Chapter 144: Statue

Before long, precisely half an hour since they started, the rangers and supports couldn’t help but open their eyes and observe their Master.

They were stunned by his gesture—he was praying.

Didn’t he prohibit even Amelia from praying to the statue? They were dumbfounded.

Amelia talked to them of how praying to the statue would benefit their Master the most. Amelia explained that the Master misunderstood what praying meant.

It meant devotion and faith to an individual, but not to the level of affecting their master and servant relationship.

Amelia believed that their Master might have confused religion and politics.

If it remained that way, their Master and them would miss the benefits of meditating in the consecrated praying chamber, and thus Amelia tried to persuade them to convince their master.

However, who would have thought that Amelia and other Radiant Knights didn’t need to convince their Master?

Their Master himself seemed to have realized it long before they could even acknowledge that Amelia’s reasoning was correct.

Without hesitation, they glanced at the statue and felt a reverence emanating from it.

Although it was not on the level they had to their Master, the idea of praying to this individual who had attained the highest peak that humanity could perhaps not be able to achieve anymore made them form a deep respect and devotion to the statue.

The statue’s aura was not to be treated lightly—it was actually the origin of the divine mana.

There were some sacred iconographies which portrayed individual far different than the statue, but they still exuded divine mana they could absorb, so long they possessed the same devotion.

Now that they had an idea, they closed their eyes and clasped their hands.

Before they pray, they contemplated first.

What do I feel towards this statue? How does it different from the reverence and devotion we have towards our Master?

Is it really right to pray for this statue? Isn’t our Master right before? That we are betraying him if we have devotion and faith to another individual?

Such questions only confused them.

However, one question enlightened them.

How is our Master viewed the statue?

After that question, more followed but more of an answer.

Our Master revered that individual, perhaps praying to seek his blessings.

It feels more like a bond between teacher and student.

We, too, can learn from and respect this statue, simply because He deserves it.

Master likely felt the same.

If that’s the case...

Praying for this statue’s blessing and recognition isn’t a betrayal.

We have already fully acknowledged our Master.

Devotion is like love—we can give it freely, so long as no one is harmed, and the boundaries of our loyalty do not conflict.

Now that they had an idea in mind, they were inspired to create their personal prayer to the statue.

Now, Max and his Radiant Knights had fully converted to the Church of Holy Salvation.

They recognized, accepted, and expressed their devotion to the Church’s Savior.

As a result, the statue and the sacred iconography lit up, producing more divine mana that they could absorb.

Max was delighted. The density of the divine mana inside the consecrated prayer chamber multiply.

As a result, once the burning incense exhausted and the divine mana dwindled, returning to their previous state.

The divine mana still existed, but with six individuals fighting for it, it wasn’t enough.

Max opened his eyes and understood that four hours had already passed.

The incense he found beside the blessed incense burner was stored in packs, with a number of hours it could last.

He had chosen an incense pack that would last for four hours with his mana after placing it inside his blessed incense burner to also serve as an alarm of how many hours had passed.

During meditation, not even Jeremiah could determine the duration of hours.

The incense pack was stored in a jade box of a large size and Max calculated that the incense could only last for two months.

There were notes inside the jade box that reminded him to proceed to the Church if he needed more incense.

It seemed to also remind him that he must visit the Church during his stay in the residence.

Max stood up and glanced at the Radiant Knights who also sensed the anomaly and stopped meditating.

The Radiant Knights gathered before him and bowed deeply.

Max said, "Time is up. Another batch will be meditating now."

Max paused for a while and continued, "I will wait ten minutes to summon them. In that span, you must relay to them of the meditation method."

The Radiant Knights were astonished. They bowed and assured their Master to complete their task.

Max nodded and recalled them to his Conclave Network, leaving him alone in the consecrated prayer chamber.

Max glanced at the statue and walked towards it.

He examined the statue. The statue was faceless, giving him an eerie impression.

The statue was fully naked, but his private part was hidden due to his position.

He kneeled and leaned his body forward, his hands were above his private part, and his head was lowered, seemingly bowing.

He didn’t have a hair, and his skin was impeccably polished.

The statue was carved in detailed, not even missing a single muscle protruding his forearms.

Max tried to understand the reason of his position.

Not having a definite conclusion irked him.

I guess, I have to visit the Church soon. Max thought.

What was noteworthy from the statue was not based on its physical, but the divinity emanating from it.

Max couldn’t understand how—he didn’t even sense a single rune placed on its skin.

The material used might be the reason behind. He thought.

He walked forward and caressed the skin of the statue.

Suddenly, the statue glowed a blinding light, enveloping him.

The divine mana became denser than before when he lit up the incense burner.

It was to the point that Max felt a warm heat emanated from the divine mana.

Max couldn’t help but raise his guard, not knowing what the strange phenomenon meant.

As it was getting intense, the blinding light retracted and the place returned to normal, baffling Max.

He immediately checked his status and condition, but nothing had changed.

He frowned.

What was that?

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