Chapter 568: Archbishop!

A thick beam of light enveloped the fishman youngster entirely, its glare relentless and unyielding.

The beam's diameter spanned two meters, gradually shrinking as time passed.

When it reached 0.1 meters, the beam gently shifted onto Cang Xu.

Cang Xu immediately bowed his head, his prayers growing louder.

Then, his body trembled slightly—he had ascended to silver level!

The beam expended its last ounce of power and vanished completely.

Calm returned to the prayer chamber.

“Silver level...” Cang Xu remained kneeling for a long time, his heart surging with emotion.

Had he not already undergone cranial modification, becoming an undead being, tears would surely well up in his eyes now.

This marked a new frontier in his life, a vista beyond the limits of his bloodline.

His bloodline and innate talent had been inferior even to Zi Di's. Even after becoming an undead, he had expected to reach only the iron level at best.

Breaking through the iron level to reach the silver level, this was something Cang Xu had never dared to imagine.

“Now, I've done it.”

“I've become silver level.”

“And what's more, even greater things lie ahead!”

As these thoughts filled him, Cang Xu instinctively turned to the fishman youngster beside him, his gaze burning with fervor.

It was precisely by following the fishman youngster's path that he had reached this day.

What moved Cang Xu even more was the fishman youngster's willingness to expend his own divine favor to actively aid him!

The fishman youngster was not a necromancer, yet he chose to lavishly cultivate a necromancer. Such behavior wouldn't even be seen in the legitimate heir of the undead orthodoxy, Jian Gui.

“Commander, this must have cost you a great deal of divine favor, right?” Cang Xu stood up, noticing the fishman youngster's body trembling, and helped him to his feet.

The fishman youngster was already very familiar with his own state—this was a massive advancement, and both his body and soul still needed time to “digest” it. Like after overeating, requiring time to rest.

The fishman youngster shook his head slightly, gave himself a quick check, then replied to Cang Xu with a hint of peculiarity in his voice: “Strange. My divine favor hasn't decreased. It's actually risen again. Now, it's surpassed 10,000 in number."

Cang Xu's body stiffened momentarily. He drew a light breath and quickly composed himself.

He was very familiar with this situation.

He inquired curiously about the fishman youngster's other gains.

The fishman youngster explained, “Through this prayer, my clergyman cultivation has advanced to gold level, granting me mastery over hundreds of divine spells. Moreover, each spell comes with corresponding usage experience.”

Cang Xu drew another breath. “So then, Commander, you've become an exceptional and powerful clergyman?”

The fishman youngster had already attained the gold life level, and now his clergyman cultivation had risen as well.

The key gain was over a hundred divine spells.

Casting divine spells was inherently far easier than casting magic spells. In a sense, divine spells could be considered a type of racial magic. Using them felt like moving one's limbs, almost like an innate instinct.

Of course, there were differences in experience and skill when using limbs. For instance, some could use their limbs to crawl, others to walk, while some could sprint with ease.

At this level, the fishman youngster would merely be a competent clergyman with diverse abilities.

But this divine blessing brought not only divine spells but also vast experience.

This meant the fishman youngster possessed rich, deeply ingrained familiarity with these divine spells before even using them for the first time. His first use of hands and feet skipped the crawling and walking stages entirely, reaching the level of running.

Cang Xu assessed the fishman youngster as an outstanding and powerful clergyman.

This evaluation was spot on.

The fishman youngster nodded in agreement with Cang Xu's assessment, then exclaimed excitedly, "Do you know? Among these divine spells is Resurrection!"

“With Resurrection, I can bring Zi Di back to life!”

The fishman youngster couldn't help but feel genuine joy.

He had always wanted to help his beloved, but had never found a way.

Now, possessing the power of resurrection and considerable experience in using resurrection magic, he was utterly confident he could revive Zi Di.

“Resurrection magic... this is truly wonderful!” Cang Xu exclaimed.

He had once harbored a similar plan, to master it himself and revive Zi Di.

Reality, however, had shown him the difficulty of obtaining divine favor and the strict standards for casting divine spells, making him realize his plan was far from achievable.

Then, he personally witnessed the absurd treatment bestowed upon the fishman youngster, watching him overtake him in the blink of an eye, leaving the pioneer far behind.

Now, the fishman youngster had actually mastered Resurrection!

Cang Xu inquired further: “What are the underlying requirements for casting Resurrection?”

"A divine spell with such extraordinary effects isn't something one can cast lightly. On one hand, it requires the expenditure of divine favor. On the other hand, there are clerical requirements."

The fishman youngster reined in his excitement slightly: “Resurrection consumes divine favor, and the amount required is also tied to one's clerical position.”

"For a monk, it demands 10,000 divine favor points through a directed prayer. If answered, Resurrection is granted."

“After this prayer, my clerical position has also risen.”

