The surging, pure holy light energy continued to wash through Jiang Lin's limbs and bones, enveloping him within. Jiang Lin felt his two attributes finally reach their absolute limits.
Like a sponge soaked to capacity, Jiang Lin clenched his fists, feeling the overflowing, powerful strength within his body.
Now, his panel attributes had become somewhat exaggerated.
【Level】: 20
【Stamina】: 220,000 → 400,000
【Spirit】: 220,000 → 400,000
Both attributes had doubled!
Jiang Lin felt as if he were dreaming.
After all, his values were no longer like they used to be when they were only one or two thousand, where adding a mere thousand would count as doubling.
He looked at his powerful hands.
He noticed that his originally wheat-colored skin had become smooth and fair, like high-quality mutton-fat jade.
Eh? Why did my skin turn so white?
He was currently unaware of the changes in his appearance.
However, he could clearly feel that the gazes of the people around him seemed a bit strange.
"This... what's going on?"
"Why is this happening to this youth?!"
"Could it be that a miracle has descended?!!"
"Such a powerful aura of holy light!"
"Has the will of a god descended upon this boy?"
The crowd broke into a noisy clamor of discussion.
Jiang Lin remembered that he couldn't expose his identity as an apostle of god, so he turned around and walked quickly toward the exit.
Indeed, the way golden light had radiated from his body just now was very eye-catching, but it should be fine once he got outside.
As Jiang Lin thought this, he checked the system notification that had just popped up:
【External energy detected attempting soul marking and power locking...】
【Detected "apostle mark" attempting to establish a deep link with the main status...】
【Beginning transfer of soul marking, power locking, and deep link to the upgraded sub-status...】
【Stripping in progress...】
【Estimated time required: ten hours. Due to the deep link currently being implanted, surveillance has been strengthened. Please do not use any powers related to the Demon Lord Seed within the next ten hours.】
【Note: Any investigation, tracking, control, or destructive actions acting upon the sub-status will not affect the main status or the powers already mastered by the host's original body.】
The system's prompt made Jiang Lin's heart tighten.
It turned out that while the gods bestowed power, it came with such deep binding and surveillance!
It seemed that when he used those powers before, the apostle mark in his body didn't react simply because the other party's detection methods couldn't find the existence of the "Demon Lord Seed."
Thanks to the system; otherwise, if he had exposed those abilities, he might have been in extreme danger.
The system had resolved a massive threat for him, though it was best not to ask where the threat came from in the first place.
Furthermore, judging by the system's meaning, it seemed that if he didn't follow the gods' orders in the future, they could take these powers back.
As expected, there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Obtaining benefits from a god came with a corresponding price.
If he didn't have the system and were just an ordinary adventurer, such rewards would naturally be a good thing.
But he was, after all, a man with a system...
Jiang Lin walked quickly to the entrance of the hall of statues. Just as he was about to step out, several paladins dressed in fine-grade armor with steady auras quickly surrounded him.
The leader wore a silver badge symbolizing a high-ranking position and had a serious expression.
"Hello, young adventurer. Could I trouble you for a moment of your time?"
The gold badge knight asked.
He had only arrived after receiving orders and hadn't seen the process of Jiang Lin's appearance changing. He was currently sizing up the blonde, golden-eyed youth before him, who was shining as brightly as the sun.
Is he from the Castrot family?
He once had a colleague of the same rank who had similar blonde hair and golden eyes, but compared to the youth before him, that colleague seemed somewhat dull in comparison.
Jiang Lin remained silent. He really wanted to say no.
However, the man was a gold badge knight after all, and he was still inside the temple, which was essentially his big boss's company. He had to give them at least some face.
"What is it? I'm in a bit of a hurry,"
he said.
The gold badge knight didn't take offense at Jiang Lin's attitude. Instead, he maintained a business-like tone and said,
"Could you please come with me? There are too many eyes and ears here..."
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Lin nodded and followed the man deeper into the temple.
He felt more and more people watching him, which made him feel a bit strange.
Wasn't it just a bit of light coming from his body? What was there to stare at?
"You caused some anomalies in the hall of statues just now, so we would like to ask you some questions regarding the situation,"
the gold badge knight asked once they reached an empty office.
