A Plethora of Merit

“Eat… stuffed?” Fifth Brother’s analogy could only make Du Chen wryly smile! But undeniably, this seemed to be incredibly good news!

Du Chen suppressed his headache, about to examine the changes in his body, but along with the headache, his entire skeleton began to ache, as if it had been broken and then reassembled. “Deboning…” Before he could finish his thought, he toppled onto the Lotus Pedestal, unconscious, completely losing awareness!

…

Time flowed by, its duration unknown. Du Chen vaguely clenched his fist… no sensation… absolutely no sensation!

Where’s my hand?!

Suddenly “opening” his “eyes,” Du Chen looked around in bewilderment. His body was still there, yet it felt transparent, completely numb. Faint shimmering light surrounded him, like the starry night sky. Behind him, streaks of golden light shone. A sigh of relief escaped his heart; he had experienced this scene “before his eyes” once already. This was the world of his Lotus Primordial Spirit!

To return to the Primordial Spirit’s world, he must be safe!

“Heh, awake?” A voice echoed from behind Du Chen. He turned to look, and a figure was half-leaning on the Lotus Primordial Spirit, greeting him with a lazy expression! White robes, golden hair, sky-blue eyes, and a handsome face that gave Du Chen a strange illusion…

Was he looking in a mirror!?

On the Primordial Spirit, there was unmistakably a Francis… or perhaps another Du Chen!

Du Chen was startled. “You are…”

The other Francis shook his head and smiled. Not only his appearance but also his voice was identical to Du Chen’s, though his manner of speaking was entirely different, utterly roguish! “Surprised? Honestly, I’m surprised too!” He wagged a finger at Du Chen. “Don’t ask anything; just listen to me… I’m too lazy to listen to you babble a hundred questions!”

Francis shook his head and explained, “Before you fainted, you annihilated over ninety-five percent of the Merfolk nearby. In truth, these Merfolk usually harass ports and attack humans just to fill their bellies; it’s what we call the law of nature. The Precious Scroll didn’t classify them as villains! However, not long ago, for the sake of their so-called Holy Relic, the Merfolk implicated the innocent, massacring thousands of civilians in Newin Port, nearly destroying half the city! In that case, they were scoundrels, deserving of death. By killing them, you enacted justice! It was a great act of good! A truly immense act of good!”

Slaughtering a hundred thousand creatures, yet accumulating merit for oneself; this is a good deed, and a truly immense good deed…

That heavy, oppressive feeling in Du Chen’s heart still lingered, but it had significantly lessened. Although he hadn’t personally witnessed the devastation of the Thin Mist Sea, it was unavoidable that, no matter how tragic, it was his hand that had wrought it.

The sensation he felt the moment he roared “Begin!” resurfaced. Du Chen suddenly felt that his heart was no longer so hesitant!

The other Francis continued, “Besides enacting justice, you resolved a long-standing disaster in Southern Lanning, freeing the civilians of the Southern Lanning Sea from the suffering of ‘Pacifying the Seas,’ thus opening up sea routes and accelerating trade. This is yet another great act of good! So this time, you essentially performed two great acts of good: punishing evil and benefiting a region! But everything must proceed step by step, right? The merit you gained this time was too vast, too much, and too fast. As a result, your body couldn’t immediately adapt to such formidable power. To put it in a way you’d understand, you ‘cultivated incorrectly,’ but there’s no real danger. A good night’s sleep will fix everything!”

He provided a very detailed numerical explanation. “Specifically, your true strength was at the peak of the Seventh-Star before. But the moment the Merfolk perished, you suddenly gained power comparable to an Eight-Star Battle God… What happens when Eight-Star power is forced onto a Seventh-Star body?”

“Explode and die!” Du Chen stated the answer calmly.

“Exactly, you’d burst yourself to death! But fortunately, your body is unique; it can withstand this power. Your mind, however, couldn’t endure the excruciating pain of bodily reinforcement. Good thing I pulled your soul into the Primordial Spirit’s world, or else, you’d be looking at mental derangement!”

“Then who are you?” Du Chen asked.

“Me? Damn it, you don’t recognize me?!” This Francis glared at Du Chen, pouting, and said in a strange, taunting tone, “When you need something, just call me Fifth Brother, and you won’t go wrong!”

“You’re Fifth Brother?” Du Chen let out a helpless laugh. “How did you become just like me? Before, you were like a snot-worm!” Saying this, Du Chen curved his fingers, making a crawling motion, quite lewd…

“Hmph, insulting me is just insulting yourself!” Fifth Brother rolled his eyes and continued, “Thanks to your constant desperate acts of good, I’ve been able to manifest on the Primordial Spirit. But when I go out, I still have to use that snot-worm body…” Fifth Brother also made a gesture, identical to Du Chen’s… so it was equally lewd!

