Chapter 3222

The grand hall was bustling as never before; more than twenty priests of various ages from different villages and tribes were standing together, discussing something. The scent of ale permeated the air, and Xia De even saw the old priest Kane, who had once led him on a tour of the town, setting up a stall here, seemingly selling charms and potions of his own making.

"The Snow Mountain Hall gathering usually brings together all the Ringed Shushi of the Fatu people; even those unable to participate in the meeting are happy to come to visit friends or trade."

The witch explained quickly. After leading Xia De through the bustling hall, the white-haired witch apprentice and two high-ring witch followers were waiting together before the gate leading to the banquet hall for the two of them to arrive.

"Is the density of Ringed Shushi among you Fatu people a bit too high?"

Xia De took a hurried glance; among the twenty-plus people here, half were Ringed Shushi. Given the total population of the Fatu people, this number of Ringed Shushi was truly astonishing.

The only thing that could compare to this was the "Cavendish Family." One generation produced four Ringed Shushi, among whom the twins were candidates for the Chosen (Time), Lei Qianya was a quarter-Chosen (Space), and Ajielina was a suspected Chosen (Chaos).

"The snow mountain has bestowed power upon us."

Miss Lei Qianya said simply, then signaled for the three female Shushi to follow her as she continued forward. However, although the proportion of Ringed Shushi among the Fatu people was relatively high, there were actually not many true high-ring Shushi. Her appearance this time with two high-ring followers also meant she wanted to gain a voice for herself.

The gate from the foyer to the banquet hall was currently closed, and two middle-aged priests wearing traditional Fatu clothing were responsible for guarding it. In the banquet hall behind the gate, all the lamps had been lit, illuminating the entire hall clearly.

The massive fireplace at the very back had been lit. The long tables displayed in the banquet hall remained empty, and before the roaring flames of the fireplace, five elders wearing ox-horn hats, deer-horn hats, ram-horn hats, feathered hats, and coral hats respectively were conversing in low voices.

Among them, Elder Harald wearing the ox-horn hat, Elder Weierda wearing the ram-horn hat whom Xia De had seen before, and the old grandmother wearing the feathered hat were all Eleven-Ring, while the remaining two were Ten-Ring and Nine-Ring respectively.

Besides them, there were three tribal priests here as well. The highest level was Eight-Ring, while the others were Seven-Ring. These were elder candidates, qualified to participate in such meetings but not qualified to speak.

And these eight people here should be considered the elite of the Fatu Ringed Shushi. It seems that although the probability of Ringed Shushi appearing among the Fatu people is higher, it is just as difficult to advance to a high ring.

The sound of the gate opening and closing attracted the attention of the people deep in the banquet hall. They turned around to look back and saw Claire Lei Qianya walking side-by-side with the young outsider, followed by three other strange young women.

"Long time no see, Elder Weierda, Elder Wuersha, Elder Suolin, Elder Wule."

She greeted everyone in order of their Ringed Shushi level, and each elder whose name she mentioned nodded lightly to her.

After the greetings were finished, steam mist drifted behind the witch, and a complete Eleven-Ring Fate Ring was revealed. Xia De squinted and took a look; the core spirit runes were 【Sun】, 【Cold Ice】, 【Gem】, and 【Hope】, and the four spirit runes required for the Eleven-Ring were only missing the last one. She was not far from the Twelve-Ring.

All the Ringed Shushi also looked at her Fate Ring, among whom Elder Wuersha, whose hat was decorated with feathers, could not help but sigh:

"When you left the snow mountain back then, it actually seems like a good thing now. To be Eleven-Ring at such a young age, this talent is considered gifted even compared to Ringed Shushi cultivated by the Zhengshen Sect."

The witch successfully gained a voice for herself:

"This Six-Ring Stella Larsen is my student, and the other two Nine-Ring and Ten-Ring young women are my subordinates. I won't introduce Mr. Watson here much; my grandfather should have already mentioned his identity."

Eleven-Ring Elder Weierda nodded; the old man had met Xia De on Tuesday:

"Harald said he has already agreed to our employment."

Xia De corrected:

"No, to be precise, I am employed by Miss Lei Qianya, and then entrusted by her to complete the mission assigned by Elder Harald."

The witch smiled and stood with the five great elders at the position closest to the massive fireplace:

"Mr. Watson is a Nine-Ring Shushi, but his combat power is very strong. The information about the magic sword was also provided by him. For a long time to come, he will be active in the town."

"Mr. Watson."

Elder Wule, who had coral decorations on his hat, spoke to Xia De:

"Harald said you have already received the blessing of the snow mountain. We all trust Harald, but please demonstrate the power of ice and snow you use so we can confirm it one last time. Please understand, this is after all the first time we have allowed an outsider to participate in the Snow Mountain Hall gathering; everything must be cautious."

