Chapter 809: One Step to Demigod

Lei En in the Fu Kong Cheng simultaneously sensed all of Sheng Jilesi's information.

He couldn't help but sigh; both of his avatars had levels higher than his original body.

It was originally thought that Lei Silin would be the first to ascend to Grand Mage; Lei Silin had already built a spell model for "Time Stop", successfully taking the hardest first step, and as long as he also constructs "Time Jump" and "Spatial Barrier", he can become Grand Mage.

With the aid of the He Si magical array, now gaining more experience, this is nothing that can defeat Lei Silin.

It was just unexpected that Sheng Jilesi later surpassed.

Sheng Jilesi was born only a few months ago, and his level and power rose as fast as a rocket; the key is that he possesses the artifact Holy Blood Amber.

This artifact perfectly matches his MutatedPhone; lacking either is unacceptable.

In the distant past, when Lord of Dawn Luo Senda forged the Holy Blood Amber, he certainly would not have imagined that a mortal in the future would be able to wield the artifact's power even more than he himself.

Sheng Jilesi hovered halfway in the air, carefully feeling his own condition.

The Holy Blood power within his body surged like tides, as if endless strength, and every move carried a force unimaginable to ordinary people; yet this is only the increase of physical quality, the greater boost is the soul. After seven Soul Transformations, his soul is clear, thoughts flash like electricity, Willpower is extraordinarily resilient, and he can faintly sense the world's truth, see more things, hear mysterious sounds, yet cannot yet grasp their concrete content.

The most immediate change is the soul aura, which, once released, feels tangible and can strongly deter targets below Saint Rank.

The soul's Willpower is extremely resilient, offering a certain resistance to all kinds of mental attacks.

Perception also becomes sharper, hard to control or restrain.

For example, Time Stop: a Saint Rank cultivator can sense the effect of Time Stop; although still hard to break free, at least they know what happened.

Additionally, the soul's aging is greatly slowed, extending lifespan to roughly two thousand years.

One step into Saint Rank, and he is no longer mortal.

"That's it..."

Lei En and Sheng Jilesi spoke simultaneously, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

Then they thought it was only natural.

Even among Saint Rank cultivators there is a huge disparity; the power gap between Level 20 and Level 30 is larger than the gap between Saint Rank and below Saint Rank.

Although I am only Level 18, in terms of combat strength I have long far surpassed ordinary Saint Rank cultivators.

Level 28 Banrimu and Level 29 Mo Gela, both top among Saint Rank, and they both died at my hands.

Their perspective is too lofty, their power too strong, so that for others the Saint Rank cultivator, once thought unattainable, now appears commonplace.

The bottleneck, as hard to cross as a heavenly trench, feels bland after being broken through.

Of course, Sheng Jilesi's strength is still very great, far surpassing ordinary Saint Rank cultivators. With the artifact in his grasp, even when facing Holy Soul Wizard and Grand Mage, he feels no fear.

He opened the phone interface and took a glance.

Sure enough, Sheng Jilesi's ascent to Saint Rank did not trigger a phone upgrade.

This had already been verified on Lei Silin before; Lei Silin reached Legendary High-rank earlier than Lei En's original body, yet the phone showed no change.

After all, the avatar's phone is merely a copy.

Lei En's phone is the original core, merged with his soul; only his soul's Soul Transformations cause the phone to upgrade.

Sheng Jilesi descended; at that moment, the nine surrounding Blood Knights each absorbed enough Holy Light power, entered Soul Transformation state, and advanced toward Legendary Mid-stage.

The Holy Light power within the artifact was mostly consumed, leaving over three thousand units.

"Continue upgrading!"

Lei En made the decision without hesitation.

Since they've all ascended to Saint Rank, the path before Level 25 is smooth; just keep upgrading.

A massive amount of Holy Light power poured into Sheng Jilesi's body, absorbed and released by the "Morning Dawn Holy Kin", transmuting into a gold-and-blood mixed Holy Blood power.

Sheng Jilesi's aura climbed step by step.

He immediately noticed that the battery circle in the phone interface filled more slowly; it takes about four to five units of Holy Light power to fill one segment. This means four to five hundred units of Holy Light are needed to raise a level.

Thus it is evident that upgrading after Saint Rank is far harder than Legendary!

Soon, nearly five hundred units of Holy Light were transmuted into Holy Blood power, Sheng Jilesi entered a soul ascension; after a surge of aura, he rose to Level 21.

"Continue!"

The Holy Blood Amber continuously emitted energy.

Level 22!

Level 23!

Level 24!

……

In less than half an hour, Sheng Jilesi underwent four soul ascensions, climbing four levels to reach the pinnacle of Level 24, then again hit the Soul Transformation bottleneck.

Below Saint Rank, every three levels constitute a tier; after Saint Rank, every five levels form a tier.

From Level 20 to Level 24, Sheng Jilesi consumed roughly three thousand units of Holy Light power.

