13 Mink Street

Karon rose from his chair, only to be struck by a powerful wave of dizziness. It was far more severe than he had anticipated. He completely lost balance and pitched forward onto the desk.

In the adjoining bedroom, Pu’er heard the commotion and rode Kevin into the study. Seeing Karon’s state, Pu’er immediately jumped onto the desk and rang the desk bell. “Karon, what’s wrong?”

“Overdrawn...”

“Mhmm... what did you do?”

Karon felt somewhat helpless. It felt rather awkward to express what had happened in words. He had overdrawn himself with excessive studying?

Yet that was the truth. He had immersed himself in studying to the point of losing his sense of self-awareness, and had continued like that throughout an entire night. The entire time, the Cube Key had been active. Even though Karon’s reserves of spiritual power were beyond abundant, after consuming energy for such a long period of time, his reserves had been drained dry.

The moment he had tried to stand, severe exhaustion and a sense of overdrawing himself had abruptly overwhelmed him.

Ciri pushed the study door open and walked in. She cried out in alarm, “Young Master, what happened to you?”

Even as she spoke, Ciri moved forward to help Karon up.

“He’s too tired,” Pu’er explained.

“Young Master, I’ll help you go lay down.” Ciri supported Karon and guided him to the bedroom.

Just as she was about to settle Karon onto his bed, Pu’er stated, “He won’t get into bed without bathing.”

“Bathing?” Ciri subconsciously swallowed.

“Hurry up and help him bathe, big butt!”

“Oh, alright, alright!”

At this point, Karon’s consciousness was already somewhat hazy. He allowed Ciri to help him to the washroom. She removed his clothes, helped him into the bathtub and into a position of leaning against the side, and then began running hot water.

Pu’er sat on the sink. Seeing that Ciri’s movements were still a little hesitant, Pu’er bluntly told her, “Hurry up and wash him! If you want to touch, then touch; Just move faster!”

Given Karon’s current state, Pu’er truly had no interest in making an issue of him being bathed by the maid. She simply wanted Karon to be able to rest sooner.

Once the bath was finished and Karon had been wiped dry, his sleepwear was put on, and Ciri then helped him to the bed and settled him in.

She was quite strong, so bathing a nearly unconscious man was not particularly tiring. In fact, she even felt somewhat reluctant for it to end. Young Master’s skin is much smoother than mine.

“Should I prepare something for him to eat?” Ciri asked.

“Don’t bother. Let him sleep comfortably,” Pu’er replied.

“Alright. I’ll go out first. Ring the bell if you need anything.”

“Mhmm, go on, big butt.”

After Ciri left the bedroom, Pu’er came to Karon’s pillow and stretched out a cat paw, gently stroking Karon’s hair. Kevin also moved to the side of the bed and examined Karon’s condition.

“He learned the Gorman family’s Cube Key,” Pu’er explained.

Kevin nodded.

“He actually studied for an entire night and didn’t even realize that he’d overdrawn himself. Looks like the learning effect must have been very good?”

Kevin continued nodding.

The upper half of the door separating the study and bedroom was frosted glass, which allowed light to pass through. When Pu’er had gone to sleep last night, she had watched the flowing light and shadow coming from the study. It felt like the ambient lighting of a dance hall.

It had been like that before she fell asleep, and after she woke, she had discovered that the lights had never gone out.

“Tsk, tsk.” Pu’er smacked her lips twice. “You know, I’m starting to admire Tiz more and more.”

Hearing this, Kevin revealed a bitter smile. It was precisely because of Tiz that he, a dignified heretical god, had ended up in his current state. After that man had learned of Rhanedar’s existence, Tiz’s first reaction had not been reverence, but a desire to kill a god.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

“Yes, I’ve noticed that too. The family faith systems established by other progenitors are all intended to help their descendants to better continue and preserve themselves, but Tiz did something different. When he first created the blood sacrifice ritual, he didn’t simply ensure that the Immers family, apart from Karon, would remain forever away from ecclesiastical circles. He was paving a road.

“Regardless of whether the characteristic of the Immers faith system is learning or appropriation, a characteristic that practically breaks the bounds of common sense is fundamentally impossible to continue passing down.

“The prerequisite for awakening this bloodline characteristic is that a genius comparable to the progenitor himself must be born into the family, which means someone equal to Tiz. In other words, among Karon’s future descendants, only those who are just as talented as him will be able to awaken Tiz’s family faith system.

