Buck couldn''t help but admire Fernandez''s vitality, despite his old age. The elderly man, who looked to be in his seventies or eighties, had deep wrinkles carved by time on his face, but his movements were so quick and agile that it was astonishing.


    Each step he took seemed to create a gust of wind, his pace so swift that Buck had to almost jog just to keep up. Moreover, the old man seemed to have an innate ability for stealth, almost as if he were born to be a thief.


    He led Buck through the vast, labyrinthine church, winding through corridors with the agility of a sly raccoon. Along the way, they skillfully avoided the gaze of any clergy, moving silently between the various storage rooms for materials. Before long, they had visited several warehouses.


    As Buck watched Fernandez’s deft movements, he couldn''t help but wonder if the old man had truly been a thief in his younger years.


    Lost in thought, Fernandez led Buck into another underground warehouse. A mysterious, musty aura filled the air, and the shelves were lined with beautifully crafted crystal bottles containing sparkling liquids, shimmering under the dim light.


    Without a change in his expression, Fernandez pointed directly to the shelf and said, “Holy water, take the one from the topmost row.”


    Buck did not hesitate for a moment. He reached out and grabbed the first bottle from the top row. At that very instant, Fernandez’s eyes twitched violently. That bottle of holy water had been cherished by the Archbishop of the southern diocese for 82 years!


    Buck noticed the bishop’s emblem on the bottle and suddenly realized that they were, in fact, stealing! They exchanged a quick, nervous glance, both realizing what they had just done. After a moment, they silently checked their surroundings before quickly leaving the warehouse, looking like two cats who had successfully stolen something.


    The process of obtaining the sunstone powder was much simpler. Buck stood beneath the towering dome of the cathedral, gazing up at the huge sunstone embedded in the ceiling, his gaze resolute.


    He looked around to ensure no one was paying attention and then suddenly jumped up, knocking loose the largest sunstone from the ceiling. Afterward, he found a corner and personally ground the stone into powder.


    Meanwhile, Fernandez wasn’t idle. He came up with a plausible excuse, using much persuasion to clear the cathedral of all its occupants. Once everyone was gone, he carefully shut the cathedral’s large doors, as if he were preparing for some highly secretive task.


    Fernandez seemed to have become somewhat obsessed at this point. He planned to have Buck perform the ritual right there in the cathedral.


    Buck slowly knelt before the enormous statue of the Sun Goddess, which stood as tall as a three-story building. Even before the ritual began, he could already feel the overwhelming, almost tangible divine presence surrounding him, as if gentle hands were caressing his soul.


    Fernandez bent down and carefully drew the ritual formation for Buck, each stroke meticulous, as if he were painting a mysterious picture that held the key to destiny. Once the formation was complete, he placed all the carefully collected materials into it. Only after doing so did he let out a long breath, his voice carrying a note of expectation as he said, “Let’s try again.”


    Buck nodded solemnly, his gaze shifting toward the altar, his emotions mixed. These precious materials were the result of their risky theft.


    At that moment, the prompt for the ritual appeared before Buck’s eyes: [Ritual power detected. Do you wish to begin the Sun Goddess’s blessing ritual?] Unlike the previous time, there was no warning about success rates this time.


    Buck silently hoped that there wouldn’t be any problems this time. With a mix of unease and hope, he selected “Start Ritual” and began chanting the ancient, mysterious incantation.


    As the words echoed, the materials in the formation seemed to be activated by some mysterious force, gathering into a dazzling light so bright that Buck almost had to squint. This light quickly intertwined with the glow radiating from the statue of the goddess, together forming a brilliant tapestry. In an instant, it felt as though a gate to a mysterious realm had been opened, and a torrent of divine energy surged from beyond.


    The massive energy, as overwhelming as a tidal wave, poured out of the statue. Buck was completely bathed in this radiant divine light, feeling as though every cell in his body was celebrating in euphoria.


    The enormous golden wings above him slowly unfolded, shimmering with divine brilliance, as life energy began to pour into his body at an astonishing rate. The effects of the ritual were like a magic spell, instantly doubling the vast life force Buck already possessed! This wasn’t some illusory increase—it was a real, tangible doubling!


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    Soon after, the goddess’s blessing began to grant him an equal amount of spiritual energy to match his life force. Buck was left in awe, unable to fathom how incomprehensibly large the figure of 600,000 spiritual energy was. It was mind-boggling and incredible.


    [Infusion of Ritual Power: Life Energy Maximum +317,384.]


    [Infusion of Ritual Power: Spiritual Energy Maximum…]


    However, fate seemed to enjoy playing tricks. Just as the ritual was halfway through, the golden wings that were releasing boundless spiritual energy suddenly emitted a sharp crack! Buck’s expression changed instantly, his joyful smile freezing. His heart sank as though he had fallen into an endless ice pit. “It’s not going to explode again, is it?” he thought in panic.


    Sure enough, the next moment, a clear, sharp sound of something breaking reached his ears. Buck hurriedly looked up, only to see the golden wings, now covered in cracks along their edges, like a delicate porcelain item that could shatter at any moment.


    Seeing this, Fernandez couldn''t help but swallow nervously. His heart sank as he thought, This is bad... I can’t possibly get another bottle of the 82-year-old holy water for Buck!


