Chapter 567 - 401: The True Function of the Golden Finger

Chapter 567: Chapter 401: The True Function of the Golden Finger

This thought extinguished Isaac’s initial idea of having Shushu assist with his research on soul structures. The soul was a vast field, and to this day, many of its mysteries remained unsolved. While Shushu was also adept at soul-related research, its expertise was clearly focused on the Undead.

This had little connection to the soul structure Isaac was currently studying, so it seemed unrealistic to rely on Shushu’s knowledge of Divine Arts for a spark of inspiration.

’If my research gets stuck later, I can always give it another try. For now, I’ll just have it help train the Martial God Body boy.’

Isaac’s gaze then swept over Shushu, Liu Li, the Saint Master, and the Silver Knight. As he looked at Liu Li, he exchanged an almost imperceptible glance with Shushu before his eyes moved past the others to rest on the Saint Master, his expression thoughtful.

’Among them, Liu Li’s path isn’t set yet. Shushu’s Virtual Divinity is still short on resources. The Silver Knight is purely a matter of resources. As a Demonic Puppet, it only has two ways to advance. The first, naturally, is to replace its components with High Level ones. With enough money, forget Tier Four—I could take it straight to Tier Five!’

Tier Six was out of the question due to current technical limitations, unless it switched to the Golem path.

’The second method is self-growth. But because of its unique life form, every tiny bit of the Silver Knight’s growth must be honed over vast stretches of time!’

The time scales were easily measured in millennia!

So that option was practically worthless. But the first option...

Isaac really couldn’t afford it...

It was just too expensive!

’So, out of everyone, only the Saint Master meets the conditions for an upgrade. Well, he did. Not anymore. I just don’t have the time right now, and if he tried to perform the ritual himself...’

A hundred lives wouldn’t be enough for him to burn through!

’Fortunately, the Saint Master’s upgrades are relatively flexible. He doesn’t have to devour the power of a Dimensional Demon God every time he masters a new Secret Technique; he can save them up. While this would drastically increase the already high failure rate, with me here, it makes no difference. As long as the chance of success isn’t zero, it’s a sure thing.’

"I’m tied up for the moment," Isaac said. "Don’t slack off on your training, but don’t be reckless, either. When the time comes, I will help you break through to Tier Four in one go!" Seeing the Saint Master nod, Isaac showed a satisfied expression. He then turned to Shushu and Liu Li. "Your tasks remain mostly the same. Mike will continue to follow you; just teach him the basics. I have other plans for him."

Shushu and Liu Li glanced curiously at the boy, Mike. Isaac had always managed his subordinates and Servant Demons based on the principle of free will—they were free to choose their own paths, strong or weak. This was the first time he had made such a specific arrangement, offering them little choice in the matter.

But despite their curiosity, they didn’t ask any questions. The master had given a task, and they would carry it out.

After he finished giving his brief instructions, the virtual projection dissolved, and Isaac once again immersed himself in his research.

Regarding the peculiar soul structure, his initial guess proved correct: it was only related to whether a person had made a deal with an Outer God, not the frequency of those deals. Furthermore, based on the data he’d collected, he deduced that this alteration to the soul was unrelated to a Deity’s power. It was likely the influence of some kind of Concept.

Isaac had reviewed the soul data of fanatical Believers, the Divine Selection, and the Divine Favored of various Deities, but he hadn’t found any similar soul structures among them. Although their souls did change, that transformation was already well-documented and understood. It was called Holy Spirit Transformation—a benign change that occurred when a mortal soul, fueled by fervent Power of Faith, was bathed in the radiance of a Deity.

After undergoing Holy Spirit Transformation, a Believer’s physical lifespan would be extended, and upon death, their soul would ascend unopposed into the Divine Kingdom. There, they would possess a lifespan equal to that of their God, living a carefree existence until their consciousness finally crumbled over the long eons...

The Holy Spirit Transformation of the soul was a universal trait among Believers in any divine system, regardless of whether their object of worship was a True God or an Outer God. As long as the Believers met the right conditions, the transformation would occur. However, Outer Gods generally took an exploitative approach with their followers, draining them for all they were worth. Even if a true fanatical Believer emerged, the Outer God wouldn’t have the patience to wait for them to slowly undergo Holy Spirit Transformation.

This transformation was completely different from the unique soul structure of a Mad Witch.

This led Isaac to another hypothesis—perhaps Arcanists were unable to become Mad Witches precisely because they could not achieve Conceptual Resonance with that strange Concept, and therefore couldn’t trigger the change in their soul structure!

’Thinking even further, perhaps this change in soul structure is related to Mad Witch Traits!’

However, this latter idea was purely speculative, with little data to back it up. In fact, some of his data even contradicted the hypothesis.

For example, frequent dealings with Outer Gods did not accelerate the soul’s transformation, which was clearly different from how one awakens Mad Witch Traits. ’But that’s not definitive,’ he thought. ’Perhaps the stimulus just isn’t strong enough?’

In short, he had many theories—some entirely new, others tying into his previous conjectures. Determining which were correct would all depend on future experiments...

...

And so, time slowly passed. Soon, a year had gone by.

A year later, Isaac and Moens stood together once again. In front of them, twelve people were conducting a ritual, in a scene that seemed identical to the one from a year before.