The energy stored in the Holy Blood Amber was almost exhausted.

The other nine Blood Knights, after reaching Legendary Mid-stage, had to stop, giving all their energy to Sheng Jilesi to concentrate on raising his personal level.

"Um..."

Lei En in the Fu Kong Cheng stroked his chin, pondering what to do next.

If Sheng Jilesi undergoes one more Soul Transformation to reach Level 25, he will be able to hear the prayers of believers, absorb faith power and merge with his soul's essence, transmuting into divinity.

Having divinity makes one a demigod!

Through Li Feilin's efforts over these months, Sheng Jilesi's name spread within the Holy Spear Knight Corps; Sheng Jilesi also repeatedly displayed miracles in the church of the Santara residence, using Holy Blood Amber to bestow blessings, and already over three hundred Blood Knights have changed their faith, becoming followers of the radiant lord Sheng Jilesi.

Three hundred plus followers is too few; the divinity gained is but a drop in the bucket.

However, once the divinity is merged, Sheng Jilesi will walk a completely different path, the most arduous path of sealing the god!

Lei En's original plan was to have Lei Silin achieve divinity.

But the plan could not keep up with change; after witnessing Augulevi Master's formidable casting ability, he thought letting Lei Silin continue exploring the magical path might be a better choice.

"If there were two Divine Flames, that would be great."

"I want them all!"

Lei En couldn't help but think that, and then laughed at himself, saying it was too greedy.

The value of Divine Flames is incalculable; they are Ai Lun E Si's most precious thing, without equal, and countless people seek them yet cannot obtain them.

Getting even one is already a stroke of terrible luck; wanting two?

That's just wishful thinking!

After weighing everything, considering that Saint Gileis wields Holy Blood power, possesses the Dawn Master's artifact, and his divine duties and abilities align more closely with the Sun God's Divine Flame, making future actions easier and allowing him to receive the Sun God's remaining followers, Lei En decided to prioritize Saint Gileis's deification.

But this is a long‑term plan; the formal ascension ceremony definitely won't be held in the short term.

Otherwise it would be openly opposing the Sun God Ge Weng.

First, raise Saint Gileis to th Level, while spreading the doctrine and gaining more followers; at the same time, accumulate divinity and await the chance for deification.

As for how to reach th Level, it's the old method: forcefully break the bottleneck by infusing massive Holy Light power!

Only Holy Blood Angels can use this method.

Casters cannot make it work; other Saint Rank strongmen of different professions lack artifacts and energy, so they cannot use it.

Lei En, via the Thundercast Celestial Soldier, ordered the Holy Spear Knight Corps to accelerate the extermination of Undead and harvest energy; aside from reserving a portion of the energy to create Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, the remaining energy was converted into Holy Light power. The nine Blood Knights and eleven Mage clones all halted their advancement to avoid a shortage of energy.

The sky over Mo Du gradually darkened.

Three thousand Holy Spear Knights guarded outside Fu Kong Cheng, with six camps rotating, taking turns entering Fu Kong Cheng to eliminate Undead and hone combat experience, never pausing for even a minute.

By late night, the crowd watching Fu Kong Cheng had thinned a bit.

After half a day of fighting, the Holy Spear Knight Corps eliminated another seventy‑to‑eighty thousand Undead, converting most of the harvested energy into ten thousand units of Holy Light power, filling the Holy Blood Amber's storage.

Lei En had already devised a relatively safe method.

Saint Gileis's mind shifted; the Holy Blood Amber glowed, coalescing a mysterious golden rune that fell and merged into his soul—this was the second Dawn Saint Blessing. Immediately, a third Dawn Saint Blessing formed and merged into his soul.

In the soul space, three sacred legendary Elements stood side by side.

Dawn Saint Blessings can be bestowed repeatedly; their effects stack, and each additional blessing doubles the affinity and potency of Holy Light, reshaping the soul, turning the whole body into a golden forge, with intense bright fire spewing from the eyes!

One Dawn Saint Blessing consumes 3,300 units of Holy Light power; after granting the blessing twice in succession, only a third of the artifact's energy remained.

Nevertheless, it was all worth it.

Saint Gileis vaguely sensed the signs of a Soul Transformation, touching the threshold of ascension.

"We can begin now."

The artifact surged with massive energy, infusing the body; the already sea‑deep Holy Blood power began to grow rapidly and steadily.

Just as it was when ascending the Saint Rank.

Saint Gileis felt his body as if about to burst, his skin cracking inch by inch, but this time, instead of blood, streams of light spewed from the fissures.

His soul was torn, producing terrible agony.

A melodious tune rang in his mind just in time, lessening the pain.

Not feeling pain doesn't mean one is fine; it may cause delayed perception, preventing timely cessation and leading to self‑destruction. Lei En stopped creating Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, focusing all attention on Saint Gileis and reserving the freshly harvested energy for later use.

