Chapter 194: Material Refinement
"That's… it?"
Avery's smile froze, as if he'd just taken a critical hit.
"Young man! Don't be so greedy," the old priest exclaimed. "Purging evil residue is a war of attrition. It drains both mental focus and holy power!"
Gideon pointed at the pile of empty bottles on the table. "But you can… replenish it, can't you?"
"You—!"
Avery's hands trembled. He crossed himself and muttered, "Lord, forgive my language," before bursting out, "F— man!"
"The power in holy artifacts doesn't include source power. Even if you refill yourself, it leaks away quickly. Only the holy power you cultivate yourself truly fits you—and only that achieves the best purification results."
He gestured emphatically. "We use our own holy power only at the crucial moment of separating source power. Any other use would be a waste of an evil remnant."
Gideon understood. Demons were like maggots in bone—leave the slightest trace, and they could flare up again.
"To make an evil remnant usable," Avery continued, tapping the workbench covered in formulas, "its source purity must reach 60%. I can raise it to 75%—that already makes me an expert across the western districts."
Gideon forced a polite smile. A priest talking like a chemist kingpin…
"Then what purity is considered safe?" he asked carefully.
Avery wrote a number with chalk. "80%. At that level it's premium material—big names will fight to buy it. Don't look at me like that; politics isn't a secret, especially for those of us who live with death."
He leaned in. "I stay here not just for the materials. Source purification greatly benefits the Eyes path. With the Holy Eye, you should know this: to master Forbidden Divine Sight at the next stage, you must etch three golden rings around the pupils."
"Even Eye-aspected clergy need thirty years for that stage," he went on. "And before forming Purified Blood, lifespan doesn't increase. Long-term purification can shave ten years off."
Then he softened. "If you could raise purity to 90%, that's exceptional—on par with relics. It could save a single-mark priest years of cultivation."
Gideon raised a brow. "What about 100%?"
Avery chuckled. "Impossible. Theoretically feasible, yes—but it requires eradicating evil completely. It hides too well. The time, the mental strain, the holy power—years of it. No one can finish that."
He squinted. "But if it did exist, it'd be unparalleled—might even alarm the Vatican."
Avery pushed the remnant toward him. "Be honest and practical. Start with what's in front of you."
Gideon nodded and began, following Avery's guidance.
"Project holy power through the eyes…" He focused. Pure light welled up.
Avery's eyes widened. No golden rings—he'd expected failure. Instead, he felt a surge of holy power.
"Projecting without rings?" Avery thought, stunned.
Gideon adapted quickly. The method was refined, efficient—no longer brute force, but precise control.
A thin beam touched the remnant.
"Huh?"
He sensed the source power instantly—and, strangely, how loosely it was bound to the evil. There was a clean boundary. He eased the light forward—
—and nearly purified everything at once.
He pulled back in time.
"Take it slow," Avery cautioned, mistaking the surge for a slip. "Start by grazing the residue."
Gideon nodded silently, dialing it down again and again.
This should be slow enough…
He tried once more.
A patch—about a fingernail's size—cleared at visible speed. Roughly one-twentieth of Avery's earlier result.
"So fast!" Avery stared. What took him five or six minutes—and real strain—Gideon did in seconds.
He turned to see Gideon frowning, sweat beading. Alright… at least it looks taxing, Avery thought, reassured.
Meanwhile, Gideon was thinking, Is this slow enough? He could go slower—but control wasn't perfect yet.
Best to look like I'm working hard.
One last problem remained: what purity to stop at.
If he wanted, he could finish it now. But for today, discretion mattered.
It could have reached… 100%.
If Gideon had really done that, the priest beside him would probably have been scared to death on the spot.
After weighing his options, Gideon deliberately kept the figure at 69%.
He controlled it by adjusting the proportion of residual evil clinging to the surface of the source power.
Having just watched Avery's demonstration, Gideon had memorized its characteristics. This way, I won't look too mediocre, and Avery can still appear superior, he thought to himself.
After all, Avery had just guided him—leaving the old priest some dignity was only right.
A few dozen minutes later, Avery finally let out a long breath.
"Your holy power is extremely abundant," he said, nodding, "but it lacks finesse."
"Still, this is already very impressive. With more practice, you might even surpass me."
Gideon wiped the sweat from his forehead and exhaled deeply.
"I must apologize for my earlier ignorance. This is truly an extraordinarily difficult task."
He removed his gloves and traced a cross over his chest.
"Man! You're really something," Avery said, nodding in approval.
---
A few days later, the students of Dey Theological Academy noticed something unusual—
the supply of source-power materials had increased slightly.
Although most of them hovered around 70% purity, if one was lucky, they could even reach 75%.
For many students, this led to tangible progress in their cultivation.
Everyone was astonished, assuming that Avery, that stubborn old man, had made another breakthrough in theology.
Only after asking around did they learn the truth:
all of this had been done by a newly arrived Guest professor.
And what shocked them most was that this professor was about the same age as they were.
Unwilling to believe it, many students rushed to the Exorcism Workshop, hoping to see the professor in person—
only to be stopped at the door by Avery.
"Anyone who comes here to disturb us again," he declared, "will lose their material quota for the next month."
Faced with such "authoritative pressure," the students had no choice but to back down.
Still, the story spread through the academy for quite some time.
One priest—whose name happened to contain the word 'Ben'—became notably more popular among students after word got out that he had once completed an exorcism commission alongside that professor.
Many students who received purified source-power materials felt genuine gratitude toward Gideon.
Purity was not just a measure of quality—it was a matter of life and death.
Much like purification itself, extracting source power from remains was a dangerous process.
Any residual evil could completely contaminate a priest's holy power.
That was why a single source-power material often took several months to absorb fully.
Higher purity meant greater safety—and saved an enormous amount of time.
---
Beyond the students, the academy's instructors soon heard the news as well.
Jolan was not surprised; he had always held high expectations for Gideon.
Rich, however, could not hide the flicker in his eyes—astonished at where the Archbishop had found such a priest.
Flora, too, was taken aback. She had never imagined that Gideon was so adept at material refinement.
And it wasn't just acquaintances who took notice—others began to grow interested in him as well.
---
Outside the Exorcism Workshop, a nun approached from the distance.
Every student she passed treated her with deep respect.
"May the Lord bless you, Sister Faya."
Faya nodded in response and raised her hand to knock on the heavy wooden door.
At the moment her fingers touched it, a wave of power rippled outward.
Before long, Avery opened the door.
"Oh! Couldn't you knock a little more gently?" he complained. "It's not like I can't hear."
Faya bowed slightly in greeting.
"Father Avery, I would like to request a meeting with Father Gideon."
Avery's eyes immediately filled with suspicion.
"What do you want with him? Don't tell me you're trying to steal him away."
Faya smiled and shook her head.
"You misunderstand. I've heard a great deal about Father Gideon over the past few days. I happen to have an exorcism commission that involves an important material, and I was hoping to ask for his assistance."