Chapter 28: Truly Long-Lasting, Impressive, Isn't It?

Lin Zhao’s journey of learning continued.

While the inheritance of wizard knowledge was convenient, the mental burden it placed on him was significant. At first, his brain would happily accept these new pieces of information, but after a while, he would feel a sense of swelling in his head. A little later, the sensation was akin to being force-fed after a full meal, triggering a feeling of nausea and the urge to vomit.

"Ah, I need a break," Lin Zhao insisted until he could no longer hold on. He set down the orb of light in his hand and slumped onto the floor, struggling to steady the persistent, overwhelming dizziness in his mind. "My brain is stuffed; I need to digest this. Right now, these pieces of knowledge are just sliding smoothly across my cerebral cortex without any intention of sinking in."

"Your cerebral cortex has worked hard," Ji Yaoguang said, his heart aching as he crouched beside him and helped the little bird onto the lounge chair. "You should have said something sooner when you couldn't take it anymore."

"I just wanted to test my limits," Lin Zhao said, sprawled out on the chair. After a long moment of recovery, he asked, somewhat sluggishly, "Do you know what the cerebral cortex is?"

Ji Yaoguang looked puzzled. "Aren't you referring to the folds on the outer layer of the brain? According to the anatomical and spiritual research conducted by the Great Mountain Tea over the years, that is where the soul resides and where spirituality takes hold."

Lin Zhao choked for a moment. "Uh, your medical science is truly advanced."

After a pause, he added with a hint of emotion, "I previously thought you were just like the wizard tribes in the Vast Sea—very natural and quite impoverished."

Yet, in these inherited memories, the wizard tribes’ mastery over their own bodies and their utilization and storage of energy had reached an extreme level. They didn't have much trouble with food or clothing; what they severely lacked was safety.

"In the Ghost Wood Forest in the north of the Wizard Kingdom, there once appeared a type of brain-eating worm. They would quietly parasitize human brains, consuming the marrow and replacing the original person. During that period, almost every warrior fighting in the north had to have their skulls opened by wizard doctors to probe their brains and check if they had been consumed by these worms," Ji Yaoguang said, sitting beside him. He ran his fingertips over the green vines of the lounge chair, causing several clusters of mint-scented tender leaves to sprout, which greatly alleviated Lin Zhao's discomfort. "During that time, the wizard doctor school of the Great Mountain Tea leaped forward, developing many new wizard arts targeting the mind, soul, and brain. Even the key to opening the secret repositories of human wizards was unlocked, causing the number of human wizards to skyrocket sixfold in just over a dozen years."

"Knowledge is indeed power!" Lin Zhao was instantly intrigued upon hearing of such impressive development.

Ji Yaoguang smiled and recounted the stories of the past. "Later, due to the large number of human wizards, the numbers of Heaven Wizards and Earth Wizards also saw a significant increase. The power of the Wizard Kingdom grew immensely, shifting from defense and survival to outward expansion and resource acquisition. That is how the various major kingdoms we have today came to be."

Lin Zhao felt that lying with his head flat was uncomfortable, so he simply used one of Ji Yaoguang's legs as a pillow. "That was truly a blessing in disguise. Why not go a step further and find the mysteries of the Heaven and Earth Wizards as well?"

Ji Yaoguang shook his head. "The secret repositories of the Heaven and Earth Wizards lie within the soul and the 'true self.' The wizard doctors of the Great Mountain Tea discovered that once a soul is completely detached from the body, it undergoes a qualitative change—much like how once meat is cooked, it can never be restored. Death is final; there is no chance to open those repositories. At the time, they were frantically trying to find the secret, going further and further, until some, even without the light of the Purple Sun, saw their souls begin to rot..."

"Did they stop?" Lin Zhao asked, listening with fascination.

"No, they became even more frantic, trying to find the source of the rot in order to find a clue to solving the catastrophe," Ji Yaoguang said, shaking his head helplessly. "Until, eventually, they wanted to sacrifice a million-person city in the north of the Wizard Kingdom to replicate the scene of the original catastrophe's birth."

Lin Zhao’s eyes widened. "And then? What happened next?"

"This act angered the Wizard God," Ji Yaoguang said in a low voice. "The Father God descended with power, sealing and suppressing all the wizards who presided over the event, and issued a warrant for those who participated. However, a small portion of the wizards had sensed the danger beforehand and fled to the lands beyond the borders, slipping under the light of the Purple Sun to evade the pursuit. Later, they plotted several more sacrifices in various kingdoms. They called the things that spread the natural disaster 'The Source,' claiming that everything was a gift from 'The Source.' Every time they offered living souls to 'The Source,' they would receive power in return. The more 'spirits' they sacrificed, the more powerful they became."

Lin Zhao suddenly realized, "The Bo Ren we encountered last time—that was one of these, wasn't it?"

Ji Yaoguang nodded slightly. "Some of these people live beyond the borders, while others lurk among the population; they are called 'Source Ghosts.' Over the years, the Wizard Kingdom has spent great effort trying to eradicate these Source Ghosts, but not only have they not decreased, they have grown even stronger. A few years ago, they nearly..."

He stopped abruptly.

Lin Zhao was about to ask what happened when he felt a warm palm stroke his slightly spiky short hair.

A faint, corrosive power emanated from that palm—not much, but enough to count as a small treat. As the hand moved away, Lin Zhao even leaned into it, absorbing the last lingering trace.

"Apologies, just thinking about it makes it hard for me to control the seal," Ji Yaoguang said softly.

"What are you apologizing for? Brother Yaoguang, keep thinking, think more," Lin Zhao said, enthusiastically shaking his hand up and down. "With me here, you don't need to suppress your inner self. I can take it."

