Divine Priest!

The dark hall and its ancient, towering statues were illuminated by blood-red moonlight.

Standing in the darkness, Gu Jianlin felt as insignificant as an ant as he gazed up at the relics of an ancient, magnificent civilization.

According to Lu Zicheng, the older a heritage path was, the more powerful it tended to be.

From this, it was clear that the four most imposing statues could basically be identified as heritage paths from the East. They were crystallizations accumulated by countless human Ascenders throughout history, paths carved out with living lives and spiritual will.

As for those other broken statues, there was basically no need to consider them. They all originated from the West.

There might also be ancient paths in the West, but none could be seen here.

"If nothing unexpected happens, I didn't physically travel to the Kirin Immortal Palace this time. It was more like what Lu Zicheng described—a brief journey of consciousness." Gu Jianlin reached out to touch himself, but his hand passed straight through as though he were a phantom.

He had no idea what kind of existence this space was.

At that moment, besides finding the murderer who had killed his father, he had also gained a trace of curiosity toward this brand-new world.

Curiosity was human nature. Though his personality was detached, he was no exception.

Perhaps many people had entertained such a fantasy: after finishing a day of work, you dragged your exhausted body out of the subway station, turned a corner, and found yourself in a brand-new, fantastical world.

The origin of life, technology and the future, stars and galaxies, the unknown vastness of the universe.

Everything was right before his eyes.

While Gu Jianlin's thoughts wandered, the Black Kirin in his mind kept staring at the priest statue.

Given his personality, when he played games in the past, he had always liked damage-dealing classes. He would lead the healers in his guild through dungeons, charging alone at the front and slaughtering everything in his way. It gave him a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

Ancient Martial Arts and Overlord were the two heritage paths that suited his tastes the most.

There was no need to say much about the former.

Back then, Lu Zicheng had merely snapped his fingers, and a terrifying burst of force had exploded, blowing the Fallen's head apart. That scene had been incredibly impactful.

The latter looked pretty good too.

Overlord forcing a bow... no, Overlord drawing a mighty bow. It looked imposing and majestic.

Yet following the instincts of the Black Kirin in his mind, he still walked toward the most mysterious and eerie statue.

Upon the ancient altar, a sacrifice from primordial times seemed to be singing a sacred hymn: "On an auspicious day, at a fine hour, reverently I shall delight the High Sovereign! Stroking my long sword, with jade earrings, its ringing pendants chime melodiously..."

Listening to that ancient ballad, Gu Jianlin raised his hand and tried to touch the statue, sensing the mysteries within it.

This path was called Divine Priest!

Boom!

The darkness shook violently. The blood-red moonlight flickered and dimmed. The statue of the ancient priest swayed as if about to collapse, horrifying cracks spreading across it as sand and stone poured down like a waterfall.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Gu Jianlin heard the Qilin's roar in his mind again.

The statue of the ancient priest collapsed with a thunderous crash, and countless glowing substances surged forth.

That was spirituality.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but when that statue fell to the ground, it looked as though it were prostrating itself or kneeling.

As though it was... worshipping him!

At that very moment, accompanied by ancient whispers echoing beside his ears, overwhelming visions appeared before his eyes.

There were twisted words carved into ancient stone steles, writhing and turning as though they had come alive. There were also towering ancient trees swallowed by pale flames, withering in an instant. And there were corpses rising from the dead, their pupils blood-red.

Gu Jianlin seemed to fall into nothingness in an instant. The torrent of time surged backward, and the weathered history before his eyes rapidly receded. He seemed to see the clashing weapons and warhorses of a thousand years ago, battlefields where blood ran like rivers, and arrogant kings who ruled supreme.

Lost history flashed past in a hurry.

Finally, he fell into an altar that looked like a heap of massive stones.

Ahead, within the darkness, was a blazing road that reached the heavens, vanishing beyond the sky.

Faint souls ascended that road.

Some were the size of ordinary people, while others were exceptionally broad and tall. Some even resembled Giants.

Looking closer, he realized that the surroundings were not darkness at all, but shrouded in shadow.

It was a colossal being that held up the heavens, walking upon that road to the sky and blocking all light!

Holy shit!

