Chapter 3 - The Fortuitous Blessing Bestowed by the War God

“Fine, I’ll take your good luck wish…

but why do I always feel like you’re gloating?” Lu Hong grumbled.

“Hahaha, not at all, not at all.

It’s just that the Warrior Temple hasn’t produced a decent warrior in a long time, and they’ve been absent from Kains Academy’s inter-academy competitions for hundreds of years.

To be honest, I’m actually quite fond of the warrior profession.” Fidel patted Lu Hong on the shoulder and urged him to quickly leave the Knight Temple.

Fortunately, most students had scheduled classes today.

Otherwise, Lu Hong’s reputation would have become well-known throughout the academy immediately, but as things stood, his fame was bound to spread sooner or later.

The two chatted idly as they walked through the bustling streets, but as they went further, the crowd thinned, and the trees lining the streets became overgrown and untended.

Eventually, they only occasionally saw students hiding there for secret trysts, along with the overgrown flora nearly swallowing up the streets.

“Are you sure this is the path to the Warrior Temple?

You’re not secretly infatuated with Nono and think I’ll be your rival in love, looking to take me out, are you?” Lu Hong stopped, eyeing Fidel with a wary look.

“…” Fidel was taken aback before bursting into laughter, “There’s no way between me and Fina, you’re overthinking it.

Also, this is indeed the road to the Warrior Temple.

The Warrior Temple collapsed suddenly thousands of years ago, not just in Kains Academy.

All the Warrior Temples on the continent collapsed overnight, and the path of the warrior’s heritage was cut off.

Only a very few warrior families hold those rare skill heritages.

Of course, I’ve heard that even when the temples were still standing, warriors weren’t that strong; on the battlefield, their destiny was to be cannon fodder.”

“You’re full of it!” Lu Hong wanted to curse but thought better of it since the guy had a profession.

He had nothing, and if he angered him and got killed here, probably no one would find out.

A gentleman seeks revenge, ten years is not too late, just take note for now!

Lu Hong, having no place to vent his frustration, could only hasten his steps toward the Warrior Temple.

As a hardcore gamer who had followed the warrior class since the launch of “Celestial”, he never compromised with those who insulted warriors.

It felt like navigating a dense forest until he finally broke through the last of the little path.

A field of ruins lay before Lu Hong’s eyes—the collapsed temple was long past its glory days.

A solitary, dismal little yard stood next to the debris, as desolate as it could be.

“This…

this is the Warrior Temple?!” Lu Hong almost bit his tongue.

There was no temple left, and no blessing to receive!

This was utterly different from the game!

“Yep, this is the Warrior Temple.

If you feel uncomfortable here, someday you can go visit other temples to seek blessings.

I believe as long as you don’t speak out of turn within the temple, you will always receive a blessing from a Heavenly God,” Fidel said with a smile.

“Nono needs me to be her sparring partner now, so I can’t keep you company.

The Guardian of the Warrior Temple lives in that small courtyard; you can ask him for guidance.”

After bidding farewell to Fidel, Lu Hong stood gazing at the desolate Warrior Temple in silence for a long time.

In the game, he at least had the temple to change his class, but here there wasn’t even a temple.

Even if he became a warrior, what about the Second Transition?

Was he doomed to be a level twelve junior warrior for the rest of his life?

“Hey you, what are you doing?!” A shout came from the courtyard, and a white-haired old man tottered out.

Is this supposed to be the temple’s Guardian?

Can’t it be a bit more reliable?

Barely walking steady with a cane—Hey, hey, don’t come any closer!

I’m going to call for help if you do!

Please don’t scam me, I don’t have money!

Lu Hong wailed internally, but he said aloud, “I’m here to pray for the War God’s blessing, I want to become a warrior.”

“Who’s this young fellow?

Go back home!

Don’t cause trouble here; this is the Warrior Temple and there’s no place for your nonsense!” the old man bellowed, sending a fierce gust of wind toward Lu Hong that nearly knocked him over.

“I really am here to seek the War God’s blessing!” Lu Hong insisted quickly.

The old man peered closely into Lu Hong’s eyes and said, “It’s been many years since a fresh blood joined as a warrior.

Two years ago, a prodigy did come here, but even he failed to become a qualified warrior.

You?

You might as well forget it…”

Hearing the old man say this made Lu Hong unhappy.

He had been recognized as a war god in his days, having faced all sorts of situations, and now to be so underestimated was quite vexing, so he said, “Old man, you can’t just say that.

