Chapter 137: The Enlightenment of the Holy Dharma.

“Is there more? Is there?” Budeno asked eagerly.

Angel read aloud as he wrote, “When you go to the Human World, you mustn’t keep staring at girls, or they’ll think you’re a pervert.”

Danlov: “...”

Shu Li cast him a sympathetic glance.

So even the Saint Mage whom everyone revered had once been a reckless novice who stumbled from one ridiculous blunder to another.

Danlov finished his tea, set down his cup, and continued recounting the... embarrassing episodes from his early days in the Human World.

Now that he had started, he might as well tell them everything.

After fleeing the village, he wandered aimlessly.

More than six hundred years had passed. Everything had changed, and he no longer remembered where the village of his birth had been.

The past could not be recovered, but the future still held promise.

He decided to try his luck in the Central Court and see whether he could find work at the Magic Tower, laying the foundation for his future efforts to help the Elven King.

Danlov had spent his early childhood in a small village and had been a typical country boy. He had grown up in the Elven Kingdom from the age of six and knew nothing of the ways of the world. Partway through his journey, he caught a ride in a carriage and ate a piece of bread offered by a fellow passenger. He lost consciousness, and when he woke, he found himself at a mine, about to be sold as a slave laborer.

He immediately cast magic and threw the mine into chaos, terrifying the slave owners so badly that they fell to their knees and begged for mercy. At his demand, they were forced to release more than a thousand people who had been deceived or abducted into slavery, restoring their freedom.

After leaving the mine, he told himself never to trust anyone so easily again.

The Elves had been right. Most humans were not good people.

Because he was human himself, he had wanted to believe in humanity, and that was why he had let down his guard.

He had learned his lesson.

After that, he became much more cautious and was never tricked or swindled again.

“Humans are actually that awful?” Disio exclaimed in disbelief. Danlov had merely eaten a piece of bread, yet he had been drugged and sent to a mine to become a slave?

Budeno rubbed his arms and warned himself, “I don’t like bread. I don’t like bread. I don’t like bread...”

But bread was so delicious! He could never resist it!

If a human tried to lure him with food, he would be utterly incapable of refusing!

Angel solemnly wrote, “Never eat food given to you by strangers, or you might be sold into slavery!”

Danlov looked at the silver-haired young Fairy, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Shu Li, however, could understand Danlov’s “innocence.”

He had entered the Elven Kingdom when he was only five or six and had spent most of his life in a beautiful environment. It was perfectly natural that he had grown up kindhearted. The Elves might have told him about the outside world, but without experiencing it himself, he could never have known how low human beings could sink.

Take Shu Li himself, for instance. He had lived in the Faerie Forest for fifteen years, yet he did not feel that he had matured much at all. On the contrary, the other Little Fairies sometimes influenced him into doing childish things.

An environment shaped a person in subtle ways. Children raised with love and care tended to mature later.

Danlov’s story was too long, so he skipped around, sharing a few amusing anecdotes while avoiding as much of his embarrassing past as possible.

He had followed the Elves’ warnings and tried to keep a low profile while traveling.

That was why, when he first entered the Human World, he had worn tattered clothing and pasted a ring of beard around his face, making himself look filthy and disheveled. No wonder the villagers had mistaken him for a pervert.

And because he had looked so destitute, he had become a target for human traffickers.

When he reached a large city, the guards stopped him outside the gates.

He had no proof of citizenship, no mage badge, and no swordsman’s medal. That made him a vagrant, so he was not permitted to enter.

He survived for a while on the food he had brought from the Elven Kingdom. After being turned away everywhere he went, he finally understood that keeping a low profile did not mean making himself look utterly ordinary. When the occasion demanded it, he had to make a grand entrance.

He changed into a magnificent magic robe, restored his naturally handsome, youthful appearance, took an advanced magic staff in hand, and teleported directly into the city to take the mage badge examination at the Mage Association.

The mages there were nearly blinded by the gleam of his high-level equipment. They ushered him inside with the utmost respect—and then the test began.

He shattered the crystal ball outright.

When he cast a spell, he blasted straight through the testing wall.

A Saint Mage!

Only a Saint Mage could penetrate the testing wall.

The mages of the Mage Association were ecstatic. They immediately wrote him a letter of recommendation to the Magic Tower in the Central Court and invited Danlov to join them and bolster the Central Court’s strength.

In that era, mages held little power. Very few cities even had a Mage Association, so the appearance of a Saint Mage was immensely important to the Central Court.

With the letter of recommendation in hand, Danlov headed for the Central Court and embarked on his meteoric rise to the top.

The Little Fairies listened with rapt attention, their eyes sparkling with worship. Every so often, they let out cries of amazement.

Shu Li took notes as he listened, marveling at every turn.

Once Danlov reached the Central Court, his life had practically become the story of an invincible hero sweeping aside everyone in his path.

Before absolute power, every scheme and conspiracy was nothing more than a paper tiger.

For years, the Central Court had been dominated by a group of corrupt old men. It was riddled with filth, factionalism, and opportunistic families whose interests were tangled together beyond hope of separation. An ordinary person could never have broken into their ranks.