If Gu Jianlin's physical body had been here, he would have been scared to death on the spot.

What the hell was that thing? How could it be so enormous?

For a brief moment, pale flames ignited upon the altar of piled boulders.

Gu Jianlin stood within them, burned by the pale fire, yet he felt no pain whatsoever.

He even felt exceptionally comfortable, as though his soul were ascending!

As the flames scorched him, a pale flame mark appeared between his brows, mysterious and unfathomable.

Once the pale flame mark formed, the entire world seemed to lose its color, becoming a monotonous black and white.

At that moment, the world shattered.

Gu Jianlin felt the weightlessness of his soul.

In that instant, he understood. He had completed his selection of a heritage path and was about to return to reality!

From this day onward, he was an Ascender!

His heritage path was... Divine Priest!

Gu Jianlin opened his eyes again and sat up as though waking from a nightmare.

Outside the window, that towering, mysterious floating island was still there, coiled among the clouds like an enormous Qilin. Those bizarre planets orbited along their trajectories, leaving only dark silhouettes beneath the blood-red moonlight.

The crescent moon lit up the night sky, thick and crimson like blood.

The bedroom lights were still on, and the time was fixed at midnight.

"Haa."

He let out a long breath, feeling the ascension of both body and spirit.

Spirituality filled his mind and flowed through his entire body.

"So that's how it is. When I traveled to the Kirin Immortal Palace before, I had spirituality within me while in the Qilin state. It was only because I used that syllable that my spirituality was depleted. That's why I became extremely hungry after returning."

Gu Jianlin muttered, "It wasn't physical hunger. It was spiritual."

It was like waking from a deep slumber. He felt as though he had been completely reborn. Senses he had long taken for granted over the past seventeen years had been overturned, combining his five senses and sixth sense to produce a seventh change.

For the first time, Gu Jianlin felt the Life Rhythm!

The two jujube trees in the courtyard outside had been well cared for by his mother. They were so full of vitality that he seemed able to hear a symphony of life, bright and cheerful in the silent night.

The blades of grass in the soil also released dense vitality, like a lively folk tune.

The little black cat that leaped onto the wall was skinny and unhealthy, like a melancholy song.

Finally, there was the girl in the bedroom next door. Though he could not see her through the wall, he could sense the vitality that belonged to her. It was like a glacier frozen amid Arctic winds and snow—cold, yet brimming with life, like a solemn and elegant piano piece.

The Life Rhythms of all things in the world were right before him.

At that moment, Gu Jianlin was absolutely certain that he had truly become an Ascender!

"Less than eighty pounds, yet surprisingly healthy."

Sitting on his bed, Gu Jianlin comprehended the first ability belonging to a priest.

Life Perception!

He had to admit, this ability was quite useful. If anyone in his family got sick in the future, he would be able to see through it at a glance.

They would not even need to go to the hospital.

"If I used this ability together with profiling, wouldn't it produce even better results?"

Filled with curiosity, Gu Jianlin decided to test the combination of profiling and Life Perception.

He closed his eyes and carefully sensed the Life Rhythm of the girl next door, savoring it in detail.

Su Youzhu should already have been asleep. The light next door had gone out, and her breathing was even and quiet.

Gu Jianlin casually picked up the paper and pen on his desk, preparing to sketch a personality portrait.

The pencil scratched softly across the paper, making a pleasant sound.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and silently looked at the newest personality portrait he had drawn.

On the white paper, black-and-white lines outlined a slender, petite figure curled painfully on a bed.

A few drops of blood stained her body.

"Damn it..."

Gu Jianlin's expression turned strange. This did not mean the girl had been injured.

Rather... her period was coming.

He had even deduced the timing. It would probably happen tomorrow night.

Gu Jianlin held his forehead. He had never imagined that the first time he used his ability after becoming an Ascender would be to predict something like this. If word got out, people would probably think he was a pervert.

He crumpled the paper into a ball, intending to throw it away. After thinking it over, he felt that was inappropriate, so he went out and tossed it directly into the toilet.

Then he pressed the flush button.

Mm, safe now.

At that moment, he looked at himself in the mirror, studying his face.

He knew he was good-looking. The person in the mirror was as delicate and handsome as ever.