“This is a family faith system that fundamentally cannot be passed down.”

The standards were too high, and the requirements were too demanding. The prerequisites were simply too extreme. They were so absurd that even a sufficiently large population base would barely affect the odds at all, because the birth of a genius ultimately depended on luck and fate. While producing one genius out of two people versus producing one from ten thousand might make it look like the latter had better odds, fundamentally, it was still the difference between something and nothing.

That also meant that this family faith system was practically impossible to pass down from one generation to the next. If one or two generations failed to produce a true genius, the line would effectively be cut off.

“Woof!”

“Right. Tiz probably never intended to create a legacy at all. He merely used this method to help Karon. This family faith system is likely something Tiz designed for Karon alone.”

“Woof!”

“Yes, he really is willing to go all out for this grandson of his. Isn’t that exactly why you went so far to get that egg for him? You’ve already made your choice, stupid dog.”

Kevin revealed an honest, simpleminded smile.

“That’s fine. At least you have a reason you can use to persuade yourself to accept being a dog. Actually, I’m not as obsessed with binding the Allen family to Karon anymore either. Allen Manor can just serve as an exquisite little pendant for Karon. Even if he doesn’t wear it on his person and simply leaves it in a drawer, it will still be fine, so long as he occasionally sees it when he opens the drawer.”

“Woof! Woof!”

“You don’t need to comfort me. I don’t feel lost either. Life is an adventure; When you feel like you’re clinging to a plank, drifting helplessly across the sea in despair, you can always see an island appearing ahead, even if it’s only a mirage.

“Alright, alright, let him rest. We should stop getting too sentimental ourselves. I had the radio demon buy you a statue of the Goddess Mios. He should be back with it soon. Why don’t you hang the statue behind your bed when it arrives?”

“Woof!”

“You’re asking how a portrait of the goddess could be hung inside a dog bed?”

“Woof!” Kevin nodded seriously.

Pu’er slapped her forehead and sighed. “You truly are hopelessly devoted in love. No wonder you and the Sea King were lifelong enemies.”[1]

***

Karon slept for a full two days.

He had enormous reserves of spirituality, yet that logically meant that once his reserves were completely drained, refilling them would take a long time as well. Fortunately, Pu’er made arrangements so that Karon was given some nutritional supplements while he slept, so while his hunger was intense when he awoke, it was not absolutely unbearable.

“Hah...” Letting out a long breath, Karon reached up and ran a hand through his hair. The sky outside was dark. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was four in the morning.

“You’re awake.” Pu’er climbed up from the bed and sat on the quilt in front of Karon. She carefully examined him and asked, “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Karon shook his head.

“Well, being hardworking and ambitious is a good thing, but don’t work yourself so hard next time you’re studying. Though I also know saying this is basically the same as not saying it, because I’ve experienced that feeling of being able to improve your realm just by putting in a little effort. After all, true talent is being able to declare with absolute confidence: if I work hard, I will improve.”

“I understand. This time, I got too absorbed. How long did I sleep?”

“Two days.”

“The selection—”

“Don’t worry. If you hadn’t woken by daybreak, I would have woken you up, because the selection starts this morning. Oh, right, last night, your teammate Fannie specifically called to inform you that she and the others will drive over to pick you up and take you to the exam venue.”

“They’re coming here to see me off?”

“Yes. Your teammates are surprisingly enthusiastic.”

“They are.” Karon got out of bed, went to the washroom, took a shower, and washed up. Afterward, he went to the kitchen and made himself a large bowl of noodles.

After eating, he sat at the table for a while longer. Only when dawn started to break did he finally feel his body reach its best condition.

It was still early, so Karon walked to the study and sat down. He saw the copy of The Rogart Manor that he had finished a few days before still sitting on the desk.

He opened his hand, and the Cube Key appeared. However, he immediately waved his hand and dispersed the Art.

Pu’er entered the study. She jumped onto the back of Karon’s chair and then reached out with both paws to massage his shoulders. Although the force was insufficient, the sentiment was enough. After all, this was service from Miss Poelle.

“Don’t be nervous. Perform normally. You won’t have a problem.”

“Are you here to comfort me, or to tease me?”