Since the quest explicitly stated he couldn't reveal his identity, Jiang Lin naturally shook his head and said,
"I'm sorry, it's not convenient to disclose. However, the fact that I had such a reaction with the statue should prove that I have no connection to the secret cults."
The gold badge knight's brow furrowed slightly. He hadn't expected Jiang Lin to refuse so decisively.
But it was true; according to the rules, the temple had no reason to detain such a person.
This was merely a routine inquiry.
It would be best if they could learn something, but it didn't matter if they couldn't.
So, he said,
"Not convenient to disclose? That is quite a pity. Then please excuse me for a few more minutes to complete an identity registration. The temple needs to record this and add it to the database.
"For the specific reason, you can just fill in that it's not convenient to disclose."
Jiang Lin's brow furrowed again.
If there were other temple members who knew the inside story and this data was turned in, wouldn't that be equivalent to exposing the fact that he might be an apostle of god?
Thus, he expressed his refusal once more:
"I'm sorry, my itinerary for today is also not convenient to disclose. I hope the Clearwater City temple can understand."
After thinking about it, Jiang Lin took out the second recommendation letter that the Temple Master of Boulder City, Cecilia, had given him.
This recommendation letter was originally intended for him to give to the Clearwater City temple so he could work part-time here after reaching the 1st-rank.
However, after he reached the 1st-rank, he clearly didn't have the time to come here.
So, he had kept the recommendation letter until now.
He waved the letter in front of the man.
"This is a letter from Cecilia, the Temple Master of Boulder City. I believe this should be enough to prove my identity."
The gold badge knight saw that the envelope was indeed of a high level used only for temple business and looked at Jiang Lin with some shock.
He hadn't expected this guy to actually have some background.
No wonder he refused to disclose any information.
Jiang Lin quickly tucked the letter back into his spatial ring.
"May I leave now?"
Hearing this, the gold badge knight hesitated.
In principle, he should follow protocol.
But the person in front of him likely held the principles themselves.
If he pressed further, it would make him look like he didn't know how to act.
After considering it again and again, he decided that less trouble was better than more and prepared to lead Jiang Lin out.
It was just a job, after all; there was no need to be so literal about it...
Just then, the office door was opened.
A middle-aged man dressed in a plain white robe with gold trim, possessing a majestic face and eyes that seemed capable of seeing through one's soul, walked in slowly.
His steps were steady, and his entire body radiated an aura as heavy as a mountain yet as warm as sunlight.
Upon seeing this person, the two people originally in the office immediately broke into a cold sweat.
The gold badge knight knew who this person was, while Jiang Lin was purely intimidated by the aura the man radiated.
His 【Chronowalker's Evil Eye】 began to ache again.
This was likely another Temple Master level figure!
Jiang Lin made his judgment.
The gold badge knight's reaction confirmed his thoughts.
"Temple Master!"
The man bowed respectfully.
Seeing this, Jiang Lin quickly followed suit:
"Greetings, Temple Master!"
At the same time, the gold badge knight breathed a sigh of relief.
He was about to let principles slide, but he hadn't expected another principle to appear.
Now, it was no longer his concern.
"Knight Eliott, you may step down. I wish to speak with this young paladin,"
the Temple Master said to the gold badge knight.
"As you command!"
The gold badge knight hurried out of the office, leaving the space to the two of them.
If Jiang Lin were to rate the god's reward today on a scale of one to ten, he would probably give it an 8.5, because he was a bit speechless.
How did he manage to summon the Temple Master of Clearwater City?!
Was this Temple Master really that idle?
And he had just used Lord Cecilia's recommendation letter to tell a lie; he hadn't expected to run into someone of the same rank as Cecilia so quickly.
Now, his 'principles' wouldn't work anymore!
However, to his surprise, the man didn't start by talking about what happened in the hall of statues. Instead, he said,
"Quite impressive. To gain the favor of a god at such a young age."
Hearing this, Jiang Lin looked at him in confusion.
Did the other party know the truth about the apostle of god?
Regardless, he asked,
"What do you mean by that, Temple Master?"
Seeing Jiang Lin's act, the Temple Master smiled and said,
"You must have obtained the qualification of a saintly apostle. An anomaly like the one in the hall of statues happened to me as well when I was young."
