Chapter 131: The Reason for the Visit of the Holy Dharma Master.

Danlov had not visited the Faerie Forest or the Elven Kingdom in nearly a thousand years.

Riding atop a unicorn through the vast, lush forest filled him with peace. As he gazed at the divine tree rising into the clouds in the distance, countless emotions welled within him.

He still remembered the first time he had seen the divine tree as a child. He had been utterly stunned.

How could such an enormous tree exist in this world? It resembled a pillar supporting the heavens, piercing the clouds and reaching straight into the divine realm. Humans standing before it seemed frighteningly insignificant.

The Faerie Forest contained countless gigantic trees three or four hundred meters tall, yet beside the divine tree, they were little more than blades of grass.

The unicorn flew high and fast, skimming the clouds. The scenery below shifted from forest to lakes, plains, hills, fields... until at last they arrived at Elven City.

The sun was setting, painting the horizon with a magnificent, multicolored glow. Bathed in golden light, the dreamlike Elven City appeared both majestic and resplendent.

This ancient city remained as splendid as ever. Time seemed incapable of leaving the slightest mark upon it.

Danlov’s arrival drew the attention of the Elven guards at the city gates.

The unicorn carried him down to the grass outside the gates, folded its wings, and flicked its tail, urging the human on its back to hurry up and dismount.

Danlov leaped down with practiced ease and thanked it with a smile.

Unicorns were proud by nature and ordinarily allowed only Elves and Fairies to ride them. Had Daigmon not summoned it today, it would never have carried an outsider from the human race.

This human might be a Saint Mage who had once grown up in the Elven Kingdom, but the moment he left for the Human World, he ceased to belong here.

The unicorn tossed its flowing tail, spread its wings, and flew away.

Daigmon still had patrol duties to perform. After handing matters over to the guards, he mounted another unicorn and departed.

The guards invited the human Saint Mage through the gates and escorted him toward the Crystal City, where the Elven King resided.

The Elves they passed watched Danlov from a distance. Even though they knew he was the Elven King’s eldest disciple, none approached him with familiar greetings.

Had Danlov remained in the Elven Kingdom, he would have earned the Elves’ acceptance. But he had chosen the Human World, making him an outsider in every sense of the word. He was fortunate the Elves had not expelled him outright.

Danlov had lived in the Elven Kingdom for several centuries and understood their nature very well.

Toward outsiders, they were proud, cold, and distant. Among their own people, they were warm, friendly, and affectionate.

He had experienced this deeply as a child. As a human living in a realm that resembled a paradise, he had spent a long time struggling to adapt.

Only after devoting all his attention to his studies and ignoring the differences between himself and the Elves had he gradually grown accustomed to life in the Elven Kingdom.

As he walked through the palace, steeped in artistry, he found himself captivated by every structure within sight.

Towering walls, magnificent columns, intricate and exquisite reliefs, a dazzling glass dome, and impeccable furnishings—all of them displayed the Elves’ refined sense of beauty.

He passed through the palace’s soaring doors and entered a magnificent hall of almost overwhelming splendor. There, he immediately saw the blond-haired, green-eyed Elven King.

Unable to conceal his excitement, Danlov quickened his pace. He stopped before the Elven King and bowed respectfully.

“Noble King, please forgive my presumptuous visit.”

He crossed both hands over his chest and bowed deeply, offering the Elven King the highest form of respect.

The Elven King smiled. “Danlov, you are my student. You may call me Teacher, just as you did before.”

Danlov readily complied. “Yes, Teacher.”

The Elven King invited him to take a seat, then asked directly, “You came all this way to visit me. Is there something important you wish to discuss?”

Danlov gazed at the Elven King seated upon the throne and released a heavy sigh. “Teacher, I may have only a few years left to live.”

As a human, he had already lived for more than three thousand years, an extraordinarily long life.

Yet every mage possessed a heart that yearned for immortality.

More than two thousand years ago, he had become a Saint Mage. More than two thousand years later, he remained trapped at the same rank. He was only one step away from becoming a Mage Sovereign, yet no matter what he tried, he could not cross that final threshold.

Throughout all of history, only a handful of humans had ever ascended to godhood.

The last human Mage Sovereign had died ten thousand years ago in the War of the Gods.

Since then, the Human World had never produced another.

Danlov had once firmly believed that he would become humanity’s next Mage Sovereign.

Fairies and Elves were born with exceptional gifts and possessed endless lives. They could break through bottlenecks with ease, and many had become Mage Sovereigns within a thousand years.