“Probably both. I honestly can’t see you failing this selection unless every single spot has already been determined behind closed doors.”

At that moment, Alfred pushed open the door and walked in, holding clothes.

“Alfred, help me change into a looser robe.”

“Alright, Young Master.” Alfred brought over a priest’s robe that was one size larger. There had been a time when Karon had gone to the credits store to buy a robe and had needed to carefully calculate the price while considering a number of restrictions. Now that the household’s conditions had improved, the number of priest’s robes they kept had gradually increased.

After changing into the priest’s robe, Karon tried using the Cube Key inside the sleeve. Since this Art possessed no offensive properties and merely offered the user the ability to perform calculations, simple concealment was enough.

After all, the venue used for the selection test would not possibly be completely silent. There would be many people, all young members of the church, and they would each be using their own methods to pass the test. Therefore, a little bit of Arts fluctuation would not arouse any suspicion at all.

“Young Master, this bag contains chocolate, biscuits, water, and some potions. Your admission slip is also inside.”

“The potions probably won’t be allowed inside.”

“Then let Miss Fannie and the others hold onto them for you. Your servant is concerned that you may need them when you walk out of the exam, Young Master.”

Since Fannie and Paige were coming to send him off, there was no need for Alfred to accompany Karon.

“Mhmm, alright.”

Pike walked over to report that Fannie and Paige’s car had arrived.

Karon carried the bag out of the shop. This time, the two women were driving a VIP car, identical to the model they needed to apply to use during escort missions. Karon remembered the captain mentioning that he wanted to build an identical car.

“Is this the captain’s car?” Karon asked as he got in.

“Yes. The captain spent a great deal to get this.”

“This will make things much more convenient in the future,” Karon commented.

Paige turned her head to look at him. “Karon, are you nervous?”

“No.”

“Don’t worry, if you’re nervous, you can admit it. Also, I heard that if you’re nervous before an exam, doing ‘that’ thing can effectively relieve the tension.”

“What thing?” Having just slept for two days, Karon was temporarily off-kilter from the usual conversation rhythm.

Paige licked her lips.

“No! No need. I’m not nervous to begin with. If I release too much pressure, I’m afraid that I’ll be so indifferent when I enter the exam venue that I won’t even care about my result.”

“Hehehe.” Paige laughed as she started the car.

The car did not drive straight to the Church Affairs Building, but instead went to the Gorman residence.

Sitting inside the car, Karon watched Richard walk out with a bag on his back. There were still bruises on his face, but the fact that he could already carry his own luggage and walk on his own showed that his injuries were not serious. It seemed that Eisen had a very accurate understanding of the white worm’s recovery effects and progression. He had beaten his son again, relieved his own condition again, but had not delayed proper business.

A triple victory.

Richard’s send-off was much grander than Keron’s. Derron, Ms. Tansley, Casey, Eisen, as well as Richard’s aunt, uncle, and younger cousin were all gathered to send him off.

He walked to the car while repeatedly turning back to wave at everyone. Only after he sat down inside and closed the car door did Richard finally let out a long breath. “Karon, I’ve always felt that at such a young age, I’m already bearing a weight that life should not have to carry.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Sigh, I know my grandfather has always had high expectations for me. You have it much easier. Oh no, sorry, I said the wrong thing.” Richard remembered that Karon had said he was an orphan.

“It’s fine.” Karon patted his shoulder. Your grandfather only wants you to preserve the Gorman family’s status. My grandpa expects me to...

“I don’t know if I can pass,” Richard said, pursing his lips. “When we enter later, let’s stay close to each other. Even if they divide us by regions and assign numbers, I’ll do my best to look at the array before things start so I can tell you my preliminary deduction.”

“Mhmm. When the time comes, just stay close behind me. Even if they divide us by exam numbers and regions, we should still be within the same general environment, and we’ll also be connected through the array. Just try sensing me, like when we were in front of your grandfather.”

“Hmm?”

“What are you hmm-ing for? Just do as I say.”

“Last time, with grandfather, wasn’t I hallucinating inside that illusion?”

“No.”

“I... then in that case... wouldn’t that mean... wouldn’t that mean... Hmm!” Richard’s face first revealed wild joy, but he quickly ducked his head. “But I don’t want to cheat.”

“This can’t be considered cheating.”

“It can’t?”

