Clear-Soup Iver

Guided by Matilda, Iver once again passed through a green light curtain.

He felt that strange sensation again, like his fingers passing through a soap bubble.

With a Cardinal Bishop beside him, Iver asked with some curiosity, "Excuse me... what is this, Cardinal Matilda?"

"The Curtain of Temperance?"

Matilda glanced at it and replied, "It's the blessing of the Twin Mirrors... Simply put, things that are too fast cannot pass through it. The faster the speed, the greater the force of the rebound."

"Those that are too fast to pass, but those that are too slow can...?"

"Iver murmured."

... So isn't this essentially the same as a speed bump?

"That's right. This way, people won't run in the corridors and bump into each other. And if someone tries to break in, their attacks won't be able to penetrate this light barrier."

Matilda said gently, "If you can learn Advanced Divine Arts, you can also set up your own Curtain of Temperance."

Clearly, Cardinal Matilda knew why Iver was there.

She led Iver through a maze of twists and turns, until they arrived at a building that resembled a palace... or rather, a bathhouse.

The room was decorated with lush vegetation, except for a bath in the very center containing a golden liquid that emitted white steam—it was currently shimmering with a gentle light. This was clearly consecrated holy water, now exuding the aroma of citrus and a strong smell of alcohol. And suspended above it were knotted vines...it looked like a pot of soup.

"This is Holy Water Boiled with Marigold and Orange Blossom picked at noon."

Cardinal Matilda smiled gently and gestured to Iver, explaining, "It's a mixture of Grain Wine that's been stored for over thirty years, ginseng, Blackberry Leaf, holly, and grapevines. It's been boiled with burnt pine bark and Bishop Grass."

... Are they going to put me in to cook? Iver looked at the blue-haired female elf, hesitant to speak for a moment.

This pool is clearly still boiling!

Under Iver's watchful gaze, Matilda reached out and manipulated something. The pool immediately stopped boiling.

She instructed Iver, "Take off your clothes, including your underwear. You go in and soak first, I'll get you the rest of your things. The temperature should be just right, don't worry about contamination... This pool is for one person only."

"You can leave your clothes here for now. We'll give them to you when you leave."

As she spoke, she pointed to the wooden basin beside her and then considerately left.

Iver breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Matilda's age was estimated to be several times older than his own... Iver was really embarrassed to take off his clothes if she was watching him.

Not knowing when Matilda would return, he quickly took off his clothes and plunged into the hot spring.

The intense aroma of Orange Blossom, combined with the scent of alcohol, brought a comfortable groan from Iver.

The water in this pool is over 80 degrees Celsius, equivalent to freshly brewed hot tea. It can instantly scald the skin of an ordinary person.

But for Iver, it was like ordinary warm water. He didn't even need to adjust to the temperature before diving right in—which surprised even Iver himself.

He observed that even his own skin hadn't turned red. He soaked in the water with his eyes closed for a while, feeling his mind relax, but Matilda still hadn't returned. So, bored, he opened his eyes and, with interest, submerged himself beneath the surface, blowing bubbles like a child.

Since the completion of this advancement ritual and the resulting physical transformation, Iver's unwanted body hair was completely removed, and his skin became whiter and smoother than before. However, it also became more resilient.

Nowadays, let alone ordinary people, even superhumans would find it difficult to cut through Iver's skin with ordinary daggers or longswords.

Although he hadn't been attacked yet, Iver was extremely confident—the vast majority of bullets simply couldn't penetrate his skin's defenses. Even if he were burned by flames, Iver wouldn't be scalded... even if he were tied to Burning at the Stake, he wouldn't burn to death. He was more likely to suffocate than be burned.

He is currently unable to be deprived of oxygen. Therefore, it would still be very dangerous if he were sunk at sea.

However, given Iver's current physical condition, he could probably swim directly back to the nearest land.

From that moment on, he truly transcended mortals—no longer being killed by armed mortals due to chance or scheming.

No wonder, most extraordinary individuals in various countries only attain high positions after reaching the Fourth Level...

Now Iver fully understands why.

Iver soaked in the water for quite a while longer.

Cardinal Matilda finally arrived when the water temperature had dropped to 40 or 50 degrees Celsius.

She looked at Iver in the pool, who showed absolutely no reaction. She simply reached out to test the water temperature, then breathed a sigh of relief, "No problem, the water temperature is just right..."