Having grown up in the Elven Kingdom, Danlov had inevitably been influenced by them. Combined with his considerable natural talent, he had become a Senior Mage while still in his twenties and had been filled with confidence about his future.

After remaining a Saint Mage for more than two thousand years, however, he had returned to the Elven Kingdom in frustration and asked the Elven King how he could overcome the restrictions of his rank.

The Elven King had been unable to offer him much advice. He had merely told Danlov to ease his mind and allow matters to follow their natural course.

Unable to find an effective solution, Danlov gradually lost heart and accepted the reality that he might never ascend to godhood.

Another thousand years passed. Now, sensing that his life was nearing its end while the task entrusted to him by the Elven King remained unfinished, he had no choice but to return to the Elven Kingdom and see his teacher one last time before he died.

The Elven King’s profound green eyes regarded his eldest disciple, once so spirited and confident but now utterly disheartened.

“Danlov,” he said gently, “do not place so much pressure on yourself. If you have no pressing business at present, why not remain in the Elven Kingdom and rest for a few days?”

Danlov stared at him in surprise.

He had expected the Elven King to offer a few words of comfort after hearing that he was about to die. Never had he imagined that his teacher would simply invite him to stay and rest.

Although he did not understand the Elven King’s intentions, Danlov had always treated his teacher’s words as priceless guidance.

“Yes, Teacher.” Danlov rose and bowed to the Elven King upon the throne.

The Elven King raised one hand, indicating that such formality was unnecessary. “Your room has always been kept for you. You may clean it yourself later.”

Emotion surged through Danlov’s heart. “Thank you, Teacher.”

“The Elven Kingdom is your home,” the Elven King said. “Whenever you grow weary, you may always come home to rest.”

Tears filled Danlov’s eyes.

If he could, he too wished to remain forever in this paradise. But he was human, and he bore the heavy responsibility of restoring the Magic Tower to greatness.

Before Danlov had completed his apprenticeship, the Elven King had offered him two choices: remain or leave.

He had chosen to leave.

The Elven King had given him everything, including his life and his magic. Danlov wanted to do something for him in return and repay that kindness to the fullest extent of his abilities.

After the War of the Gods, the white mages had suffered catastrophic losses, and the Central Court’s standing had plummeted. Humans would rather become swordsmen than study magic.

The number of white mages had dwindled sharply.

The number of dark mages, by contrast, had multiplied. They even began hunting white mages wherever they found them. For a time, dark mages occupied the Central Court. Only the white mages’ desperate defense of the Magic Tower prevented their scheme from succeeding.

Upon completing his studies and learning of the white mages’ plight beyond the Elven Kingdom, Danlov had resolutely decided to leave for the Human World and restore the Central Court’s exalted position on the continent.

The white mages could not be allowed to wither away.

Having grown up in the Elven Kingdom, Danlov understood better than most how difficult the Elven King’s burden was.

Although the Dark God had been sealed during the War of the Gods ten thousand years ago, the gods had also suffered devastating losses.

The path to the divine realm had been severed. The Elven King and his people remained behind in the mortal realm to guard against the resurgence of the forces of darkness.

Danlov had never believed that eliminating those forces was the Elven King’s responsibility alone.

If the Dark God reappeared, no race on the continent would remain untouched. Everyone would have to unite once more and resist the corruption of dark power together.

Humanity could not become a burden.

Danlov had a duty and an obligation to strengthen the human race.

Mages could play an extraordinarily important role in battle.

After arriving at the Central Court, Danlov used the formidable strength of a Saint Mage to seize its leadership. He purged the Magic Tower, reorganized the Magic Association, secured supreme authority, and founded Saint Velia Academy of Magic to discover talented individuals and train more mages.

Under his leadership, the Central Court had once again risen to the pinnacle of the continent, standing shoulder to shoulder with the four great empires.

Now the Central Court was flourishing, yet Danlov’s life was approaching its end.

When Danlov had bid farewell to the Elven King more than two thousand years ago, the Elven King had instructed him, “If you are going to do something, do it to the best of your ability.”

Danlov had followed his teacher’s guidance rigorously, striving for perfection in everything he did.

Now that his strength was failing, he felt he had not completed the task his teacher had entrusted to him. The guilt weighed heavily on his heart.

“Teacher, aside from my own situation, there is something else I need to report.” Danlov frowned. “Two weeks ago, a terrifying magical beast appeared in Woba Grand Canyon. More than a hundred adventuring parties and mercenary groups have disappeared. I sent eight mages to investigate. They suffered devastating losses, and only one Senior Grand Mage returned alive.”

The Elven King asked, “Are you certain it was a magical beast?”

