Biqing Whale City, Beiqi Village.

In the basement of a house that stood out like a crane among chickens.

Flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows on the walls.

A burly middle-aged man with a scruffy beard and long, dark brown curly hair was half-kneeling before a shrine, bowing his head as if he had just reported something and was waiting for a response from the presence within the shrine.

“You’re saying you can’t do it?” A chillingly calm voice came from inside, drowning out everything. The cloth covering the shrine was suddenly lifted, revealing a demon statue.

It was a very typical demon statue: twisted, coiled horns; a terrifying, ferocious face; vertical pupils that conveyed both temptation and fear; a body covered with tiny black scales; clawed hands with long, sharp nails; a thick yet agile tail; and hooves resembling those of a goat.

However, Naimes knew well that the so-called demon statue was just a common perception. The true form of the entity could change at will and did not possess a real physical body in the material world.

“Yes, yes, I can’t do it!” the man stammered, his voice trembling, but growing firmer as he spoke: “I can’t kill an innocent old man just to achieve my own goals!”

“If I did that, how would I be any different from those I hate?!”

“The old priest is a good man. He’s been diligent all these years. I can’t kill him!”

“I won’t do that, so…” Naimes stood up, his trembling body gradually calming. He asked, “Is it possible to dissolve the contract and return to where it came from?”

“So, you’ve suddenly developed a conscience and want to be a good person now?” The demon’s tone remained calm and cold, unimpressed by Naimes’s sudden change of heart.

No, the situation was that Naimes hadn’t even crossed the river yet but was already planning to burn the bridge.

“Naimes, you really will never get anywhere.”

“You have your absolute goals, yet you hesitate.”

“You have a demon contract but still worry about so-called good people.”

“I knew you couldn’t be a good person, but I never imagined you couldn’t even be a bad one!”

As the demon sneered, a slightly strange piece of paper emerged from the shrine. Lines of text glowed with a dim, eerie light.

Clause One: The demon “Naimes” (true name excerpted and certified) shall provide Naimes Dartmanley with a complete method of faith theft, guaranteeing its authenticity and instructing its proper use. It ensures normal use has no side effects or that side effects cannot harm Naimes.

Clause Two: Naimes must swiftly take control of the Beiqi Village church and allocate seventy percent of the stolen faith to Naimes.

Clause Three: Naimes shall not persecute Naimes in any manner, nor reveal Naimes’s contract with him through any means, suggestions, or actions.

Clause Four: Naimes shall not disclose Naimes’s existence by any means, hints, or actions.

Clause Five: After seven years of this contract or once Naimes’s stolen faith reaches a total of one thousand faith units, this contract is terminated. Afterwards, neither party may reveal this contract by any means, suggestion, or action.

At this moment, Clause Two was trembling slightly, clearly on the verge of being violated.

Naimes suddenly pulled a short sword from his bosom. The blade was inscribed with runes in silver.

His body sprang up instantly, the runed short sword almost transforming into a streak of white light, ready to sever the demon contract.

As the stationed holy knight of Beiqi Village, Naimes understood demons fairly well. When he first discovered the demon statue and signed the contract, he had already planned to betray it eventually.

The runed short sword was inscribed with holy words in sacred silver, capable of directly destroying demonic power and invalidating the demon contract!

However, the next moment, several snake-like ropes appeared out of nowhere in the basement, binding Naimes tightly.

His flying dagger was only a hand’s length away from the contract, but that distance became an insurmountable chasm.

The ropes twisted, imprisoning Naimes firmly. The tremendous force stretched him into a cruciform, suspending him in midair.

The dim glow of the demon contract illuminated a black shadow that slowly emerged from the demon statue.

“Even though you’ve sunk to the point of becoming the stationed holy knight of a small village, you still cling to the kindness that will drown you.”

“You insist on disguising yourself as a fierce, brutal figure, pushing others’ goodwill away.”

“You act recklessly and arrogantly, selfishly believing you can handle everything perfectly, without considering failure.”

“Just like now, you think you have a way to break the contract, but you forgot that violating contracts is the demon’s specialty.”

“How could I not be prepared for this?”

Naimes wanted to say something, but the ropes gagged him, making speech impossible.

“I don’t want to hear your clichés. Just obediently surrender your body.” As the words fell, the second clause of the demon contract surged out and covered Naimes’s body.

The black shadow turned into a stream of light that rushed into Naimes’s body.

“The hellish abyss is too desolate. I struggled to reach this material plane. You refuse the chance to steal faith and change the foundation, so let me take it myself!”

Naimes struggled desperately, but with the contract’s power assisting, the black shadow entered his mind effortlessly.

The last thing Naimes heard was the demon Naimes’s voice.

“I will help you with everything you want to accomplish and all your regrets.”

“Although the method may no longer align with your foolish kindness.”

“No... I haven’t completed my redemption. I still haven’t...”

“This demon, I was the one who released this demon. I can’t...” Naimes’s desperate soul began to wail, powerless against the demon.

Everything about Naimes was quickly controlled and replaced by Naimes under the contract’s power.

The ropes binding his body relaxed and curled up quietly, like a well-trained pet.

The night passed quietly. With the sound of whales outside, Naimes—no, Naimes—opened his eyes, sensing the long-lost feeling of a physical body.

A faint smile curled his lips before disappearing.

His gaze shifted to the ground. The shrine and demon statue immediately began to burn.

Green flames illuminated the basement’s darkness after the candles went out. The shrine and demon statue quickly dissolved in the blaze.

However, Naimes’s shadow on the wall did not flicker with the flames; it became stable and tangible.

Closing his eyes to meditate, information flowed through his mind:

[New identity acquired, Oath updated]

[Identity 1: Alien Demon Naimes]

[Oath Details]

[Main Oath: Keep the oath—strictly adhere to contract content, not violating any established contract]

[Oath Feedback: Contract effectiveness enhanced, and can channel contract power into oath artifacts, granting them extraordinary strength.]

[Oath Artifact: Oath Rope (autonomous action; enhanced binding; increased speed)]

[Main Rule: None]

[Identity 2: Holy Knight Naimes]

[Oath Details]

[Main Oath: None]

[Main Rule: None]

[Original body’s sub-rule: Daily Practice—must practice swordsmanship once a day]

[Oath Feedback: Swordsmanship strengthened; (when selected as main rule—after daily practice, gain one hour of swordsmanship insight.)]

This was the greatest gain for Naimes during his fall into the abyss. He successfully obtained part of the divine essence of the Oath God. As long as he abided by the oaths he acquired through his actions, he could draw power from them. Googlᴇ search novel_fіre.net

The main oaths received strengthening.

Each identity could have one main oath and one main rule.

Oaths and rules were roughly divided into passive and active.

Passive observances, things one refrains from doing, were called oaths.

Active practices performed regularly were called rules.

This power was why he actively infiltrated the material plane, a region shrouded in the faith of the Oath God.

“What a long-lost feeling.” Naimes stepped out of the basement and looked at the rising sun outside, sighing.

Then, Naimes composed himself, shifting his movements and expressions to match the previous Naimes perfectly. At this moment, even his soul was that of Naimes.

At the door, there was a knock.

(Faith unit: The amount of faith generated when an ordinary believer prays at the shrine every day for a year.)