His smile vanished, and he sped up his words. “The merit from this good deed is substantial. Old Nine and Tenth-Floor Assistant have already emerged, and Eleventh-Floor Assistant is almost here—you just need to help a hundred or so people!”

Doesn’t that mean the third Bagua is about to fully open soon!? Du Chen’s heart pounded. He calculated; before annihilating the Merfolk, he had only bloomed the ninth lotus. Now, the eleventh lotus was also just a tiny bit away from blooming. So this time, he had saved thousands of lives! That made sense; while the merit from giving a commoner a happy life was far less than saving their life, Du Chen had solved a massive problem for hundreds of thousands of people this time!

Hehe! Eleven lotuses bloomed in two years, and Francis was only seventeen this year! At this rate, he wouldn’t even need to reincarnate again; he could marry and have children in this life!

There were quite a few excellent girls he’d encountered in this life; which one should he marry?

Du Chen excitedly asked again, “What else? Tell me quickly!”

“You can figure out the rest yourself. Anyway, your current comprehensive strength is probably at the peak of the Eight-Star, almost able to contend with Brockman! Oh, and your Battle God strength, under the guidance of the Precious Scroll, has also reached Six-Star. You’re so slow! It took you a year and seven months to reach Six-Star Battle God, even slower than Charlemagne!”

Fifth Brother complained, but Du Chen burst into hearty laughter!

His true strength had reached the peak of the Eight-Star! What did that mean? Hmph, he could openly, in a direct duel, thoroughly teach Arges, the owner of Saint Sigurd Cain Estate and Francis’s father, a lesson! Damn it, he’d tricked him once before, but how could that compare to humiliating him with his fists!?

Du Chen rubbed his nose, his eyes narrowed into slits!

“Stop scheming mischief; I’ll tell you some news that you might not know whether it’s good or bad!” Fifth Brother, rarely serious, declared, “The Star of Turaam is still in your hands, but the tree seed that absorbed its power and became a bomb… somehow, damn it, withstood the explosion that slaughtered a hundred thousand Merfolk and survived!”

“What?! That tree seed wasn’t destroyed?!”

“Yes, but it’s been severely weakened! While you were unconscious, I studied it while it was vulnerable, but that tree seed seems to possess some peculiar Life Energy. At least with my current abilities, I can’t think of anything that could truly kill it; its Life Energy is simply too powerful…”

At this point, Fifth Brother suddenly roared, “It’s all because you’re too weak! Damn it, hurry up and do more good deeds! Once another Bagua or two opens, I could crush that tree seed with a single finger!”

Ever since he had gotten well-acquainted with Fifth Brother, and fully realized that Fifth Brother was completely one with him, inseparable, Du Chen had told him many of his secrets, including Master Grape and the Bagua lotuses! So Fifth Brother was now speaking in a native Aethelgard Continent common tongue, rattling off terms like Bagua from Du Chen’s old home!

Du Chen chuckled. “Got it, I’m even more eager than you! One last question, what are the functions of Old Nine and Tenth-Floor Assistant? Have you figured it out? Damn it, I still don’t even know what Old Eight does!”

Fifth Brother waved his hand. “Right now, all I know is that Old Eight can conjure fire, Old Nine can enhance your instantaneous burst power, and Tenth-Floor Assistant is unclear… Their true functions might only become clear once they are combined and complete. I have a premonition about this! Hurry up and go! Remember, the more good deeds you do, the stronger my abilities become, damn it! Go do some good deeds! Stop playing dead!”

Another roar, followed by a sensation of spinning world!

…

Du Chen abruptly opened his eyes. This time, he opened his physical eyes—Fifth Brother had sent him back to the real world!

Scanning his surroundings, he lay quietly on the large bed in the Lord’s Manor’s bedroom. There was no one around; it was silent. Outside the window, bright sunlight streamed in. And beside him were two other items…

A red lotus, and a thread-like object. These were Old Nine and Tenth-Floor Assistant! What could they form when combined with Old Eight’s short fire poker-like stick?

And it was still related to fire!?

Du Chen put them away on his person, then struck the bell by his bedside!

“Praise be, the incredibly valiant Lord has awakened!” It was the joyful voice of a servant. Following that, hurried footsteps sounded outside. Deboning, carrying Beibei, was the first to rush in, Harry and Porter close behind, each face beaming with delight!

“Du Chen, the Divine, be praised, Young Master is well!” Deboning placed Beibei next to Du Chen’s hand, a hint of a smile forcing its way onto his otherwise grim face.

Still feeling somewhat weak, Du Chen waved his hand, signaling he was fine. He looked at his family members, and suddenly noticed Harry cowering, unwilling to meet his gaze!

“What’s wrong, Harry? Did something go wrong with your task of looking after Cassian?” Du Chen asked, puzzled. “And where’s Andy?”

Harry lowered his head, mumbling, “Ma-Master, Cassian is fine… But, but I lost Andy?”