When a friend achieves something you could never reach in your entire lifetime, people generally react in one of two ways:
The first is indifference. You feel neither envy nor yearning; treating it as distant news that has nothing to do with you, you continue your peaceful life.
The second is excitement, jealousy, or burning desire. Whether the emotion is positive or negative, you no longer wish to continue your past peaceful life, but want to climb up—to climb closer to that friend!
Lois had previously been the first kind, but after she summoned her sorcery spirit, she gradually drifted toward the second. From a wealthy young lady who once only knew swimming "a little" and had never even slaughtered a Lalafell, to someone who now dared to battle Fishcleaver Dragons in the sea, one could see just how much Void Realm Exploration tempered a person.
Such was the charm of the Void Realm.
In reality, whether you were an aristocrat standing above all living beings or a displaced refugee at the bottom of society, once you entered the Void Realm, you were completely alone. No help, no equipment—the only thing you could rely on was yourself.
Noble scions who had been pampered since childhood and studied by the book might lose all heart after being killed by a Fishcleaver Dragon a few times, spending the rest of their days just waiting around to die, unwilling even to step into the Void Realm again. In contrast, lowborn sorcerers who had hustled for a living from an early age, honed their skills, and summoned new sorcery spirits as a natural result could flourish like fish in water in the Void Realm, sailing ten thousand li step by step to catch a glimpse of the heaven-reaching path toward truth and power...
Lois had prepared herself to suffer, but when she took the initiative to face the Void Realm's challenges, she found they were not so insurmountable after all. She, who had never fought before, had grown proficient at fleeing and fighting; she, who had always kept herself neat and elegant, could now roll across the dirt; she, who had once been afraid to walk the streets at night, was now capable of staying vigilant at all times.
Gradually, Lois began to understand why at social gatherings, even if someone held a noble title or had a thriving career, as long as they were a sorcerer, the prefix before their name was only ever one thing.
Now, Lois rarely attended parties or gatherings. But if she were to introduce herself to a stranger, rather than the chamber of commerce president's daughter or a Sword Flower University student, she was far more willing to introduce herself as: Lois, the water sorcerer.
Thus, when white fog shrouded the Sea of Knowledge once more, yet strange chains of golden light appeared in the water, Lois did not shrink back in fear. She dove directly into the sea to see what was happening.
Although diving deep into the Sea of Knowledge was a dead end, swimming beneath the surface for a few minutes posed no problem.
The Sea of Knowledge was originally pitch-black with zero visibility, yet Lois could now clearly see the golden chain rippling in the water, extending who knew where. Moreover, the chain was not far away; diving just a few meters down was enough to reach it.
Compared to fear, bewilderment, and worry, only one thought burned brightest in Lois's mind: What would happen if she touched the chain?
Acting on impulse, she dove deeper and grabbed the golden chain.
And indeed, she truly felt the tangible sensation of gripping something solid.
Gurgle, gurgle—right at that moment, Lois saw her Torrent sorcery spirit suddenly leap out. It took the initiative to cast a spell, churning the surrounding currents into a vortex that swept Lois inside. Lois was completely dumbfounded. Instinctively tightening her grip on the golden chain, she was carried along by the rushing water across countless sea regions!
Void Realm mechanic—Vortex?!
Lois was both shocked and delighted. This really was a Vortex! She could distinctly feel her silver sorcery power swelling rapidly. This was indeed the special mechanic that Silver Sorcerers yearned for most—a Vortex!
When Lois finally came to a halt, she discovered that her silver sorcery power had grown by three feathers—worth an entire month of arduous exploration! Although it wasn't a massive amount, it was free sorcery power; not everyone could attain full silver wings in a single month like Sonia!
Still, Lois was filled mostly with disbelief. If she hadn't seen wrong, that vortex was clearly created by her Torrent sorcery spirit. Yet she had never heard of a Torrent sorcery spirit having such an effect—if Torrent sorcery spirits could generate vortices, then water sorcery would have long become the most vital basic education for the people of the Starry Country.
Right then, Lois realized she had arrived somewhere else. Her feet rested on muddy ground covered by a shallow layer of clear seawater. The road stretched forward indefinitely; not even the white fog could obscure it, and she couldn't see its end at all!
Though it was her first time seeing it in person, Lois, who had scored full marks in her Overview of the Sea of Knowledge course, recognized it at a glance: "This is... the Great Road?!"
The Sea of Knowledge had many bizarre mechanics: Vortices, Sea Waterfalls, the Great Road, and Sky Bubbles. Aside from "Vortices," which benefited sorcerers, the other mechanics, though exceedingly rare, offered little help to sorcerers.
"Why did the Vortex bring me to the Great Road?" Lois wondered, filled with confusion.
Whoosh.