Danlov’s expression turned grave. “I do not believe it was. Although the Grand Mage returned alive, his body was severely injured. His left arm had been severed, and the blood flowing from the wound was black and foul-smelling. No potion or healing magic could close it. He is surviving only because of the moonlight grass I once gathered from the Faerie Forest.”

Moonlight grass was a gift bestowed upon the Faerie Forest by the Moon Goddess Metel Lena. It grew beneath the full moon, and the fine down covering its blades was the finest medicine for wounds. The merest touch could mend an injury.

Danlov had very little moonlight grass left. Its medicinal effects had also greatly diminished with age, so the Grand Mage’s survival had been nothing short of fortunate.

The Elven King lowered his eyes and lightly tapped one finger against the armrest of his throne.

“It was a hellspawn,” he said thoughtfully.

“A hellspawn!” Danlov exclaimed in shock. “Could it be... that the gates of Hell have opened?”

Hellspawn were creatures born in Hell. Once the gates of Hell opened, they would surge forth in a frenzy, wreaking havoc and bringing disaster upon the mortal realm.

The Elven King shook his head slightly. “The gods’ seal is not so easily broken. A narrow crack has probably formed, allowing a low-ranking hellspawn to slip through.”

The higher a hellspawn’s rank, the more powerfully it was bound by the seal. Low-ranking hellspawn, however, could suppress the threat they posed to the seal’s threshold, deceive it, and escape from Hell.

Danlov’s heart trembled.

Mages below the rank of Grand Mage could not even withstand an attack from a low-ranking hellspawn. He could hardly imagine the terrifying power possessed by high-ranking hellspawn and demon generals.

“Teacher, I have not done enough.” Danlov sighed regretfully.

The white mages were far too few in both number and quality. They were utterly incapable of contending with the forces of darkness.

If only I had a little more time.

“Danlov.” The Elven King rose from [N O V E L I G H T] his throne and walked gracefully toward him. Extending one finger, he gently touched the center of Danlov’s brow. “You are a disciple of whom I am very proud. You should not belittle yourself.”

“Teacher...” Despite his advanced age, Danlov could not keep his tears from falling like a child after receiving the Elven King’s praise.

Ilio entered the hall and saw the human, over six feet tall, standing before the king with his shoulders trembling as he wept. A peculiar expression flashed across Ilio’s handsome face.

“Ahem, ahem.”

He deliberately made his presence known.

The tears instantly vanished from Danlov’s eyes. With an inconspicuous movement of his fingers, he wiped away every trace from his face. Apart from a slight redness around his eyes, there was no sign that he had just been crying.

Seeing the black-haired, blue-eyed Elf, he produced a flawless smile. “Ilio, we have not met in three hundred years. You seem to have grown even stronger.”

As expected of the master of the Magic Tower, his ability to change expressions was first-rate.

Ilio did not expose him. Smiling, he stepped forward and embraced him briefly. “Yes. I am a Mage Sovereign now.”

A crack appeared in Danlov’s flawless smile. “Congratulations. Congratulations!”

As expected of the most gifted Elf in the entire Elven race. He had become a Mage Sovereign at only five hundred years old. It was enough to make anyone burn with envy!

More than three hundred years ago, Ilio had traveled across the continent and made a special visit to Danlov at the Magic Tower.

When Danlov learned that Ilio was the Elven King’s third disciple, he had been overwhelmed with emotion.

A two-hundred-year-old Saint Mage was simply inconceivable.

Looking at Ilio now that he had become a Mage Sovereign, Danlov had to admit that the Elves truly were Children of Light blessed by the gods.

“What brings you to the Elven Kingdom?” Ilio asked curiously.

“I encountered a minor problem and came to ask Teacher for guidance,” Danlov replied casually. “I also intend to remain here for a few days to rest and cleanse my spirit.”

He spoke as though it were nothing, but Ilio naturally did not believe him.

The Magic Tower was perpetually busy, and as its master, Danlov had countless affairs to manage every day. How could he possibly have the leisure to recuperate in the Elven Kingdom?

He must have encountered a serious problem and come here seeking the king’s help.

“Resting here is a wonderful idea. Stay a few more days—preferably until the beginning of next month.” Ilio gave him a mischievous wink.

Danlov had spent enough time with Ilio to know how much he enjoyed teasing people. He answered cautiously, “Next month marks Saint Velia Academy of Magic’s centennial celebration. I have been invited to attend the ceremony, so I am afraid I must return at the beginning of the month.”

“What a pity...” Ilio stroked his smooth chin. “It seems you are destined to miss adorable little Sperien.”

