Chapter 402 - 10: Temple of the Water God and the Changing of the Era

"I see." Su Zhou nodded thoughtfully. "I think I understand. Elias, you can go handle your affairs. I’ll just stay here in the study and read. If you need me for anything, just come and get me."

"Yes, Mr. Su."

Elias excused himself politely. Even though this was his home and he was the nominal ruler of Naisel City, he was well aware that without Su Zhou, he would have a hard time controlling this metropolis of a million people on his own strength, even if the Mysterious Organization didn’t attack.

Besides, with the Mysterious Organization liable to launch a second surprise attack at any moment, Su Zhou was his only pillar of support.

Once Elias had left and Su Zhou was alone in the study, he began to summarize the information he had gathered.

’It’s not like the Divine Wood World. Although I’m sure the source of the apocalypse is definitely the revival of the Silent Lord, the Tartadis World doesn’t have an overly obvious target like the Immortal Banyan Tree.’

’Second, the enemies’ origins are also very mysterious. Whether it was the Octopus Mage, the Shrimp Knight, or the Fishman Ranger, none of them are races or creatures common to this world. And the god they mentioned who backs them is also very concerning... I could tell that was no false faith.’

Taking out a pen and paper, Su Zhou frowned as he wrote notes in Chinese. He began to draw diagrams charting the various relationships. ’The cause of the apocalypse is the stagnation of Spiritual Qi conversion. The Gray Mist is about to envelop the entire world, and only Shelter Cities and the underground still have normal environments. But the Underground Maze is filled with monsters, and to this day, no one has explored its deepest parts, much less knows why the Maze formed.’

’Interesting. Looks like I’ll have to find an opportunity to go see what this "Gray Mist" and "Maze" are all about.’

Although Su Zhou was still largely in the dark about this world and couldn’t find a foothold, he knew one thing for certain: if he just stayed in Naisel City, he could wait for the Mysterious Organization to strike again. When that happened, he might be able to obtain more intelligence.

’Besides, isn’t Elias going to check on his family’s secret vault? I’m sure I can get more information from him.’

With that thought, he lowered his head and continued to peruse the Magic Book from the Naisel family’s collection.

A complete Magic Book is tantamount to a Mage’s legacy and one of their most important Magical Artifacts. Through a Magic Book, a reader can quickly learn the Magic recorded within its pages.

The previous Duke Naisel had been a Caster at the Elite Peak—the equivalent of the Extraordinary Peak—and was proficient in both water and earth-based Magic. In terms of rank, he had been a step above Su Zhou. His Magic Book was not in the study; it was most likely kept in the family’s secret vault. The Magic Books in the study were mostly filled with common spells, used to lay a foundation for the younger generation of the Naisel family.

As it happened, laying a foundation was exactly what Su Zhou needed.

’So-called Magic Power is just another name for Spiritual Power. Spiritual Power is a universal energy common to all the Heavens and Myriads of Worlds, and Magic is merely another method of applying it.’

While flipping through the Magic Book with his left hand, Su Zhou extended his right. He gathered his Spiritual Power, circulating it according to the methods recorded within, condensed a Rune, and filled it with power. Soon, a mass of pale blue, aqueous light congealed in his right hand, which then rapidly transformed into various shapes: frost, a sphere of water, a long spear.

Once you master one principle, you can understand ten thousand. With a foundation built on legacies like the Mingxun Dragon Transformation Technique and the Five Extremes Divine Thunder True Technique, further augmented by the Wisdom Fruit, Su Zhou could easily grasp the key principles in the Magic Book. As a result, his learning speed was far faster than anyone could have imagined.

「Meanwhile.」

Elias first instructed a handmaiden to bring breakfast to Su Zhou later. He specified that Su Zhou could choose whatever he wanted, in whatever quantity, and they were to bring him anything he desired. As for himself, Elias only drank a quick glass of water before striding toward the rear of the Duke’s Mansion.

The Naisel family’s vault was located in a secret chamber beneath the Duke’s Mansion, protected by a formidable Magic Array Barrier. Even a Near-God Powerhouse would have to expend considerable effort to breach it. That was why, even though the battle between Su Zhou and the enemy from the Mysterious Organization had demolished half the Duke’s Mansion, the vault remained completely unaffected.

’I hope I’m remembering this right.’

Standing before the secret door in the basement, Elias focused, using his Soul’s frequency to resonate with the Great Array. This served to both prove his identity and, following a Secret Technique, slowly open the vault’s door.

As he completed the process and waited for the heavy door to swing open, Elias thought about how he was the last of the Naisel family and how the entire world would be destroyed in a few decades. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of disillusionment. ’What’s the point of trying so hard? It’s the same for those enemies... they spend so much energy fighting over who-knows-what, but in the end, aren’t we all just going to die? Why bother slaughtering each other in our final days, only to die such ugly deaths?’

This was a sentiment shared by the vast majority of people in the world.

More than a thousand years had been enough time for everyone to accept the coming apocalypse. From attempts at self-preservation to building shelters, humanity had tried every solution they could conceive. Now, all that was left for them to do was wait for death with as much dignity as they could muster.