The First Cultivator - Changing Existence

In the afternoon, Skymender met the Fatty at a restaurant. They sat on the second level, entirely reserved for them.

This was the first time they had seen each other since the act. The Fatty had thought that Skymender had abandoned him. He worried everyday that he would be turned in or silenced.

However, he finally met Skymender once again.

"Good job." Skymender said.

The Fatty breathed a sigh of relief. Only he and Li Youcai knew how ruthless Skymender could be.

"Thank you, Lord Skymender." The Fatty said.

"I met the emperor and was even rewarded for my meritorious deeds." Skymender said as he sipped his drink.

The Fatty smiled. "Good. Then it seems everything worked out. When will we do it again?"

Skymender shook his head. "Once is not suspicious, but twice is. I'm not willing to be suspected."

The Fatty nodded in agreement. "So, what's the next step?"

Skymender spoke. "I've had someone compile a list of all of the nobles and their values. It doesn't include royals or those of the Imperial family, but it is comprehensive enough. The next step is to act publicly, aligning with these values as much as possible."

The Fatty looked at the list the Skymender handed him.

After a moment, he spoke. "I understand the plan, but some of these values conflict. Also, some are very shallow."

Skymender nodded. "Indeed. But this is all that we can get. We just have to pick the side with the most people."

The Fatty nodded in agreement. 

There were opposing politics and beliefs even in the Imperial capital. Luckily, there was one side that seemed to be the most popular, and the second most popular did not necessarily completely oppose the beliefs of the first.

The first group consisted of nobles that treated commoners well, though not equally. The second consisted of those that believed commoners were nothing more than servants.

If they told a commoner to jump, the commoner should not dare hesitate for even a moment. If they told a commoner to die, he should die without a second thought.

Of course, Skymender was partial to the first style of thinking regardless, but if it had been the second way that had been the most popular, he would have followed it for the sake of growth within the Imperial Capital.

He and Fatty, along with Li Youcai, set out.

Of course, they could not help the commoners too much. Regardless, the idea of nobility could only be held up when the nobles were superior to commoners, not equal.

Treating the commoners too well could be seen as an attempt to retaliate against the imperial system itself.

Skymender traveled to the normal commoner district for the second time since coming to the Imperial Capital. He had first come here when he visited the market. He had also been to the wealthy commoner area, but this was completely different.

His first stop was a place he had always been interested in. It was the temple.

In the olden days, the temple had been seen as unpopular or simply wrong, but that all changed when the priests and priestesses of the temple gained an ability that could only be called magical.

A golden, healing light could emit out of the hands of anyone considered a priest or higher of the temple.

Skymender had been delivered and held by a priestess upon birth.

Along with Sword Masters, the temple was the most mysterious thing in the world.

Skymender walked up the stairs and was greeted with bows from everyone in the temple. 

There was another temple in the wealthy commoner area, as well as one in the noble area, but he had specifically come here.

Before long, a priestess came and greeted him. "Welcome, Sir Skymender. What has brought you to our humble temple?"

Skymender spoke. "I am looking for new servants in the commoner area. I have simply come to the temple to learn about it a bit."

The priestess nodded. "It would be my honor to teach Sir Skymender about the temple."

Skymender nodded his head. "Please, go ahead. Consider me a tourist."

The priestess led him around the temple. Li Youcai and the Fatty naturally followed along.

Skymender was taken to see praying people, upcoming priests and priestesses, and ancient historical records dating back thousands of years.

He even saw murals on many walls, depicting countless praying people and a holy golden light.

The tour soon finished, and Skymender had learned a lot. However, he was still curious.

"How does this ability of yours manifest, and how did it come into existence in the first place?"

The priestess spoke. "Upon becoming priests or priestesses, we can sense a sort of connection. Upon being baptized in the altar, we gain this ability. As for how it came into existence in the first place, it was most likely the divine will of Yhwh."

For just a split second, Skymender's green eyes flickered in its deepest depths. However, it would be unknown to even a god realm cultivator. Nobody around him noticed it, and neither did Skymender himself. It was as if it was an illusion.

Skymender nodded. "Would I be able to see the altar?"

The priestess shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Besides the priests, priestesses, those higher than them, and the emperor himself, nobody is allowed to see the altar."

Skymender nodded. After a little bit more conversation, he left the temple.

He had truly wanted to learn about it, and did not dare to plot against it. The temple did not just exist in a kingdom or an empire, but all over the world. 

The main temple existed in the Ancient Empire, an empire considered to be above all the others.

After leaving the temple, Skymender set out to one of the more populated places of the commoner area. It was called the city square.

It was equally populated when compared to the market he had been to. There were also shops here, but they were only inside buildings. Outside shops were unseen, but many people stood around doing other things.