"As an Archbishop now, I don't need a directed prayer because I inherently possess the authority to cast Resurrection once per month. To cast it multiple times, additional divine favor must be expended. The exact amount varies based on the target's cultivation and quantity, some require more, some less."

"Zi Di's life rank is merely iron level, and she's the only one individual. The divine favor cost is only 200. I can easily afford that!"

At this point, the fishman youngster turned to Cang Xu: “Do you want to be fully resurrected?”

Cang Xu paused slightly, then quickly refused: “My body isn't mine anymore. Only my head is original. Resurrection like that would be meaningless.”

“My transcendent path lies in the undead. The Hanging Corpse Tree is a saint level bloodline, how could I abandon that?”

“At least not for now!”

The fishman youngster nodded. “For now, we also need a necromancer to maintain contact with the orthodox undead faction.”

“Yes.” Cang Xu nodded. “If I change my mind in the future, revival can always happen then.”

“Oh, I didn't catch that earlier.”

“Commander, you mentioned your clerical position has risen to a level of bishop, correct?”

The fishman youngster shook his head. “Archbishop.”

Cang Xu drew in a sharp breath again, staring intently at the fishman youngster.

The fishman youngster looked puzzled. “What's wrong?”

Cang Xu gave a bitter smile. “Commander, you haven't interacted with believers like Zhou Zhang, so you might not grasp the concept of an Archbishop.”

“You know Zhou Zhang is merely an Archbishop of the Charming Blue Goddess.”

“Your current standing within the Charming Blue Church is now equal to Zhou Zhang's.”

“But Zhou Zhang is a saint level!”

Hearing Cang Xu's explanation, the fishman youngster finally grasped a vague concept.

The latter nodded, his understanding slightly clearer: “So an Archbishop holds immense power and prestige!”

“Exactly,” Cang Xu affirmed. “If we liken the church to a kingdom, the Pope is the king, bishops are like city lords, and Archbishops are feudal lords, great nobles!”

“Bishops are typically held by gold level clergymen, while Archbishops often possess immense power, often reaching the saint level.”

“Whereas you, Commander, are only of gold level, and you've just recently ascended.”

The fishman youngster nodded again.

Cang Xu's expression grew complex. “Though Zhou Zhang didn't elaborate, I could sense her pride in her position as Archbishop.”

“She joined the Charming Blue Church at a young age.”

“Step by step, she rose to her current position. Even with the Charming Blue Goddess in such poor condition and the church's bleak prospects, she never considered leaving.”

“In truth, an Archbishop is firmly among the high-ranking members in any church.”

“More crucially, Commander, your promotion to Archbishop came after only a few prayers.”

“Compared to that, the sacrifices and efforts Zhou Zhang made are enough to bring tears to one's eyes.”

At that moment, Cang Xu couldn't help but feel sympathy for Zhou Zhang, finding her situation somewhat pitiable.

"Enough, enough, don't talk about me. Tell me about yourself, what else did you gain?" The fishman youngster wasn't interested in archbishop affairs; he was more concerned about Cang Xu.

Cang Xu held nothing back, replying with excitement: “As you saw, my magician level has risen to silver level.”

“Hmm, anything else?” The fishman youngster nodded, anticipation in his voice.

Cang Xu: ...

The fishman youngster: ???

They stared at each other for a moment, then the fishman youngster snapped out of it: “That's it?”

Cang Xu drew a light breath.

The fishman youngster asked: “So your bloodline concentration didn't increase either?”

Cang Xu shook his head: “No.”

The fishman youngster frowned slightly: “That's a shame. If we have to gather it ourselves, it'll be quite troublesome.”

Cang Xu sighed: “Commander, your situation is unique. In my view, even for a deity to enhance bloodline concentration, the cost would be steep.”

"Compared to your Surging Wave fishman bloodline, enhancing my Hanging Corpse Tree bloodline might demand an even higher price."

The fishman youngster looked surprised: “What do you mean?”

Cang Xu voiced his deduction: “Though deities are omnipotent, each possesses distinct specialties.”

“A deity's strengths are intrinsically linked to their divine nature, divine authority, inherent species, and the primary race of their believers.”

"Take the Sea Bird Church of Snow Bird Harbor, their deity was originally a Sea Bird, hence mastery of flight. Consequently, believers of the Sea Bird Church can commonly master flight spells even at lower transcendent levels.

"When it comes to the Charming Blue Goddess, being born from a mermaid, Her believers are primarily marine lifeforms. This conversely demonstrates that these domains are precisely where She excels. When the Charming Blue Goddess channels divine power, imparts experience, or enhances bloodline purity to marine life, the efficiency is undoubtedly higher than with other races."

"Especially regarding undead, most deities are inept with them, treating them with detachment or even disgust."

"So, in my case, for the Charming Blue Goddess, enhancing the bloodline purity of the Hanging Corpse Tree would likely be far more difficult than enhancing that of the Surging Wave fishman bloodline."