Child-Seeking Guanyin

Everyone was dumbfounded.

As everyone knew, names could be mistaken, but nicknames never lied.

In the Faith Game, the base of male players who chose to become priests wasn't large, and the number of male players who chose to follow Birth was also small.

When these two rare choices came together and matched right in front of him, the probability was like winning the lottery.

Male Child-Giving Guanyin was the players' mocking nickname for "Progeny Priests." This name came about because when a priest of Birth blessed or healed a companion, there was often a chance of making that companion "pregnant."

This side effect from the God's Edict of Passage didn't actually make people truly pregnant. The organ of pregnancy wasn't limited to the uterus, and what was gestated wasn't necessarily a proper life form—kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species were all randomly mixed, and the appearances were wildly varied.

It was just because Birth's will revered procreation that using divine power might trigger all sorts of awkward "passive pregnancies" that left people torn between laughter and tears.

But don't underestimate this accidental "pregnancy." For every "new life" gestated inside the recipient's body, the healing effect increased by three parts.

So Progeny Priests were healers with very ample healing output.

Song Yawen stared wide-eyed, shaking his hands and waving his head like a fan.

"Brother, please, don't heal me. I'd rather accept a priest of an opposing faith than tolerate you swelling my belly!"

Let him accept healing from a male Progeny Priest? He'd rather die.

If he got healed by that, how could he go out and face people?

Would he have to tell others he'd carried a male teammate's "child"?

Ugh—

Nangong was also stunned. As a priest herself, she naturally knew the proportion of "male Progeny Priests" among the priest population.

Running into this lottery-level probability left her a bit torn between laughter and tears, but more than that, she felt grateful to Cheng Shi.

She knew he was trying to persuade the teammates to accept her, and she appreciated it, but with the other two's faiths still unclear, she still didn't dare reveal her own.

After all, players on the Sinking path were heavily criticized.

Even though she wasn't opposed to Cheng Shi.

Xia Wan stood to the side and saw Nangong's hesitation. It was precisely this hesitation that made her realize Nangong wasn't a mortal enemy of Birth. She suddenly felt relieved, yet still kept a cold face as she said:

"I'm a Genesis Hunter."

Genesis Hunter—a hunter who believed in Birth.

"?"

Another Birth follower.

Everyone was surprised that someone as icy as Xia Wan had chosen to follow Birth, but only Song Yawen's face turned ugly.

He also saw that Nangong wasn't an enemy of Birth, but the Life and Sinking paths each only had three gods, which meant there was a 50% chance the other was his enemy.

Just as he was agonizing over whether to hide his faith, Chen Chong waved his hand from the side, cutting off their exchange.

"Path divergence isn't our fault, and we don't need to bear too much pressure from it. Since the two priests aren't opposed, just split the healing duties."

He pointed at Nangong, then at himself and Cao Sansui, and said:

"Nangong handles me and the mage. As for the Life believers, you handle yourselves."

Then he turned to Xia Wan and said:

"Since you're His follower, you shouldn't have a problem with Cheng Shi, right?"

Xia Wan casually glanced at this decent-looking Progeny Priest, her expression unchanged, and gave a slight nod.

"..."

Xia Wan's cold face showed no embarrassment, but Cheng Shi's expression turned very subtle.

And one even more subtle was Song Yawen.

"I..."

To be honest, Song Yawen really wanted to refuse, but he knew what was good for him.

They'd already wasted enough time on this start. Since everyone had agreed to this arrangement, refusing again would be tactless.

The team couldn't have a huge rift from the very beginning.

If it really came down to it, he'd just try to avoid getting hurt as much as possible.

Accepting treatment from a "Male Child-Giving Guanyin"? He couldn't do it!

Chen Chong effortlessly took over the team's leadership. Seeing no objections, he said to everyone:

"Enough small talk. The trial has a preparation period of half an hour to an hour. We don't yet know the cause of this war, so we won't leave the landing site recklessly. During the preparation time, everyone should try to complete the Edict of Passage as soon as possible, then find a defensive position."

The so-called Edict of Passage was the ritual where players prayed for blessings from their respective gods.

When players chose to believe in a certain god, the god would grant an initial Faith Talent, and after players passed the Talent Trial, they would be granted additional different Faith Talents.

Depending on their Path to Godhood score, each player could carry a different number of talents.

These talents would greatly enhance a player's combat ability, even forming the foundation for different class builds.

Of course, talents were divided into active and passive. To use active talents in a trial, players had to first fulfill the god's Edict of Passage at the start of each trial.

For example, the [Edict of Passage] of [Birth] is "Embrace procreation, create new life."

