Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

Apart from the most famous churches, most churches where blessings can be received are located on university campuses, and Birmingham Cathedral is one of them.

Compared to St. Anne's Church in the Papal Quarter, Birmingley Church is just a duplex hidden within the university. The church houses priests and nuns, and Father Emory Pinkerton is the one responsible for blessing people.

Despite deciding to choose the blessing of nature, Aaron was still uneasy, because the blessing process was inherently random. He could neither guarantee that the blessing would be successful nor that he would be able to choose the blessing he wanted.

Therefore, before bestowing the blessing, Aaron hoped to build a good relationship with the priest and gather some information.

Father Emory was very approachable. After learning of Aaron's worries, he comforted Aaron by quoting a passage from the Natural Bible:

“Death and rebirth are twin sisters. The blessings of the goddess of life and the goddess of death come from her nurturing and love. She is a loving mother, and therefore maintains an equal view of every kind of life in nature. If you pray to her for blessings, you can obtain different abilities.”

"Therefore, there is no need to worry; everything is God's best arrangement."

"Can I pray for the strength of a bear, the eyes of an eagle, the speed of a leopard, and the ears of a wolf?" Aaron asked.

“No, you’re too greedy,” Father Emory laughed. “However, the power you gain might not be weaker than theirs. You can gain the power of fantastical creatures and spirit beasts.”

"However, what kind of power you ultimately gain depends on yourself. Just do your best and follow God's arrangements."

The priest's words reminded him of the scene when he first received the blessing of the Omniscient, when the priest of the Omniscient Church also quoted a passage from the Omniscient Bible:

"The omniscient God does not create, but inspires and discovers the innate talents of mankind. Therefore, the blessing of the omniscient God is as free as thought, and those who receive the blessing of omniscience must use wisdom to understand it."

According to Aaron's own understanding, the priests of the Church of the Omniscient meant that blessings can have many different shapes and sizes, and they may also appear in various forms. Most people receive a blessing that is something else, something that belongs only to them, something that best suits them, something that they have never discovered themselves.

For example, Eclair's blessing was that pistol, which is why Aaron was able to be certain she was a superhuman the moment he saw her.

The advantage of this blessing is that anything can happen, and the disadvantage is that anything can happen. Aaron originally thought that the randomness of the blessing of the Omniscient Church was already high enough, but now it seems that the blessing of nature is no less so.

“Alright, come up and receive the blessing; the goddess will favor you.” Father Emory stood before the altar.

I hope I can draw a good one...

Aaron approached Father Emery and bowed his head reverently, as if preparing to be baptized.

“Before we begin, I’d like to ask you a question, Mr. Aaron, what is your greatest fear?” Father Emory suddenly asked.

Aaron was taken aback: "Is this question related to blessing?"

“Yes, the blessing ceremony of the Church of Nature can cause the living to feel intense fear, which is related to the doctrines of the Church of Nature.” Father Emery wiped his hands clean and took the tray from the nun.

“A creature without fear will never be aware of its own birth, nor will it ever foresee its own death. Therefore, a life that cannot generate a strong, unsettling fear of its own existence can never have reverence for life, and thus it is not worthy of the blessing of the goddess of nature.”

"The fear of life?"

"A newborn baby, arriving in this strange world for the first time, is so fearful and anxious. It feels intense discomfort and fear towards everything around it, including its own existence. Isn't this the fear of life?"

“Most people have forgotten the fear of being born. Only writers, poets, those with sharp minds, and those who have survived danger can rediscover the feeling of being alive. The blessing ceremony reminds people of all this. In other words, it is a rebirth,” Father Emory said eloquently.

"But don't worry, most people will only recall their childhood fear of spiders and bats, or at most some childhood traumas. Just be mentally prepared."

It was just something that triggered childhood trauma... Aaron nodded, relieved.

Father Emory placed the tray in front of him and lifted the black cloth covering it with both hands. To Aaron's surprise, there was a white egg and a black dagger on the tray.

Could it be... that I should eat it...? This was the first thought that popped into Aaron's head.

“Smear your blood on the egg and wait for the result,” Father Emory stood up, speaking succinctly.

Aaron picked up the dagger, made a small cut on his fingertip, and pressed the blood onto the egg as Emory had instructed, then held the egg in his palm.

To his surprise, the eggshell was not hard; on the contrary, it was very soft to the touch, with a texture somewhat like leather. When pressed, it would slightly indent, and when the finger was removed, it would spring back.

After the blood was applied, the egg did not change, but Aaron could feel that the egg had "come alive" and was absorbing his blood little by little.

Elliott and Theo held their breath; it was their first time watching a blessing ceremony of the Church of Nature, and they watched intently, their eyes glued to the screen.

The egg reacted quickly. He heard a sound coming from inside the shell, and tiny cracks appeared on the shell, as if life was about to break out.

Feeling the pulse of life within the egg, Aaron's heart began to race, and Father Emory held his breath in silence.

