Lotus Seal of Purity

Though he had deliberately taken the beating, Du Chen had no qualms about pinning the blame squarely on Kaman.

He grimaced, painfully raising his head, his face a contorted mask of suffering and rage. Pointing at Kaman, he roared, “Kaman! How dare you arbitrarily assault a scion of Sigurd Saint-Shine, Battle God, the son of the Imperial High Command’s Deputy Commander?! I’ll have you burned at the stake!”

Kaman inwardly regretted his actions. He hadn't expected Francis, a noble, to take a beating for a damned commoner. That one whip strike, though an accidental injury, would surely necessitate an explanation to the Holy Church of Battle Gods.

Yet, to be pointed at and cursed by an imbecile nicknamed “the Disgrace of the Saint Sigurd Cain family”—Kaman absolutely could not tolerate it.

He cracked his leather whip, the sharp *snap* echoing as it cut a fierce arc through the air. “Francis, I too am a Titled Battle God Scion! My ancestor is Aruman, the Storm Battle God! If you still possess the honor of a Titled Battle God Scion, then submit a duel application to the Holy Church! I, Kaman Saint-Aruman, a Two-Star Orange-Robed Martial Fighter, Crimson, am ready for you anytime!”

“Hmph!” Du Chen scoffed. He wouldn't dare duel Kaman; the man was a legitimate Two-Star Fighter! “Kaman, you are truly shameless! You know full well I can’t cultivate battle qi, yet you try to trick me into proposing a duel application! Today!” He swept his gaze across the hundreds of onlookers before the church. “These hundreds of people have all witnessed your ignominy!”

“You…” Kaman’s face turned scarlet with fury, yet he could find no words to retort. He could only throw down his leather whip in a fit of rage.

At this moment, Old Matthew recovered from his shock. Seeing the whip marks on Du Chen’s back, his eyes welled up. He choked out, “Praise be to Young Master Francis! Your kindness rivals that of Sigurd Saint-Shine, Battle God!”

The onlookers before the church also offered their praises. A few even prayed to the statues upon the church. “Is this the disgrace of the Saint Sigurd Cain family? Who says he’s an imbecile? By the Battle Gods above, what a wonderful noble youth he is!”

A noble taking a beating in place of a commoner was an unimaginable act in the eyes of Saint John City’s citizens.

But Du Chen truly wasn't doing it just for show, he swore to the heavens. He was simply doing it to cultivate the Precious Lotus Scripture.

The more people praised Du Chen, the uglier Kaman’s expression became. He snarled, “Francis, yesterday I only discovered the sacred artifact missing *after* my fight with you. You’re the most suspicious!”

Suspicion was an understatement; the sacred artifact was, at this very moment, nestled in Du Chen’s pocket. Yet, Du Chen righteously and sorrowfully declared, “Kaman, you are insulting the glory of Sigurd Saint-Shine, Battle God! Would a descendant of Sigurd do such a thing?!”

“That’s right, Young Master Francis is such a good person! How could he be a thief?!” The onlookers enthusiastically supported Du Chen. They didn’t know who Kaman was, but they had personally witnessed Young Master Francis’s kindness!

“Young Master Kaman, you are a noble, a descendant of Aruman, the Storm Battle God. You mustn’t wrongly accuse a good person!”

“Sigh, they’re both Titled Battle God Scions, but how can the gap in their character be so vast?!”

“…”

“All of you, shut up!” Kaman roared, sweeping his horsewhip across the crowd. “You commoners, if you dare threaten a Tenth-Tier Titled Battle God Scion again, I’ll have all of you burned at the stake!”

The commoners dared not speak further, but a City Watch officer beside Kaman spoke up, “Young Master Kaman, your Ramhorn Warhammer is a Three-Star plant-attributed sacred artifact. To force it to recognize a master would require a Nine-Star Heavenly Martial Battle God of a compatible attribute. However, Duke Anges of the Saint Sigurd Cain family is only an Eight-Star Black Tortoise Battle God, and he’s fire-attributed…”

Kaman looked at the officer with cold eyes. “What are you trying to say?”

“I mean, it couldn’t possibly be someone from the Saint Sigurd Cain family, because even if they stole it, it would be useless to them! I believe it must be some Nine-Star Battle God who was traveling through Saint John City and happened to pick up your sacred artifact!”

Kaman knew full well the officer spoke reason; it was absolutely impossible for Francis to have stolen the sacred artifact. But after being repeatedly humiliated by Du Chen, this was the only excuse he had left to attack him.

The more Du Chen looked at the officer, the more agreeable he seemed. So, the sacred artifact he’d stolen was called the Ramhorn Warhammer, and it was a Three-Star one!

*Sigh*, too bad he couldn't cultivate battle qi, so he couldn't use it!

