Feverish, restless, surging...
Rolling emotions ceaselessly battered his mind, bringing a burning pain to his spirit.
Luo En didn't hesitate any longer, quickly stepping onto the deserted top-floor balcony into the prepared Magic Array, drinking a cup of blood-like wine, letting down his guard, closing his eyes, and fully activating the Divine Blood within his body to awaken its Divinity.
In an instant, the trials of the flesh followed one after another.
Inch by inch, his muscles were torn and reformed by the rampaging Divinity, becoming even more resilient; drop by drop, his blood was purified and transformed under the scorching of divine fire, turning from golden-red to pure gold; his bones and organs shook with excruciating pain under the wash of Divinity...
Impurities were expelled from his pores, while traces of dross were incinerated to nothingness by ignited Divinity; his heart and the world seemed to become fiery and vividly red...
Yet facing the dual torment of body and spirit, Luo En merely furrowed his brows, surprisingly feeling that it was bearable.
It had to be said that Athena was always reliable.
Though he had been blood-ravaged for half a month, the benefits were indeed substantial.
During this process, not only had Luo En's combat skills improved dramatically, reaching an invincible state among his peers, but his own use of Divinity and Divine Blood had also significantly improved. His body's endurance had also gained a manifold enhancement,
Therefore, even this bone-piercing agony was still within his tolerance, and it hadn't yet broken through the threshold of endurance.
If that was the case, then let it be more intense!
Luo En opened his pale golden eyes, extended his arm oozing with foul qi and blood from his pores, grabbed the grape wine from the table beside him, and tilted his head to pour the whole jar down his throat.
In an instant, the vast sea of faith above Knossos City stirred up a frenzy, madly rushing into a certain concave "hole," in that boundless darkness, endlessly ripping, expanding, repairing, and tearing again...
And as the crimson wine surged into his body, it became a thick golden Divine Liquid akin to Divine Blood under the push of Divinity and the power of faith, filling the cracks in his body and heart.
Gradually, Luo En's body went through a strange transformation under the dual nourishment of the wine and faith.
——As if a newly-made exquisite wine, sealed and buried in the earth, waiting for time to ferment, eventually transforming into a supreme elixir that could intoxicate even the gods.
Meanwhile, inside Knossos Palace.
Athena looked at the jar of "wine" that was fermenting in the dust, contentedly withdrawing her gaze.
All was going well.
However, this was bound to be a relatively lengthy process; to obtain the perfect spirited wine, she needed to wait patiently.
The Goddess of Wisdom on the throne picked up her wine glass, took a light sip, perked up, and flipped through the plan in her hands.
The festival in question was called the God of Wine Festival, but it wasn't about worshiping a spirit of wine that was originally obscure and nameless.
The first day of the festival involved the ceremony of opening the jars of fermented mature wine, including a grand offering where wine was dedicated to the gods.
The second day was the Water Jar Festival, where people drank new wine in open feasts and wagered, incidentally selecting the new wines designated as offerings for the next festival, also marking the peak of secular revelry.
The third day was the Cooking Pot Festival, where people displayed a pot of cooked vegetables to gather around the hearth with family members, paying tribute to Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth, who blessed the peace and order of home life.
This was the focal point of the ceremony.
Since wine is a seasoning of life, a product brewed for the family hearth, it should be attributed to the achievements of the Goddess of the Hearth, which is why Hestia was the one they needed to officially worship as the Chief God of Olympus.
Of course, this nominal act was meant to ward off the objections and undue attention of the Olympus deities.
However, reminded of the previous instruction, he immediately suppressed his nearly wayward thoughts. He carved into the Divinity using the sharp cone of his divine intent, inscribing the content of the first Divine Law he had chosen after careful consideration.
——Madness!
This not only suited the characteristics of wine but also perfectly complemented the authority of the God of War.
In this way, he could maximize his combat potential.
Finally, as the last inscription was completed, the pain of carving into his soul gradually faded.
Luo En, having successfully ascended, withdrew his mind and took a deep breath, slowly opened his eyes, raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, turned around to look behind him, and showed a relieved smile.
"We did it!"
"Yes, I know."
Athena at the staircase nodded indifferently, appearing very calm. Then she glanced up slightly, gesturing with her hand, her voice low.
"So, are you going to put on some clothes first?"
At that moment, as a cool breeze blew by, Luo En felt a chill beneath him, and suddenly realized his clothes had shattered due to the surge of Divine Power, leaving him stark naked.
Embarrassment and mortification made him involuntarily clench his legs and hastily open the Magic Circle Diagram, pulling out a spare set of clothes and quickly putting them on.
Only when the rustling noise ceased did Athena lower her eyes, carefully examining the newly enshrined deity before her, nodding in satisfaction with an impartial evaluation.
"Not bad!"
"You taught well."
Luo En habitually complimented, smiling modestly.
For some reason, his ascension process was also unusually smooth, and the Divine Power in his body seemed to be stronger than expected.
"Alright, now that you have completed your ascension, come with me to meet the visitor outside," Athena called from the staircase.
"Visitor?" Luo En was puzzled.
Athena didn't answer directly but instead revealed a deep and meaningful expression: "Once you go down, you'll naturally know."
So secretive?
With a hint of curiosity, Luo En followed Athena's footsteps down the stairs, and they opened the front door together.
Outside the door stood a dignified, majestic young man with fine features, elegantly positioned with fragrant and lightly fluttering long hair draped over his shoulders. On his head, he wore a crown woven from laurel, wood of the God of Love, olive branches, or water lily leaves; and around his waist hung a silver bow and arrow, and sometimes, a golden sword.
As the door opened from inside, the youth's face brightened with delight, his eager gaze darting about, impatient to step over the threshold.
"He..."
Yet, a slender and agile figure was even quicker.
"Finally, I see you again, Luo En!"
The Huntress, with her golden hair and silver eyes, dressed in a brisk hunting outfit, came up to him enthusiastically, grabbing his arm and shaking it, her joy overflowing.
At that moment, the two deities inside and outside the door simultaneously darkened their expressions.