The cracks in the eggshell grew denser and denser, and everyone eagerly awaited what lay inside. Aaron felt the life force within the eggshell growing stronger and stronger, like a war drum. He too entered into that life's pulse, his breathing matching the frequency of the eggshell's impact. What lay inside the egg would determine his fate, and he too wanted to know what his fate would be.

The dense, spiderweb-like cracks finally turned into fissures, just as the earth could not withstand the enormous pressure and cracks appeared on the surface. But what flowed out was not life, but scarlet blood. The blood was unstoppable and instantly flooded Aaron's hands, making his hands instantly soaked in blood.

Blood, endless blood, makes one think of death or war, not life, and gives rise to something ominous.

Aaron was terrified. He instinctively tried to back away from the blood, but it was already on his hands and he couldn't shake it off. It was still flowing all over his body, as if it was going to drown him.

Aaron's heart froze, his breathing became heavy, like a frightened bird. All his senses were amplified. He suddenly felt as if a tremor was coming from afar, startling people for miles around, as if a giant snake was writhing underground, stirring Aaron's fear of "life".

But Aaron was not only gripped by the fear of "life," but also by other fears. He blinked desperately, trying to shake off the blood and return to the normal world, but he could not do it no matter what.

Chapter 169 Receiving a Blessing

When he opened his eyes again, the world before him had suddenly changed. The tremors that had shaken hundreds of miles away had become reality, and he once again saw a scene of apocalypse resembling Ragnarok. A colossal dragon with outstretched wings descended from the sky, seemingly intent on destroying the world; a train a hundred meters long rampaged across the battlefield, carrying countless dried corpses, as if heading towards hell; countless sharp swords surrounded the besieged knight, and in a cruel and resolute charge, they pierced his body together, and gushing blood gushed from his armor, ending the life of the Omniscient Sword, but the dying knight turned his head and smiled at him.

Hot blood gushed from the corpse, splashing onto his cold body, but he had no time to grieve.

At the same time, countless evil spirits were swirling in the sky, like the gates of hell were wide open. Along with them were humanoid monsters tens of meters tall. The earth was shaking, and the world was submerged in yellow earth. They attacked him, blotting out the sun. He was as insignificant as a drop in the ocean. He had no allies and was all alone, yet he had to stop the attack from the entire world. The world's attack instantly turned into a giant wave that engulfed him.

This fear had long surpassed the realm of "life." He was powerless to stop the raging tide of war. He watched helplessly as he was swallowed by blood. Just as he was about to be completely devoured, he was taken to another world. He saw a small black snake that had just hatched from its egg. Its pupils were still filled with white mucus. When the mucus dried up, the snake arched its upper body, revealing golden vertical pupils, and roared at Aaron.

The moment Aaron met those golden eyes, he felt as if he had been carried to the ends of the world by a giant wave. Everything around him became enormous, while he remained so small. When he looked up, he saw the giant serpent of the world. Standing on the ground, Aaron could only see the serpent's body connected to the sky. The concepts of time and space had vanished at this moment. In the next moment of eternal time, the giant serpent of the world suddenly lowered its huge head and opened its enormous maw to devour him!

"The blessing ceremony went very well." Father Emory looked at Aaron with satisfaction and picked up the tray from the ground. "He is very adaptable."

"That...it's a success?" Theo still couldn't quite believe it. "He's already a superhuman?"

“Yes, the goddess of nature favors him,” Emory said. “It’s a bit strange, though. His blessing rituals were so successful, yet his records show many failures. Were all the previous blessing-givers so unprofessional?”

Emory shook his head slightly, but Elliott and Theo had many questions for him. Elliott asked him the question that concerned him most first: "Why is there so much blood?"

“Oh, bleeding from an egg is indeed not very common, but it’s not unheard of,” Emory said calmly. “Look, the blood is very clear, which proves that the little snake is still healthy, so there’s nothing to worry about. Please don’t worry.”

"Is this little snake Aaron's blessing? Is the blessing he received related to a snake?" Elliott still had a lot of questions.

“Haha, everyone hatches a snake, because it’s just a snake egg. If something else hatches, it would be a miracle from the goddess,” Emory laughed. “Because the snake is a symbol of the goddess of nature, and the snakes they hatch at most differ in patterns, scales, and size.”

Emory then pointed to the small black snake and said:

“The real measure of success is not what hatches, but the vitality of the baby snake. If the baby snake he hatched dies or fails to break through the eggshell, it means he has not won the favor of the goddess of nature. But clearly, the baby snake that Mr. Aaron hatched is very healthy. It broke through the eggshell directly and immediately coiled its upper body and roared, which shows that the baby snake has a strong vitality.”

"I see." Both Elliot and Theo were witnessing a natural blessing ritual for the first time and felt like they had learned something new. Elliot, ever observant, asked a strange question: "What should we do with this little snake?"

“We will retrieve the little snake. Don’t be fooled by its strong vitality; its lifespan is only a few tens of minutes. We will take it back to the Goddess of Nature to await the next cycle of reincarnation,” Emory said compassionately.