But Danlov’s arrival churned the stagnant waters into chaos. Then he cut through the tangled mess without hesitation, pruning away every useless branch. It took him only three years to purge the Magic Tower of its rotten elements.

They refused to accept it?

Then they could keep their objections to themselves.

After all, who could stop him when he was the only human Saint Mage of that era?

Where had this human Saint Mage come from?

Danlov made no attempt to hide the truth. He was a human blessed by the Elven King. He had grown up in the Elven Kingdom and had now returned to the Human World to help human mages regain their place at the pinnacle of the world.

How could words like those fail to inspire?

The mages, who had been oppressed for so long, went wild. They rallied around Danlov with overwhelming fervor, drowning out every opposing voice.

And just like that, Danlov became the ruler of the Central Court.

Clap, clap, clap—

The four young Fairies applauded excitedly.

Although Danlov had only selected a few episodes and glossed over everything else, the Little Fairies listened with their blood racing and their hearts surging with excitement.

Shu Li gazed at Danlov with profound respect.

What was a true hero?

This was a true hero!

With his strength alone, Danlov had changed the entire situation, become the backbone of the mage community, and forced the world to reconsider the status of mages.

He was incredible!

At that moment, even Danlov could barely contain the emotions surging through him.

It had been a very long time since he had reflected so carefully on his past. The passion, fervor, fighting spirit, ideals, resilience, and courage he had once forgotten all came roaring back to life. His blood boiled, his soul trembled, and the oppressive weight that had long smothered his heart vanished like smoke.

A sudden realization washed over him.

“So that’s what it was,” he murmured.

Then he sat down cross-legged and entered a meditative state in an instant.

The four Little Fairies froze at his abrupt movement.

What was going on?

They exchanged baffled looks.

“Danlov?” Angel called softly.

“Shh—” Ilio had appeared in the library at some point. He raised a finger to his lips, signaling the Little Fairies to remain quiet.

“He has entered meditation.” The Elven King stood beside a bookshelf, holding a half-read book in his hand as he regarded the four young Fairies with a gentle gaze. “You led him to an epiphany.”

Shu Li stared in surprise.

The king had been here all along?

He and his friends had not noticed him at all.

Danlov’s story had simply been so enthralling that it had consumed every bit of their attention.

“An epiphany? But we didn’t do anything!” Budeno said in confusion.

Shu Li did not understand either.

They truly had not done anything. They had merely asked Danlov to tell them his story.

The Elven King returned the book to the shelf and walked gracefully to the table. Reaching out, he gently stroked Shu Li’s hair.

“You helped him rediscover himself.”

Angel hugged his notebook to his chest. “You can rediscover yourself just by telling a story?”

Ilio blinked. “That depends on the individual’s capacity for insight.”

“Danlov is an incredibly powerful human Saint Mage,” Disio said, his face full of admiration. “He must have extraordinary insight!”

Ilio patted him lightly on the head and smiled. “That’s right. So we mustn’t disturb his meditation. It’s time for lunch.”

The moment he heard the word lunch, Budeno clutched his empty stomach.

Growl—

His stomach rumbled.

“I’m so hungry...” he said pitifully.

Ilio reached out and pinched his soft cheek. “You missed lunchtime. Of course you’re hungry.”

Danlov was a gifted storyteller, and his tale had been both vivid and captivating. The Little Fairies were not the only ones who had become engrossed. Even Ilio had listened with great interest from the sidelines.

The Little Fairies immediately put away their notebooks and quills, tiptoed out of the library, and raced straight to the dining hall.

The Elf responsible for lunch had saved them a generous spread, which they promptly devoured.

Danlov was still meditating that afternoon. With no lessons to attend, the Little Fairies spent the time playing happily.

That evening, Shu Li found himself thinking about the adventuring party in the desert and Fruit Number Three. He made up an excuse and returned to his room early.

“Oenomysis, has that adventuring party made any progress?”

“They’ve moved on to another oasis. There hasn’t been any progress yet.”

Shu Li rubbed his hands together, determination filling his eyes.

“I want to go eavesdrop again.”

After hearing Danlov’s story today, he felt that he still was not doing enough. He had to find the elemental spirit and increase his strength as quickly as possible.

“Well... why not wait until they’ve made some progress before going?” the Mother Tree advised.

“I’m afraid that by the time they make progress, it’ll already be too late.”

Shu Li insisted on going, so the Mother Tree could only agree. She repeatedly warned him not to leave the reach of her roots.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

Shu Li shrank into his smaller form, put on his high-level equipment, and pulled up his hood. He secretly slipped out through the window, flying furtively alongside the bushes. Once he reached the Mother Tree and confirmed that no one was nearby, he quickly slipped into her trunk.

A short while later, Angel stood outside Shu Li’s room and knocked on the door.

“Sperien, I need to talk to you about something.”

There was no response from inside. Confusion appeared in Angel’s amber eyes.

This was when the Elves usually relaxed and enjoyed themselves. Had Sperien really gone to bed already?

Surely not.

Hadn’t he said he was returning to his room to study?

Angel tried pushing the door. To his surprise, it had not been fully closed and swung open at his touch.

The room inside was completely dark.