Chapter 520
Clear Soup for Eivass
Under Cardinal Matilda’s guidance, Eivass passed through another green light curtain.
He once again felt that peculiar sensation, like fingers moving through a soap bubble.
With a Cardinal beside him, Eivass, feeling curious, asked, “Excuse me… what is this, Cardinal Matilda?”
“The Temperance Curtain?”
Matilda glanced and replied, “This is a blessing from the Twin Mirrors… Simply put, things moving too fast cannot pass through it. The faster you go, the greater the force that repels you.”
“Things moving fast cannot pass, but slow things can pass…” Eivass murmured.
…So, isn’t this equivalent to a speed bump?
“Precisely. This way, people won’t run in the corridors and collide with each other. If there’s an invasion, attacks also cannot penetrate this light curtain.”
Matilda said gently, “If you can learn High-Tier Divine Art, you can also set up your own Temperance Curtain.”
It was evident that Cardinal Matilda knew why Eivass was here.
She led Eivass through winding paths to a building that resembled a palace… or perhaps a bathhouse.
The surroundings were adorned with plants, with only a bathtub in the center of the room filled with golden liquid from which white smoke was evaporating. It was clearly consecrated Holy Water, emitting a citrus aroma and a strong scent of wine. It was suspended with knotted vines, looking like a pot of soup.
“This is Holy Water brewed from marigolds and orange blossoms picked at noon,” Cardinal Matilda introduced with a gentle smile, extending her hand towards Eivass. “Mixed with grain wine stored for over thirty years, ginseng, blackberry leaves, holly, and grapevines. Heated and boiled with burnt pine bark and bishop’s weed.”
…Are they going to boil me in this?
Eivass looked at the long blue-haired female elf, hesitating to speak.
The pool was still boiling!
As Eivass watched, Matilda made a move, and the pool stopped boiling.
She instructed Eivass, “Take off your clothes, everything, including your underwear. You go in first, and I’ll get the other things. The temperature should be suitable; don’t worry about contamination or anything… This pool is for one person only.”
“You can leave your clothes here for now. They will be brought to you when you leave.”
Saying this, she pointed to a wooden basin nearby and left thoughtfully.
Eivass let out a sigh of relief.
Although Matilda’s age was likely several times his own age plus a zero, Eivass would have felt quite embarrassed if she had stayed to watch him undress.
Not knowing when Matilda would return, he quickly took off his clothes and submerged himself in the hot spring.
The strong scent of orange blossoms mixed with the smell of wine made Eivass groan comfortably.
The water temperature in this pool was over eighty degrees Celsius, equivalent to freshly brewed hot tea. It could scald an ordinary person’s skin instantly.
But for Eivass, it felt like ordinary warm water. He could immerse himself without even needing to adapt to the temperature—this surprised Eivass himself.
He observed that even his skin didn’t turn red. He closed his eyes and soaked for a while, feeling his spirit relax. Matilda still hadn’t returned, so out of boredom, he opened his eyes and, with interest, submerged himself below the water’s surface, blowing bubbles like a child.
Since his body had undergone a metamorphosis after this Advancement Ritual, any excess body hair on Eivass had been removed, and his skin had become whiter and more delicate than before. However, it had actually become more resilient.
Now, let alone ordinary people, even Extraordinary beings holding ordinary daggers and long swords would find it difficult to cut through Eivass’s skin.
Although he hadn’t been attacked yet, Eivass was very confident that most bullets currently could not penetrate his skin’s defense. Even being burned by flames, Eivass would not be scalded—even if he were tied to a stake and burned, he wouldn’t die. The possibility of dying from suffocation was greater than burning.
He still couldn’t survive without oxygen. Therefore, if he were sunk at sea, it would still be dangerous.
However, with Eivass’s current Physical Strength, he could probably swim back to the nearest land.
From this point on, he had truly transcended mortality—no longer vulnerable to being killed by mortals wielding weapons due to coincidence or conspiracy.
No wonder most Extraordinarys in various countries held high positions only after reaching Fourth Tier…
Eivass now fully understood why.
Eivass soaked for a while longer.
It wasn’t until the water temperature dropped to forty to fifty degrees Celsius that Cardinal Matilda finally arrived.
She looked at Eivass in the pool without any particular reaction. She simply reached out to test the water temperature and then said with relief, “No problem, the water temperature is still sufficient…”
As she spoke, she took out a peculiar box and said, “Drink this.”
