Lord of Prayer - Chapter 187 145: The Gathering

Night.

In the villa’s basement.

The forge emanated intense heat, and the dancing flames cast a fiery red glow across the entire room. The ceaseless CLANG of a hammer striking iron filled the air.

The red-hot block of iron sprayed a shower of sparks under the hammer’s blows. This time, Zhou Chen was forging a tachi, and it had to be a Thunder-Attribute tachi.

It all stemmed from an event post on the trading platform.

While writing a report that afternoon, Zhou Chen had a sudden idea: he would open a shop on the trading platform to sell the weapons he forged. Crafting Extraordinary Weapons was no easy feat. The materials for the previous five weapons had cost him nearly five million in total. He needed to sell them off and turn them into cash as soon as possible. He had no desire to be saddled with massive debt at a young age like Old Yang.

While browsing the weapons section to do some research, he saw a pinned post that immediately piqued his interest.

The post was from several renowned weapon workshops, which had jointly organized a weapon forging competition for newcomers.

The competition was currently in its week-long preliminary selection stage, and all entries were strictly required to be Thunder-Attribute weapons.

Contestants could either forge their weapon on-site at a nearby workshop branch or mail their finished work to a designated address. The latter option, however, required them to embed their name and entry number within the weapon to prevent impersonation.

This grand event had become an annual tradition. High-quality works would be selected for exhibition, allowing countless people to admire, critique, and compare them. Contestants might even receive guidance from masters of the Forging Realm, a priceless benefit.

The rewards for just passing the preliminary selection were very generous, making it an excellent opportunity for unknown newcomers.

If one could pass the preliminaries, advance to the main competition, and fight their way to a good ranking, it was like stepping onto a golden road to success. The vast majority of past winners and standout contestants had gone on to reach the pinnacle of their lives.

Zhou Chen, with the thought of ‘Well, I’ve already seen it, so there’s no harm in trying,’ decided to forge a Thunder-Attribute tachi for the competition. It would also be a way to test his own progress.

After hammering the Extraordinary Metal into a rectangle, he paused his work, picked up the red-hot, thick plate with a pair of tongs, and tossed it into the forge.

Fierce and tyrannical, lightning was one of the most difficult powers to tame, placing extremely strict demands on a weapon’s materials. A simple Enchantment wasn’t so particular; with the help of a Rune Stone, even a roll of toilet paper could become [Thunder Toilet Paper].

But to forge a weapon that intrinsically possessed the Thunder Attribute, the material’s quality had to be up to par, capable of bearing the might of a Thunderbolt.

The most direct method was, of course, to throw money at the problem and buy materials with a high affinity for the Thunder Element. But for those who lacked the funds, they could only resort to other means.p>Presumably, the organizers had set this strict requirement precisely because they wanted to see what kind of clever tricks the contestants could come up with.

Fortunately, Zhou Chen had the Hammer of Forging.

The fire roaring in the forge was no ordinary flame, but [Refining Fire], transformed by the Hammer of Forging. Even a lump of the most common iron, if thrown in, could be smelted into high-grade steel.

Zhou Chen estimated that refining the material inside for two hours would be enough to burn away the impurities, extract its essence, and sublimate its quality.

Once he repaired the Hammer of Forging to a certain degree, or if his own Power became sufficient, he would no longer need this troublesome refining process. A single strike of the hammer would instantly complete all the complex procedures.

As for the two hours he now had free, Zhou Chen had his own plans.

—It was time to hold the first meeting of the secret society.

He took a shower, ordered a family bucket of fried chicken for delivery, and, while he was at it, changed his account status on the Star Association’s internal app to “On Vacation, Do Not Disturb.”

Then, his consciousness ascended, arriving at the Round Table Hall.

‘Excluding me, plus Colin, this meeting will only have three people. It feels a bit empty. I’d better create a sock puppet account. It can boost the numbers, participate in trades, and even provide cover for me if necessary…’

At Zhou Chen’s thought, the mist in the Round Table Hall surged, coalescing into a human figure on one of the Obsidian Thrones. Its face was shrouded in white mist, making it difficult to see clearly.

