bruised, his body marked with countless wounds.

At the far end of the courtyard, Jack sat in a chair with Yuna at his side, holding her fast. He watched the beating with a satisfied grin, while Yuna, eyes full of tears, gazed at Saga. A cloth had been tied over her mouth, making it impossible for her to even cry out.