Suddenly, Du Chen felt a strange, unbearable itching and numbness on the lotus tattoo on his left backside. Initially, he didn't pay it much mind. He had just taken a beating for someone, performing a good deed, so it was perfectly normal for his backside to feel numb and for a lotus to bloom!

But the itching and numbness on his backside grew increasingly unbearable. Du Chen couldn't very well drop his trousers in front of everyone to check, so he had to grit his teeth and endure it with great effort.

Unexpectedly, his expression of bitter endurance was perceived by the onlookers as Young Master Francis suffering immense grievance and seething with indignation. Kaman was truly despicable!

People looked at Kaman with disdain. Though they said nothing, those hundreds of eyes clearly conveyed one message: *We despise you!!*

The wrath of the crowd was not easily provoked, and Kaman was no idiot. Seeing over a hundred people before the church staring at him with unfriendly gazes, he knew he was destined to suffer this loss today. “Fine, Francis, I need to search for my sacred artifact today. I won’t argue with you any further!”

With that, he was about to lead his men away.

But Du Chen remained unrelenting. He stared at Kaman with feigned indignation, his expression one of profound grievance, and declared with an air of moral authority, “Kaman, you suspect me, don’t you? Come on, I’ll stand right here. You can search me!”

Kaman froze, then sneered, “Are you trying to entrap me? Without permission from the Holy Church or His Majesty, if I were to casually search a Titled Battle God Scion, I would be burned at the stake!”

At this, he chortled twice. “Alright, I admit it, it’s impossible that you stole my sacred artifact. You’re the disgrace of the Saint Sigurd Cain family; you can’t even cultivate battle qi. And you dream of forcing a Three-Star sacred artifact to recognize you as its master? In your dreams!”

He hastily departed.

Du Chen secretly curled his lip. *Could it be that the lock-picking techniques on the Aethelgard Continent are too primitive? Opening a sacred artifact lock is simple; why are the artifact owners so confident, certain that only a super expert can force a sacred artifact to recognize them?*

Then, Du Chen suddenly understood. Lock-picking and lock-making were inherently opposing crafts; to pick a lock, one first had to understand its internal structure. But no one on the Aethelgard Continent had ever been able to disassemble a sacred artifact into its components for study, so no one understood its internal structure, and thus no one could pick its lock!

*Heh, it seems my skills have great potential on the Aethelgard Continent!*

*After a while, once I ‘scrounge up’ a bit more money, I’ll form a thieving syndicate specializing in stealing and reselling sacred artifacts!*

Du Chen was still indulging in pleasant thoughts when the itching and numbness on his backside intensified. Unable to bear it any longer, he said to Old Matthew, “Matthew, the City Watch officers are all out today, so let’s come back tomorrow! Don’t worry, I’ll definitely help you get your compensation!”

With that, Du Chen bolted. *Good heavens, his backside was truly agonizing!*

Old Matthew looked gratefully at Du Chen’s retreating figure, then suddenly turned to the people before the church and exclaimed, “What did you all see? I saw the glorious virtues of the great Battle Gods from a thousand years ago! Young Master Francis is not the imbecile of Saint John City, but rather the very virtue of Saint John City!!! Oh, Virtue went to the toilet! Uh, is his stomach not feeling well?”

Du Chen finally squeezed into a small, bunker-like public latrine by the roadside. After locking the door, he deftly pulled down his trousers and stared at his backside, speechless with joy!

It had bloomed! After taking a beating for Old Matthew, he had finally accumulated enough good deeds for the first lotus on his backside to blossom!

“I’ve finally achieved the First Realm of the Precious Lotus Scripture!” Du Chen rejoiced.

On his backside, thirty-six golden flower buds glimmered, and the first lotus on the Triple Qian Trigram had fully blossomed. The delicate lotus was fresh and dewy, signifying that Du Chen had taken a massive step forward in ‘approaching feminine allure’!

It was a little heartbreaking, a little感慨 (touching) Du Chen recalled the good deeds he had done before. In his previous life, he had helped old grandmothers cross the road, turned in lost wallets to the police—dozens of such trivial good deeds—and even risked his life to save others! Today, he had again taken a beating for someone. All these good deeds combined had only earned him the blossoming of a single lotus!

*Sigh*, Du Chen sighed. Perhaps the only comfort was that the Scripture only cared about how many good deeds he did, regardless of his evil deeds. This was the only thing that gave this thief, renowned for ‘unlocking anything,’ a little joy in life!

In any case, one thirty-sixth of the journey was complete!

Du Chen was smiling happily when suddenly, the itching and numbness on his backside abruptly receded, immediately followed by a surge of warmth forming there.

The feeling was akin to a martial arts master cultivating internal energy!

Du Chen paused, a slight愣 (stumped) expression on his face. He remembered that Daoist Grape, from his previous life, had said that the Bagua-shaped Precious Lotus Scripture held immeasurable benefits, and as his realm steadily improved, he would slowly come to understand them!

*Could this be the benefit of the first lotus blooming?*