‘After advancing to Tier Two and my Soul recovered, my Spiritual Power also grew stronger. Creating a sock puppet account isn’t that difficult…’

A wisp of his consciousness flew out and settled into the mist-formed figure. He controlled this new body to stand up and began running, jumping, doing high kicks, and backflips around the Round Table Hall… There was no discomfort at all; it was as smooth as using his own body.

Meanwhile, his main consciousness remained seated on the main throne, watching his other self run around.

‘How weird.’

‘Thinking of codenames is too much trouble. For now, I’ll just use Number One, Number Two, and so on… In that case, I’ll be “Number One,” the lucky person who first received Mr. Lamp God’s favor, a Blacksmith responsible for livening up the atmosphere.’

The figure formed of white mist muttered to itself, then sat back down in its chair.

Numerous Wish Bubbles appeared before Zhou Chen. He extended his consciousness into them, one by one, issuing instructions for the upcoming meeting.

·

“Mr. Soron, the meeting will be held punctually at 4:00 PM. Your codename is ‘Number Two.'”

Soron, who was reading in his dorm at the Alchemy Workshop, trembled all over like a startled cat, his eyes instinctively darting around.

‘That voice… the Lamp God? A meeting? What meeting? An Extraordinary meeting?’ Soron was startled, his mind instantly exploding with countless thoughts. ‘The Lamp God is actually inviting me to a meeting of a secret organization?’

‘Why invite me? It would’ve been much better if he’d forgotten about me…’ Soron sighed internally. He guessed the other party was interested in his status as an Alchemist.

Official Alchemists were extremely rare, a strategic resource. For any secret society to have such a member was a tremendous boon for the entire organization.

‘Sigh… If I can’t escape it, I might as well enjoy it. At least I can get some benefits and profits from the meeting. I wonder if I’ll be able to trade for those materials I’m missing…’

·

「In a room at the orphanage.」

Lin Ya was reading a book.

Father Daun was very lenient with her. He trained her in combat skills daily, gave her special tutoring, and even let her read books that were only accessible to internal members of the Dawn Church, allowing her to learn a great deal.

During this time, Father Daun never tried to proselytize again, but Lin Ya found herself deeply captivated by the philosophies and stories recorded in those books.

‘If I hadn’t met Mr. Lamp God, I would definitely have joined the Dawn Church…’ Lin Ya had this thought countless times, but she never considered joining, for she already had an object of faith.

“Miss Lin Ya, the meeting will be held punctually at 10:00 PM. Your codename is ‘Number Three.'”

The gentle voice suddenly echoed in Lin Ya’s ear, making her freeze for a moment before the corners of her lips curled up.

‘I can finally see Mr. Lamp God again…’

·

「Star Association Medical Department.」

In a private hospital room, Colin hung up a call from his family, his expression dark.

He had just let out a breath to calm himself when a voice sounded in his ear:

“Mr. Colin, the meeting will be held punctually at 10:00 PM. Your codename is ‘Number Four.'”

‘A meeting…’ Colin’s mind stirred. He had a plan.

·

After finishing the family bucket of chicken and filling his stomach, Zhou Chen glanced at the time on his phone: 9:58.

—Soron was in Old Paris, which was in a different time zone, hence the different notification time.

He closed his eyes, began his Meditation, and descended into the Round Table Hall.

When the time was right, Zhou Chen extended his consciousness, forming an invisible connection with the Wish Bubbles and pulling the Wishers’ consciousnesses into this place.

On the ancient Obsidian Thrones, figures took shape one after another. They were all shrouded in white mist, and as they sized each other up, they were unable to glean any useful information.

“Ladies and gentlemen.”

The Lamp God on the main throne smiled.

“Welcome to the Round Table Hall.”