“Before we enter the exam, they will definitely inspect and will have made arrangements to eliminate any possibility of outside interference. That means that as long as they don’t detect that you’re cheating, you’re not cheating.”

“Can you really interpret things that way?”

“Mhmm.”

“Then why do I still feel like something’s strange?”

“Be a bit more open-minded when you think about it. If you can’t even enter the York City district selection, when you go back, your father...”

“Hiss...” Such methods really did not count as cheating. During the test, everyone would use whatever they were capable of, and as long as they relied on their own abilities to pass the test, it was good enough.

Richard was able to sense Karon due to the Altair family bloodline, as it reacted whenever blood relatives were close. This was something inherent to Richard’s bloodline. It was not as if the examiners could strip his bloodline from him before he entered the exam, right?

Eisen had been traumatized by this bloodline, and the original “Karon” had suffered the same situation. For this branch of the Altair family, their bloodline had practically become a curse. This was merely them finally getting a turn to have a bite of the Veynic cake.

In ecclesiastical circles, using both one’s bloodline and faith was perfectly normal. Both were considered parts of one’s own strength. Everyone sought help from either their god or their family progenitor. It was just that the object Richard sought help from happened to be taking the test together with him.

“Wow, Karon, how exactly did you do it?”

Karon ignored Richard and closed his eyes to rest. What did this have to do with him? Richard had been the one who had approached Karon on his own and had latched onto him.

Of course, protecting Richard essentially meant that Karon would have to bear the pressure that was originally intended for two people on his own, but he was still willing to help Richard. When it came to how his cousin treated him, Karon truly could not find any flaw to pick at.

The car arrived at the Church Affairs Building. When getting out, Karon saw that the captain had actually brought the entire team and they were all waiting for the two participants. “Do your best, Karon, Richard. Our whole squad is here praying for you!”

Richard was so moved that he cried as he thanked everyone.

In contrast, Karon just smiled and nodded to each person one by one.

He also noticed that quite a number of people were gathered outside of the building. Some participants had been brought by their family. Judging from the priest’s robes worn by the elders, their ranks were definitely not low. People with impressive backgrounds naturally enjoyed richer resources, and it was already easier for them to make better progress than ordinary people, at least at first.

There were also some who had come alone. No one looked nervous. Everyone looked quite calm. After all, those who could obtain a slot were either absolutely outstanding and had been recommended, or they had sufficiently strong family connections. Moreover, there was another point: because the test carried risks, even those pure wastes whose connections were strong would not be shoved inside, because accidents truly could happen.

Richard carried one bag on his back while also helping Karon to carry another.

After they entered the Church Affairs Building, someone specifically directed everyone down to the underground levels. It appeared that the Church Affairs Building was not even hosting the exam, and that they needed to teleport to their destination.

“Karon!” Leon greeted Karon and walked over with Larry.

There were quite a few young people waiting near the teleportation array. A glance offered a rough estimate of nearly two hundred participants.

“The exam is so large?” This number seemed somewhat inconsistent with what Derron had shared about how difficult it had been to secure even one slot.

Leon explained, “That’s just because more than half the people here either have parents who are assigned to our district, or they’ve been assigned here themselves, but aren’t actually serving here, which means that they aren’t under our district’s jurisdiction. For example, stationed troops, the Knight Regiment, and certain dispatched offices. Many of the people here have only recently rushed back to York City to participate in this exam.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.” That meant that York City district itself had never actually had many slots in this exam.

“How are your preparations?” Leon asked.

“Not bad.”

Larry said, “Oh? That’s quite the confident response.”

Karon smiled. Did he sound overconfident? Then what would the reaction be if he shared that he was prepared to accept an additional burden for the exam as well?

At that moment, a deep voice sounded from above, “All participants in the selection, please enter the D-1 teleportation circle in an orderly fashion and prepare for transfer to the exam venue.”

The room instantly quieted down. Everyone stepped into the teleportation array.

Karon stood still. Beside him, Richard, who was carrying two bags, was taking deep breaths. A white light flashed, covering everyone present.

The York City district selection test was about to begin!

1. The original phrase uses the slang term “舔狗” (“licking dog/simp”), referring to someone who blindly and selflessly dotes on another in love. “Sea King” is modern slang for a serial flirt or someone romantically involved with many people at once, making the two archetypes natural opposites. ☜