After saying that, Jiang Lin felt the other party release a wave of energy that felt incredibly familiar.
This was clearly the vibration of an apostle mark!
And the man's gaze also seemed to penetrate Jiang Lin's skin, reaching his core and landing on the pulsing apostle mark within his body.
Jiang Lin was shaken to his core.
Not only because the man saw through his identity at a glance, but also because the man seemed to be a member of the apostles of god as well!!
He quickly lowered his head to hide the stormy waves in his eyes.
At the same time, he thought rapidly about how to respond.
Since the other party was also an apostle of god and one who had reached such a high position, he could ask the man many things he didn't understand.
But he still had some concerns.
After all, he was still in the probationary phase and hadn't officially become a full member. The restriction that he shouldn't reveal his identity as an apostle of god to the outside world should still be in effect.
So, if he admitted it directly now, would he immediately lose the qualification?
After thinking it over, Jiang Lin decided to continue pretending he didn't understand anything.
"Temple Master, I don't understand what you mean. I just came here for a normal prayer today. As for why that happened, I don't know either."
Seeing Jiang Lin react this way, the Temple Master appeared very surprised.
However, he nodded with great satisfaction and said in a praising tone,
"Very good. You have enough caution and are very smart. At least in this regard, you are the most outstanding adventurer I've met in years.
"Finally, there's a somewhat qualified trainee apostle of god."
Hearing this, Jiang Lin was confused.
But soon, the Temple Master said something that made his face turn dark.
"Over the years, many trainee apostles of god directly and excitedly admitted their identities after hearing me say that. However, because they were still trainee apostles of god, they weren't allowed to proactively reveal their identities. Thus, they were judged as unqualified in that regard, their missions failed immediately, their powers were reclaimed, and they lost their subsequent qualifications."
The Temple Master spoke with a cheerful expression, looking not at all guilty for having sabotaged his juniors.
Jiang Lin mentally complained that this guy looked all dignified, but turned out to be a massive schemer, specifically one who trapped newbies like him.
"What? Do you think I'm too much of a schemer?"
As if seeing through Jiang Lin's thoughts, the Temple Master sighed:
"Back in the day, I was also trapped by the Temple Master who was an apostle of god at the time and lost my status as a trainee apostle of god. Later, I had to rely on my outstanding performance in the subsequent God-blessed Land to obtain this status again."
Hearing this, Jiang Lin was stunned.
The qualification for the Apostle of God Assessment could be obtained repeatedly?!
But on second thought, it made sense.
After all, some adventurers were late bloomers.
They might not seem talented in the early stages, but once they reached the 1st-rank and could practice higher-level breathing techniques, many gaps in talent would become apparent.
But he never expected this scheming nature to be hereditary.
Aren't you guys afraid of being retaliated against by your juniors?
The Temple Master seemed to have mind-reading abilities as he directly explained to Jiang Lin:
"Actually, we have our reasons for doing this."
Jiang Lin watched silently as the man made his excuses.
"You should know that while the status of an apostle of god comes with some benefits, the dangers you face far outweigh the gains.
"Whether it's the holy sons and daughters of cults, or the Demon Lords and Demon Lord candidates under the demon god, they all receive missions to hunt down the apostles of god. If you obtain this status when you are too weak, you can easily be targeted.
"That's why we test you.
"If you don't even have this much caution, you won't even know how you died."
Hearing this, Jiang Lin's expression also became serious.
There was actually such a thing!
And the man continued,
"Not only that, but there is also some improper competition within the ranks of the apostles of god."
He glanced at the golden-haired, golden-eyed Jiang Lin who shone like the sun:
"After all, not everyone is like you—a paladin with extremely high talent, upright, and heart set on justice.
"Many people will strike from the shadows to eliminate their competitors and gouge out their apostle mark to strengthen their own."
Jiang Lin was greatly surprised by this.
It seemed that the god wasn't picky about who he chose as his subordinates!
So, he said,
"Temple Master, I really don't know what you're talking about. By the way, I'm planning to go to Emerald City soon. I wonder if the Temple Master has any advice...?"
Rate on N.U.