I’m committed to the warrior profession today, so you better tell me how to change my class to warrior without a temple.”

“Humph!

If you dare to disrespect me, don’t even dream of becoming a warrior!” The old man thumped his cane and turned to shakily return to the yard.

“Wait, don’t go!

I really do want to be a warrior, I even refused when someone pressured me to go to the Knight Temple to become a knight.

If you don’t believe me, you can ask Nono.”

Hearing Nono’s name, the old man paused, looking puzzled, “You know Nono?”

“Yes, yes, and I also know Teacher Danni!” Lu Hong hastily added the name of the famed beauty from the Green Tower.

The old man curled his lips, “Then bring out your introduction letter.”

Introduction letter?

Lu Hong was dumbfounded.

He had never received any introduction letter from the beautiful woman, and hadn’t he also not needed one when visiting the Knight Holy Temple just now?

“Without an introduction letter, what are you here for?

To make fun of me?

Scram, scram, scram!” The old man snorted and heavily closed the courtyard door, leaving Lu Hong standing outside, looking foolish.

Without the old man’s help, Lu Hong really didn’t know how to change his profession to become a warrior.

Without access, everything was in vain.

Did he have to choose another profession now?

Mage?

Shaman?

Priest?

Thief?

Sigh!

Lu Hong sighed deeply, might as well knock on the door again.

“Open the door, hey, open the door!”

“Don’t you know Nono?

I’ll have Nono get a recommendation letter for you later, won’t that do?”

“Are you deaf or blind, old man?!” Lu Hong had been knocking for a long time, and the sun was now directly overhead.

But the old man stayed inside the house, remaining silent.

Lu Hong was really out of options.

Just as Lu Hong was about to leave, a beam of light suddenly descended from the scorching sun onto the ruins.

Lu Hong was startled and hurried over.

Directly from within the ruins, a statue of the War God slowly rose, and to his amazement, it looked exactly like his character in the game “Skybound,” a black-armored War God!

“Is this…

could it be that I’ve cleared the secret realm?!” Lu Hong began to believe this was a game again.

He clambered into the ruins, and just as his fingers touched the rising statue, it suddenly shattered like mist, enveloping Lu Hong inside.

The beam of light from the heavens grew hotter, and even the old man inside seemed to sense something and hurried out of the house.

Seeing the blessing beam only spoken of by his ancestors and in historical texts, the old man immediately knelt to the ground, shouting, “Great War God, you have finally appeared again!”

Within the beam of light, Lu Hong felt dizzy.

The mist slowly merged into his body, the burning sunlight gradually withdrew from the world, transforming into an aurora that slowly scorched a mark on Lu Hong’s chest.

It was the imprint of two blades, deeply engraved into Lu Hong’s chest under a darkened sky.

The entire Kains Academy was taken aback by this spectacle, and countless important figures began their search.

However, the Warrior Temple seemed protected by some force, keeping this place hidden from all.

Just as the last stroke of the engraving was completed, everything calmed down as if nothing had happened.

The old man dropped his cane and rushed over in a flash, catching Lu Hong as he was about to collapse, and looked at him with eyes that beheld the world’s most precious treasure.

The two blades on Lu Hong’s chest were the mark of a warrior; every profession had its own unique mark.

But not all marks were the same; these imprints stemmed from weapons of the Heavenly God’s Divine Arsenal.

After a Third Transition of a profession, one could summon the mark as a weapon in hand.

Even if these imprints were merely a shadow of the Heavenly God’s weapons, they were incredibly powerful.

“It’s actually two giant blades!” The old man, recognizing the marks, almost let Lu Hong slip through his hands in his tremor.

Having seen much of the world, he knew exactly what these two marks signified.

They were the weapons of the War God, Shatter!

When Lu Hong woke up, he was already lying in the old man’s bed.

The old man looked at him with a tenderness that made Lu Hong feel like the old man was smitten with him.

“I say…

old man, if you’re lonely, I think there should be places outside that can satisfy your…

needs.

Can you please not look at me like that?”

“Um…” The old man nodded softly, causing Lu Hong to hurriedly grab the quilt and shrink back into a corner, trembling, “Don’t come any closer!

I’m still young; I’m not that kind of person; we’re not suitable for each other!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you, I’ll treat you well.

Don’t run away, hey, in the future I’ll treat you like family, hey hey!

Don’t run, come back here!”