Lord of Prayer

「In the training ground.」

BANG!

Zhou Chen sent an Alchemy Dummy flying with a single punch. A clear, sunken fist print appeared on the dummy’s chest, which cracked into fine fissures as metal fragments shot off.

“To break a training dummy in a single punch without any damage to his muscles or bones… His Power has already surpassed the level of a normal Tier Two Ascender…” A researcher behind the training ground’s glass screen clicked their tongue in amazement and spoke into the microphone, “Proceed to the next test.”

Zhou Chen walked up to a brand-new Alchemy Puppet. Cyan Flame ignited on his fist as he gathered power. When the violent energy reached its critical point, he unleashed a sudden punch.

BOOM!

A magnificent thunderclap resounded as a violent wave of cyan fire erupted from the impact between fist and iron. The resulting heatwave billowed outward, and the light that bloomed in that instant illuminated the entire training ground.

When the blinding glare of the fire dissipated, the mangled Alchemy Puppet lay in the distance, thick smoke rising from it.

The puppet’s upper body was gone. Its remaining lower half was covered in cracks and on the verge of shattering completely. The metal on its surface and at the break points had melted into glowing-red liquid iron under the intense heat, snaking across the training ground floor.

“A ‘Burst’ triggered by concentrating a large amount of Essence can easily destroy an Alchemy Puppet and melt special-grade alloys. And that’s not even counting the Mental Damage contained within the flames…”

The researcher sighed with genuine feeling. “Leader Jiang, your Secretary has the potential to become a bomb maniac.”

The Bomb Maniac was, in fact, an infamous member of the American Chainsaw Murder Association who had orchestrated numerous horrific bombing incidents. His Ability was “Explosive Transformation,” which allowed him to turn any non-living object he touched into a powerful bomb.

His personality was unpredictable, and his actions were pure madness. He once blew up the venue where an American politician was giving a speech, injuring over one hundred people and killing more than three hundred, simply because that politician liked pineapple on his pizza…

But his most audacious act was sending someone with a High-Explosive Alchemical Bomb to hijack a plane and crash it into the Eternal Commerce Building, setting off a firework display that stunned the world.

Although the Eternal Commerce Association later hunted him down and killed him in an exceptionally gruesome manner, he at least left his mark on history. Several movies were even adapted from his story, cementing his image as a crazed bomber in the public consciousness.

Now, the Derivative Ability Zhou Chen had awakened, “Burst,” already had a hint of the Bomb Maniac’s old style. Combined with his peculiar Spiritual Flame, the role of a crazed bomber seemed to suit him perfectly.

Soon, the next test began.

Zhou Chen took a deep breath and used “Flame Jump” to its fullest extent.

In the distance, a ball of cyan flame ignited out of thin air. Zhou Chen’s figure vanished in an instant, reappearing where the flame now burned as if he had used Instant Teleportation.

“The current displacement distance is 50.14 meters. Is that the maximum distance you can manage at full power?” a researcher asked into the microphone.

“I don’t feel like I can teleport any farther. Let’s test it a few more times.”

With a thought from Zhou Chen, a flame flared, and his figure appeared in the distance. He then flickered back and forth, teleporting repeatedly, performing a full twenty displacements before stopping.

“The average teleportation distance is 50 meters. Among Derivative Abilities, that’s considered a fairly long-range Displacement Skill,” a researcher commented, looking at the data on the screen.

Most importantly, Flame Jump didn’t consume too much Essence. The total Essence in Zhou Chen’s body was enough to support about fifty Flame Jumps. If he were to travel in a straight line, he could cover 2,500 meters in a very short amount of time—a truly astonishing feat.

Zhou Chen meditated for half an hour to recover his Essence. Afterward, metal walls rose from the training ground floor, enclosing him completely.

Next, they would test if Flame Jump could pass through buildings.

In front of the thick alloy walls, Zhou Chen tried for a long time but found he couldn’t use Flame Jump to teleport out of the sealed structure. He could only perform the displacement if there was a residue of his Essence within fifty meters of his target location outside.

Suddenly, on the ground, a cyan flame erupted from the Alchemy Dummy that was still dripping with molten iron. Tongues of fire danced wildly, and Zhou Chen’s figure emerged from within them.

A researcher analyzed the event. “It seems he can’t teleport out of a sealed space, but he can use his residual Essence as a node. For a Tier Two Ascender, this is within the normal scope of abilities. As he continues to develop this Ability, he should be able to teleport out of sealed spaces. Of course, he could also just opt to tear down the wall with brute force…”

After nearly two hours of testing, Zhou Chen had gained a deep understanding of his own Abilities.

First, his physical attributes surpassed the baseline for a Tier Two Ascender, placing him in the upper-middle range. This put him ahead of the vast majority of Ascenders. The only ones above him were Ascenders who specialized in physical enhancement Abilities; they were professionals in that field, so there was no real comparison.

Second was his Essence Capacity. It was significantly larger than a normal Ascender’s, also placing him in the upper-middle ranks.

Zhou Chen was well aware of the reason for this. ‘It’s the Hammer of Forging’s tempering of my body and Soul that has allowed me to improve so rapidly. Although it might arouse suspicion, I’ve already decided who to blame. If anyone asks, it was the work of Hermes and the King of Music.’

Next was the massive improvement to his Cyan Flame. After his Soul was repaired and he underwent Advancement, his Cyan Flame—once not even as hot as a common lighter—received an epic-level boost. It not only reached the average temperature for a Fire Type Ascender but actually surpassed it by a fair margin.

—As a creation of the Authority of the Casting and Fire Realm, the Hammer of Forging would naturally enhance flames, allowing them to reach temperatures high enough to melt metal and granting them some special effects.