Must Faith Always Bring a Reward?

Chu Zisheng lay sprawled across Long Ling's back, listening in silence as she animatedly told him all sorts of legends about the Azure Hunt Goddess.

In her words, this goddess whom she had never met was practically a saint—selfless and loving, caring for all people, and taking the salvation of the world upon herself.

She was a goddess through and through.

It fit ordinary people's fantasies of gods perfectly.

But Chu Zisheng knew very well.

So-called gods were merely people who were somewhat more powerful.

Who would save all living beings without conditions?

Those so-called Divine Trials, God-Given Marks, and blessings bestowed by divine descent—weren't they simply gods selecting their successors, trading benefits to achieve goals they wanted accomplished?

"Sister Long?"

Chu Zisheng suddenly spoke.

"Huh? Why do you keep changing what you call me? Forget it, call me whatever you like. What is it? Are you tired and need a rest?"

"No."

"Mm-hm?"

"I want to ask... why do you believe in the Azure Hunt Goddess?"

Long Ling's steps paused briefly before she continued walking. "I believed because I wanted to. Why does there have to be so many reasons?"

"There wasn't any particular reason?"

Chu Zisheng asked, "Like... did you ever receive some kind of divine blessing before?"

"A blessing? Of course! I'm telling you, today I suspected that the Azure Hunt Goddess heard my call. She was the one who saved us!"

"..."

Chu Zisheng curled his lip and said speechlessly, "Today doesn't count."

"Why doesn't it count? How heartless."

"...What I mean is, what made you start believing in the Azure Hunt Goddess? There had to be some reason, right?"

He recalled the golden thread on Long Ling's body that seemed to be solidified Faith Power.

That was not something one could acquire so casually.

Chu Zisheng did not believe in any god, so he truly found it difficult to understand.

How deeply did someone have to believe for such a thing to take root in the depths of their soul?

He had seen many people who believed in gods.

They claimed they were willing to offer their bodies, souls, and everything else to the gods.

Yet privately, they only thought about what benefits the gods could give them for doing so, or what desires could be fulfilled.

The moment it stopped working, they would immediately change their attitude and find another god to worship.

There were also a few special people, those chosen by gods and given God-Given Marks.

Like Bibi Dong, who had been chosen by the Rakshasa God.

But that was still a kind of exchange of benefits, not pure faith.

Long Ling was different.

She was utterly clean. She had no God-Given Mark, no divine miracle had descended upon her—she had nothing.

The Azure Hunt Goddess she believed in had not answered her today, either.

Yet she had still taken the initiative to believe in a god.

These were two different kinds of faith. One path was a god finding a person, while the other was a person finding a god. They were entirely different roads.

That was also why he had chosen to stay by Long Ling's side.

He wanted to see exactly how she had developed faith.

After all... Long Ling was the first believer Chu Zisheng had ever met who was so pure she seemed almost foolish.

"You really are strange..."

Long Ling had no idea his thoughts had taken so many twists and turns. At his question, she actually lowered her head and thought about it.

"A reason... ah, there really was one."

After thinking for a long while, she suddenly smiled.

"When I was little... you know... about your age. My father took me hunting. He said that I had awakened the Azure Hunt Golden Bow, the same one as the Azure Hunt Goddess, and that it was very powerful."

"We went into the forest and hunted together for a long time. Later, we encountered a Soul Beast. It was fierce, and neither my father nor I could defeat it."

"At that time, I thought, Oh no, am I going to die? Azure Hunt Goddess, Sea God, Asura God, heavenly gods... whoever you are, please save my father, save me, please..."

"But... I prayed for a long time that day, and there was no response."

"I thought perhaps my voice was too quiet for the gods to hear."

"Heh..."

Long Ling suddenly laughed and shook her head, as though she were reflecting on something.

Chu Zisheng blinked and waited for her to continue.

There had to be a turn in the story now, right?

So... faced with mortal danger, a god had descended in divine might, and she had devotedly believed ever since?

Perhaps the Soul Beast had suddenly died?

Perhaps a beam of divine light had fallen from the sky and killed the Soul Beast?

Or perhaps a god had sensed her prayer, answered her, and saved both father and daughter...

Surely there had to be some miracle.

Otherwise, why would she believe so devotedly?

But the outcome... was beyond his expectations.

There was nothing.

Long Ling continued, her tone so calm that it was as though she were telling a story from some roadside stall.

"At that time... I really wanted someone to come save me. Really."

"But... there was no one... no one who could save me."

"The only one who could ever save me was myself."

"So I... picked up my bow again..."

"And then?" Chu Zisheng asked.

"Then I survived."

Long Ling grinned. "Hehe, see? Isn't your big sister doing perfectly fine now?"

As she spoke, she supported Chu Zisheng with one hand and raised the other before her. Releasing her Martial Soul, she summoned a golden Azure Hunt Golden Bow into her hand and waved it proudly.

Chu Zisheng froze.

Shouldn't the Azure Hunt Goddess have manifested herself and displayed a miracle, making Long Ling believe without a shred of doubt from then on?

How had it become this!?

So... from beginning to end, she had known perfectly well.

No god would answer her.

Nor would any god save her.

She... had survived entirely through her own efforts.

But...

Chu Zisheng asked, "Since you know gods will not save you, and gods will not answer you... why do you still believe in them?"

"You're far too calculating for such a little thing."

Long Ling tilted her head, looked at him, and pinched his nose, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Must you receive something in return... before you can believe?"

Long Ling often hunted in the forest.

She knew exactly where the powerful Soul Beasts lurked. Avoiding those dangerous places, she expertly wound around several stretches of woodland and crossed another mountain ridge. The view before them suddenly opened up.

It was a tribe nestled among the mountains.

Mountains surrounded it on all sides, their cliffs steep, with only the front side being relatively gentle.

A small river ran through the middle of the tribe.

It was not large, and one could see from one end to the other at a glance. Yet under the starry night, it was brightly lit and bustling.

Guards stood watch atop the sentry towers as well, keeping strict vigil.

It was quite a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Chu Zisheng slightly extended his senses.

Most of the tribe consisted of ordinary people. Soul power fluctuations were pitifully scarce, and there were very few soul masters. Even Grand Soul Masters were rare!

The strongest person was the simple-minded Soul Elder at the peak of the rank beneath him.

There was another extremely faint Soul Elder aura, but it was terribly weak, as though its owner had once suffered severe injuries that damaged their foundation.

"We're home!"

The instant Long Ling entered the valley, her entire body relaxed. She raised her voice and shouted.

"I'm back!!"

The tribe instantly became lively.

"Sister Ling is back! Sister Ling is back!"

A group of five- and six-year-old children happily ran out of the houses and surrounded Long Ling, hopping and jumping around her.

"Sister Ling, Sister Ling, did you hunt any big Soul Beasts today?"

"Sister Ling, did you break through to Battle Soul Ancestor?"

"Sister Ling, are you hungry? I just roasted a huge chicken drumstick! It's for you!"

"..."

Long Ling smiled and rubbed each of their heads. She pulled out a handful of wild fruit from her clothes and stuffed a handful into every child's hands. "Go on, scatter and play. Let your big sister catch her breath first!"

An elderly woman leaning on a cane tottered over, took Long Ling's hand, and looked her up and down. Only after confirming she had not lost an arm or a leg did she let out a long breath.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back... Third Yazi said there was a Beast Tide in the forest. We were all so worried about you..."