Xia De nodded to show he understood. The blessing of the snow mountain allowed him to gain enhancement when casting any spirit rune related to 【Ice and Snow】 within the snow mountain range. So he thought for a moment and pointed his finger at the leaping flames in the fireplace:

"Thaumaturgy - Freezing Ray!"

An ice-blue light shot out from his fingertip, and upon hitting the leaping flames, it actually froze them directly. This brand-new thaumaturgy originated from the ashes left behind after an ancient Xiewu turned into firewood, and its power was indeed astonishing under the amplification of the snow mountain.

And after the elders nodded lightly to express their admiration, Xia De continued to cast:

"Thaumaturgy - Sunlight Ray!"

When the warm yellow light passed through the air, it even made the room several degrees warmer out of thin air. The light hit the frozen flames, and then the ice disappeared, and the flames in the fireplace continued to leap.

The witch was very satisfied with Xia De's performance and could not help but smile and move a step closer to him. The elders and priests had no other questions, and after a few more pleasantries, the eldest Elder Weierda began to preside over the meeting.

There was no need for a conference table or other furniture. The five great elders and the witch sat around the fireplace on round stools, while the others stood behind them. The firelight illuminated everyone's faces, and because they were gathered together, there was no need to speak too loudly for everyone to hear:

"You have all heard about Harald's injuries; I am afraid he cannot preside over this year's All Souls Festival normally. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone is here, I want to seek everyone's opinion. For the candidate to preside over the All Souls Festival ceremony in 1855, besides myself and Elder Wuersha, should the third person be chosen from Suolin and Wule, or should we let Claire, who is not a priest, fill the position?"

He looked at everyone in turn:

"Five people vote, swearing by the snow mountain, all decisions are for the sake of the tribe. So—Suolin."

Including the Ten-Ring old man himself, no one raised their hand.

"Wule."

Still no one raised their hand.

"Claire."

Elder Weierda, Elder Harald, and Elder Wule all raised their hands. But Elder Suolin, wearing the deer-horn hat, and Wuersha, the only woman among the elders, did not raise their hands.

"Wuersha, what do you mean..."

"Let the Ten-Ring Suolin and the Nine-Ring Wule replace Harald; the risk is too great. Claire's level is sufficient, but she is not a priest after all. Claire, are you willing to formally hold a ceremony to become a priest before the All Souls Festival?"

She asked the platinum-haired young woman, who immediately shook her head. She had encountered such questions many times before leaving this island.

"Since Claire does not agree to become a priest, then I propose to let Claire perform the 'Crown of Glory' ceremony. If she successfully passes the ceremony, she can be allowed to replace Harald's position and participate in this year's All Souls Festival as a non-priest."

"I agree with this idea."

Elder Suolin, who had also not raised his hand to indicate agreement just now, also nodded. And the witch's grandfather knew that Xia De did not know what they were talking about, so he introduced it simply:

"The 'Crown of Glory' ceremony is one of the traditional ceremonies of the Fatu people. It refers to letting the challenger start from the Snow Mountain Hall at the foot of the mountain, and without any help, follow a strictly planned dangerous route, climbing all the way up until the main peak of the Fatumunster Snow Mountain. This is different from the fire-passing ceremony during the All Souls Festival; the route for the fire-passing ceremony is arranged according to the recent conditions of the snow mountain and advance planning, and will not deliberately make things difficult for participants. But the Crown of Glory ceremony only chooses the most difficult climbing route.

Fatu people who pass this ceremony can be called 'warriors', and Fatu people with naturally powerful inspiration can increase their success rate of awakening through this ceremony."

But Xia De had a question:

"But Miss Lei Qianya is a high-ring Shushi herself. Those climbing routes that are extremely dangerous for ordinary people should not be a problem for her. Even if she is restricted from casting spells, with the physical fitness of a high-ring Shushi, I find it hard to imagine what could stop her."

But the five great elders all knew what should be done:

"In addition to proving one's courage, the 'Crown of Glory' ceremony also allows sinners to prove their purity in this way. There have been precedents of Ringed Shushi challenging the ceremony in the past. The tribe possesses special relics, and the relics combined with herbs can temporarily lower the Ringed Shushi's level and physical fitness, but... this has limited effect on high-ring Shushi."

The five great elders discussed it again and finally decided to increase the difficulty of the "Crown of Glory" ceremony through artificial layout. In this way, even if Claire Lei Qianya's level is only lowered to mid-ring or low-ring, it can be considered as having accepted the test.

Of course, there is no need to worry about the danger. She only needs to discard the relic used to suppress her power to recover, but that would mean the ceremony failed.

The witch had no objection to participating in such a ceremony; she was confident that she would definitely pass safely. And because the "Crown of Glory" still needed preparation, the ceremony was scheduled for next week.

(End of chapter)