In plain terms, mating.

To grow stronger, mate first.

[Birth], as the First God of the [Life] path, is both the prelude to life and the origin of all things. He unites Yin-Yang and reveres procreation.

So to seek His blessing, one must first lead by example.

But since the trials are randomly matched, everyone is a stranger, and no one will actively overcome awkwardness and shame to help just because "[Birth] followers really need to mate."

Thus, this [Edict of Passage] is very difficult to fulfill perfectly.

Yet humans are creative creatures.

When a problem can't be solved through normal means, they often invent all sorts of crooked tricks to achieve the goal by a roundabout path.

For the matter of mating, there are many operations that are similar in form but aligned in spirit, such as...

Self-gratification.

This great invention saved countless reclusive [Birth] followers, but it also sparked dissatisfaction among certain players.

Someone once denounced the player who invented this solution in the [Birth] Faith Channel, angrily claiming it was blasphemy against the God.

But this accusation was refuted by a group of silver-tongued "heretics" from an extremely peculiar angle.

They claimed:

When they were practicing the [Edict of Passage] of [Birth], as long as they thought of [Him] in their minds, then it wasn't blasphemy, but an offering.

As for what was offered...

Ahem, those who know, know.

No one could say for sure whether He liked it or not, but the problem was, no one dared to say He didn't like it, after all, He reveres procreation.

But... today's situation was different.

On site, there were two [Birth] followers.

And one man, one woman.

Everyone knew the period before the trial started was generally safe, so they tacitly dispersed to carry out their respective [Edicts of Passage].

Only Cheng Shi and Xia Wan remained, standing still, neither speaking.

Awkward. The kind of awkward that makes your toes curl from digging.

Although Cheng Shi wore a smile, his face was practically frozen.

He never expected this ice-cold Hunter Lady to be a fucking [Birth] follower. If he'd known earlier, he might as well have revealed his true faith.

Deadly.

Fortunately, Xia Wan didn't seem embarrassed. Her expression was as cold as ever. Seeing Cheng Shi make no move for a long time, she was the first to speak.

Though her tone remained icy.

"Together, or separate?"

To be honest, Xia Wan was good-looking.

Short hair, clean and sharp. Cool, defined brows and eyes. And most importantly, those long legs...

Tsk.

Since the girl wasn't opposed, why not...

"Separate. I like men."

Cheng Shi twisted his fingers awkwardly and said this.

"?"

Xia Wan's indifferent expression shifted for the first time. Her suspicious gaze swept up and down Cheng Shi for a long moment, then she let out a strange "Mm," turned, and left.

Cheng Shi waited until she was gone before quietly exhaling.

Damn, almost trapped himself.

If he'd actually agreed with her, and then after the [Edict of Passage] didn't receive [Birth]'s blessing, wouldn't his lie have been for nothing?

Having the lie exposed was one thing, but impersonating a [Birth] follower to complete the [Edict of Passage]...

Wouldn't that be tricking someone into...

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, sighed, and was about to start his own [Edict of Passage] when he frowned, turned around, and spoke softly toward a certain corner:

"Good view?"

"..."

Song Yawen, hiding in the shadows, hadn't expected Cheng Shi to spot him. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, shaking his head and backing away as he said:

"Sorry, occupational hazard. Not a good view. No, no, no, I don't look good. You look good. Bro, I like women. Really. We're not a match. A forced melon isn't sweet. I'm leaving. I haven't finished my [Edict of Passage] yet. Bye!"

Song Yawen scrambled away. Cheng Shi frowned at the spot where he'd been hiding—a triangular shadow formed by an un-collapsed wall foundation.

He walked over thoughtfully, kicking aside the broken stones beneath the shadows with his foot, and discovered a freshly dead white mouse under the rubble.

"A follower of [Death], interesting."

This minor incident didn't affect Cheng Shi much. He looked around, confirmed no one was nearby, and slowly unfurled his right hand.

In the blink of an eye, a six-sided die suddenly materialized in the palm of his hand.

The die's surface was pale as bone, yet its pips shone like gold.

A playful curve tugged at the corner of Cheng Shi's mouth as he devoutly prayed to the die:

"Lies Like Yesterday, sneer at today.

Yesterday I deceived the follower of [Birth], so today...

I am a follower of [Birth]."

As the words fell, an invisible ripple of Nothingness rippled out from the die, gradually enveloping Cheng Shi's entire body.

A sharp glint flashed in Cheng Shi's eyes, and the radiance of [Birth] surged within his pupils.

The Edict of Passage concluded, the blessing complete.

Today's Cheng Shi was a follower of [Birth], a Progeny Priest.