Chapter 425: Acknowledging a Father?

Priest Li He carried Li Ban high into the air, breaking through the clouds into the azure sky above.

Yet Priest Li He did not stop there.

He kept ascending with Li Ban as the sky around them shifted from pale white to light blue, and finally to deep blue.

Even so, they never entered outer space.

Once the two of them reached a certain altitude, faint wisps of mist began to gather on all sides.

"This—could the sky this high up also be part of the Mist Zone?"

"Not quite, though you aren't far off." Priest Li He came to a halt and casually drew a line between himself and Li Ban.

The bubble enclosing them split in two, wrapping around each of them separately.

"The Wizard Lord is meeting you alone, so I'll head back first. Once the Wizard Lord leaves, you can guide the bubble down yourself. With it shielding you, you won't need to worry about the mist up here."

"Thank you, Priest Li He."

"No need to thank me. After everything you've done for the Myriad Ancient Pagoda, you've earned this."

With that, Priest Li He's bubble dropped rapidly, vanishing from Li Ban's sight in the blink of an eye.

Li Ban waited where he was.

He did not have to wait long.

A patch of starlight appeared in the sky before him.

It closely resembled his own Star River, though it was slightly dimmer.

This was the first time Li Ban had ever seen the starlight of a Great Wizard. He could not tell whether the Great Wizard was simply holding back, or if his own Star River was truly more brilliant than a Great Wizard's starlight.

Many thoughts crossed Li Ban's mind, but he showed nothing on his face as he waited for the starlight to settle before him and form a human figure.

It had no facial features; it wasn't even three-dimensional.

The silhouette of starlight opened a pair of eyes and looked at Li Ban.

So—did becoming a Great Wizard mean losing one's human body?

Just as they had said, becoming a Great Wizard required severing one's mortal corpse.

"Wizard Lord." Li Ban bowed respectfully.

"Once you reach Solar, I will appoint you as my Divine Offspring."

Li Ban looked up. It sounded as though the Wizard Lord of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda was promising to pave the way for him.

Yet Shaman Ming had warned him never to become a Divine Offspring Priest, or he would lose the qualification to stop the cycle of reincarnation.

Li Ban opened his mouth to ask what a Divine Offspring Priest truly was.

Before a single sound could leave his throat, however, the starlight in front of him scattered in all directions.

It was as if the figure and the voice from a moment ago had been nothing more than an illusion.

Li Ban glanced left and right. The Wizard Lord of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda really had come just to see him briefly, leave behind a single sentence, and depart.

"Meeting the Wizard Lord of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda has only left me with more questions," Li Ban murmured, shaking his head with a wry laugh as he guided the bubble downward.

Because the bubble did not belong to him, controlling it felt slightly sluggish.

Fortunately, descending was simple enough, and in roughly the same time it had taken to come up, Li Ban dropped back to the sky above the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.

Once he was back at an altitude of a thousand meters, the colorful bubble burst on its own.

In a flash, Li Ban landed on the roof of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.

Just as he had in the past, Priest Qian Que sat on the glazed roof of the pagoda, gazing out at the Shattered Eye and the Unreturning Place.

No sooner had Li Ban arrived than Priest Li He appeared beside Priest Qian Que.

"Instead of consolidating your foundation now that you're back, you're here revisiting old haunts?" Priest Li He asked with a smile.

He knew well that Priest Qian Que had always liked sitting up here lost in thought.

"Revisiting an old place with a different state of mind brings a whole new perspective," Priest Qian Que said lightly.

Priest Qian Que turned his gaze to Li Ban. "You look somewhat puzzled. And since you're back so quickly, whatever the Wizard Lord told you must have been very important."

Li Ban walked slowly over to them. "The Wizard Lord—"

"If the Wizard Lord didn't ask you to pass it on to us, it's best left unsaid," Priest Li He interrupted with a smile. "Honestly, no matter what he told you, the very fact that he met you in person proves how highly he regards you."

Even if Li He and Qian Que knew what the Wizard Lord had said to Li Ban, it would do them no good.

On the contrary, hearing those words might only unsettle their own states of mind.

"Truth be told, even without Li Ban saying a word, I can roughly guess what it was about," Priest Qian Que said.

Priest Li He shot Priest Qian Que an exasperated look.

Knowing was one thing, but did he really have to say it out loud?

"Seniors, may I ask what being a Divine Offspring Priest actually means?"

Sure enough!

Priest Li He and Priest Qian Que sighed inwardly at the same time.

Only matters concerning the survival of the Wizard World or a Divine Offspring Priest would ever move the Wizard Lord to appear in person.

"Even to Solar Priests like us, a Divine Offspring Priest is deeply mysterious," Priest Li He said after a moment's thought, answering Li Ban based on his own understanding. "A Divine Offspring Priest's wizard embryo is very similar to a Great Wizard's, and their grasp of the Power of Rules is nothing ours can compare to."

"The Power of Rules?"

Priest Qian Que spoke up then. "A Divine Offspring Priest possesses a small world of their own. However, it isn't complete enough and cannot form a grand cycle, so they have to depend on a Great Wizard."

Priest Li He nodded in agreement. "If we count as a Great Wizard's subordinates, then a Divine Offspring Priest can be considered a Great Wizard's child."

Put that way, hadn't the Wizard Lord of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda just offered to become Li Ban's father?

And Shaman Ming had meant that Li Ban shouldn't acknowledge a father?

Indeed, Li Ban had no need to acknowledge a father.

He already possessed a complete Star River of his own—one even stronger than what the Wizard Lord of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda had just revealed.

Regardless of how much true strength the Wizard Lord of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda actually held, Li Ban had likely already met the minimum threshold for a Great Wizard.

All he lacked now was a nearly complete wizard embryo.

"Now that Li Ban is back as well, and your inner demon is mostly resolved, Qian Que, it's time I returned to the Nine Heavens Sea," Priest Li He said.

When Priest Qian Que's forced advancement had left his state of mind unstable, Priest Li He had come over to help only to give him time to stabilize his realm.

That help had lasted five or six years.

Whatever other motives Priest Li He might have had for coming, Priest Qian Que was deeply grateful for his assistance.

Now that Priest Li He was leaving, he naturally intended to give him a proper send-off.

Yet Li Ban had other ideas.

"Priest Qian Que, I'd like to go with Priest Li He to the Nine Heavens Sea."

Both Solar Priests looked at Li Ban in surprise.

After a brief pause, however, Priest Qian Que was the first to agree. "Since advancing to Dark Moon, you've already spent over three years in the Shattered Realm. I can see you've spent plenty of time settling yourself since then, so it's time you went to the Nine Heavens Sea to see some different scenery."

Priest Li He's lips curved upward. "Going to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda in the Nine Heavens Sea is hardly a sightseeing trip. The fighting there is the fiercest anywhere, so priests usually only volunteer to go when their state of mind hits a bottleneck and they want to temper themselves through grueling combat. Your state of mind is already among the strongest of all Dark Moon Priests, and all you need now is to build up your wizard embryo and strength. Why come back to the Nine Heavens Sea with me?"

To scout the place out in advance, of course.

That said, Li Ban also wanted to gain a thorough understanding of the Wizard World.

He had already been to the Mass Grave and braved the Unreturning Place; only the Nine Heavens Sea remained.

And if he wanted to stop the Wizard World from resetting, understanding it was essential.

"I want to go to the Nine Heavens Sea to see the Pagoda of Heavenly Wrath."

"Haha!" Priest Li He let out a hearty laugh. "You're already preparing to become a Great Wizard. Not bad—you've got ambition!"