Chapter 752: Only Follow the Dao
Westerners always emphasized the original sins, believing humans were born inherently sinful. Thus, they frequently required confession, redemption, and judgment. However, Easterners rejected the concept of original sin.
Confucians believed that people were inherently good at birth, so how could there be sin? If there were no sin, then there would be no need for confession and redemption, let alone judgment. Why would humans execute justice on heaven’s behalf?
Thus, methods that were highly effective in the West might not be as useful in the East due to differences in societal norms and mindset.
Spirit Guards, especially high-ranking ones, might not possess high cultivation themselves, as their personal cultivation was not emphasized. However, those capable of wearing the first-rank Spirit Guard Armor invariably possessed exceptional willpower, often surpassing many Daoist priests of equivalent cultivation.
Spirit Guard Jia Chen was no zealot, so he could not claim a perfectly clear conscience. He only knew that he had not violated his core principles. However, his willpower was sufficient to endure the remaining pain. Years as a Spirit Guard had tempered his spirit into hardened steel. Such flames would not melt him into molten iron. Instead, they would only refine him by removing the impurities.
Countless illusory flames surged from within, attaching to Spirit Guard Jia Chen’s armor and wildly roaming its surface. Spirit Guard Jia Chen remained unfazed, blade in one hand and shield in the other, steadily advancing toward Renatus.
Renatus’s face was concealed by his helmet, hiding his expression that was presumably grave. The Paladin drew his greatsword from the ground and moved forward to meet Spirit Guard Jia Chen.
Paladins differed from Martial Arts Practitioners. Instead, they bore similarities to Qi Refiners, as they were capable of using spells while being proficient in close combat. Yet, they could not be entirely equated with Qi Refiners, who primarily relied on innate qi supplemented with elemental energy, mutually convertible between internal and external forces.
Paladins operated under two distinct systems, which were the traditional battle aura and the Holy Court’s faith power, neither dominating the other. Battle aura was an internal force, akin to innate qi and blood qi, originating within the body. Faith power closely resembled divine power. Strictly speaking, Paladins did not employ regular spells or arcane arts, but divine magic, primarily self-enhancements like halo spells and weapon blessings, with only a minor portion consisting of Judgment-type spells.
Typically, once Paladins left the Holy Court and lost access to faith power, they either turned to devils or became heretics or pagans, relying on themselves, much like the numerous cult demons in the East.
In the Western system, devils differed from demons, just as in the Daoist context, Ancient Immortals were not equivalent to demons, spirits, and monsters.