A sorcery spirit suddenly flew out of a pool of water on the ground. It resembled a shark, yet appeared quite docile. Soon, surrounding water wrapped around it, continuously nurturing and strengthening it until it turned into a three-meter-tall humanoid water monster!
Startled, Lois took a step back, only then noticing that she was still holding onto the golden chain! The golden chain suddenly tightened, coiling around her arm as a stream of information flooded her mind:
"Any water sorcerer may challenge the trials of the Great Road and receive the legacy of myself, the Lake Light Angel."
"So long as one possesses a water sorcery spirit, one may reach the Great Road via a Vortex; on the Great Road, only water sorcery spirits can take effect. Each sorcerer can trigger a Vortex through a water sorcery spirit only once; only by overcoming the trials may one earn more opportunities to trigger Vortices."
Only when the humanoid water monster was about to attack did Lois snap back to reality—the legacy of the Lake Light Angel?!
An angel legacy that surpassed Legendary Sorcerers and was second only to gods?!
***
The Time Continent.
"This is the end..."
Consumed with fury, Denzel directly ordered the Spider Tower Legion to drown the Altar of Investiture. Even though killing the trio would accomplish nothing, she had no reason not to destroy the three culprits who had sabotaged this Investiture War!
Annan spread her wings and said to the other two, "Let's find a way to fly out and locate the Flowing Gold River."
Under the protection of the "Six-Color Anchor," the Heroic Spirit Legion could never harm them, but if they were cornered and boxed in, Denzel could force them into the Domain of Stillness and turn them into a painting—for stopped time was the end of all things.
Their only path to survival was finding the Flowing Gold River, which even the Heroic Spirit Legion could not enter, allowing them to safely log out of the Void Realm and escape danger!
Unfortunately, Yaxiu was writing his diary far too slowly, and the Gospel volume was much longer than the Blood Moon volume. Even now, he had not yet written about the truth of the Seven-Colored Tail; otherwise, Annan's group could have attempted to find the Seven-Colored Tail and advance to Sanctuary.
Just then, the Altar of Investiture suddenly rumbled and rose up from the ground! The tremors knocked Annan and the other two flat onto the ground. They watched as they rose higher and higher, beholding a magnificent, colossal city rise from the earth, sprawling into the far distance!
This city was grander than any Main City among the Six Nations! The reverse golden rain acted like an energy source, pouring into every groove and crystal of the city until it was completely illuminated!
A moat made of the Flowing Gold River surrounded this giant metropolis!
"I smell... the stench of those scum from the Blood Moon and the Starry Country!"
As this rage-filled voice echoed, the minds of the trio went completely blank—the sorcery spirits in their souls curled into tight balls, and their consciousnesses nearly shattered under this primordial pressure!
Simultaneously, an arc of light expanded from the Altar of Investiture, obliterating all surrounding Heroic Spirit Legions in an instant! Countless armed troop forms vanished like smoke in the wake of that arc! Only high-ranking commanders like Denzel had managed to layer hundreds of shields over themselves in time, barely withstanding the arc of light and merely being blasted backward!
The six fortresses blockading the central region also shattered and disintegrated beneath that arc, reduced to ash and dust!
A gold-and-silver phantom materialized above the Altar of Investiture. It possessed five silver void wings, along with an obvious sixth false wing of gold attached to them. Its features were indistinct, and most peculiar of all, it hung like the Hanged Man—head pointing toward the earth and feet planted against the sky.
"Return, my companions, my comrades-in-arms, my followers, my people!"
Following its proclamation, countless figures gradually materialized in the desolate, empty metropolis beneath their feet. Without exception, they stood at attention and saluted, facing the inverted phantom as their cheers reverberated across the entire Time Continent:
"Time is endless!"
"Time is endless, yet our time has passed," the inverted phantom said. "To think my arrangement would be forcibly dragged out by the Void Realm... So be it."
It lightly clapped its hands, and its voice resounded across the entire Time Continent:
"I am Keluo, the King of Time, wielder of supreme authority over the Time Continent!
"The Void Realm legacy has opened; the Eternal City has reappeared. Any time sorcerer may cross the moat, enter the Eternal City, and undertake the Trial of Death!
"Those who wish to obtain my ultimate legacy, come before me..."
The inverted phantom suddenly noticed that three sorcerers were already standing on the Altar of Investiture right in front of it. Annan and Freya were huddled together, shivering, while Xifulin had turned into a tiny bat hiding in their embrace.
After a brief silence, it added:
"You must obtain at least ten ordinary legacies in the Eternal City before you can claim my ultimate legacy."
*You definitely just made that rule up on the spot, didn't you?!*—If Freya's teeth hadn't been chattering in terror, she almost would have blurted it out.
Chapter 639