A Dignified Sanctuary Sorcerer Like You

Thud, thud! The golden hall shook incessantly, sending glistening dust showering down in rustling flurries. Yaxiu looked at the virtual godhead before him. At a glance, it looked like a towering pile of toy building blocks about five meters tall, or perhaps a sacred idol waiting to be consecrated with organs. Currently, it was only forty percent filled. Yet it was still just forty percent. By conservative estimates, completing the virtual godhead would take at least another twenty-four hours, and that was assuming Yaxiu continuously burned down his soul capacity to sustain everyone else. Meanwhile, the sorcerers furiously battering the Spectre Inheritance outside were unlikely to give them that kind of time. "You must go out and intercept the intruders to buy time," the Dream Demon suddenly stated. Hearing this, none of the four were surprised in the least. They had known all along that they were cannon fodder; in its quest to birth a Nightmare God, the Nightmare Angel would naturally sacrifice cannon fodder first to improve the odds of success. "But we're only ordinary Sanctuary Sorcerers. At most, we could hold off one or two sorcerers of the same rank," Yaxiu pointed out. "Does that really accomplish anything?" "Naturally, I'm not asking you to rely on your own strength to intercept them," the Dream Demon answered. "My original body left behind a contingency plan long ago." Yaxiu exchanged glances with Weise and the others, hints of surprise surfacing in their eyes. The Nightmare Angel had even anticipated this? And had a foolproof plan ready? Could it be some miracle that dumped intruders straight into the recycle bin with a single click? "The original body's contingency plan is none other than the inheritances left by subsequent demigods," the Dream Demon explained. "While my original body couldn't foresee the future, his failure served as a prime cautionary tale. Any demigods who established their inheritances in the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams afterward would certainly plan ways to repel invaders. You merely need to utilize the Spectre Prophet's arrangements to effectively intercept them." This Dream Demon really showed no mercy when roasting its original body... Yet Yaxiu's heart grew colder still. Nothing was harder to swallow than acknowledging one's own defeat. For the Nightmare Angel to factor in even the fallout of his failure showed a chilling clarity and composure—hardly the marks of an eccentric recluse arranging an inheritance on his deathbed! "Once sorcerers breach past the ninetieth stage of the Spectre Inheritance, if the interior of the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams is invaded, the sorcerer closest to the grand inheritance can manipulate the trials to strike at the intruders," the Dream Demon said. "The Truth Sorcerer must remain behind to construct the virtual godhead. Two of you three must go out to intercept, while one stays behind to replenish the Truth Sorcerer's soul capacity." The moment the Dream Demon spoke, the candidates to intercept were unmistakably the Sword Princess and the Witch. Yaxiu exchanged looks with them, then opened Aurora's Sorcerer Handbook to review his operators' files: [Dead Frenzy Sword Princess] [Human Female · 18 years old] [Bond Level: 4 (75% Experience Sharing)] [Bond Resonance: Insatiable Greed — When traveling with you, there is a chance to obtain superior spoils.] [Bond Resonance: Unswerving Devotion — When traveling with you, the Sword Princess is more likely to obtain Experience Orbs.] [Classes: Spectre Swordsman / Frenzied Dancer / Dead Apostle] [Class Traits: ① Soul sword strikes deal +15% damage; ② Attacking the same target grants +2% attack speed, stacking up to 5 times; immediately resets upon switching targets; ③ 5% chance to deal true damage to the target's soul.] [Silver Blessing: Revelry / Cruelty — Each defeated enemy increases Critical Rate and Critical Damage. Triggers different traits depending on operator development route.] [Golden Blessing: Radiant Star / Moon Star — Each battle increases Insight, Willpower, and Charm. Triggers different traits depending on operator development route.] [Wings of the Void: Complete Rainbow Wings / Complete Golden Wings / Complete Silver Wings] [Controlled Sorcery Spirits: Four-Wing Heart Sword sorcery spirit, Four-Wing Flower Dwelling sorcery spirit, Three-Wing Wave Sword sorcery spirit, Three-Wing Boundless sorcery spirit...] [Black and White Witch] [Human Female · 19 years old] [Bond Level: 4 (75% Experience Sharing)] [Bond Resonance: Toying with Hearts — Even without relevant Mind sorcery spirits, you and the Witch possess supernatural abilities to influence hearts and minds.] [Bond Resonance: Promising the Future — Even without relevant Fate sorcery spirits, you and the Witch possess supernatural abilities to influence fate through promises.] [Classes: Spectre Warrior / Witch] [Class Traits: ① Soul punches deal +18% damage; ② 5% chance to inflict a special status on the target for 5 seconds (Fondness, Infatuation, Cherishing, Obsession).] [Silver Blessing: Witch's Taboo — Secrecy grants you strength; concealment is your weapon. The fewer people in reality who know your true inner self, the more powerful you become in the Void Realm. Currently, Black and White Witch's Concealment is at 80% (Little Known), granting an 80% bonus to Sorcery Power Recovery Speed. (The Watcher's observations do not count against this.)] [Golden Blessing: Witch's Rebellion — Rebellion grants you strength; desire is your weapon. The more you desire to rebel against those who love you, or even harbor wicked thoughts toward them, the more powerful you become in the Void Realm. Currently, Black and White Witch's Rebellion is at 96% (Corrupted Filial Piety), granting 96% extra Sorcery Power.] [Wings of the Void: Complete Rainbow Wings / Complete