Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2296: Chapter 2297: A Heart-to-Heart Between Close Friends

"Because the ceremony is there."

In the external void, the path paved with void light algae leading to the Path of Light, the stone platform suspended at the end of the void, and the inverted light cluster above the platform are actually the ritual elements of a special ceremony.

In fact, Feng’s decision to place the treasure in the "void corresponding to the center of the Tidal World" is also a part of the ritual.

The name of this ceremony is Tai’ander’s Initial Ritual.

Tai’ander is a Whisperer who worships an Evil God. Although he was born on a remote primordial plane, he gained considerable ritual information from the whispers of the Evil God. Later, when a wizard visited Tai’ander’s plane, they acquired the stone tablet notes of this ancient Whisperer, discovering a wealth of ritual information, all prefixed with Tai’ander, which added a lot of new knowledge to Ritual Studies.

Although the Tai’ander series of rituals generally have a bit of an ominous nature and are often associated with unclean Evil Gods, through the analysis of thousands of years by wizards skilled in ritual studies, much of the sinister nature was removed, leaving only the essential essence of the rituals. However, without the sinister nature, many rituals became weaker than the original versions.

The Initial Ritual is one of these.

It can use pre-set ritual elements to project a wisp of the World Will onto the ritual altar.

However, due to the lack of the original sinister nature, the ritual, which originally took only two years to form, was extended a hundredfold, taking two hundred years to complete.

"Two hundred years?" Angel caught this timeframe. The treasure Feng hid six hundred years ago, with a spatial tempest appearing around it two hundred years later — this number is obviously not a coincidence.

"Was the Initial Ritual set up by Mr. Feng? Is that why the spatial tempest appeared?"

Feng nodded: "That’s right."

"Why? Is it still because of the Book of Kael?"

Feng: "It’s partially due to the Book of Kael, but also because I added fuel to the fire. After all, the Tidal World has been closed for more than three thousand years, reaching a limit. I have some affection for the Tidal World. Rather than letting unknown strangers rampage it, it’s better to leave it to you, who follows in my footsteps."

Angel furrowed his brows, his eyes full of doubt. He completely didn’t understand Feng’s meaning.

Feng noticed Angel’s confused expression and was somewhat surprised: "You still don’t understand what I mean?"

Angel shook his head: "No, I don’t."

Feng: "Don’t you know about the divine right of a subsidiary plane?"

Angel shook his head again.

Feng looked shocked: "Isn’t this basic knowledge? I’ve been away from the Southern Domain for so long, has such fundamental knowledge ceased to be passed down there?"

Feng was perplexed, eventually murmuring about how the Southern Domain Wizard World is becoming increasingly marginalized. Then, he explained the concept of the divine right from the beginning.

The fusion of two planes is not as simple as directly merging them. There are many unseen gambles involved. For example, the majority of high-order lifeforms in the subsidiary plane may be purged during the fusion, which is actually a result of gambling, to prevent powerful life from becoming an obstacle to the two realms’ fusion.

Not only might powerful lifeforms be purged, but the will of the subsidiary plane, as the "weaker" party, will also face purging.

However, this purging is not annihilation as imagined but a form of rebooting and rebirth.

Of course, the true situation cannot be encapsulated in the word "rebirth," as it’s very complex. Even a century-long symposium with ten thousand participants might not yield an absolute answer.

To simplify, "rebirth" is used as it considers the will of the subsidiary plane as a newly born will.

And the divine right can only be granted by this newly born world will.

The specific origin of the divine right is currently unknown. However, it is known that when sentient beings first come into contact with the projection of the World’s Origin Will through the Initial Ritual, it will favor you.

This favor does not directly reward you with anything.

But it will bring you many conveniences in the future development of the world.

To sum up these conveniences, it is — the trend of the times.

The reason the Crown Star Church can dominate the Glorious Realm is that it captured the momentum of the Glorious Realm.

Another example is the Extreme Sect. Although the Extreme Sect doesn’t genuinely dominate the Southern Domain Wizard World, their actions are inherently beneficial to the world, so the large will naturally favors them, equating to obtaining the momentum.

"So, you’re saying the divine right is equivalent to becoming the master of a realm?" Angel’s eyes couldn’t help but light up.

