Lord of Prayer

Setting up the program wasn’t complicated. It just required inputting a few commands.

After a few minutes of thought, Zhou Chen focused his mind and entered five directives into the program.

1. Fulfill any wish where the gains outweigh the costs. The core principle is “low investment, high return.” Earning a smaller profit is acceptable, but it must never operate at a loss.

2. Set the Wish Radar’s search range to a ten-kilometer diameter.

3. Only select and fulfill wishes related to curing physical illnesses.

4. Screen Wishers to select only ordinary people who do not follow any religious sects.

5. The Wisher’s character must be considered; evildoers will be automatically filtered out.

The program possessed a degree of intelligence, so the directives didn’t need to be overly specific. Outlining a general scope was sufficient.

As the directives were entered, the automated wish-fulfillment program began to operate. Countless brilliant, colorful Wish Bubbles materialized before it. The program stood as still as a statue, images flashing rapidly within its pale golden eyes.

Wisps of the Power of Wishes rose from the spring water, surged into the bubbles, and fulfilled the corresponding wishes from afar. Then, one by one, the Wish Bubbles fell like raindrops, merging with the pitifully small amount of Wishing Spring Water.

Zhou Chen randomly selected a few Wish Bubbles to inspect. Each Wisher met his criteria, and in every case, the gains from fulfilling the wish exceeded the cost.

‘This should do it. Now it can run 24/7, automatically farming rewards for me…’

He observed it closely with a pleased expression, Sensing that the automated program did have a cost. It was connected to the Wishing Spring Water, drawing Energy from it to operate. Compared to its earnings, however, that “salary” was a mere pittance.

‘It’s a success, all right, but I should probably change its appearance…’

Zhou Chen stroked his chin in thought. With a mental command, the pale golden humanoid figure compressed, transforming into a palm-sized, brilliantly shining, prismatic golden Crystal. The automated program didn’t stop; images continued to flash within the Crystal.

He stepped into the pool and carefully set the prismatic Crystal atop the Wishing Fountain. Standing back to admire it for a moment, he thought with satisfaction, ‘This looks much better.’

He then monitored it for another ten minutes or so to ensure the program was running stably. If any problems arose, he would be able to Sense them immediately.

The only problem was… the Wishing Spring Water was accumulating far too slowly. Twenty minutes had passed, yet the bottle-cap-sized puddle showed no signs of growth. He had no idea what the final haul would be after a full day of automatic operation. Then again, this was to be expected. Wishing Spring Water was a liquefied form of wish value, so accumulating it was never going to be easy.

‘Either way, all I have to do now is let it run.’

Zhou Chen’s body floated upward, returning to the Round Table Hall. He sat on the ancient chair carved from Obsidian as an item materialized in each hand.

In his right hand, he held the Hammer of Forging, entirely crimson and engraved with ancient flame patterns.

In his left hand was a jet-black Short Curved Saber, emanating a dense cursed aura.

It was an evil Weapon forged from a massive number of Curses, a calamitous creation born from concentrated, malevolent Curse Essence.

Anyone wounded by this Short Curved Saber would find the flesh of the wound, along with the Essence in their body, rapidly withering away. If the initial wound didn’t kill them, they would suffer from continuous bad luck for the next thirty minutes, leading to anything from minor injuries to death.

Out in the real world, this Cursed Blade would undoubtedly be classified as a dangerous Forbidden Object.

‘The quality is pretty high. It must have undergone some kind of qualitative Transformation. Once I get the Flame Jump Ability, I can just blink in, stab someone, and then blink out. I’ll just torture them with repeated light attacks. True damage plus a Curse… I could chip them to death…’

In high spirits, Zhou Chen put away the Cursed Blade and began to examine the Hammer of Forging up close.

The Hammer of Forging had been damaged from forging the Godslaying Blade. However, he couldn’t see any cracks or marks on it, which meant the damage must have been to its Status. Not even a wish could easily repair something like that.

The best way to repair the Hammer of Forging was to use it continuously, allowing it to absorb the Power that came from the act of Forging itself.

The moment he picked up this creation of Authority, all the Forging knowledge and skills Robert once possessed flooded his mind. Most of that knowledge was sealed, however, as the Status it pertained to was too high for a Low Tier Ascender to handle. It would only unlock gradually as he advanced through the tiers.

Even so, he now possessed an astonishingly vast knowledge of fields like casting and metallurgy. With a little practice to familiarize himself with the techniques, he could easily visit the Forging Association and walk away with a master-level certification.

As a creation of Authority from the Casting and Fire Realm, the Hammer of Forging also enhanced his flames, making them hotter, more scorching, and more powerful. Once he restored his Soul and advanced to Tier Two, his Soul-Burning Flame would be strengthened yet again.

After studying the Hammer of Forging for a long time, Zhou Chen materialized the Wish Bottle.

He suspected the Wish Bottle was also a creation of Authority.

After all, the Wish Bottle’s Status seemed extremely high. It could sneak him into the ocean of collective unconscious without anyone noticing, a place heavily guarded by the Star Association and the domain of the Dream Lord, one of the True Gods. It was an impenetrable fortress, yet he had managed to slip in. It was incredible.

Furthermore, the Wish Bottle provided access to this Mysterious Space. No one would ever believe it was just an ordinary Extraordinary Artifact.

If the Wish Bottle really was a creation of Authority, what Realm would it belong to?

‘Wishes? Miracles? Transformation? Rule?’

Zhou Chen pondered for a long time, feeling that the Wish and Miracle Realm was the most fitting.