As she spoke, she took out a strange box. "Drink this."

"...What's this?"

From a distance, Iver looked like a bowl of watery tomato-based boiled beans.

He immediately felt resistant.

It's not that I'm worried about poisoning, it's just that this doesn't look appetizing...

"This is Pomegranate Juice Boiled Common Bean."

Matilda, like a kindergarten teacher, explained gently and carefully to Iver, "We compare pomegranate juice to the Candle Holder's Blood, and kidney beans to the seeds of the sin thorn. It's not fully cooked, so it's slightly poisonous. But it won't matter to you... Go ahead, drink it while it's hot."

Iver made a face and drank it down.

The undercooked green beans had a bitter taste, while the boiled pomegranate juice wasn't sweet at all; instead, it was terribly sour and astringent. Drinking them felt like taking medicine to Iver —an experience he hadn't had in a long time.

Immediately afterwards, Matilda put a dried date in Iver's mouth. Iver chewed it subconsciously, feeling the sweetness flow down his throat, and his tightly furrowed brows relaxed a little.

"Come out, Iver."

She pointed to an open space with a red carpet, indicating that Iver should come out of the pool.

Although a little shy, Iver pretended to be nonchalant as he got out of the pool.

Before Matilda could do anything, the water on Iver's body had completely evaporated. His skin emitted visible white steam, giving off an intoxicating Orange Blossom scent.

Matilda deftly took out a tray of ointment and skillfully applied it to Iver's body.

—Well, if Matilda looked any older, Iver wouldn't be so shy. But she looked so young that it made Iver feel like he was being treated like a child.

Fortunately, Matilda was still explaining to Iver, "This is a special consecration oil made from a mixture of Cinnamon Essential Oil and coconut oil. It is only used during the ' Rite of Ordination '... symbolizing the joint protection of the sun and moon, and can also be interpreted as the joint protection of the Nine Pillar Gods."

The Rite of Ordination refers to the Promotion Ritual to rank of bishop or higher, which is why Cardinal Matilda is called Si Jie.

She quickly finished applying the ointment to Iver's body.

Then she brought out a complete set of bishop's robes. They radiated heat, as if they had just been roasted over a fire. With each robe she put on, Iver felt a burning sensation at the point where the garment met her skin—as if she had just been soaked in pepper water or smeared with chili oil.

Iver looked down and noticed that something was off about the style of the clothes.

He had already worn the robes of a bishop during his previous Promotion Ritual.

But now, the style of clothes he's wearing seems a little Tai Yi...

"Wait, Cardinal Matilda."

Iver reminded him, "Did you take the wrong clothes?"

Although the dress is mostly red, it has many gold embellishments.

The biggest difference between it and that of a bishop is that its vestment is gold, not crimson.

—This is not a bishop's robe, but an archbishop's robe.

That is, the same level as Bishop Mathers, who can be in charge of the church in the capital of a country or region. This is the highest level that humans can normally reach.

While it is true that one must reach the Fourth Level to advance to the rank of Archbishop, not everyone at the Fourth Level becomes an Archbishop. The advancement speed of Holy Orders is generally slower than that of advancement in the rank of Extraordinary Ability.

Or rather, it will be much slower.

Because being promoted to archbishop means becoming the representative of the Nine Pillars God Church in that region. Therefore, a variety of factors must be considered, including merits, personality, seniority, faith, and influence. However, the meetings of the Long-lived race are too slow... to the point that in some places, the bishops have long been qualified for promotion, but they have not yet been promoted.

It's not intentional, nor is it like the back-and-forth dragging in the Round Table Hall meeting. It's just simple procrastination.

—Anyway, there's no rush. Let's talk about it in a few years.

"You didn't take the wrong one."

Cardinal Matilda gave Iver a deep look and replied, "His Pope Your Majesty means to promote you directly to archbishop."

As a student at the seminary, Iver could be considered a deacon of the priesthood.

From deacon to priest, from priest to bishop, from bishop to archbishop... Iver can be said to have risen three ranks in a row.

Iver felt no joy.

On the contrary, quite the opposite.

He felt a chill run down his spine.

Something unusual must be going on; this is completely contrary to the rules and traditions of the Theocracy!

Something's not right, this is definitely not right!