As time passed, Saint Gileis had already infused 1,500 units of Holy Light power, equal to the energy expended when breaking through the Saint Rank.

However, he still couldn't trigger the Soul Transformation.

Saint Gileis's body resembled a sun, dazzling to the point of being unwatchable, with terrifying Holy Blood power fluctuating violently, as if ready to explode at any moment.

"Continue, cannot stop."

It was Saint Gileis's sole thought at that moment.

But he sensed his body might not hold, so he opened his phone interface; the soul power pool contained over a thousand units of freshly harvested energy, which he used without hesitation to repair his body.

The cracks on his skin healed with difficulty, only to be torn again by the massive Holy Blood power.

Repeatedly, the energy was rapidly consumed.

Lei En and Saint Gileis's mindset steadied, keeping this condition, not letting their bodies explode and die, certain they could successfully breakthrough.

Finally, after infusing 3,000 units of Holy Light power.

Boom—

Saint Gileis erupted a golden halo, sweeping the hall; the entire Obsidian Tower shuddered once. Fortunately, the other nine Blood Knights had already withdrawn, or they might have perished.

Within the radiance, Saint Gileis's body flickered.

His soul was almost visible to the naked eye, emitting ten‑thousand‑fold brilliance, tearing piece by piece and re‑forming, undergoing the eighth soul metamorphosis.

The Soul Transformation lasted about ten minutes; the light contracted, revealing Saint Gileis's figure.

He stood there naked, a tall, robust figure like a perfect statue, each muscle containing explosive power, golden hair draped over his shoulders, a dignified visage, and a shiver‑inducing divine light in his eyes.

Above his head, the halo formed from the Holy Blood Amber expanded by one ring.

Behind him, Holy Blood wings unfurled, massive wings over ten meters long, divine might like the sea, as if a true deity descended to the mortal realm!

If any mortal saw this scene, they would surely kneel and bow in worship.

Saint Gileis waited until his breath steadied, folded his wings, feeling his power surge more than tenfold, the massive Holy Blood power fully augmenting him from soul to body, inside out, undergoing a cataclysmic change.

He opened the phone interface.

He examined each Element icon one by one.

After being shaped by Holy Blood power, his stats reached Level 15 Strength, Level 12 Swiftness, Level 15 Endurance, and Level 12 Regeneration!

This was only the enhancement of basic Elements.

Over a hundred Holy Light Divine Techniques replicated from the Holy Blood Amber were largely amplified in this Soul Transformation, their potency and effects soaring.

Suddenly, Saint Gileis's gaze froze.

He discovered that the three most important Dawn Saint Blessings had merged into one!

Is this an Element advancement?

Lei En and Sheng Jiliesi are both a bit uncertain: can the legendary Element still be advanced? In his understanding, the legendary Element is already the highest tier, most cannot be upgraded further; some can have multiple, but he has never heard of fusion advancement.

If it is not advancement, then what effect?

Sheng Jiliesi observes the Element icon, as always abstract, essentially a halo with a beam of light passing through the center.

Opening the icon, surprisingly the information about the Element does not automatically transmit to his mind as usual; it seems beyond MutatedPhone's capability, unable to parse it.

Lei En in Fu Kong Cheng is also very surprised.

This is his first time encountering an Element that cannot be parsed, indicating that this Element's grade may truly exceed the legendary Element.

Perhaps only when the main body also ascends to Saint Rank, after upgrading the phone, can it be parsed.

For now, only Sheng Jiliesi can explore it himself.

Sheng Jiliesi feels this Element is extremely important, relating to his path of deification. Thinking this, a vague voice suddenly reaches his ears from afar. He concentrates, and the voice becomes clear.

"Great Lord of Radiance, Sheng Jiliesi, thank you, my lord, for granting blessings, allowing me to achieve a complete victory in today's battle."

"My lord, I have not failed the blood of Sheng Jiliesi."

This is a follower praying.

Sheng Jiliesi senses the follower's location, which is in Gotham City; before him appears the figure of a male blood elf, half‑kneeling in the prayer hall, motionless, devout, silently reciting his revered name and doctrine.

He remembers this blood elf, who was previously blessed and promoted to a legendary blood knight, and today participated in the raid on Fu Kong Cheng.

As the elf prays, a faint strand of faith power transmits from the void.

Sheng Jiliesi immediately understands what to do.

He can absorb this strand of faith power and convert it into divinity, becoming a demigod, or respond to the prayer, or follow the conduit of faith power to grant the follower a blessing.

He thinks for a moment and decides not to absorb the faith power for now.

Once the soul merges with divinity it cannot be reversed; after research he can merge later, and now he should not respond to the follower's prayer.

At this moment, a newly born Thundercast Celestial Soldier teleports into the eighth‑floor hall of the Obsidian Tower, holding a uniquely shaped greatsword, silently handing it to Sheng Jiliesi.

Lei En has delivered the Ashen Holy Sword!

(End of Chapter)