“…What is this?”
From a distance, it looked like a bowl of thin, soupy stewed beans in tomato sauce.
Eivass immediately felt resistant.
It wasn’t that he was worried about being poisoned, but it simply didn’t look appetizing…
“This is pomegranates juice boiled with fava beans.”
Matilda, like a kind teacher, explained gently and carefully to Eivass, “We use pomegranate juice to symbolize the Blood of the Candlemaster, and the fava beans can be seen as seeds of Sin Thorns. It’s not fully cooked, so it has a slight toxicity. However, it won’t harm you… Hurry, drink it while it’s hot.”
Eivass drank it with a bitter face.
Uncooked fava beans had a bitter taste, and the boiled pomegranate juice wasn’t very sweet, rather bitterly sour. Drinking them felt like taking medicine—an experience Eivass hadn’t had in a long time.
Immediately after, Matilda placed a dried date into Eivass’s mouth. Eivass instinctively chewed it, feeling the sweetness flow down his throat. His furrowed brow eased somewhat.
“Come out, Eivass.”
She pointed to a cleared area with a red carpet, signaling Eivass to get out of the pool.
Although somewhat shy, Eivass pretended nothing was amiss as he stepped out of the pool.
Without Matilda doing anything, the water on Eivass’s body completely evaporated. His skin exuded visible white vapor, emitting an intoxicating scent of orange blossoms.
Matilda efficiently took out a jar of ointment and skillfully applied it to Eivass’s body.
—To put it simply, if Matilda looked older, Eivass wouldn’t be so shy. But she looked so young, making Eivass feel like he was being taken care of as a child.
Fortunately, Matilda was also explaining to Eivass, “This is a special consecrated oil mixed with cinnamon essential oil and coconut oil. It is only used during the ‘Ordination Ceremony’… It symbolizes the joint protection of the sun and moon, and can also be interpreted as the joint protection of the Nine Pillar Gods.”
The “Ordination Ceremony” refers to the Ascension Ritual for Bishops and above, which is also why Cardinal Matilda is called a Candlemaster.
Soon, she finished applying the ointment to Eivass.
Afterwards, she produced a complete set of Bishop’s clothes. They emitted heat as if they had just been roasted by fire. With each piece Eivass put on, he felt a burning sensation at the point where the clothes met his skin—like having soaked in a solution of Sichuan peppercorns or applied chili oil.
Eivass looked down and found the style of the clothes somewhat unusual.
He had already worn Bishop’s attire once during a previous Ascension Ritual.
The clothes he was wearing now seemed slightly different in style…
“Wait, Cardinal Matilda.”
Eivass reminded her, “Did you bring the wrong clothes?”
Although the clothes were generally red, they had many golden decorations.
And the biggest difference from a Bishop’s attire was that the chasuble was golden, not dark red.
—These are not Bishop’s clothes, but Archbishop’s clothes.
This is the same level as Bishop Mathers, responsible for the Church in the capital of a country or region. This is already the highest rank attainable by humans under normal circumstances.
Although only Fourth Tier individuals can be promoted to Archbishop, not all Fourth Tier individuals are Archbishops. The advancement speed of their Holy Orders is usually slower than the advancement of their Extraordinary Ability levels.
Or rather, much slower.
Because becoming an Archbishop signifies becoming the Spokesperson for the Church of the Nine Pillars God in that region. Therefore, factors such as merit, personality, seniority, faith, and influence are all taken into consideration, and long-lived beings’ meetings are too sluggish… As a result, some places have Bishops who have long met the qualifications for promotion, but the promotion is still delayed.
It wasn’t intentional or due to stalling tactics like in the Round Table Hall meetings. It was simply procrastination.
—There’s no rush anyway, let’s deal with it in a few years.
“I didn’t bring the wrong ones.” Cardinal Matilda looked deeply at Eivass and replied, “His Majesty the Pope’s intention is for you to be directly promoted to Archbishop.”
Eivass, as a student of the Seminary, was essentially at the level of an Acolyte.
From Acolyte to Deacon, from Deacon to Priest, from Priest to Bishop, from Bishop to Archbishop… Eivass is essentially skipping three levels.
Eivass felt no joy.
Quite the opposite.
—He felt a chill run down his spine.
When things deviate from the norm, there’s often a reason. This completely goes against the rules and traditions of the Church!
Something is wrong, this is definitely not right!
(End of Chapter)