Golden Wings / Complete Silver Wings] [Controlled Sorcery Spirits: Four-Wing Sword Mark sorcery spirit, Four-Wing Snow Ruin sorcery spirit, Three-Wing Sharp Claw sorcery spirit, Three-Wing Mask sorcery spirit, Three-Wing Witness sorcery spirit...] Because Yaxiu no longer set training policies for them and simply fed them Stamina Potions, Career Potions, and Experience Potions to buff their stats, he hadn't checked their growth reports in a while. Only now did he notice that the Sword Princess's and Witch's classes had acquired Spectre Swordsman and Spectre Warrior—presumably an effect of their exploration through the Spectre Inheritance over these past days. After completing the class quests for "Dead Apostle" and "Witch" respectively, the Sword Princess had become a triple-classer and the Witch a dual-classer. Their secondary classes had undeniably given their combat strength a substantial boost. On top of that, their intensive trial-clearing had swiftly condensed their Wings of the Void to completion. Both of them were now undoubtedly full-fledged Three-Wing Sorcerers. Even so, Yaxiu remained uneasy. Spending two more source crystals, he used the Burning Soul Chart on them, instantly causing the Witch's soul volume to skyrocket to four hundred mortal souls, while the Sword Princess reached three hundred! "Dream Demon," Yaxiu suddenly asked, "those who go out to intercept will come back later, right?" "Of course they will," the Dream Demon replied. "You need to guard the virtual godhead until it is complete." Yaxiu felt relieved. As he turned around, a soft, warm figure suddenly tumbled into his embrace. Looking down, he saw the Witch's little head; she was so nervous that the color of her hair had grown somewhat muddied. Holding her close, he gently stroked her locks, then looked up at the Sword Princess standing quietly by his side. "See you soon." "See you soon." With that, Sonia and Diya vanished from the golden hall. Yaxiu resumed the spirit gathering with a solemn expression, as though genuinely dedicated to completing the virtual godhead. After a while, the Dream Demon signaled for them to stop. "Your efficiency is beginning to drop. It is time to renew your buff." It was worth mentioning that with this miracle—where the Dream Demon drained one person to empower everyone else—not only did the others feel reinvigorated with surging thoughts, but even Yaxiu, whose soul capacity was diminished, found his consciousness stimulated into crystal-clear sharpness. This was because the essence of refreshing oneself lay not in the soul capacity increasing, but in the process of change between increase and decrease. To draw a real-world comparison: both joy and rage could excite someone, just as comfort and agony could provide a jolt of stimulation. Yaxiu and the others' souls had grown numb and stiffened from the dull drudgery of spirit gathering, so change was used to stir their souls back to activity. Thus, having Yaxiu surge his soul capacity in one massive burst would have been useless. Monotonous assembly-line work didn't become any less tedious just because you woke up feeling full of energy; exhaustion would still set in all the same. Carving away at his soul alone to boost the entire group remained the most cost-effective approach. Ever since discovering the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams had been breached, the Dream Demon had demanded that their working efficiency remain at peak levels at all times. The moment it dipped in the slightest, the demon administered another refresh. It was a case of yesterday's peak KPI becoming today's minimum KPI, cutting the interval between refreshes down to once an hour. The familiar agony struck right on schedule. Yaxiu groaned and dropped to his knees, instinctively reaching forward to grasp onto something—only to remember a second later that the Sword Princess and the Witch were both out fighting. Yet his hand was caught by a pair of soft hands all the same. "They aren't here," Weise said softly. "Let me help shoulder your pain." "Thanks." Yaxiu didn't turn down her kindness. His muscles taut, he took a deep breath and managed a smile. "Speaking of which, this seems to be... our first time alone together, isn't it? Well, if we don't count the Dream Demon spectating, that is." "It is. Previously, at least one of the Sword Princess or the Witch was around. Now, it's just you and me." "How strange," Yaxiu murmured, his breaths shallow and fast. "You've been in the team for two whole months, yet I never found the chance to chat with you one-on-one..." "You have the chance now," Weise replied. "What do you want to talk about?" "Well, for instance..." Yaxiu forced his trembling shoulders still and asked in a lighthearted tone, "Do you have someone you like?" "I do," Weise answered calmly. She could tell that even in the midst of soul-tearing agony, Yaxiu let out a long breath of relief upon hearing her reply. A moment's thought was all it took for her to see through him, and she burst into a giggle. "Were you afraid that I might like you? No, wait—it's not me you're afraid of, it's her." "Though for a dignified Sanctuary Sorcerer like you to fear your lover to this extent..." "You say that as if we aren't all Sanctuary Sorcerers here!" Thoroughly embarrassed, Yaxiu quickly changed the subject. "Don't talk about me. Let's talk about you. How are things between you and the person you like?" "Nothing special," Weise said. "We aren't together." "Why?" Yaxiu asked, astonished enough to momentarily forget his pain. "A dignified Sanctuary Sorcerer like you couldn't even win over a lover?" "No real reason. What can't be just can't be." Weise shrugged. "Sometimes, that's just the way it goes." She looked down at the hands she held clasped with Yaxiu's and murmured softly, "With some people, you can never become lovers, yet you can't bear to let anyone else have them either."