Blasphemous Saint Quest

Yes, it's this tree, exactly the same one Xiao Yu saw in his illusion, as if it appeared out of thin air.

"Who are you?" Xiao Yu asked, feigning ignorance.

The old tree did not answer his question, but instead asked in return, "Tell me, in the King's Return, do you believe in any god?"

"I don't have faith."

"Don't you bow or bend your head to any god?"

"I will never submit to the gods. They are nothing more than powerful beings who have gained their strength through despicable means. They are neither holy nor worthy of reverence. I will never beg from them, nor will I offer them my soul."

"Very good, the King's Return. Very good, you are the one we have been looking for." The old tree's voice had an echoing quality, as if it were composed of several different voices.

"First, I need to introduce myself. We are [Blasphemers], people who despise the gods. We do not belong in this world and are rejected by people. Therefore, we must act in secret. Our goal is to destroy all the gods and free people from the lies of the gods."

The power of the gods comes from people's faith in them, a faith that they obtain through deception and intimidation. Since we are going to oppose the gods, we should steal their Power of Faith.

Join us, and we will grant you this power. But remember, once you become a Blasphemers, you will never be able to worship any god again. You will be rejected by the gods, and any god and their followers will relentlessly hunt you down once they know your true identity. Are you willing to join us?

Xiao Yu thought to himself, "Of course."

"I do."

"Very good—next, I will teach you the Words of Blasphemy. Recite this incantation, complete the Blasphemy Ritual, and you will become a Blasphemers. Now, please repeat after me..."

The other party recited the incantation once, and Xiao Yu repeated it once, but there was no response.

"Huh, what's going on? Why don't I sense any signs that you've been rejected by the gods? Wait, something's not right! Something's not right. You're already a Blasphemers —is this a joke? Who are you? Avala? Xinda? Victor?" The voice repeated several names, seemingly trying to confirm who Xiao Yu really was.

Xiao Yu looked at the human face on the ancient tree and thought to himself that it was just a decoration; the other person couldn't see him at all.

"Um, I'm not any of the people you're talking about. I just got really angry again, so I said some things that Curse the gods, something similar to what you just said. Maybe that's when I became Blasphemers."

"A born Blasphemers? Rare, but not unheard of. Alright, let's try a different ritual. Smear your blood on the branches of this tree, and I'll complete your initiation in another way."

Xiao Yu looked at his skeletal body and thought to himself that this seemed a bit difficult.

"Um, could we try another way? I don't think I have any blood to give you."

"No blood? How is that possible? Don't tell me you're a dried-up corpse." There was a hint of annoyance in the voice.

"Well, while I'm not a dried corpse, I'm pretty much the same. I'm a skeleton."

The face on the tree fell silent for a moment, then another voice suddenly broke in, "A skeleton? An Undead? That's impossible. Undead are followers of the god of Naraku, God of Death. An Undead not controlled by the god of God of Death, using my own consciousness, and a born Blasphemers —could he be the one prophesied!"

"Impossible!" the first voice exclaimed. "That prophecy is nothing but nonsense; how could it possibly be true?"

"A prophecy? What prophecy?" Xiao Yu asked in surprise.

The second voice explained, "Hundreds of years ago, a Blasphemous Saint made a prophecy. He foresaw that one day in the future, a born Blasphemers would appear, an unprecedented being who would liberate the world from the foolish rule of the gods. In a sense, you seem to fit the description of this prophecy."

The first voice spoke again, "Come on, even if this prophecy is true, the person in the prophecy is an Undead? Don't be ridiculous, that's impossible."

The second voice paused for a moment, "Regardless, let's complete the ritual. Everyone who joins the Blasphemers will gain Power of Blasphemy; however, since you are already a Blasphemers, therefore—"

The voice didn't continue speaking, but the answer to the matter had already been revealed through a system notification.

[System notification: You have performed Blasphemy Ritual. Since you already possess the Blasphemers class, your Blasphemers class has advanced, and you have become a Blasphemous Priest.]

You have acquired a new class skill – Divine Power Theft.

Skill Name: Divine Power Theft

Skill Description: Steal the divine power of a god's domain, gaining divine magic skills exclusive to that god. There is a 1% chance of triggering a divine punishment event. You must use this skill within the god's temple.

Huh? Such a good thing! Xiao Yu was both surprised and delighted when he heard this. He never expected that his profession would be directly upgraded.

"Can a Blasphemers advance to a higher level? Are there any higher levels than Blasphemous Priest?"

The second voice explained, "In theory, there are three levels of Blasphemers. The lowest level is the Blasphemers, who harbors resentment towards the gods and refuses to submit to their rule."

The second level is the Blasphemous Priest. Blasphemous Priest not only possess the freedom to be controlled by the gods, but they also have a clear understanding of the source of the gods' power. They can steal the gods' power for their own use.

The third level is the Blasphemous Saint. Blasphemous Saint can use Divine Power Seizure skills, taking the power bestowed upon them by the gods from the divine arts of their followers. If given enough time, Blasphemous Saint can steal enough divine power to even possess the strength to fight against the gods. Unfortunately, no Blasphemous Saint has ever been able to complete this step; they were all discovered and killed by the gods before they could grow up.

In the history of Blasphemers, there have been six Blasphemous Saints, but since the death of the last Blasphemous Saint, no new Blasphemous Saint has appeared for over a hundred years.

Xiao Yu thought to himself, "I'm not afraid. As a player, I'm immortal." "Then how can I become Blasphemous Saint?"

"To become Blasphemous Saint, one must accumulate a certain amount of Power of Blasphemy. Power of Blasphemy is an invisible force that Blasphemers gains in the process of fighting against the gods—or, of course, Curse."

The more successfully Blasphemers blasphemes against the gods, the stronger their Power of Blasphemy becomes. When this Power of Blasphemy reaches a certain level, they naturally become Blasphemous Saint. However, be aware that the stronger your Power of Blasphemy, the easier it is for the gods to discover it and hunt you down. Therefore, becoming Blasphemous Saint is by no means an easy task.

Xiao Yu thought to himself, "This Blasphemous Saint is practically tailor-made for me."

"So how can I quickly obtain Power of Blasphemy? Are there any hints?"

"Of course there are. For example, killing a high-ranking divine messenger or Chosen the gods, destroying a god's temple, impersonating a god and stealing enough Power of Faith —these are all ways to quickly acquire Power of Blasphemy. But honestly, I don't recommend you do this. Most Blasphemers try to minimize the Power of Blasphemy they possess to avoid being discovered by the gods."

[System prompt: Quest triggered, Candidate for Blasphemous Saint.]

Task Introduction: You have become a Candidate for Blasphemous Saint. Complete Blasphemy events to earn Blasphemy Points. Accumulate 10,000 Blasphemy Points to become a Blasphemous Saint.

Power of Blasphemy: 19/10000.

Xiao Yu thought to himself that this mission was really difficult. A high-ranking divine messenger, Chosen of the gods, sounded like an incredibly powerful being. How could a mere skeleton swordsman like himself possibly kill them? Dream on.

Furthermore, the higher Power of Blasphemy, the more likely they are to attract the attention of the gods. Although I am a player and not afraid of death, if I am blocked by the gods at the resurrection point and killed down to level zero, it is no different from being dead.

However, there's no harm in accepting this kind of quest. But judging from what the system says, it seems that he's not the only Candidate for Blasphemous Saint. There are probably other players, and possibly even NPCs, like that Victor guy in Poli Village.

He readily accepted the task, though he didn't have high hopes for completing it.