As she spoke, a nun wearing white gloves opened the glass case and put the small snake inside.

At the same time, Aaron suddenly woke up from his hallucination.

Like a drowning man surfacing for air, he gasped for breath, realizing with a start that he was still standing in the church. Sweat had soaked his shirt and clung to his neck. He was panting heavily, his whole body covered in cold sweat. To outsiders, his pupils appeared enormous as he stared blankly ahead, standing there woodenly.

“You might experience some discomfort after the blessing, which is normal. After all, a blessing is like a rebirth, and it usually subsides after a few days of rest. If you have any problems, you can come to the church to see us again.” Emory said, and then left with the nun and the glass case.

After everyone had left, Theo held up his fingers in front of him: "How many is this? Can you see it?"

"I can see clearly." Aaron opened his mouth, only to realize that his voice was so hoarse, like that of a traveler who had walked in the desert for three days and three nights.

"Now that the blessing has been successful, can you feel any changes?" Elliott asked again.

Aaron awkwardly reached out and tried to grasp, but his body didn't react at all.

Natural blessings should be quite outward, and Aaron should have undergone some changes. To put it more bluntly, Aaron should have some bestial manifestations, unless Aaron actively shuts them off, but his body looks no different from before.

“There’s no doubt the blessing worked; look into his eyes,” Elliott said.

“Indeed…” Theo narrowed his eyes, staring into Aaron’s eyes, “but I can’t tell what kind of animal it is. Can you tell?”

“I don’t know…” Elliot was also observing Aaron, but he wasn’t sure what it was. He looked at the monks working nearby and asked, “Could you explain it to us?”

The cultivator shook his head: "We are only responsible for bestowing blessings. As for what kind of spirit beast it is, that's not our specialty. You should ask the teachers in the academy."

Since they didn't know, Elliott and Theo could only investigate on their own. They frowned as they looked at Aaron's body, but Aaron felt differently. He could feel that his body had changed. Both his muscles and bones had become stronger, almost like night and day compared to before. But he didn't know what blessing he had received.

Chapter 170 Blessing Illusion

And so, a strange sight unfolded in the church: Aaron stood there, stunned, while Elliott and Theo circled him like great detectives.

"What kind of spirit beast could it be...?"

"Does it have scales?"

Will a tail grow from the coccyx?

"Feel the skin; there might be some fluid seeping out..."

They examined Aaron's entire body carefully, but found no changes. The only change in Aaron's body was in his eyes.

Those were undoubtedly the eyes of a "beast," with crimson iris patterns dynamically changing within his pupils, like the surface of a violently active sun. When flames erupted within them, his pupils revealed a golden hue, like the molten gold of a setting sun.

"No, we're not experts on spirit beasts, we really can't tell." Elliott gave up.

"Right, for spirit beasts, the most sensitive thing should be food. Different spirit beasts react differently to food, so we can use food to test them." Theo slapped his forehead and suddenly came up with a solution.

"Can this really be detected...?" Elliott wondered.

"Instead of guessing here, you might as well try."

Theo was clearly a man of action. It was evening, and Birmingham University had a dining hall. He exchanged a few words with the monks in the chapel and, under their strange gazes, easily obtained food from them.

“Have you ever heard of the Haili tribe? Their food is famous for being undercooked, and everyone from humans to animals loves to eat it. I think it would be a good test to use their cuisine.” Theo sounded excited as he produced a large plate of food from somewhere and placed it in front of Aaron.

He first placed a piece of red meat in front of Aaron: "If you were a herbivore, you would probably be disgusted by meat. Do you feel any desire to eat this meat?"

Aaron lowered his head, looked at the large platters of red meat that Theo had brought, and said, "Yes."

He woke up at noon and ate a simple meal at the Judgment Church. By evening, after all that exertion, his stomach was rumbling and he was naturally hungry.

“It seems to be a carnivorous spirit beast,” Theo said, turning to Elliot.

“But that doesn’t prove anything…” Elliot clearly disagreed with Theo’s opinion. He picked a handful of vegetables from the plate. “Actually, many animals that people are familiar with as herbivores are actually omnivores. I’ve personally witnessed sheep devouring chicks. However, carnivores probably don’t really like eating vegetables.”

He held the vegetables up to Aaron: "Do these look appetizing?"

Aaron looked at the large plate of vegetables and said, "I'd rather eat meat than vegetables, but vegetables are fine too."

He took a radish directly from the plate and took a bite. He felt that the taste was no different from before, except that he could taste a bit of earthy flavor, probably because it was just picked from the ground.

“That’s strange… Could it really be an omnivore?” Elliott wondered as well.

"What about the fish? How are the fish? If it's a spirit beast from the ocean, it should react to the fish." Theo had a new idea.

A short while later, Aaron saw Theo run over carrying a large plate of white, torn, and bony fish meat. Aaron looked at the pile of fish meat and clearly felt no appetite, but he thought it was because the fish looked too unappetizing.