Feng shook his head: "No, the divine right merely plants a seed of convenient access for you in the Tidal World. In the grand momentum, you hold an advantage. As for being the master of a realm, that’s nonsense — impossible, unless you have the power to create a world of your own."

With Feng’s detailed explanations, Angel roughly understood.

It’s actually like being a Child of Destiny in novels, but in a severely reduced version. If Angel obtains the divine right, he won’t receive tangible rewards in the Tidal World, nor will he randomly find treasures. He could still face misfortune and even death. Only in following the world trend can Angel gain some advantage.

And what is the trend of the world development? For instance, when humans discovered and utilized fire, transitioning from obscure primitive instincts to civilization; from the natural worship of hunting and gathering to the agricultural era utilizing nature — these are trends.

In essence, it is the direction of world development.

"And the next trend for the Tidal World will be the opening of dimensional doors, the influx of external sentient beings, and the development of the Tidal World." Feng said, "If you obtain the divine right, you can hold a certain advantage in this development of the Tidal World."

"Of course, becoming the next Glorious Realm is basically impossible."

The Crown Star Church manages to dominate the Glorious Realm not only because of the trend but also because the Glorious Realm is inherently resource-poor. Whereas, the Tidal World is extraordinarily rich in resources, desired by all wizards. Even if Angel holds the trend and has the backing of the Barbarian Cave, monopolizing it is virtually impossible.

"The divine right comes with only one opportunity. Once the two realms are entirely open, the divine right will essentially no longer descend. So, rather than letting the Tidal World develop autonomously in the future, it’s better to give you the divine right and see if you can bring some dawn to the Tidal World’s future."

Though Angel alone can’t change the trend, with the backing of the Barbarian Cave, he can try to establish future rules for the Tidal World and determine its layout.

This is actually what Angel is currently doing.

Next, Feng explained in detail to Angel how to face a wisp of the Tidal World’s will projection through the Initial Ritual.

Once Angel grasped most of the understanding, Feng asked again: "Do you have any other questions?"

Angel thought for a moment: "One last question... has the game already ended?"

Seeing Angel’s cautious expression, Feng couldn’t help but laugh: "Rest assured, the game you mention ends here."

"Then I have no more questions."

Feng: "You may have no more questions, but I still have an unresolved doubt."

Feng paused, looking at Angel: "I’ve already divulged the whole truth, including revealing the final treasure to you. Now, can you answer the initial question I posed?"

"How did you stop the Demon God calamity?"

Angel remained silent.

Feng sighed softly: "It seems I won’t get an answer."

After hesitating for a moment, Angel finally spoke: "If Mr. Feng wants to know the outcome of the demon catastrophe, I can tell you that the True Spirit of the Lord of the Flameless has fallen. But if you’re asking about the process, I can only say... it was I who killed him, yet it wasn’t me who killed him."

"It was you who killed him, yet it wasn’t you?" Feng squinted slightly, seemingly pondering this answer.

He could tell that Angel wasn’t lying. If he were lying, there’d be no reason to give such an incongruous answer.

The answer, with its contradictory statements, clearly means something else...

Feng tried asking Angel a few questions from different angles, but Angel would no longer respond. It was apparent that this answer was Angel’s bottom line.

Angel’s unwillingness to answer surely indicates some hidden secret. He killed, yet didn’t kill — the two "he’s" must be referring to someone. Why would one person have such completely contradictory answers? Could it be...

Feng considered a possibility: With Angel’s capabilities, he had no qualification to stand before a Demon God, not even its True Spirit. Perhaps the one who acted wasn’t Angel, but another "person" who just borrowed Angel’s hand?

Feng voiced this conjecture.

Angel continued to keep silent, but Feng noticed a slight twitch at the corner of Angel’s eye.

"I suppose that’s the real answer. However, Angel doesn’t want to say it, maybe because that person’s identity is significant... To kill a Demon God’s True Spirit, and using someone like Angel, an ordinary wizard, that person is certainly extraordinary." Feng pictured a great figure standing behind Angel.

Such a great figure indeed shouldn’t be probed. Perhaps just uttering their name would alert them to the situation here.

Feng himself was just a sliver of consciousness woven into a painting, so he wasn’t worried about being noticed, but he didn’t want to bring trouble to his True Body.

It’s important to remember, if such a great figure finds out about the "Book of Kael," they might indeed feel "tricked" and become furious.

