Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 387 - 360 Followers Continue

Chapter 387: 360 Followers Continue

"Impermanence is a supreme existence that can leave its mark between heaven and earth, and is an immortal totem in the mystical domain. If one holds it in their heart and develops faith, it is possible to connect with this inscrutable totem and obtain corresponding power," Lu Chan explained. "Of course, whether one can obtain it, and how much, still depends on the karma with the other party... But generally speaking, as long as the faith is devout enough, most people can obtain some benefits from it."

"Even if it’s just faith by me?"

The thought that I too am an Impermanence, and that other people can gain strength by worshipping me, made me feel incredulous and somewhat at a loss.

"Naturally. Look."

Saying this, Lu Chan raised his right hand and extended his index finger, a flame appearing above the fingertip.

Judging by the mana fluctuations, this flame was formed by Lu Chan’s spirit, but I didn’t understand why it bore my scent. If my mana is a sphere made of volcanic rock, and Lu Chan’s usual mana is a cube made of concrete, then what he had now was a sphere made of concrete.

It truly can be used... Wait, I suddenly realized something was off.

"Do you believe in me?" I asked in surprise.

"Not exactly. I just simulated the possibility that I believe in you using ’Possibility Avatar’, then borrowed the corresponding power from this possibility," Lu Chan said.

Although I hadn’t really expected Lu Chan to believe in me, or to have a high level of loyalty toward me, hearing him deny it outright strangely gave me the impulse to make him believe in me. The human heart is indeed mysterious.

"So, you mean... you can also use the power from believing in other Impermanences?" I asked.

"Not completely."

Lu Chan extinguished the flame and lowered his finger. "Currently, the possibility that I believe in Extraordinaryism Impermanence is almost zero, so at least I can’t use the power of faith in Extraordinaryism Impermanence.

"The possibilities of using the powers of Old Fist God, Liu Shuying, and Jian Feixian are very low, making them very difficult to use. The possibility of using Fa Zheng, however, is relatively higher and easier to utilize.

"And the highest possibility is you... after all, I am loyal to you now."

Strange, why do I suddenly feel vaguely like I’ve been cheated on?

Is this what it feels like for gods who see their fickle believers in magical stories? Although I never quite considered myself a god, and Lu Chan was never really my believer... so maybe it’s like knowing your employees are moonlighting elsewhere after work? I haven’t been a boss, so I’m not really sure about that.

Lu Chan commented, "Why do I feel like you’re looking at me as if I’m some unprincipled person..."

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding..." I brought the topic back, "In summary, this is the reason why Xuanming believers have such a strong cohesion?"

"Exactly. As long as one devoutly believes in Xuanming, one can obtain power, and Xuanming was known for his virtuous deeds as a great Impermanence in Luo Mountain, and has a long-standing history, especially with a large number of followers," Lu Chan nodded, "Although after Xuanming’s betrayal, the Xuanming believers could switch to believe in other Impermanences and regain power, if they are not truly devout in their belief in Impermanence, they can’t obtain power, and those who were initially devout believers of Xuanming aren’t likely to switch their belief easily.

"Sometimes, adversity can actually enhance the devoutness of the faith, allowing believers to gain even greater power. Even in the history of the surface world, such examples aren’t uncommon, right? And within many Impermanences, wanderers, and agents, there are probably also a significant number of these types of Xuanming believers lurking."

"Agents can also gain power from their faith?" I was curious.

As far as I knew, agents are generally ordinary people without the natural talent for demon hunting, presumably unable to manipulate supernatural power.

"Agents can’t manipulate the power obtained from faith as freely as demon hunters, but they can manipulate it indirectly through certain external conditions," Lu Chan explained, "For instance, when setting up rituals related to Impermanence, devoutly believing agents can increase the success rate of the ritual, or enhance its effects, or even add effects that weren’t originally there by chanting the name of Impermanence in their hearts.

"Apart from rituals, runes and arrays are also elements that agents can utilize. Since you’ve had contact with Kong Da before, you should know that he specialized in studying rituals and arrays in Luo Mountain, right?"

"Unlike you who actively engage in abnormal events and possess immense strength, the vast majority of people... especially the demon hunters with low power and agents without power, are very fearful towards abnormal events.

