39 - Stop Hypnotizing Me, Villainous Princess!

### Chapter 39: Visitors from the Celestial Church When Lin En returned to the manor, it was already evening. The moon hung high in the sky, and the last rays of the setting sun had long faded from view. Yet, the manor was brightly illuminated. To be honest, building such a residence in the most bustling area of Orne City suggested that the Augusta family held substantial influence in the region. Upon returning to the manor, Lin En intended to find a maid to escort him inside. Unexpectedly, he encountered Moris. "You're back?" For some reason, Moris still appeared somewhat reserved. Lin En nodded. "I need to see Her Highness the Princess. Can you lead the way?" Hearing this, Moris hesitated for a moment. However, considering how highly Her Highness regarded this guy, he quickly agreed. While leading the way, Moris kindly mentioned, "Her Highness was entertaining guests earlier and seemed in a bad mood. If it's not something urgent, I'd advise against going now." "Who was she meeting?" Lin En asked, intrigued. Moris glanced around, then lowered his voice, "It seems they were from the Celestial Church." The Celestial Church? That was the church his former self originally believed in, but ultimately, it was the archbishop who stripped him of his divine essence, leaving him an ordinary person. As one of the empire's three main churches, alongside the Silent Church and the Abundance Church, the Celestial Church boasted countless followers. Even a border city like Orne had their presence. Lin En narrowed his eyes. However, he feigned nonchalance. "I'm here to report in, so there shouldn't be an issue." "Report?" Moris glanced at the contract in his hand and showed a hint of sympathy. "Today must have been hectic. Is the three-day deadline too short, and you're hoping to ask Her Highness for an extension?" "Just say a few kind words. Given Her Highness's... ahem, given her benevolence, she might allow it." "In any case, this situation is quite troublesome. In these tumultuous times, countless eyes are watching. Mishandling it could mean being roasted over a fire." Moris rambled on, causing Lin En to shake his head. "You've misunderstood. I've resolved the matter completely. I'm here to report my work to Her Highness." Moris suddenly halted. "Re-resolved it?" Lin En didn’t speak further; instead, he flicked through the stack of contracts in his hand and passed them to Moris. Under the light, Moris quickly skimmed through the extraordinary contract, his mouth gradually agape. ... "Her Highness is meeting with guests. Young Master Lin En, please wait next door." As expected, Lin En found Kaisa at the study’s door. The elderly housekeeper offered a slight bow, her expression calm. Lin En nodded and took a seat on the sofa in the adjacent waiting room. After preparing him a cup of hot tea, the housekeeper left him alone. Seeing the room empty, Lin En activated the system to explore the new ability he had drawn today. The Thorned Crown. Though it seemed like a self-destructive ability that harmed both the enemy and himself, the skill description did not specify a limit on the amount of pain it could store. And as everyone knows, abilities without limits are typically very bug-like. After careful deliberation, Lin En decided to give it a try. The activation condition for the Thorned Crown required at least 3 divine essences, which was never an issue for the previous Lin En. Unfortunately, he lacked those conditions now and was just an ordinary person. According to the novel’s setting, divine essences were rewards bestowed by gods upon believers who completed trial ascensions, significantly boosting their powers. Simply put, they were akin to mana and ability enhancements. The quantity and quality of divine essences determined one’s ability usage frequency and effectiveness. Lin En's former self, as a fourth-order transcendent, possessed 136 divine essences and was notably powerful. Moreover, he had a rare transcendent ability—Gravitational Hammer. This ability was highly destructive on the battlefield. Relying on it, Lin En rapidly accrued military achievements, rising to become the youngest captain in the empire. Sadly, now his style had shifted. He had no major offensive skills, and the two abilities he possessed now were both somewhat deviant—not a conman, but a masochist. His battle style was evolving from grandiose to insidiously twisted. Lin En sighed. He opened the system interface to the divine essence section. After all, the system had mentioned before that he could use points to ignite divine essences. For Lin En, who had been stripped of his faith, this was indeed fantastic news. It must be understood, the primary limiting factor for transcendents' growth was the number and quality of their divine essences. The divine essences from a fourth-order transcendent of the Celestial Church were undoubtedly rare and potent. That's why his fiancée, Irina, transferred his divine essences into herself, ultimately advancing to a legendary rank. "Would you like to spend 10 system points to ignite a divine essence?" "Yes." Without hesitation, Lin En confirmed. He had accumulated so many points this afternoon for just this moment. Finally, he could start preparing his escape plan. Everyone believed he had become an ordinary person, while he accumulated strength in the shadows—what a thrill! Though, it was indeed expensive; a single divine essence cost 10 points. Lin En thought silently. Unexpectedly, a system notification appeared the next second. "Ignition failed. Please activate a belief first." Failed? Lin En stared blankly at the text. It was then he recalled something. Name: Lin En Race: Human Age: 17 Faith: None Rank: None Transcendent Abilities: Deceiver of Lies - Level 1 / Thorned Crown - Level 2 Divine Essence: 0 Remaining System Points: 43 Since his former self was excommunicated from the Celestial Church, his faith entry read "None." Given divine essences originate from a god, the system couldn't create a power source from nothing. Hence, Lin En couldn't successfully ignite a divine essence. It seemed he'd have to choose a new faith. But therein lay the problem. After being marked as a godforsaken by the Celestial Church, all major churches had recorded him. Under such circumstances, nobody would allow him to convert. Unless it was those heretical beliefs or obscure minor churches. However, such faiths were too weak; some were not even real deities, just slightly stronger transcendent beings siphoning off faith energy. As previously mentioned, different deities bestowed divine essences with varying attributes and strength. For example, with the same quantity of divine essences, a transcendent from one of the three major churches was significantly stronger than those from lesser faiths. This was primarily reflected in attack power and battle endurance, affecting one's future deeply. Even though Lin En had the ability-drawing system, he didn’t want to be inferior in terms of divine essences. For him, if something was worth doing, it was worth doing well. For a moment, Lin En fell into deep thought. He began recalling the original plot, hoping to find some clues. Thinking carefully, who was the strongest deity and faith in the original novel? As soon as this thought emerged, a cold female figure appeared in Lin En's mind. Seemed to be that woman. Damn, it was a deadlock now.