Ji Yaoguang was momentarily speechless, the heaviness in his heart scattered by the shaking. He couldn't help but smile. "There is nothing left, truly. Recalling it now doesn't seem so painful anymore; in fact, I feel a bit fortunate. If not for them, I wouldn't have met you. Isn't this also a blessing in disguise?"

Lin Zhao felt disappointed and let go of his hand. "Then remember to think about it when you have time, and try to give back as much of your 'blessing' as possible."

Ji Yaoguang chuckled. "As you command, my blessing."

Lin Zhao sat up and stretched his chest a few times. "Alright, I'm rested. Let's continue learning!"

As an honor student who had fought his way through mountains of assignments and seas of tests, he still possessed great self-discipline.

Ji Yaoguang agreed and was about to summon an inheritance orb when he suddenly grabbed Ah Zhao's hand. With a fluctuation of wizard power, he turned invisible again and, before Ah Zhao could speak, covered his mouth.

Almost simultaneously, the doors to the Inheritance Hall were opened once more. A youth in white stood at the entrance, surveying the vast galaxy in the darkness, and let out a soft exclamation: "Strange. The Academic Officer is gone. Has someone been in the Inheritance Hall?"

He casually picked up an inheritance orb, its smooth surface reflecting the youth’s delicate and handsome features. After a soft sneer, he gave it a light squeeze.

The white-pearl-like inheritance orb shattered instantly, turning into countless specks of spiritual light that drifted into the galaxy. A humanoid phantom appeared in the starlight—a warrior clad in armor, covered in wounds and pale as paper. Her eyes turned toward the youth, and she smiled sincerely. "Child, I am glad you have become my final student. Remember to protect yourself well."

Then, the phantom and the spiritual light slowly faded, dying like a star.

Lin Zhao’s blood boiled; he wanted to rush out and tear that scoundrel apart.

But Ji Yaoguang held him down with invisible force, not even letting him blink an extra time.

"Child," Bo Ren said with a smile, "come out. If you don't, I will destroy all the inheritances here."

As he spoke, purple light emerged from his fingertips, and smoke gathered like ominous fog, shrouding the entire galaxy.

But there was no response.

"Could it be that no one came in to steal the knowledge?" Bo Ren lowered his hand, and the cloud of light at his fingertips dissipated in an instant. "Never mind."

His time to control the spell was limited; if he stayed too long, the guards outside would notice something wrong. It was better not to delay his grand plan for a small matter.

Besides...

He tossed a purple-black feather in his hand and, with a wave, wrapped it in a layer of white light, making it look indistinguishable from the surrounding orbs. Then, he cast it into the galaxy, where it became impossible to tell apart.

He admired his handiwork, nodded with satisfaction, exited the hall, and gently pulled the doors shut.

Lin Zhao was about to move, but discovered that Ji Yaoguang was still holding him tightly, keeping him immobile.

After a moment, Bo Ren's figure appeared beside the location of one of the light orbs. He surveyed the surroundings and shook his head. "I suppose the Academic Officer forgot to extinguish the order. It seems I was just being too sensitive."

With that, his body turned into a phantom, passed through the darkness, and vanished.

Only then did Ji Yaoguang release Lin Zhao.

"It makes me so angry! Why didn't you catch him just now?" Lin Zhao asked indignantly. "He couldn't even detect a deadweight like me, so he definitely couldn't beat you, right?"

"Killing him serves no purpose," Ji Yaoguang said with a slight shake of his head. "If one Source Ghost has appeared, there must already be a group of them. We cannot alert the enemy."

"What kind of evil is he trying to do?" Lin Zhao frowned.

"What Source Ghosts do is sacrifice, or prepare for sacrifice. There is nothing to speculate about," Ji Yaoguang said, searching through the orbs one by one. He touched them one after another, his brow furrowing deeper. "What is going on? I remember it being this green inheritance orb, and the location was right here."

"It's not white; it's this one." Lin Zhao picked up a pitch-black orb that was nearly invisible unless looked at closely. "There is no inheritance memory inside, just a feather."

As he spoke, he channeled light through his palm. Through the black orb, inside the translucent sphere, was exactly that purple-black feather.

"Be careful, there is strong corrosion on that," Ji Yaoguang said, startled, reaching out to snatch it away. His cultivation was far higher than the little bird's, and he knew very well how terrifying the thing inside was.

However, Lin Zhao said confidently, "This is exactly what I want!"

With that, he easily crushed the black orb, and the feather landed in his palm.

In that instant, his eyes widened, and he gasped.

Black veins traced up from his palm, climbing his arm against the blood vessels like a spiderweb. The purple-black feather instantly emitted a dazzling purple light and erupted into a raging flame.

"Hot, hot, hot!!!" Lin Zhao shook his hand violently. Ji Yaoguang immediately grabbed the black feather, trying to pull it from Ah Zhao's palm, but the fire reacted as if it had touched gasoline, spreading up Ji Yaoguang's hand.

His skin, which was usually impenetrable to blades and immune to fire, was immediately burned through, flesh parting to reveal gleaming white bone. The bones were marked with fine wood-grain patterns, long and slender... yet he still gripped the feather tightly, trying to pull it out...

No, the fire was different!

Don't take it away!

Stop!

In that moment, Lin Zhao felt a fire ignite in his heart—anxiety, rage, and frenzy. He couldn't help but let out a piercing screech: "Come back!!!"

The scream was not human; it was the grating friction of metal, the long and manic intensity of lightning, and the indiscriminate, explosive force of destruction.