“Little Sperien?” Ilio had successfully piqued Danlov’s curiosity.

Ilio bowed to the Elven King and said with a smile, “He is the king’s youngest disciple.”

Shu Li and his three companions left the Fairy teachers’ residential area, flying about as they looked around.

There was still some time before dinner, so they decided to find a secluded place and divide the items they had picked up from the adventurers.

They would have preferred to divide their “loot” at home, but human belongings were too large to fit inside a Little Fairy’s house.

The divine tree possessed countless branches. Although Fairies lived almost everywhere upon it, there were always a few unoccupied limbs.

The four adolescent Fairies easily found an empty branch. Concealed behind enormous leaves, they slipped into their “secret base.”

Clatter, clatter...

A heap of items appeared in the open space.

“Wow, we made quite a haul this time!” Budno clapped excitedly.

That adventuring party had been wealthy. Their gold coins alone formed a small hill, not to mention the various crystal ores, magic items, potions, herbs, weapons, armor, and mage robes.

“Choose whatever you need first. We’ll divide everything left afterward,” Shu Li said.

“Okay!”

The Little Fairies selected their items in an orderly fashion. Whenever two of them wanted the same thing, they settled the matter with rock-paper-scissors, and the winner took it. The atmosphere remained perfectly harmonious.

Shu Li had no interest in weapons or armor. He chose a few pieces of crystal ore and some herbs.

Before long, almost everything had been claimed. All that remained were four crystal cards no one wanted.

“What are these?” Angel picked up a yellow crystal card and discovered an intricate magic array engraved upon it.

Shu Li turned one of the cards over and examined it from every angle. After a long while, he said, “They’re probably some sort of proof of membership.”

“Proof of membership?” Disio asked in surprise. “Did those adventurers come from distinguished families?”

“I don’t mean their background. It’s more like...” Shu Li frowned, searching for the right term.

“Like what?” Budno scratched his head impatiently.

“Membership cards! These must be... VIP cards issued to the members of some organization!” Shu Li finally found the appropriate words.

The cards bore identical emblems and magic arrays, but different serial numbers. Their material and dimensions were also uniform, suggesting they had been mass-produced. Shu Li could not help being reminded of the VIP cards issued by high-end entertainment establishments.

What sort of entertainment venues would appeal to an adventuring party?

Casinos, taverns... or perhaps auction houses?

Shu Li studied the magic array on the crystal card and decided that an auction house was the likeliest possibility—specifically, an illegal underground auction house.

He shared his theory with his companions, who parted their lips in astonishment.

“They really weren’t good people!” Disio said furiously.

Underground auction houses sold anything, including merfolk, dragons, and Little Fairies.

Ten years ago, they had nearly been abducted by pirates and necromancers. Fortunately, the Elves and adult Fairies had done everything in their power to protect them, preventing a tragedy. Along the way, they had also rescued two merfolk children and a young dragon.

Budno threw down the crystal card and stomped on it. “These things are no good! Hurry up and destroy them!”

Angel asked Shu Li, “Why don’t we... trade them to Niledi for something?”

Destroying them outright would be such a waste when they could still make use of them.

As expected of the quietly scheming one—Angel’s calculating mind was already working furiously.

Shu Li looked at him with admiration. “Niledi is a magical beast. It probably has no use for crystal cards.”

The three-headed water monster was a classic homebody. If the Little Fairies did not disturb it so often, it could lie at the bottom of the lake and sleep for eight or ten years at a time.

Angel released a regretful sigh.

When Budno discovered that he could not crush the crystal card beneath his feet, he finally stopped. “Burn them! Disio, you do it.”

Disio promptly took out his magic staff and prepared to chant an incantation.

“Wait—”

Shu Li hurriedly stopped him. “Let’s keep them for now. They might prove useful someday.”

“Who would use them?” Disio asked disdainfully.

Angel’s amber eyes shifted slightly. He snapped his fingers. “Sperien is right. We should keep them. Once we reach adulthood and travel across the continent, we can use the cards to visit the underground auction house.”

“Why would we want to visit an underground auction house?” Budno did not understand. Just to hand money over to bad people?

“I heard Ilio say that underground auction houses impose fewer restrictions,” Shu Li explained. “Some rare items can fetch much higher prices there, so sellers who want to make a fortune often choose to work with them.”

Angel added, “And if we see any merfolk or dragons, we can rescue them.”

Disio and Budno exchanged glances. They were convinced.

Each of the four Little Fairies took one crystal card and placed it inside his storage ring.

Once they had finished dividing the loot, night had fallen. They hurried to the school dining hall for dinner.