So, it’s best not to delve into it.

"The time is about up," Feng said.

Angel looked up: "Mr. Feng, are you going to dissipate?"

"What do you mean dissipate? I’m just a consciousness. Though I am Feng, I won’t dissipate, the part that will is..." Feng reflexively corrected him, but after realizing it was getting more entangled, he simply closed his mouth: "Never mind, let’s just say I am to dissipate."

"Then should I say goodbye?"

Feng: "Wait."

Feng urged Angel to wait a moment, but without speaking further, he lightly tapped the tabletop, conjuring a paintbrush out of thin air.

Then Feng ripped some bark from the tree behind him, and with a gentle wipe, the bark transformed into a dark canvas. Holding the brush, he waved it skyward, borrowing dark ink from the Nightfall to draw outlines on the canvas. Then, he borrowed a little pure bright color from the starlight, and with a brush stroke, glowing spots of luminescence appeared on the canvas.

In just a few strokes, Angel saw Feng paint an oil painting.

The scene in the painting was precisely the setting of their conversation. With the starry sky as the curtain and the wilderness as the backdrop, Angel and Feng sat opposite each other, with starlight casting and outlining shadows on their faces, both speaking with smiles.

At the moment the painting was completed, the entire starry sky seemed to release energy, reflected into the painting.

Simultaneously, Angel felt the surrounding space gradually darken. Previously it was hazily dim, but now it turned pitch black, as if the entire painted world was merging with darkness.

The primordial Magic Power in the air also disappeared. This world in the painting, already desolate, suddenly became a true dead world.

As the world began to collapse, Feng calmly tore another piece of bark, swiftly refined it into an elegant wood-grain frame, and fitted the oil painting into it.

Then, Feng handed the entire painting to Angel.

"Consider this my last gift to you." When Feng handed it to Angel, he continued to ramble: "I hadn’t intended to give it, but you are worth it..."

Angel looked at the painting, sensing it was no ordinary piece. There was a latent energy within the painting.

Though the energy wasn’t plentiful, its essence was extremely high. Only a wizard of legendary rank or above could condense such energy.

Without a doubt, Feng concentrated all the energy of this painted world into this piece.

That’s also why this fragment of Feng’s consciousness, which could have lingered another half-day, ended prematurely instead.

"The name of this painting is noted at the bottom left corner."

Angel glanced over. The bottom left corner held a simple title: "Bosom Friends... Night Talk?"

Feng caught the questioning tone at the end of Angel’s words: "What, you think I’m not worthy of being your bosom friend?"

Angel wanted to say it wasn’t that Feng wasn’t worthy, but that they had just met. Perhaps in a few decades, this moment could be nostalgically regarded as an encounter with an old friend, but jumping straight to bosom friends left Angel puzzled.

Though this crossed his mind, Angel dared not say it aloud, instead replying: "Mr. Feng is above the rank of Legend, and I’m just a beginner on the wizard’s path. It feels like I’m not worthy."

Feng smiled warmly: "There’s no unworthiness. I said, you’re worth it."

After pausing, Feng continued: "And, the title of this painting wasn’t specifically made for you, but rather intended for my True Body to see."

Angel: "Ah?"

Feng’s form was beginning to turn transparent, knowing he would soon disappear, so his speech became straightforward: "You’ve reached the mysterious level, which is quite an accomplishment. Speaking only for myself, I hope my True Body maintains a friendly relationship with you. Maybe in the future, if you truly enter the mysterious realm, my True Body could use this connection to our advantage."

"The energy within the painting represents the special energy of the Turing Rubik’s Cube. If you encounter any difficulties, you can take this painting to find someone associated with the Turing Rubik’s Cube or even my True Body. Presenting this painting, they’ll understand."

As he finished speaking, everything below Feng’s neck dissolved into glowing specks that scattered away.

"I hope for our paths to cross again in the future."

With these final words, Feng vanished entirely. Simultaneously, a passageway opened before Angel, leading to a stone platform outside.

Angel looked at the world in the painting, now mostly collapsed, quickly signaling Wang Wang to return to the bracelet space.

After completing this, Angel gazed at the painting titled "Bosom Friends Night Talk" on the table.

After a moment of hesitation, Angel sighed gently in his heart and decided to take the elegantly framed oil painting with him.

Turning on his heels, he walked into the passageway.