Rise of The Demon General Chapter 963. Diviners

"Since that deacon can’t leave his post because we can’t wait for his partner to return, my priest will take you to the citizen center so you can process your application for a citizen crest," Tian Jung told Amon. He and his priests remained in the caravan as it entered the city. He had given Amon instructions on where to go.

"That is too kind of you, My Lord. I don’t dare to presume myself worthy enough for your priest’s time," Amon feigned humility.

Tian Jung waved him off. "Nonsense. All we members of the Holy Temple exist to serve the Divine’s will. If we allow someone without a citizen crest like you to roam the city freely, that means we are derelict in our duty. That is unacceptable. We either must lock you up or assist you in gaining your citizen crest."

"In that case, I thank you for your assistance."

"Don’t thank me yet. Depending on how the process goes, we may still lock you up. That said, you and your caravan friends must stop and join us in our congregation before I let you people off."

"I see. Is that why we are heading to one of the worship plazas?" Amon asked.

Tian Jung nodded. "The worship plaza I indicated for you to drop us off is the closest one to the City Shrine, which is the headquarters of Holy Temple members in this city. There, I will lead you all in performing a prayer to the Divine and give a little sermon. Once we are done, you can go to the citizen center, and your friends are free to roam the city. However, you must know that there are many regulations to follow when roaming the city, as well as places forbidden to the public. I assume your friends are aware of these rules?"

"This is my first time entering a city, but my friends who work with this caravan are aware of the rules. They have warned me about this issue."

"Good," Tian Jung uttered. He glanced at the screen with the map on it. "It seems we have arrived at our destination. Come, let us pay our respects to the most exalted being in the world."

They disembarked from the caravan, which was parked beside the worship plaza. Nao Dou was already aware of what was going on, so Amon didn’t need to explain. He signaled for everyone to stay together, and they entered the plaza in silence. Nao Dou had telepathically warned everyone not to speak and followed the Holy Temple members’ lead.

Tian Jung and his priests walked until they were below the Divine’s statue. They knelt under it and prayed solemnly. Nao Dou and the others lined up before the priests and did the same.

Amon observed the statue before kneeling. It was roughly seven meters tall. The man depicted by the statue looked like someone in his forties. He had a thick beard and stern eyes. He wore a majestic ceremonial robe. This statue didn’t necessarily portray its subject accurately, but it was a starting point for Amon to know what the Divine looked like.

He didn’t gaze at the statue for too long. It might be viewed as disrespectful.

After several minutes of silent prayer, Tian Jung stood. His priests did the same. When Nao Dou and the others were about to stand, the nearest priest signaled them to remain kneeling. This one priest stayed in his spot and watched them, while the others began performing a ritual.

Two priests lit incense and stood beside the statue. They softly sang a hymn. The others joined in. With the hymn running in the background, Tian Jung uttered a loud prayer.

"All praise the most powerful and glorious ruler of humanity! The benevolent father who owns the souls of the righteous and punishes the wicked, the Divine being who commands the will of the world and grants us order... Save us! Illuminate our path with your light. Show us the correct way... We see your greatness... Let us not fall to the temptation of disorder... Deliver us from the sins of chaos and anarchy... We are yours... We are..."

The prayer went on for some time. After more than ten minutes of chanting, Tian Jun finally ended his prayer. Yet, he was not done. He followed up with a sermon. A sermon that was choked full of praises for the Divine, and warnings that sounded more like threats about what would happen if his rules were broken. This went on for almost two hours. The priests never stopped chanting soft hymns throughout the sermon.

Many pedestrians, who happened to walk past, came into the plaza and joined in to hear the sermon. Amon wondered whether their action was out of genuine devotion or fear- fear of being viewed as disrespectful for walking past a bishop’s sermon without stopping to listen.

After Tian Jung ended his sermon, the priests’ hymn turned up in volume, as if a final prayer before the ritual was completed.

Once the hymn completely stopped, Tian Jung offered another word of gratitude to the Divine before telling everyone, "You may rise now, my devout listeners. You have shown submission to the will of the Divine, and thus, you are worthy to live in his blessing. Know that every day you live inside this city, away from the chaos of the uninitiated, is a blessing that you should be grateful for the rest of your life. Now, rise to your feet."

Everyone stood.

Tian Jung addressed Peng Chi, "You may now go and settle your delivery. Your hired hands may tour the city, but they must behave. Watch the signs. Some areas are restricted. If they trespass, they will be punished. If they cause trouble, they will be punished. Obey the rules at all times."

"I will remind them again," Peng Chi responded with a bow.

Tian Jung nodded. He turned to Amon, "As for you, Xia Lung here will bring you to the citizen center."

"I thank you for the guidance." Amon also bowed.

"Come!" Xia Lung instructed.

Amon glanced at Nao Dou and nodded slightly before he left with Xia Lung.

Now that he wasn’t inside the caravan, he had the chance to observe the city. There wasn’t much activity on the main street. The two most observable activities were people praying and people patrolling. The patrolling groups were led by people wearing the Holy Temple’s white robes. The people who made up the bulk of the groups wore grey armored uniforms.

When Amon asked, Xia Lung explained that the ones wearing grey armored uniforms were the initiates. Those leading them were the deacons of the Holy Temple. They were in charge of keeping order in the city. He told Amon that normally, the inquisitors maintained the city’s security, but they were occupied at the moment.

The two walked past an open square that looked like a marketplace, except they were too orderly for one. People lined up at multiple stalls. Amon noticed the stalls distributed various daily needs like food, water, clothes, cultivation pills, and aer stones.

"This is a place where the devotees come daily for their necessities after toiling for the goods of society," Xia Lung explained.

Amon remembered that the devotees were the lowest caste, no different from slaves. They had no right of possession. Hence, their daily needs were supplied by the Holy Temple. This caste comprised those with low cultivation levels and the punished who retained freedom to walk under the sun.

Looking at these stalls and the queue, he was reminded of a type of government favored by the tyrants of his previous world. The ambience he felt here wasn’t too different from the countries ruled by those tyrants. Everything here was designed for one purpose only: control.

As he walked past the last stall, he saw it didn’t offer physical goods. The people who lined up for that stall all had certain wounds on their bodies. Those who manned the stall were Holy Temple members, who performed chants that conjured lights that healed the wounded.

"Are healing arts like that common for Holy Temple members?" Amon asked.

Xia Lung raised his eyebrows before saying, "That is not an art. Those healers are diviners."

"Diviners?"

"Diviner is a specialist job, much like smiths or pill masters. They are people who draw the healing power of the Holy Well to heal others. The higher their mastery, the more power they can draw, thus healing more people and more grievous wounds."

"Holy Well...?" Amon asked.

"You truly lived in the wilderness before this, eh?" Xia Lung didn’t hide his patronizing tone. "The Holy Well is a high-tier divine artifact located in Gaius City, right next to the Divine Throne, where the Divine lives. Those who wish to become a diviner learn to form a link with this Holy Well to tap its power and use it to heal others. Of course, only those given permission may use its power. Hence, only Holy Temple members can be diviners."

"Must someone visit the Holy Well in person to form a link?"

"No, one can draw its power via an intermediary who possesses the link, but the mastery such a diviner can reach will always be lower than the intermediary."

"I see," Amon uttered. Temple of Divinity members in the past probably became diviners through Mu Qin, who possessed the link to the Holy Well. That’s how they could perform what he originally thought was a ranged healing art.