After eating, Shu Li returned to his little house and washed himself thoroughly. Once he was clean, he sat at his desk, took out his books and notebook, and began studying.

Over the past fifteen years, he had learned ten languages.

He had never imagined that someone as hopeless at foreign languages as he had once been would someday become a linguistic genius.

He would never even have dared to dream of it before.

After mastering Elven, the most difficult language, he found the languages of other races extremely simple. Once he understood their patterns and techniques, they posed little difficulty.

Languages were no longer a central part of the Little Fairies’ studies. They had begun learning skills such as brewing potions, creating magic scrolls, smithing, and forging.

Shu Li often gathered herbs for Erfit, the Dark Elf, and could identify more than a thousand varieties. As a result, studying potion-making came naturally to him.

Erfit was a renowned genius among the Dark Elves when it came to brewing potions. Shu Li occasionally asked him for guidance, and after learning from him over time, his potion-making skills advanced by leaps and bounds.

After studying for two hours, Shu Li drank a cup of warm water he had boiled himself, then began writing in his diary.

He had already filled five magical notebooks.

He recorded the details of his life in the other world every day. Over the course of fifteen years, he had unknowingly written a great deal.

Sometimes he wondered how shocked his family would be if he ever returned home and produced a towering stack of diaries. If they wanted to read them, they would even need magnifying glasses!

Shu Li chuckled to himself, raised his quill, and began writing swiftly.

After finishing his diary entry, he sat cross-legged on his bed and meditated for a while before lying down to sleep.

The next morning, all four adolescent Fairies rose before the sun.

“Ahh... I’m so tired...” Budno yawned repeatedly, his head swimming. He wanted nothing more than to find a bed, lie down, and go back to sleep.

But he could not. They had agreed to get up early and visit the Elven Kingdom today.

Disio was sleepy as well.

Afraid he would oversleep, he had tossed and turned throughout the night, unable to sink into a deep slumber. He had only just drifted off when Angel came knocking at his door.

Shu Li had always slept well, so he was not particularly tired. He took out the meal boxes he had prepared in advance and handed them to his companions for breakfast.

“Want some?”

Budno accepted a meal box and was about to open the lid when he abruptly stopped.

“Um... the coffin...”

At his reminder, Disio and Angel both turned to look at Shu Li.

Their stares left Shu Li speechless. He raised his right hand, displaying the storage ring on his finger. “It’s the Arcane Tower Ring. As the name suggests, the space inside is shaped like a tower with multiple levels. I store different categories of items on separate floors. The coffin is on the lowest floor, so it never comes into contact with the food on the highest floor.”

After hearing his explanation, the other three Little Fairies apologized sheepishly.

“Sorry... Heh heh...”

Shu Li himself felt uncomfortable about it, but what else could he do?

His three companions’ storage rings did not have clearly separated levels like his, so he had no choice but to keep the coffin himself.

After eating dinner in the school dining hall yesterday, they had packed four additional meals for today’s breakfast. Without thinking much of it, Shu Li had casually placed them inside his storage ring.

More importantly, none of his companions had reminded him at the time!

He opened his meal box, picked up a kuku fruit, and took a huge bite.

After breakfast, the four adolescent Fairies left the dormitory area and flew toward the Sekern birds’ nests.

The journey to the Elven Kingdom was long. Traveling on a Sekern bird would be both faster and more convenient.

“Coo, coo—”

The nests belonging to the five Sekern bird brothers stood in a neat row along a thick branch. Each nest was ten meters from the next, and together they occupied a vast area.

Shu Li found Dorei’s nest. Afraid of waking Dorei’s brothers, he called softly, “Dorei, Dorei, wake up.”

Dorei was alert by nature. He opened his enormous, bell-like eyes and stared at the four Little Fairies who had risen so early.

Shu Li grinned. “Good morning, Dorei.”

“Coo...” Dorei rumbled in his throat by way of greeting.

“We’re going to the Elven Kingdom. Please give us a ride!” Shu Li took fruit from his storage ring and fed it to Dorei as payment for the journey.

Dorei swallowed the fruit in a single gulp.

The other three Little Fairies joined in and fed Dorei until he was full. Then they climbed onto his back and buried themselves in his soft feathers.

The moment Budno settled into place, he promptly fell back asleep.

Shu Li cast a wind-blocking magical barrier around them. Following Budno’s example, he curled up comfortably among the feathers and resumed his interrupted sleep.

Once Dorei was certain that the Little Fairies on his back were securely seated, he spread his wings, which measured more than four meters across, and shot into the sky like lightning.