Lord of Prayer

’But I have no intention of destroying the World or making it feel pain…’

After a moment of deliberation, Zhou Chen pushed the doubt to the back of his mind and turned his attention to another, equally questionable detail.

Physically male, psychologically male.

’Isn’t that assessment a bit too precise? Well, whatever. After all, these days people have come up with fifty-six or more psychological genders. Some people even psychologically identify as an attack helicopter…’

’And the Blessing of Hermes… isn’t that a bit…? Still, to be honest, a one hundred percent speed boost when escaping under normal circumstances is a pretty sweet deal.’

“By the way, Mr. Lamp God, can we recommend new members for the Round Table Hall? What are the criteria for joining?” Soron asked.

“First, you may scout for new members. Inform me at the next gathering, and I will make my judgment. As for the criteria, the Round Table Hall has one ironclad rule: ’We do not accept evil Ascenders.’ All other qualifications are left to your discretion. Finally, you must not reveal any secrets concerning the Round Table Hall.”

When the time was nearly up, Zhou Chen solemnly announced the end of the gathering. The members rose, bowed in respect, and then their figures vanished in unison.

The sisters, Angela and Alice, sat atop a high stack of books, playing dead and not daring to speak. The Round Table Hall grew quiet and desolate.

Zhou Chen tapped on the Obsidian Round Table, mulling over his next steps. His plan was actually quite simple: accumulate wish value—update the Round Table Hall—recruit more new members—harvest more wish value—update the Round Table Hall—recruit more new members…

As long as he handled the planning and benefits well, he could get the snowball rolling and start a virtuous cycle, harvesting a large amount of wish value in the process.

Zhou Chen knew wish value wasn’t easy to come by, so he didn’t dare to be too ruthless with his “harvest.” If Forging a common Weapon cost tens, or even hundreds of wish value, it would easily make people give up. It was just like grinding in a video game. If the goal is within a reasonable range, Players will grind like mad, sleeplessly and relentlessly. They’ll even think about it in their sleep until they finally get what they need and feel the joy of success.

But if the reward was set too far out of reach, requiring an impossibly long time to grind for, then most people would definitely choose to give up.

’One step at a time.’

Zhou Chen sighed wistfully, feeling the difficulty of starting a new venture. With a single thought, he brought the sisters Angela and Alice back to reality with him.

“You two will be staying here for the time being.”

“Yes, Master.” Angela breathed a small sigh of relief, glad to finally be away from that oppressive place.

Zhou Chen took out his phone. It was a little after one in the morning on New Year’s Day. Time to get some rest.

Just as he was about to head upstairs and sleep in, the doorbell rang.

“Who is it?”

“Delivery.”

A bewildered Zhou Chen opened the door to see a Floating car with its headlights cutting through the heavy snowfall, and a familiar-looking delivery guy.

“Package for you.” The delivery guy handed him a long, rectangular package and a large envelope.

Zhou Chen accepted them, stunned. “You guys have to work overtime in this weather and at this hour?”

“Five times the pay for holidays, plus a bonus for bad weather. You bet I’m working,” the delivery guy said with a laugh.

After seeing the delivery guy off, Zhou Chen went back inside to open the delivery. It was just as he’d expected.

Unpacking the long box revealed a wooden case. Inside lay a purple Tachi.

This was the entry Zhou Chen had previously forged for the Sword Forging Competition: Thunder Strike.

He tore open the large envelope, and a letter with Gold Foil Stamping fell out. It was an invitation.

[Congratulations, Contestant Zhou Chen. Your work has achieved third place in the preliminary selection round. Please report to your nearest Forging Association branch by noon on January 4, 235 NC, to participate in the upcoming Sword Forging Competition.]