Sword Flower University, Flower Hall.
Much like Forest Hall, Flower Hall was designed to satisfy students' desire to read amidst blooming flowers. Built across five floors, its exterior walls were constructed from refraction prisms. Whether radiant stars or moon stars hung in the sky, light filtered into Flower Hall from every direction—the fresh morning sun, the blazing midday glow, the warm afternoon rays, and the gentle moonlight of the evening.
There was not a single bookshelf in Flower Hall; everywhere one looked, there were only patches of flowers. The books lay beneath the floral soil. A student would locate their designated blossom by its index number and draw the book out, at which point the bloom transformed into a protective book cover. When the book was replaced, it turned back into a flower. Consequently, Flower Hall required no additional book-preserving miracles.
Unlike those lounging in the shade enjoying light leisure reading, Sonia sat poised and upright at a long desk. A dozen books were stacked before her: *Star Journey*, *Unscientific Sorcery Spirits*, *This Dream Is Too Real*, *Weird Sorcerer*... Abundant though they were, not a single one could be considered an actual reference text; nearly all of them were sorcerers' personal essays and travel notes.
Although the Starry Country did not censor intelligence regarding the Sanctuary realm and beyond, ordinary sorcerers still found it remarkably difficult to obtain pertinent information—largely because Sanctuary Sorcerers had never bothered to compile it.
For one thing, Sanctuary Sorcerers felt there was simply nothing worth disclosing. Sonia had lost count of how many travelogues contained sentiments like, "Once you reach the Distant Sky Realm, you will understand what kind of place it is." Even Professor Trozan, when discussing the third layer of the Void Realm with her, wore an expression that said, *What is there to talk about? You just brute-force your way through.*
After all, even the most mediocre Sanctuary Sorcerer was considered a genius in the eyes of mortals. To them, the mechanics of the Distant Sky Realm were so straightforward as to be unworthy of mention. While they certainly endured hardships there, sorcerers were meant to endure hardships. Who ever took up sorcery expecting an easy, lavish life?
If the Distant Sky Realm were an exam, the worst that happened was failing to find the answer. The questions themselves were obvious to anyone, so there was naturally no point in writing them down.
As for an answer guide, Sanctuary Sorcerers could not compile one even if they wanted to—because on the exam paper that was the Distant Sky Realm, the questions changed every single second.
For the past few days, Sonia had been engrossed in studying these essays and travelogues, distilling useful intelligence from their pages. She was preparing for future Void Realm Exploration, and also looking for a place to hide from the trending news.
Film offers from the Thousand Stars Chamber of Commerce, partnerships with various merchant associations, invitations from university leadership... In recent days, countless people had attempted to contact her both online and offline. This was not only because she was a Sanctuary Sorcerer, but also because she had shone brilliantly on the national stage of the Intercollegiate League. Combined with her striking appearance, her commercial value far surpassed that of an ordinary Sanctuary Sorcerer.
The only person who could rival her was Dimi, but how could an heir of the Vosloda family ever lack money?
Yet Sonia also knew that many of these inquiries were discreet probes intended to discover how she had advanced to the Sanctuary realm in such an impossibly short time.
In the past, the country girl would have found a way to exploit their resources without forfeiting a sliver of her own interests—she possessed none of the miraculous exploration secrets the outside world imagined, so she had nothing to lose anyway. But now, facing opportunities practically served to her on a silver platter—chances she once would never have dared dream of—Sonia turned them all down, holing up in the library with singular devotion to her reading.
It was not that she lacked nerve or felt unworthy of the acclaim; in truth, she was entirely confident in her ability to seize those opportunities.
On the morning after the Meteor Tribulation, a bottle of Advanced Career Potion had appeared on her desk. According to the Watcher's note, this potion would allow her to perpetually maintain top form in both career and daily life, even faintly garnering the favor of fate: averting disaster, adding brilliance to every endeavor, ensuring any album she sang on became a bestseller, and every movie or drama she appeared in became a smash hit.
Yet it was precisely because of this potion that Sonia resolutely rejected the olive branches extended by the outside world. Instead, she trained and read as she always had, thirstily absorbing knowledge and honing her craft.
