My Salvation Game Became true?!

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Mage Ming Deng
 

Jiangming Temple was situated on an unnamed small mountain outside Baijiang City. The temple was not large in scale and was in a remote location, so naturally, incense offerings were not thriving. On ordinary days, there were few pilgrims, but the monks and novices in the temple planted various vegetables, and they occasionally went down the mountain to make purchases, leading a comfortable life.

However, a few years ago, Jiangming Temple received some ‘orders’ and began to prosper.

Even so, the temple did not expand after the repairs, and the rhythm of life for the monks remained the same; there were still not many visitors, except when…

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!@@novelbin@@

The orange glow of the lamps cast a robust silhouette. He was dressed in loose clothing, his skin a bronzed hue, and with each exertion of his arms, his muscles swelled like coiling pythons. Bang, bang, bang, his fists pounded the sandbag in front of him, causing it to sway incessantly until, with a muffled thud, the bag burst open, and the sand streamed down, scattering all over the floor as the bag swung violently.

“Master, you have broken another sandbag.”

A novice, around thirteen or fourteen years old with delicate features, was quite helpless.

How many had it been now? If not for the temple’s newfound wealth, they really could not afford so many sandbags. Moreover, “Even if you are strong enough to fight a tiger, you can’t hurt those things with your fists.”

Better to recite more scriptures.

It was all money, and he was the one who had gone down the mountain to buy them.

Mage Ming Deng wiped his sweat and picked up a huge strand of Buddha beads, hanging it around his neck before wrapping another two strands around each of his wrists.

He then chanted Buddhist scriptures for a while.

“Scripture blessings can harm Mysterious Evil, but ultimately… reciting scriptures cannot save the people.”

“The power of scriptures has its limits, but people do not, Awakening does not. So… only Awakening can find the power to save the people.”

But the novice hesitated, wanting to speak and then holding back.

He opened his mouth but still said nothing.

“Your master understands, of course.”

Mage Ming Deng said. He was very aware that he was considered a national treasure, and the Investigation Bureau did not want him to risk facing Mysterious Evil, nor did they want him to take the great risk of Awakening.

That was why he trained so hard.

From a frail monk years ago, he had trained to become a powerful monk capable of physically transcending worldly matters.

Against Mysterious Evil, physical strength was useless, but Awakening was useful.

The stronger the body and the firmer the will, the greater the chance of surviving the ordeal of Awakening.

Hiding in the temple, fasting, and praying while watching the soldiers at the frontlines fight desperately was not what he wished for; it disturbed his heart!

“The Investigation Bureau has made a breakthrough in their research, so they won’t watch me as closely now.”

“Jianxing, after I leave, you’ll be in charge of Jiangming Temple.”

Mage Ming Deng donned his kasaya, picked up a lamp that had been lit in front of Buddha and his Muyu he had used for more than a decade, and stepped over the threshold to walk out.

Behind him was the orange glow of the temple lamps, and ahead of him was the darkness of the mountain, where he could also see the star-like lights at the mountain’s base.

The towering figure standing at the boundary did not linger but continued straight ahead.

His silhouette disappeared into the darkness.

All that remained was the novice’s shouting, echoing through the secluded mountains.

…

In Nanjiao of Baijiang City,

outside a temporary camp,

“Lads, there’s no need to be nervous,” the special-grade investigator ‘Teacher’—online nickname ‘Teacher Who Disdains Martial Ethics,’ known in martial circles as Master Ma—was teaching a class to the many investigators.

His hair was somewhat grizzled, but his face did not show his age, and beneath his seemingly frail body was a robust musculature.

He gestured with his hands, now forming palms now making fists, “The Gate of Hell is nothing special, it just has a bunch more Mysterious Evils, right? None of it’s a problem at all!”

“Think of me back in the day, gripping the White Tassel Spear, I carved my way in and out of those Mysterious Evils seven times, scaring the bejesus out of them until they wet themselves holding their butts.”

Though there was a touch of artistic embellishment, Master Ma’s strength was indeed recognized throughout the entire Baiyun State bureau.

One of the top powerhouses.

Today, they had also seen Master Ma deal with Mysterious Evil, his White Tassel Spear lashing out rapidly, stabbing a dozen times in the blink of an eye and completely blowing the Mysterious Evil apart.

And that was without even using his Awakened Ability … it was said that Master Ma’s Awakened Ability was also quite formidable, related to lightning.

Having such a powerful figure like Master Ma around really gave people a sense of security.

However, “Master Ma, even someone as strong as you, can’t touch the threshold of the second Awakening?”

An investigator asked.

While a single Awakening was already out of reach for them, wasn’t it said that Master Ma was among the very first batch to awaken over a year ago? Couldn’t he manage to awaken a second time?

The old master’s expression stiffened slightly, and he waved his hand dismissively, “That’s classified. You’ll understand once you’re promoted to special-class investigators.”

Classified, huh.

The investigators felt regretful but understood; in their line of work, there were many secrets. They had only recently learned about Awakening, so it made sense that the second Awakening was off-limits for discussion.

Once the investigators dispersed, those who had to patrol, patrolled; those who had business to attend to, did so. Only then did the old master wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

He had indeed touched the threshold of the second Awakening quite early on.

Different from the initial Awakening, for an Awakener like him, when the mysterious essence built up to a certain level, there was a kind of foreboding in the unknown.

Almost meeting the conditions, he could get ready to undergo another Awakening.

An Awakener with such a premonition would trigger the second Awakening within a month.

Logically, with the forewarning and preparation, compared to the abrupt first Awakening without any premonition, the situation should be more favorable. However, the reality was…

Master Ma had witnessed with his own eyes two of the initial Awakeners before him, his fairly good comrades-in-arms, fail to awaken and soon after, decline and perish.

In the whole year that followed, three special-class investigators from Baiyun State bureau, one after another, chose to awaken and, without exception, met with failure and demise.

One even turned into a terrifying Mysterious Evil, and if it weren’t for a contingency plan and arrangements made in advance, that one Mysterious Evil would have unleashed a terrible disaster.

Master Ma did hear of people in the headquarters who succeeded in their second Awakening, but the odds were so abysmally low that it was unnerving.

He had no interest in such risky endeavors, with only the slightest chance of success; it was far too uncertain.

The bureau didn’t recommend it either.

Any special-class investigator was a precious asset, the cornerstone in combating the Mysterious Evil. There were already so few of them, why gamble on the slim chance of a second Awakening?

Don’t even think about it!

The bureau had special means to eliminate some of the mystery, thereby avoiding the Awakening, and that’s what Master Ma had done.

But it was like drinking poison to quench thirst; the mystery within him was ultimately mounting.

Today’s situation, compared to a few months ago, even compared to half a month or a month ago, was also quite different.

Master Ma gazed into the distance at the lights.

“When the signs of Awakening appear again, do I continue to drag it out, or keep dragging it out, or…”

Damn it all!

Couldn’t the bunch at headquarters get their act together and quickly figure out a way to awaken without any side effects and easily beat the Mysterious Evils into a fancy submission?

“Master Ma.”

“Here I am, let me teach you youngsters one more lesson on where to stab the Mysterious Evils tomorrow.”