Chapter 369

Faith was a very serious matter. It was not something decided merely by saying "I believe" or "I don't believe." Only heartfelt recognition could be transformed into faith.

To give an extreme example: Qiao Xiu, Sui Xiong's subordinate, had once been the chieftain of a northern icefield barbarian tribe. Now transformed into a half-dragon, he was still working hard to "produce enough descendants to form a tribe." He hated the Goddess of the Northern Snowfields and Blizzards with utmost intensity, yet he also devoutly believed in her. Powerful faith and powerful hatred merged together, becoming a profound curse.

That was faith. Even if you hated a deity, you could still believe in Them. The two did not conflict.

Likewise, although the Harvest Goddess's followers respected and thanked Sui Xiong, who had saved them and was willing to give them another chance at eternity, that alone was far from enough to make them change their faith.

The key still lay in "identification."

Generally speaking, to identify with a deity, one first had to understand Their doctrines and ideals, then compare them to one's own. If a point of alignment could be found between the two, an initial faith could take shape. The more points of alignment there were, the stronger that faith became. If one reached the point of believing that everything the other party said was right and completely abandoned one's own ideals, one became what was known as a "devout believer." And if one went a step further, believing that only one's own deity's ideals were correct and that all other conflicting ideals were wrong, then one was a "fanatic."

Naturally, Sui Xiong did not expect to convert the Harvest Goddess's fanatics into his own followers. That was not really possible. Those fanatics still gathered every day to pray