Whether it truly fell under the purview of her career and daily life or was merely an illusion, Sonia felt her capacity for learning had sharpened even further. She could even vaguely discern traces of secret poisons embedded within those sorcerer travelogues.
"I used to believe power was everything."
Sonia raised her head to see the handsome, delicate-featured second young master of the Vosloda family sit down across from her.
"Now that I've grown up, I realize," Felix said with a smile, "it truly is."
"Congratulations, Miss Cervi. Have you thought about your title yet?"
"You used to address me simply as Sonia." She shook her head with a light laugh. "How could someone of my level possibly be conferred sainthood? Don't buy into the nonsense people write on the forums. At best, I'm just a Two Wings sorcerer who caught a fleeting glimpse of the scenery in the Sanctuary realm."
In the Starry Country, the conferment of sainthood did not merely denote that one was a Sanctuary Sorcerer; it represented royal grace. The royal family possessed an honorary miracle: once conferred a title by the crown, a sorcerer could gain blessings and enhancements from it. Professor Trozan's title of 'Hidden Hand Sword Saint', for instance, allowed her to unleash her Hidden Hand Secret Blade with scarcely a trace.
Following the Meteor Tribulation, the most popular thread on the Sword Flower University forum was about Sonia's prospective title. For a swordsmanship Sanctuary, the suffix was inevitably 'Sword Saint'. The front-running prefixes by vote were 'Mad Blood', 'Blood Moon', 'Red Comet', and 'Paw-Stretching'—as though the country girl were about to enter the royal palace and receive her title tomorrow.
Yet being conferred a saintly title was by no means easy. Only one or two quotas were granted each year, and if a Legendary Sorcerer emerged, the resources for titles over the following five years would all be diverted to bestow that Legendary title. Not even all the Sanctuary Sorcerers in Jialesi held titles. Sonia knew her own true capabilities; she would be lucky to obtain one within three years.
"Based on what I used to know of you, that comment should have been false modesty masking a humble brag. But looking at your face, it doesn't seem that way at all," Felix said. "Have you changed, or did power change how you look in my eyes?"
"Don't you find it fascinating? In just a few short days, your classmates look at you with awe, outsiders rush to fawn over you, all the malice directed at you has melted away, and every gesture of flattery has grown ever more attentive. It's as though the entire world has turned gentle toward you."
"To be honest, I'm quite surprised. I thought you would indulge in the splendors that power brings, savoring the fruits of your hard struggle and reclaiming all the gentleness the world owed you in the past. I never expected you to stay so grounded and slip straight back into your routine," Felix remarked. "Compared to your performance during the Meteor Tribulation, this composure of yours commands far more of my admiration."
Felix's words reminded Sonia of the recent affairs in her dormitory. She replied crossly, "Get to the point. You didn't wait five days to congratulate me just to dissect interpersonal dynamics, did you?"
Felix smiled, glanced at the nearby flowers, and suddenly asked, "In your eyes, was I extraordinarily foolish and ridiculous that day?"
"Hmm?"
"You were already a Sanctuary Sorcerer, yet I tried to entice you with a 'shortcut to the Sanctuary realm.'" The corners of Felix's lips curled up in a self-deprecating grimace. "I wanted to come see you long before now, but every time I thought of that scene, I cringed so hard I curled up into a ball."
"If I claimed I wasn't laughing on the inside, I'd be lying," the president of the Paw-Stretching Club chuckled. "Actually, it wasn't that ridiculous... Well, it was certainly memorable. After all, you are a noble young master of the Vosloda family. That was probably my only chance to make your jaw drop."
"It went far beyond surprise; mostly, it was longing and admiration," Felix said. "Sonia, you made it. Now, no noble in the entire Starry Country has the right to look down on you. Your humble origins are no longer a blemish—they are an embellishment that makes you shine all the brighter."
"Thank you," Sonia replied. "Though I suspect you didn't come all this way just to shower me with praise."
"It wasn't my sole reason, but I've held those words in for a long time, so I seized the opportunity to say them. Even I didn't expect a peer of mine could be so outstanding that I couldn't hold back my compliments," Felix said. "Back to business. While it is true that you are unlikely to receive a saintly title anytime soon, being ennobled is virtually guaranteed. So..."
"Would you prefer to become a Court Noble, or a Guard Noble?"
Chapter 539