Chapter 16: Evading Fate

“My current strength is enough to rank among the top of the demigods.”

“Ordinary church Popes wouldn’t be my match.”

As he spoke, Lu Ming took out a key cast from ancient bronze.

The key looked unremarkable, very ordinary, and even bore traces of rust.

But within, it brimmed with dense Faith, even though it had already been used up.

Lu Ming could also replenish it by infusing his own Faith.

Converted, it was equivalent to an artifact.

And as for its use—

“Alter the rules, evade fate.”

There was nothing much to say about altering rules; even demigods could achieve that.

Although “Immortality” could accomplish it at a much higher level, the price was beyond what he could afford.

The most crucial point was actually this ability to evade fate.

Lu Ming didn’t waste words and directly used the Power of Divinity to activate “Immortality.”

The rust on the Ancient Bronze Key suddenly faded away, revealing its original dazzling golden color.

“Immortality” slowly rotated, as if it was opening an invisible door.

Fragments of fate suddenly appeared before Lu Ming’s eyes.

They seemed to be omens of disasters yet to come.

He saw only that every living being in the entire town was wiped out in a hurry.

He desperately killed two demigods.

Then, a deity descended into the world through another demigod’s body, enacting Divine Descent.

He hadn’t even figured out who they were before being crushed to death by that deity.

Lu Ming’s face instantly became grave, his brows furrowing tightly.

***

“A deity who bears me a grudge actually found me at a time like this.”

“Other than that damned mongrel, the God of Procreation, I can’t think of any other deity.”

It had still been discovered by Him.

Lu Ming had considered this possibility, but he hadn’t expected the God of Procreation to act so swiftly.

“I must immediately ask Sislia about the current movements of the Church of Procreation.”

“Those Faith Fragments showed that they seem to have sent out three demigods at once, and finally the God of Procreation—Xu… that old witch even performed Divine Descent.”

“To kill me, they’re really going all out.”

***

Divine Descent.

It was the ultimate trump card of every church.

After Divine Descent, the gods themselves would have their power suppressed to the level of a demigod.

But even so, they were still gods—the pinnacle among demigods.

Though gods differed in strength, after Divine Descent, the gap was never too vast.

Moreover,

Churches generally also possessed artifacts bestowed by their deities.

That would only further boost their fighting strength.

Lu Ming felt a rare heaviness settle in his heart.

But then he thought—why not try now to use “Immortality” to evade this fate?

Though it might require paying an unpredictable price,

Compared to being hunted by the people of the Church of Procreation, it was still worth it.

***

After weighing the pros and cons, Lu Ming decisively used “Immortality” to activate the fate-evading ability.

The key turned, the old fate fragments vanished, and new fragments took their place.

Within them, Lu Ming saw himself transformed into Rain’s appearance, together with Sislia.

There were no death scenes this time.

“If I want to evade the fate of death, I’ll have to rely on Sislia… No, more precisely, on the Dawn Goddess.”

Having averted the fate of death, Lu Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The fate fragments faded away.

A line of text floated before Lu Ming’s eyes.

“He who evades fate shall in the end be forsaken by fate.”

“Truly some wise-sounding nonsense.” Lu Ming glanced at it and put away “Immortality” at once.

“If I’ve already reached the point of needing to evade fate, do I really care about this?”

He quietly retorted to himself.

***

Then Lu Ming suddenly remembered something.

He lifted the block he had placed on Rain’s prayers.

And then—

Dozens of prayers and petitions crashed into Lu Ming’s Divine Sense, making his head feel like it was about to explode.

Rain kept sending her regards,

Saying all sorts of things, now worried for his safety, now hinting at wanting to “share the burden with you…”

Lu Ming’s eyelids twitched, rather speechless.

He had never noticed before—this Rain turned out to be quite the chatterbox.

If he kept ignoring her, she might just shatter.

Lu Ming considered it for a moment. This was just right; he could use this chance to bond with her.

And then bestow another Divine Grace.

Just as he had planned before.

He couldn’t keep personally stepping in to harvest Faith.

Rain had to develop at least some ability to protect herself.

At the very least, Rain should be able to withstand a demigod’s descent.

***

Having decided how to proceed,

Lu Ming actively contacted Rain and pulled her consciousness into the Divine Realm.

Rain felt her vision go black. When she opened her eyes again, she was astonished to find herself in an unbelievably beautiful, unknown forest.

Everything before her was so lushly green it defied belief.

Even the air was thick with a refreshingly cool and pleasant scent.

And in the heart of the forest stood an enormous tree that seemed to pierce the heavens, its crown lost from sight.

“This place… it looks like Your Highness’s Divine Realm!”

Rain’s pupils quivered, as if she had stumbled onto an earth-shattering secret.

***

“Rain, my most faithful Proxy, come here.”

A gentle, incredibly melodious voice echoed directly in her mind.

Hearing this voice, Rain’s body couldn’t help but shudder.

This was the voice she longed to hear even in her dreams—the voice of Her Highness the Goddess.

Rain immediately broke into a run, instinctively heading in a certain direction.

Soon enough,

She arrived at a garden-like spot, where clear spring water gurgled, and beside the spring

Stood an elegant courtyard.

In the Pavilion before the courtyard, Rain saw that figure.

Rain’s gaze instantly sharpened, reverence tinged with a possessive hunger, almost as if little hearts would float from her eyes, staring straight at Lu Ming.

It made his skin crawl a little.

Rain’s body suddenly went weak, her legs tensing, and she nearly collapsed.

But in the next instant, Lu Ming transferred her onto a chair.

Lu Ming was dressed just as before, in a luxurious, verdant green robe, crowned with a wreath of plants, green-gold patterns tracing his form.

What disappointed Rain a little was that she still couldn’t see the goddess’s face.

But she knew full well—how could one look directly at a god so easily?

Rain bowed respectfully to Lu Ming and immediately began to praise him.

But once she started talking, she couldn’t stop, and it was only after Lu Ming gently interrupted that she finally fell silent.

Rain stroked her blushing cheeks a couple of times, forcing herself to tamp down the excitement in her heart; she’d simply been too overjoyed just now.

Sweat soaked the collar of her clothes.

***

Seeing Rain in such a terrible state,

Lu Ming’s lips instinctively curved into a wry, meaningful smile.

He was about to reach out to Rain.

Fortunately, he managed to restrain himself just in time.

He sighed quietly to himself.

He didn’t know why, but he kept having the urge—

To change Rain’s clothes into a scanty qipao with a slit running up to her waist.

Suppressing any sign of this, he simply lifted his hand lightly.

In the next moment, the sweat on Rain’s body vanished, and her clothes turned fresh and dry.