    Buck watched nervously as the wings trembled, as if they might fall apart at any moment. His heart felt as though it was being tightly squeezed by an invisible hand, and his chest trembled slightly. However, after a while, the glow wavered but did not shatter completely; it only caused the flow of spiritual energy to come to a halt.


    The cracked wings slowly descended, and as they touched Buck, they dissolved like snowflakes into tiny glowing specks, merging into his body. At this moment, the full notification finally rang out in Buck''s view.


    【The power of the ritual infuses: Maximum spiritual energy +111847.】


    “That doesn’t seem right,” Buck muttered, confused. “Didn’t the goddess know how to count?” According to the rules of the blessing ritual, it should have granted him spiritual energy equal to his life energy. However, he quickly realized that it wasn’t because the goddess couldn’t count, but rather because the amount of spiritual energy was too vast, already beyond the capacity of the ritual’s medium. If more spiritual energy had been infused, the ritual would undoubtedly have failed again, so the goddess’s blessing was reduced.


    【First-tier Goddess Blessing Ritual complete, gained first-tier ritual power: Blessing.】 【Spirit of the Ritual Possession: Sound of Blessing.】 【Due to “Goddess Blessing” effect, the ritual demon “Devourer” is purified.】


    As these notifications appeared, Buck felt his exhaustion vanish instantly. He felt as though his entire body had been reborn, and he could no longer hold himself up. He collapsed onto the floor.


    He could clearly sense the Sound of Blessing from the broken light wings entering his body. The divine energy emanating from the wings formed an invisible net, enveloping the hateful Devourer, making it cry out in pain. In the blink of an eye, the evil spirit that had tormented Buck for an entire year was completely silenced and disappeared from his senses.


    Finally, Buck shouted in his heart. He had finally rid himself of one of the evil spirits that had tortured him for a whole year! As for the other two spirits, they hid deep within Buck’s soul, as if frightened mice. It seemed that to draw them out, he would need to find another way. However, at that moment, Buck felt completely satisfied. Looking at the values on his status screen, he lay back in exhaustion, feeling a sense of relief.


    【Life energy: 634768/634768】


    【Spiritual energy: 111947/111947】


    【God''s Corpse''s Hand Ⅰ: Requires an undefined amount of spiritual energy or life energy to activate, cooldown: 60 minutes.】


    【Demon Creature''s Arm Ⅴ: Requires 10 spiritual energy or life energy to activate, cooldown: 1 second.】


    【Heretic''s Arm III: Can consume 80 spiritual energy or life energy to activate “Touch of Fools,” cooldown: 3 minutes.】


    The three arms obtained through the grafting ritual were unaffected by the disappearance of the evil spirit, which allowed Buck to finally relax his tense nerves.


    At that moment, Fernandez’s wrinkled face appeared above Buck, holding a bottle of potion that gleamed with strange light in the dim glow. “Don’t forget this,” Fernandez said, swiftly pouring the potion into Buck’s mouth. A sweet, fishy liquid flowed down Buck’s throat, and an intense, burning sensation exploded inside him. It felt as if a blazing fire was ravaging through his organs, giving him the sensation that he was being burned alive.


    The powerful stimulation made Buck tense every muscle in his body, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as he struggled on the ground in agony. The mysterious substance in the potion was working together with the divine energy left over from the promotion ritual, rapidly transforming his blood.


    From this moment on, Buck Frank officially became a Hunter. Then, everything went black, and he lost consciousness.


    …


    When Buck woke up again, he found himself lying in an unfamiliar large bed, with one of the twin maids sitting by his side. “Are you left or right?” Buck rubbed his aching head, feeling groggy, and asked in a dazed manner.


    “Master, I’m LeftYi,” the maid answered softly, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze. Buck instinctively glanced at the maid''s chest, confirming her identity. “Where am I?” he asked next.


    “This is your new home, Master. The people from the church brought you back after you fell unconscious. It’s already evening. Are you feeling alright?” LeftYi looked at Buck with concern in her eyes.


    “I’m fine…” Buck quickly recalled everything that had happened earlier, struggling to sit up in bed.


    “Master, the church also sent many things. I’ve placed them on your desk,” LeftYi added.


    “Great. You can leave now. Oh, and prepare some food for me…” Buck started to speak but paused halfway through. He took a deep breath and reached toward his abdomen. He felt a little hungry, but it was a normal physical reaction, not the endless hunger caused by the evil spirits. He froze for a moment, then slowly smiled, a genuine, happy smile. “Wait, I’ll soon deal with your other two companions too!” he swore silently.


    LeftYi gave him a puzzled look, not understanding why he was so happy, but she quietly exited. After closing the door, she let out a quiet sigh of relief. The Master’s smile was no longer as frightening. This was probably the happiest smile he had given in the entire year.


    Inside the room, after smiling to his heart’s content, Buck climbed out of bed and, with somewhat unsteady steps, walked to the desk. His gaze immediately fixed on a letter sealed with golden wax. He picked up the letter opener beside him and carefully sliced open the envelope. Pulling out the parchment letter, a line of text caught his eye. “Hunter Trial…”