Chapter 3970: Flesh is Weak

Vigor expressed a very obvious resistance to letting Adele come:

"The Speaker does have the ability to intervene in the affairs of 【Creation Church】, but I feel that the council has no need to intervene in the infighting between Orthodox Churches at all. A few years ago, they even declared us an illegal organization. This time it's their turn to make a mistake."

Xia De understood her idea. She actually didn't want other Witches to appear in this city, disturbing her time with him.

"You can consider this matter."

He didn't continue to persuade. The matter would soon enter the final stage. If there was an opportunity, he would appear in person.

After lunch, Xia De temporarily bid farewell to Vigor and went to the gear workshop in the Outer City District. This time he didn't meet Mr. Bernhardt, but Mr. Finch was indeed there.

Regarding the movements of the blood-sucking species these days, Mr. Finch was also not very clear, but he had already informed the local church about the monsters appearing in the sewer. The church was also taking action, but they hadn't had many gains yet.

And after Xia De showed the appearance corresponding to the Skin Item with his book, the old man thought for a long time before nodding:

"More than twenty years ago, I saw this person. But I should have only seen it two or three times. I can't remember exactly when it was. Even if the memory of Ringed Ringed Shushi is good, that was a long time ago."

Mr. Finch's answer was equivalent to confirming that the skin had been used by someone many years ago. And Mr. Finch also promised to help Xia De ask more local Ringed Ringed Shushi later, saying that perhaps someone could provide more detailed intelligence.

"Then, has 【Skin Item Hall】 appeared locally?"

Xia De then asked again. Mr. Finch was quite vigilant about this:

"What's wrong? Did you discover something? Every time you mention a new topic, it means that a new situation has appeared locally. Did you sense the clue of that relic appearing locally?"

Xia De immediately shook his head:

"No, no, it's just because I happened to see a piece of skin, so I asked curiously. That piece of skin was last used probably more than twenty years ago...... However, there is a new situation. I discovered that core members of the 【Truth Society】 appeared locally. I'm afraid they also have their own plans in the Arcadia region."

Mr. Finch was dumbfounded:

"【Truth Society】?"

"Also, I also discovered that 【Magic Eye Club】 might be involved in the affairs of 【Creation Church】. Have you seen the auction robbery case reported in the newspaper? Those two thieves are related to the club, and the 'Thousand-Eye Ringed Shushi' of the club personally appeared to recover a certain item snatched by them."

Xia De talked about the auction incident yesterday afternoon, but didn't mention that he knew Miss Miss Pawo. The old man looked at Xia De in astonishment, and it took a long time before he spoke again:

"If you told me these things this time last week, I would definitely think your brain was not normal...... What is the 【Truth Society】 here for? And Thousand-Eye Ringed Shushi, I know him. He went to such great lengths to stir up this incident, just to snatch a collection of the Baron?"

"I also discovered that the collection might be manufactured by the Ancient Death God Church, used to accommodate 'sparks.' Of course, this is not certain, it's just my personal guess."

Xia De added again. Mr. Finch was stunned for a short time after receiving too much information. He raised his hand to signal Xia De not to speak first, he wanted to think carefully for a while.

Xia De then picked up his teacup and looked out the window. It was only overcast when he arrived, but now it had started to patter with rain. Precipitation across the Old Continent this spring has been higher than in previous years.

"【Truth Society】, 【Son Alliance】, 【Blood Spirit School】 gathered together, and the abnormal actions of 【Magic Eye Club】, are they all related to the violation of 【Creation Church】?"

The old man finally asked, trying to connect all things together. Xia De nodded:

"Yes, highly likely they are all related to the tenth Chosen One, that is the Chosen One of Creation. If there are no accidents, after the matter on that southern island subsides, the next big battle in the material world might happen here."

He sighed. Mr. Finch was stunned again for a while, and looked at the rain outside the window with Xia De, and it took a long time before he asked:

"Young man, who exactly are you?"

Xia De put down the teacup and did not answer this question directly:

"Old John should have revealed in the Hidden Cult that he knows a very powerful person."

Mr. Finch was startled, and then stood up all of a sudden:

"You are......"

He didn't say that title. Seeing that Xia De didn't shake his head but continued to look at the rain outside the window, the old man stood there panting heavily for a few times, and then fell back into the chair:

"Alright, at least one question has been answered - why John introduced you to me, but didn't collect your money."

