Chapter 206: Warm

Vincent placed the two sacred artifacts on the countertop. "These two are the sacred artifacts worshiped within the inner chamber of the Church of the Dome; the Ancient Ring and the Sleeping Moon Child.

"Based on old legends, the Ancient Ring was a symbol of authority of the highest ranked follower designated by the Moon.

"The Sleeping Moon Child, as its name implies, is the Moon's offspring, the 'sacred child' of the Church of the Dome as well as the main material used to produce Holy Moon Essence."

He turned towards Boss Lin with a look that implied I believe you have interest in such objects, so I saved them specially for you.

Vincent pushed the two objects forward and glanced at the gargoyle at the side.

Lin Jie's lips twitched slightly as he glanced at the primitive-looking silver ring—aka old and shabby—and the very mysterious—aka useless—egg next to it.

The Church of the Dome's sacred artifacts?

While he was a little curious about these objects related to the occult, it was a well-known fact that the artifacts belonging to faiths or religions were usually very strange. For example, the Holy Chalice in Christianity was actually a wine glass used by Jesus and his disciples, while The Shroud of Turin or Holy Shroud was supposedly a burial garment of Christ...

Thus, it wasn't very surprising that the Church of the Dome's artifacts were even weirder.

Giving it the benefit of a doubt, the ring looked like an antique. If it was an ancient relic, it could probably be more valuable than Wilde's stone gargoyle sculpture and at least might be of some use.

But what's with this egg?

Lin Jie stared at the 'Insect Egg' placed in front of him. It appeared to be between 10 to 15 centimeters tall, with a translucent and silvery gray surface that was hard to the touch. On it were complex, winding patterns that reminded Lin Jie of Devil Fruits from One Piece.

The reason why Lin Jie coined it an 'Insect Egg' was because of that unidentified white organism wriggling inside it. From what he could see, Lin Jie reckoned it looked like a huge, fat baby silkworm...

Mmm, its tiny abdomen still twitches from time to time. It's actually rather cute.

Although such a big and also nice-looking insect egg was probably rare, what use could it have for Lin Jie?

I couldn't possibly boil it and have it as a protein supplement, could I?

Come on, Vincent, you really don't know how to play the game!

Aren't you already the leader of a whole faith? Talk about being a cheapskate. Shouldn't you get your people to send cases of cash over once you got the hint?

Then, they will stand in a row unlatching the cases and revealing stacks of banknotes and... Ahem, I've gotten sidetracked...

Lin Jie wouldn't mind being gifted something more precious either. By that, he meant objects that were valuable in monetary terms alone... The heart he had gotten previously was now completely dried and petrified and had largely lost its value as a collector's item. He had to regretfully store the heart, along with its case, in the basement.

Sigh, oh well...

The Sun's Faith had only been recently founded and was in need of money after all. It's only natural for Vincent to do so, at least he thought of me...

Lin Jie consoled himself. It really was impossible for him to become rich overnight just by relying on others.

And when he put more thought into it, he had merely used his words, helped contact the police, then casually got rid of a super weak baddie. These were all small contributions and he hadn't really done much.

—Gabriel was even weaker than Michael. At least Young Mike managed to put up a brief struggle and escape at last. Gabriel, on the other hand, had been crushed inside his dream realm.

Joseph and Vincent were the ones fighting the criminals in the front lines, and it was obvious that the process was both arduous and dangerous judging from the frail and exhausted state they were in.

On the contrary, Lin Jie was comfortably sleeping for three whole days in his shop and had an interesting dream.

When viewing it this way, Lin Jie felt a little guilty about his selfish thoughts.

Lin Jie suppressed his gloom and put on a professional smile.

He then took the ring and the egg from Vincent and said, "I really appreciate your kind intentions. Indeed, I do take a lot of interest in these kinds of objects. Thank you very much."

Lin Jie felt that he should take into account that Vincent was after all a former priest of the Church of the Dome and was now a senior religious figure of the new faith. In his eyes, these sorts of objects which purportedly had the power of diving blessings, while weird to the ordinary folk, might hold great importance to a religion.

In other words, Vincent felt that these sacred artifacts were the Church of the Dome's most valuable possessions.

Although Lin Jie was a little disappointed, he couldn't possibly let Vincent down and waste his efforts.

Vincent hurried to say, "No, you're flattering me. I should be thanking you. I could only be who I am today all thanks to your help."

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Even though he was no longer the insignificant priest he used to be and was going to become the pope of the Sun's Faith which was soon to replace the Church of the Dome's place as the largest faith in Norzin, he still behaved cautiously in front of Boss Lin.

However, Lin Jie didn't feel very proud when hearing this. He frowned and reached out to pat Vincent on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Vincent, have more faith in yourself. My help isn't the main reason you've achieved what you have today. It's your own hard work and your persistence to find the truth and seek justice that helped you find a bright future that solely belongs to you.

"You managed to gather the first group of believers with your kindness in the past. You managed to convince them with your reputation and words, and with your teachings and public opinion, you managed to break down the Church of the Dome's oppressive rule and finally destroy it.

"Isn't this all your own strength?"

Vincent was momentarily stunned and made eye contact with Lin Jie's burning gaze. Suddenly, he felt a throb in his heart.

His heart that had been empty and numb after fulfilling his revenge seemed full of vitality after a few strong throbs, filling him up with fresh, vigorous blood which made him feel excitement again.

Find the original at *hosted* novel.

That's right!

He hadn't realized that he had done so much with his own ability and personally killed Rodney, who was once far out of reach.

Thump thump...

The shadow of cowardice left behind by the old priest from the past seemed to be displaced by a new light.

Lin Jie continued on firmly, "I hope that in the future you will always shine brightly for your cause and provide light and warmth for good folk. Become the never-setting Sun in everyone's heart and guide the believers you lead, out of the long night that was the Church of the Dome's oppression.

"That is why you need to have faith in yourself. Show the grace of a Pope. You are a leader that thousands look up to now, and you have to show that to those who follow you! How can you live up to the expectations of those who trust you otherwise?

"The Old Father is watching you from heaven!"

Vincent felt blood surging throughout his entire body. Boss Lin was right. He was now carrying the trust and expectations from many more people and he was no longer alone.

His vengeance ended here, but there was still a long way to go.

And many more waiting to be saved by him!

He needed to become the Sun!

He looked back and met Joseph's firm gaze of encouragement, which clearly conveyed that even the Indomitable Sacred Flame approved of him.

Now filled with resolve, Vincent said resolutely, "You're right. I will become the qualified leader of the Sun's Faith and a guiding light in the hearts of believers. I promise!"

Lin Jie was glad to hear that. "Good. You must properly read the two books that I gave you. Whenever you feel helpless and lost, those books will definitely benefit and help you greatly."