However, perhaps because he had become a Divine Priest, his temperament had gained a hint of cold gloom.

Gu Jianlin used profiling again. The familiar reflection in the mirror rippled like water, and its appearance changed.

In an instant, his reflection wore white sacrificial robes. Countless twisted black incantations spread over his body like a tide, as though he stood atop a primordial altar of giant stones, mysterious and sinister.

Sure enough, his profiling could truly analyze an Ascender's heritage path!

He raised his right hand, and pale ghostly fire burned in his palm.

"This flame should also be one of Divine Priest's core abilities, but I don't know exactly how to use it. Life Perception seems more like a passive ability, while this flame feels like an active one."

Gu Jianlin muttered to himself, then returned to his room and locked the door.

Yet in the next moment, something bizarre happened.

The computer on his desk turned itself on and entered the startup screen.

Gu Jianlin froze.

As though remotely controlled, the laptop automatically opened a browser after starting up and entered a string of web addresses.

"Ding. Identity verification passed."

The laptop's camera flashed with red light, as though it were watching him.

Gu Jianlin was suddenly glad that he was wearing clothes right now rather than standing there naked.

"Ether Association reserve investigator, Gu Jianlin."

"Congratulations on completing the soul trial and becoming one of the countless Ascenders. From this day on, the gates of the Ether Association will open for you. Unknown opportunities and adventures, as well as the mission of protecting the human world, await your call in the future."

"Welcome to Deep Sky. Artificial intelligence A01, Taixu, is at your service."

On the computer screen, against a backdrop of boundless stars, a figure appeared amid the starlight.

She was actually a young and beautiful woman, dressed in a black-and-white Japanese lace maid outfit and holding a broom!

She looked exactly like a housekeeper.

Her soft, alluring voice continuously played through the speakers, making him feel lightheaded.

"You're... artificial intelligence?"

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a second. "I've joined the Ether Association already? Why did you appear at this moment?"

"Yes, because I've been watching you all along."

Taixu raised a hand and pointed upward.

Gu Jianlin looked up as well, but all he saw was the white ceiling.

What this artificial intelligence meant was probably a satellite.

"I've been monitored by satellites all night?"

Gu Jianlin asked with a frown.

"Yes."

Taixu answered obediently, "I only appeared after the Eye of Horus satellite detected a mutation in your soul fluctuations."

Gu Jianlin said calmly, "So you hacked into my computer?"

Taixu pursed her lips in a smile. "I'm sorry. Perhaps I offended you. But... you are special."

Gu Jianlin remained composed. "Special?"

Taixu smiled. "This year, I have received a total of three hundred and forty-four Ascenders, fifty-two percent of whom were male. Your computer is the cleanest among all male Ascenders. There is no study material whatsoever on your hard drive."

Gu Jianlin froze. So he had narrowly avoided dying of embarrassment again.

If it had been one of his classmates, they might have dropped dead on the spot.

There really was no study material on his computer, but it was not because there was anything wrong with his sexual orientation.

He simply had not been in the mood for that so far.

"Why did you hack into my computer?"

Gu Jianlin felt that this was not good at all. It was as though he no longer had any privacy.

"I'm very sorry, but this is a necessary part of the Ether Association's review process for newcomers."

Taixu answered, "Every Ascender who joins the Ether Association must have their personal information, family background, religious beliefs, voting preferences, and even their past online comments reviewed by Deep Sky. They can only be approved after everything has been verified."

Gu Jianlin frowned. Though he felt uncomfortable, he did not say anything.

After all, he was also a very clean person online.

He almost never posted comments.

Unlike the girl next door.

If she joined the Ether Association, who knew what they might uncover.

"Especially you. As a rare self-awakened individual and a descendant of the Gu Family, naturally we must be more cautious."

Taixu said gently, "I hope you can understand."

Gu Jianlin was stunned and hurriedly asked, "What Gu Family?"

Taixu seemed surprised that this young man knew nothing about it, then smiled faintly.

In an instant, a file suddenly began downloading onto the computer.

Its title was unmistakably—

Ascender Family: Gu Family of Feng City.

Gu Jianlin's pupils constricted as shock filled his face.