"After their first encounter with an abnormal event, they will inevitably become connected with this world. They do not know when a desperate situation will arise again, nor do they know if they can escape next time. Even death is not surprising, sometimes they might even find themselves in a state where they wish for death but couldn’t achieve it. And the most effective catalyst for faith is exactly this type of unknown terror.

"Perhaps the past Kong Da chose to become an abnormal person amidst such boundless anxiety."

As he spoke, Lu Chan showed a look of sorrow. By the way, Kong Da is Agent Kong, who, I heard, was once a common person wrapped up in an abnormal event and rescued incidentally by Lu Chan who was passing by.

Zhu Shi also mentioned that Agent Kong’s knowledge in Arrays is actually more profound than hers, a formal demon hunter.

"Are the people attracted by Mr. Zhu’s recruitment ads also driven by the same motive?" I asked.

"Yes," Lu Chan said, "Although many demon hunters and agents have already decided on their faith in God, there are also old folks who are still wavering, and newcomers who have not yet had the chance to choose their faith. At this moment, when such a new Impermanence appeared in Luo Mountain, their attention naturally concentrated on you.

"If it were just the addition of a new Impermanence, it wouldn’t be a big deal. The key point is that you emerged and knocked down Ming Zhuo, an established Impermanence, forcing him to admit defeat publicly...

"Most people’s motivation for worshiping Impermanence is to escape from fear. Therefore, for them, the strength of Impermanence is a very crucial factor, and part of the cohesion of Xuanming believers also stems from this. Since you’ve demonstrated your strength, naturally, you will attract an endless stream of believers."

So there is such a trick to it.

Although it isn’t something hard to think of, if Fa Zheng hadn’t suddenly suggested making Ming Zhuo publicly admit his loss to me at that time, I probably wouldn’t have thought of using this method to attract a large number of believers for myself.

I often realize that I already possess the power of God, but I have never focused on my identity as a deity, hence I wouldn’t actively think about strengthening my anchor between myself and the abnormal world by increasing the number of believers.

Ming Zhuo also keeps his word. Although there was no oath requiring him to publicly admit his defeat, he clearly acknowledged it without ambiguity and didn’t make excuses in his statement, openly and directly stating his defeat.

"So, you should care a bit more about your identity, my respected God," Lu Chan helplessly said, "Now, every word and action of yours could change the world and affect the fate of countless people... Even your name possesses this power."

As he spoke, he took out a notepad and water pen from his embrace, then ripped off one note and wrote the name ’Zhuang Cheng’ on it before tossing it aside.

The note spontaneously combusted, turning into ashes.

"You see, even your name now possesses significant mystical efficacy, it has become a kind of rune," he said, "Even without faith, other demon hunters can write down your name and inject a faint amount of mana to achieve the same effect. And if a common person writes your name on paper, although it won’t show such immediate effects, it will make fire-related incidents more likely to occur around them."

Really? I haven’t learned any mystic runes myself, yet my name has become a mystic rune first?

"Wait a minute... my name isn’t something very uncommon, what if someone shares the same name as me?" I asked.

"That’s a blind spot for me," Lu Chan said, "Generally, everyone avoids naming someone after a respected Impermanence, but I can somewhat guess. Naming is also an important aspect of fate studies. People who share your name, unless their fate has an overwhelming element of water, it’s hard for their fate to avoid fire-related incidents.

"On the other hand, although it’s not convenient to share the same name with Impermanence, names that are slightly related don’t have such great impacts, and might even gain some benefits. Of course, ordinary demon hunter families wouldn’t dare to align closely with Impermanence even by name, but the descendants of Impermanence are different. The Zhu family is like this.

"From the ancestral Zhu Yi, to Zhu Er, Zhu San, Zhu Si... up to the current Zhu Shi, the Zhu family might hope to pass down the talents of their ancestor Zhu Yi as much as possible through this heritage of naming."

So there’s such a story behind Zhu Shi’s name.

However, what Zhu Yi governed was the ’Powers of Gold and Slaughter.’ Since my name coincides with his and becomes difficult to avoid fire-related incidents, then Zhu Shi, whose name borders that of Zhu Yi, is destined to walk the path of wielding sword and slaughter.

She put down the name ’Jiuxing’ and chose to become ’Zhu Shi’, which also seems to imply her determination to step into the battleground.

To me, this seems like a destiny fitting for a story’s protagonist, brilliant and dramatic; but for her, who is inherently kind and gentle, it might not be a fortunate fate.

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