Xia De laughed. People who know Old John always have this "stereotypical impression" of him:

"I originally just came for a matter related to ordinary people. I didn't expect that I hadn't had any clue about my own affairs, but instead discovered that there were so many problems hidden locally."

"Mr. Finch, be prepared. Now it can almost be confirmed that the tenth Chosen One is about to appear locally. Maybe among those three outside organizations, there are candidates for the Chosen One. The local trouble has just begun. I know the Hidden Cult generally won't actively participate, but this time I'm afraid you will also be involved."

The old man's expression was a bit trance-like:

"Creation and life, the tenth...... I never thought that such a thing would really happen in the city where I live. The material world is so big...... Is the behavior of 【Creation Church】 also because of this?"

"Highly likely. After all, even the church hopes that it possesses the Chosen One. And the current Chosen One still only has that girl belonging to 【Sun Church】."

Xia De thought of what Priest Augustus said in the potion workshop this morning:

"Even the most pious believers will have their own selfishness. We are all mortals after all."

"I think in the whole material world, you are the one who should least say this sentence."

Mr. Finch said, and sighed again. He accepted the status quo:

"Regardless, the matter has developed to this extent, and I can only accept it. However, I didn't expect that you are really so young. I can feel it, you are not just young in appearance, your age is really not big."

He looked Xia De up and down again, hoping to connect the image of the young man in front of him with that person in the rumors:

"In the past two days, I have also obtained some top-secret information from my own channels. I don't know if you already know, but I will still share it with you."

"【Creation Church】 belongs to the kind with a relatively rich academic atmosphere among the five Orthodox Churches. Although there is no clear division within the church, it does exist with different schools conducting different research directions. The investigation by the three major academies and other four churches this time dug out a faction named 'Mechanical School' within 【Creation Church】."

I was surprised when I heard it at

"Flesh is weak..."

Xia De said softly, and Mr. Finch sighed:

"This school of thought has clearly gone in the wrong direction. Starting from researching mechanical organs and prosthetics, it has gradually developed into replacing one's entire structure with machinery; it's just unclear how they intend to transfer the soul.

The research into the 'Fire Seed' is very likely for this purpose—to imbue the mechanized body with the highest level of vitality. Otherwise, if one were simply imbuing a dead object with a soul, it would be equivalent to letting one's own soul operate a golem, which is no different from ancient technology.

What they want to achieve is, in a practical sense, to break free from the shackles of flesh and become a 'mechanical race' in the true sense."

The Outlander found that he was not particularly surprised. Perhaps to people in this era, this is an entirely incomprehensible idea, but the Outlander had seen many similar literary works in his hometown:

"It's just that I don't know how far they have actually researched by now; they shouldn't have succeeded yet, right? I also have friends involved in investigating this matter, but they haven't discovered any so-called 'mechanical life'."

"The Life Fire Seed is, in essence, still a calamity of the world. How could it be so simple to utilize this kind of power? Although there are people in the Church who seek to break free from the shackles of flesh, they are at least not crazy enough to let themselves become a calamity, which is why they must research the Fire Seed and seek more stable power."

Mr. Finch said, and Xia De nodded:

"Indeed, the Life Fire Seed is certainly unstable..."

Then he thought of another possibility:

"Although the 'Fire Seed' is unstable, the 'Fire Seed Source' is relatively stable. If the 'Fire Seed Source' were embedded as an energy core in the energy chamber of a mechanical life shell, and the Fire Seed Source were used to activate the metal through ritual means, then could it be..."

"Stop!"

Mr. Finch immediately interrupted:

"I have no interest in 'mechanical life,' and when we discussed the topic of artificial intelligence with you before, I clearly opposed this form of intelligence. However, I admit that the technical route you proposed has the possibility of success... Alright, perhaps that portion of people in the 【Church of Creation】 is following this technical route."

More melancholy appeared on the old man's face:

"I truly cannot understand why anyone would be willing to abandon the human shell. Flesh is indeed weak, and the human race may not be able to compare to other races in many aspects, but we are the only race that has lasted from the Mythical Era to the present while remaining powerful. Time and fate chose us; this is the best proof that humanity itself is powerful."

Xia De also put forward his own view:

"Perhaps some people believe that race is a limitation on oneself, and that one should transcend this limitation. They don't seek the mechanization of everyone, but only hope to obtain an upgrade for themselves. Don't many Ringed Ringed Shushi believe that they are already substantially different from ordinary people?"