Demon Bible

Chapter 92: Growth Planning

[Precepts Updated]

[Main Rule: Absolution]

[Precept Feedback: New Addition (Krew Krew) — Twin Containment: Abilities of the same origin but different types can now stack more effectively without interfering with each other.]

This ability brought Nemus's Self Protocol another step closer to perfection.

In other words, Nemus's burst power ceiling had been raised slightly higher as a result.

"However, Krew's importance goes far beyond just this," Nemus noted, retracting his aura as Krew simultaneously withdrew his demonic form.

The current Twin Containment was nothing more than a standard enhancement; it had not yet reached the level of a critical breakthrough in his growth.

This meant that Krew's true potential had yet to be fully realized.

Nemus figured that he might still need to meet Isabella, the other key figure from the revelation, one more time to gather enough information from her.

Last time, he had only acquired a rather ordinary trait, Resolve, from Isabella.Clearly, the conditions had not been met, preventing him from obtaining anything more substantial from her.

'But I cannot treat this as an absolute certainty, either.'

'A revelation is just a revelation. The future is still the future.'

'Even if the future lacks the critical growth-providing powers of Krew and Isabella, I still need to rely on my own plans to complete my Special Transformation.'

Nemus calculated his paths for growth.

Regarding Attribute Value growth, his Demon Body had already reached its absolute limit. It could go no further unless his true form advanced to a Greater Demon.

Currently, the growth of this human body could only be enhanced through the Breath of Holy Precepts. Once the smuggling operation for whale products was complete, he might acquire a significant amount of those resources. He could then use them to increase his Number, thereby accelerating the growth of his Attribute Values.

As for the body of Angel A, its Attribute Value was not so much improving as it was recovering. He currently had no leads on how to progress it further, leaving it stagnant at a value of ninety-nine.

As for the development of Traits, that could currently only be achieved through his own Precepts.

This was the primary source of his power advancement.

Under normal circumstances, those of the Black Iron Rank possessed no Traits. They had to rely on external forces to acquire them prematurely.

Meanwhile, those at the Iron Rank would naturally form one or two Traits based on their specific Breathing Technique or Meditation Method, combined with their bloodline and personal quirks.

Yet Nemus, even excluding the Traits embedded in his Oath Rope, had gained eight distinct Traits solely through Absolution.

On top of that, he possessed the inherent Traits of his Demon Body, the two Traits previously granted by the Holy Nails, and more.

Finally, there was Skill.

Nemus's Sword Art had already reached the absolute pinnacle.

However, this did not mean he had no room left for improvement in his technique.

Cultivators on the Life Path were restricted by the physical form of the human body and their weapon types. Furthermore, even Iron Rank Holy Knights lacked energy sources like Battle Aura.

At best, they could only use specialized Breathing Techniques to stimulate their Life Aura and forcefully mobilize their Vitality.

That could not be considered a conventional Skill.

Therefore, the upper limit for Skills among those on the Life Path was not particularly high.

But Spellcasters were different.

A Spellcaster's Mental Power transcended physical limitations to a certain extent, allowing them to leverage the world's power with far greater flexibility.

As a result, Spells—which were essentially techniques for utilizing Mental Power—had a very high Multiplier.

The Sword Art that Nemus had created possessed a Multiplier of two, which was enough to earn him the title of a genius.

Most people's Skills could barely fully utilize their own Attribute Values, resulting in a Multiplier hovering around 0.5 to 0.8.

Take the Dual Swordsman, for instance; his Skill Multiplier was roughly 0.9, yet he considered himself a prodigy. Arlo's Multiplier sat at 1.1, which already marked him as a rare talent.

However, the baseline Multiplier for most Spells started at 1.2. For advanced Spells, breaking past a Multiplier of 2 was a breeze.

'As expected, the minds of Holy Knights aren't nearly as flexible as those of Spellcasters. When it comes to innovation and creation, it's hard to compete with them.'

Nemus was well aware of one fact: the emergence of certain advancements relied entirely on the broader environment.

It was not that cultivators on the Life Path lacked intelligence, but rather that they fell short in raw computational processing power.

When a group of people who needed to utilize these techniques generally relied on overwhelming brute force to solve their problems...

Their minds, incapable of performing the necessary complex calculations, would simply tell them not to overthink it and to just rely on their raw strength.

Conversely, on the Spellcasters' side, a lack of intellect meant a total lack of combat capability. Coupled with the constant refinement of their Mental Power, their computational abilities grew exponentially.

Their overall environment was vastly superior to that of the Life Path. The sheer number of Spells was countless times greater than the varieties of Sword Arts or saber techniques.

The broader environments of both sides were fundamentally different. Because of this, Nemus had no grand aspirations of spearheading a new era of Sword Art.

'All I can do is continue researching and drawing inspiration from Spells.' Nemus's Sword Art relied on absolute control to incorporate the principles of Spellcasting techniques.

This was exactly why it was so highly praised and eagerly discussed by certain Priests.

Attribute Value, Traits, and Skill.

Nemus intended to tackle all three of these avenues for power enhancement moving forward.

Beyond that lay external power—namely, his subordinates.

'The next step is to increase the concentration of Deep Well Water in the bodies of Purr and the Watchman, thereby strengthening their Whalefication Ability.'

'However, I don't know if Leah's transformation has become an issue. Can she still transmit the Whale Transformation Sickness in her current state? If I can study this deeply and figure it out, it might pave the way to pushing Whalefication to the next level.'

'Later, through the whale product trade, I might be able to substitute Deep Well Water with Whale Blood Diamonds, allowing for the mass production of Whalefied Soldiers.'

Exactly. Since he had decided to establish an organization like a Religious Order, he absolutely needed a Secret Method to rapidly boost their Attribute Values.

Otherwise, slowly recruiting and painstakingly training members would simply drag things out for far too long.

In an organization like a Religious Order, the vast majority of members were destined to be cannon fodder. Spending years training mere cannon fodder would make it impossible to properly build the organization from the ground up.

In truth, other heretical cults operated the exact same way, utilizing various Secret Methods to forcefully elevate their members' Attribute Values.

Only by doing this could they withstand the brutal suppression and purges of the Church.

They lacked abundant resources, talented individuals, and a stable environment.

They had no choice but to use extreme methods to manufacture expendable muscle and cannon fodder. If there truly were geniuses hidden among them, they would naturally stand out in that cruel environment, earning the right to be properly nurtured.

Nemus thus planned to make Whalefication the core foundational strength of his Religious Order.

It took shape quickly, boasted a high upper limit, and caused minimal damage to a person's underlying potential.

However, there were still too many unknown variables involved. At present, the advantages were simply too numerous—so many, in fact, that Nemus felt a twinge of hesitation.

There was bound to be a catch with the Whale Transformation Sickness; he just didn't know where that fatal flaw lay yet.

After briefly reviewing his plans, Nemus rested for a short while. Accompanied by the faint, distant calls of whales, he woke up in the early hours of the morning.

Squinting his eyes, Nemus pushed open his door.

Not far away, Krew was rolling a cart over, bringing toiletries and breakfast.

In the distant sky, a sliver of golden sunlight pierced through the thick clouds.

Even further away, within the luxurious mansions of the nobles in the North District, servants were cleaning up the mess left from last night's wild revelries, busily preparing to welcome the nobles to a brand-new day.

Over in the South District, the streets were already bustling with activity as numerous laborers hurried back and forth to make a living.

Along the Riverside, the boatmen and trackers looked like tiny, industrious ants reflected in Nemus's gaze.

A new day had begun.