Chapter 378: No Loss

"What are we going to do now?" Anthony said, both relieved and troubled: "It has been declared a divine miracle by the Gods of Light, but it was our lord who performed it."

Anthony could persuade the clergy, because they knew well: among all the gods, none could cure baldness or beautify, none could make people rich, and none would spawn elf beans.

But ordinary people didn't know, and even if they did, they wouldn't care—they believed their own god could do anything, and this would only strengthen their faith.

In the City of Light, six to seven hundred thousand people lived, fewer than one hundred thousand were clergy; the rest were ordinary citizens, some believers, some merchants or artisans.

But regardless of their status, after this miracle, the God of Light gained fifty to sixty thousand new fanatical and devout followers.

This miracle's scope and the number of people who experienced it surpassed any miracle in recorded history.

Most believers had never felt a miracle in their lives; they became followers only through word of mouth, hearsay, and habit.

Such believers are called general believers—their faith has become a routine habit in life, dull, inconsequential, easily ignored.

Some believers had experienced divine magic, seen purified holy water, or been cured of minor ailments—but that was all.

In this world, supernatural powers are countless: magic, aura, alchemy, enchantment, potion-making, forging—there are too many wonders to shock anyone.

Only truly extraordinary and unbelievable events qualify as miracles—but in the past thousand years, the Gods of Light had bestowed only a handful of miracles, many of them faked.

Don't think faking is hard—under the influence of illusion magic, fake miracles are indistinguishable to ordinary believers.

But never before had a miracle been experienced firsthand by hundreds of thousands, as in the City of Light.

Not even tens of thousands had ever been achieved.

Thus, these hundreds of thousands became true believers—those who had personally witnessed the miracle would recall that moment and erupt in uncontrollable fervor, their faith unshakable.

Tens of thousands of such believers are more valuable than tens of millions of general believers, because they firmly believe in their god and will never waver like general believers, never half-skeptical or uncertain.

If even a small group of fanatical believers emerged from them, they could rewrite the entire power hierarchy of the gods.

Just as Ock defined the Light Barrier and Burning Vision, and the castrato singer Sandrid defined Rebirth—one fanatical believer is worth more than tens of thousands of general believers.

Now, tens of thousands of believers have experienced this miracle, and they firmly believe it was a miracle bestowed by the Gods of Light.

What are we going to do now? Headache.

Nagris winced: "Such a massive miracle—how much divine power did you expend? Are you bankrupted? Your entire fortune isn't enough for this kind of drain."

Nagris knew well the cost of divine arts: growing hair, gaining wealth, conjuring elf beans—all consumed divine power; "beautification" was even worse—it required invoking the Beauty God's Fist, draining tens of thousands of divine power, and requiring one or two months of rest.

How much divine power would a miracle affecting hundreds of thousands require?

Ange shook his head: "The power of Light—faithful are healed, unfaithful are not. No loss."

Nagris pondered a moment, then understood: "You mean you used the power of the Light Divine Core? Only the faithful are healed? The power they offer exceeds what you consume, so the Light Divine Core isn't at a loss?"

Ange nodded.

"Oh, good! Now you've got cost awareness! Know not to run at a loss!" Nagris couldn't help praising, then immediately realized: "You can tap into the Light Divine Core's power?"

Ange scratched his head, unsure how to explain.

In the consciousness space of the Light Divine Core, all power belonged to the Core; the rules governing its actions were the Core's own—he merely manifested some deities.

Deities represent laws; these laws aligned with the rules of the consciousness space, thus producing miracles.

Saying he could use the Light Divine Core's power is both true and false—this "use" is indirect.

Without so many lesser deities and sub-divine cores, without understanding these laws, he couldn't manifest them in the consciousness space. If those belief figures didn't align, no miracle would arise.

All this knowledge came from the Dragon God. Ange understood it himself—but how could he explain it to others? Too difficult.

Seeing him scratch his head, Nagris knew the situation: "Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore. Don't strain your little brain till it bursts. Can you still use the Light Divine Core's power in the future?"

Ange nodded, then opened his arms.

Behind him appeared the Ring of Scales, his arms extending into the Sacred Frame of Equality, forming a complete set of scales.

"Huh? You've condensed the Scale Divine Core?" Everyone surged forward, crowding around Ange to observe his new divine core.

"It is truly the Sacred Frame of Equality—a priceless artifact. Back then, His Majesty found this thing repulsive, which is why he refused to acknowledge the Gods of Light; otherwise, he could have crushed them with a single finger," said the Grand Sage.

Indeed, it was disgusting—even if the Undying King could punch it to dust, he'd explode too. Only a fool would choose mutual annihilation.

Of course, it was merely repulsive—there were still ways to handle it, like sending a clone. But back then, the Gods of Light posed no threat to the Undying King, so he simply ignored them.

When it came time to purge the gods, a single command erased nearly all of them.

As everyone studied the Sacred Frame of Equality, a red light seeped in from somewhere.

This was the core of the Holy Heaven, where the Triune Light Divine Core was bound—how could any light penetrate here?

After pondering for a while, they guessed it must be light from outside, so they collectively returned to the temple. Now, the entire Holy Heaven was bathed in a faint red glow, emanating from the void beyond.

Through the transparent barrier of Heaven, they saw a red sphere floating in the void, radiating brilliant crimson light, illuminating the entire void, the Holy Heaven, and the long, slender Eternal Path.

"Is it approaching? Why does it seem brighter?" Du Luo asked, frowning.

Nagris nodded: "Yes, it's moving at high speed toward us. The red light is intensifying. This red radiation has extreme penetration—so we can see it even inside this sealed core. Ordinary people can't see this red light; gnomes call it infrared."

"Why has such a red light suddenly appeared?" asked the Grand Sage, puzzled.

Everyone racked their brains—then a sudden insight flashed through their souls: "A Faith Storm?!"