After Lance left, Stirling sat down in the archive chair, deep in thought.

  Yesterday's Glittering-Malice had attracted no one's attention, except for him.

  He trained in the Malice-Converting Technique. This made him more sensitive to malice than any other people. Otherwise, he wouldn't have noticed Glittering-Malice.

  Most importantly, Glittering-Malice had no effect on people. Otherwise, the outer-city residents would have reacted today.

  This external malice absorbs special emotions or body parts from people. It condenses this energy, helping worshippers to cultivate it.

  Stirling had once pondered the principle of this worship.

  At first, he believed that worshipping the 108 deities meant the statue would radiate like a nuclear reactor and change the worshipper's body. This would help them resist mailice and use it for cultivation.

  But after sensing the eerie phantom of the deity in Lance's mind yesterday, Stirling felt things were not so simple.

  Stirling shook his head, giving up on pondering it. With his current strength, thinking about such things felt unrealistic. Improving his strength in no time mattered most.

  After finishing his shift, Stirling didn't return to his house in the inner city. He took the badge and left the inner-city gate. He planned to return to the dojo today. There, he would ask Master Kim for the light skills manuals and some questions.

  As soon as he stepped out of the inner city, the familiar hustle and bustle rushed towards him. This single wall seemed to divide the city into two worlds.

  Stirling headed to his favorite noodle stall. He ordered a bowl of noodles and sat down to listen to the other diners chatting.

  Stirling listened for a bit but felt let down. No one was talking about anything strange from the night before, not even the Yearning Malice. Clearly, the residents here had completely adapted to life with Malice.

  Stirling shook his head, finished his noodles, hushed, and walked to Kim Dojo.

  When Striling arrived at the dojo, he saw the others boxing in the front yard. A new face there, too, likely a new apprentice.

  Seeing his arrival, everyone greeted him. Stirling glanced around and, noticing Marshall wasn't there, went to Julio and asked, "Julio, where is Marshall?"

  Julio was delighted to see Stirling return and said, "He said something happened at home a while ago, so he hasn't come back. He must have gone home to help."

  Everyone knew Marshall was the son of the underboss of The Gray Spector, so his sudden departure did not surprise them. Stirling looked at Julio with a nod of approval and said,

  "Julio, train hard. Once you reach the Bone Forging stage, I'll introduce you to the inner city."

  "Aye!!" Julio was deeply moved. He understood Stirling wanted to mentor him and thanked him again and again.

  Stirling smiled, then left the front courtyard. He walked down the corridor to the side rooms in the back courtyard.

  To Stirling's surprise, when he arrived at the back courtyard, he found Pillnar there as well.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Master, Third Senior!" Stirling stepped forward and bowed.

  Pillnar and Master Kim seemed to be discussing something, engrossed in their conversation. Hearing Stirling's call, they immediately stopped talking and looked over.

  "Seven, you have finally come back today." Master Kim beckoned to Stirling, signaling him to come over.

  Pillnar bowed to Master Kim, nodded, and then walked out of the courtyard. "Senior brother, will you not stay for dinner?"

  Stirling asked Pillnar, who was approaching, somewhat puzzled.

  "No, I have other matters to attend to. You should keep the Master company."

  Pillnar smiled kindly at Stirling before leaving the backyard. Pillnar's frequency of returning was a bit too high.

  Stirling watched Pillnar's retreating figure, a thought inexplicably forming in his mind.

  "Seven, your third senior brother is very busy, let him go. Come, let me test how your boxing is going!"

  Master Kim chuckled and beckoned to Stirling, calling out.

  "Master, I've been on duty all day, too tired to stand. And I have martial arts practice tonight, so please don't toss me." Stirling looked very unwilling.

  "You brat, we samurai aren't like those who worship deities. We must achieve boxing great-mastery first. Next, we can viscera-irrigate and attain perfection before blood-boiling. Otherwise, our strength won't be enough, our foundation won't be stable, and that will lead to trouble!" Master Kim, thinking Stirling was slacking off, immediately put on a stern face.

  "You know how hard I work, Master," Stirling chuckled awkwardly.

  "Alright, you didn't come back today to catch up with me, did you?" Master Kim picked up the teapot.

  "Master, I came to consult you something. Is the only difference between samurai and those who worship gods the way they cultivate? What did you mean when you said that after worshipping gods, one is no longer oneself?" Stirling asked seriously.

  "Oh? …" Master Kim's eyes slightly glazed over upon hearing Stirling's words, as if lost in some kind of memory.

  Master Kim signaled to Stirling and headed to the room; Stirling tailed him.

  The two entered the room. Master Kim found a chair and sat down. Stirling, seeing this, poured tea at once into an empty cup and presented it to Master Kim.

  "Hmm," Master Kim was happy with Stirling's attitude. He took the teacup and drank as he spoke.

  "Luis, let's start with the cost of the worship. Why do people worship gods? Because they no longer believe in themselves. When a powerful person's pride is shattered by tough times, fear and confusion emerge. In those moments, seeking help from deities can become a lifeline. Worshipping gods is a coward's shortcut. They surrender their souls to the devil, becoming nothing more than walking corpses. For ordinary people, worshipping deities offers power that feels as easy as drinking water or eating. What they don't realize is that the price they pay is their dignity as human beings."

  "Plus, I come from a military background. Years ago, I joined General Henry in his battles against the world's deities and temples. That's when I saw the terror of the Calamity in person. I had a comrade-in-arms, a good friend, who once found a blood-red statue on the battlefield. It was an impressive merit. That night, I was fast asleep in my tent. Out of the blue, I heard the sounds of battle outside. Thinking it was a night attack by the Calamity, I immediately donned my armor and rushed out."

  Master Kim glanced at Stirling, then continued: "Guess what I saw? Outside the tent, one man swung a sword, killing anyone in sight. Others surrounded him with spears. At his feet lay dozens of corpses—all were Saxon soldiers!"

  "And that man was none other than my closest friend!"

  Master Kim sighed heavily. "At first, I thought he was under the evil magic of the shrine until I saw his eyes."

  "Calm, indifferent, devoid of any emotion, yet he smiled at me."

  "I could sense that he recognized me, but for unknown reasons, he abruptly became like that."

  "It wasn't until dozens of spears pierced his body that I remembered the statue he had seized during the day."

  "My friend, of course, wouldn't worship the god; he simply took the statue back to his tent, saying he would study it."

  Master Kim turned his gaze to Stirling, his pupils dilating sharply, and said, word by word:

  "The statue is sinister; do not look straight at it."

  Stirling was startled when he heard this. He suddenly remembered the time he got ready to enhance the statue he had brought back from Romeo.

  At that time, he too had fallen into an illusion, vaguely seeing a strange figure. If it hadn't been for Aether, the outcome could have been uncertain.

  "Master, even if worshipping gods helps with cultivation, won't it be tough to beat the well-trained army in battle?" Stirling abruptly thought of something and asked.

  "That is not a bad idea. Even the strongest skills have limits on the battlefield."

  "But worshippers are different."

  "Take the Yearning Palace of the Monterey Kingdom, for example. Do you know what their strength is that allows them to stand firm and intimidate others?" Master Kim said solemnly.