Chapter 1705 - WMW 78

Based on Leylin's understanding, vitality represented defence as well as regenerative abilities. His value of 74.9 was very close to the terrifying numbers that ancient creatures possessed.

With his current body, regular rank 1 and 2 spells could not break through his defences. Even rank 3 spells would only give him tiny injuries, and he would recover instantly. His frightening vitality gave him an equally terrifying healing ability.

After checking everything once over, Leylin nodded in satisfaction.

"With the strength of my body, even if the seal of Multilimb Strength suddenly gives way, I can still hold on for a period of time. Next, if I can gain the title of a Virtuous Sky Sage and receive the blessing from the Endowing Scepter, I'll be able to solve the issue of the repercussions from having my soul force rise too rapidly!"

Leylin had to go to Sky City no matter what.

Though that was the territory of the Monarch of the Skies, and a Warlock like him going alone could be troublesome, it was already the simplest method that the A.I. Chip could come up with.

Techniques and body tempering spell formations that could increase the vitality of Morning Stars was very rare in the central continent. On top of that, Leylin's strong foundation as a Warlock made things more difficult.

The A.I. Chip had summed up all of Leylin's knowledge and used the Ouroboros Clan's large database to find these three methods. They were already the best out there.

However, Leylin had yet to find any clues on the transformation spell formation in Adoforke, and only knew it was in some ruins in the central continent from a legend. To him, taking the risk to explore ruins was too troublesome and dangerous.

He had already used the third method, and could not repeat it within a short period. If he tried, leave alone getting results, he would only face possible side effects.

Hence, the most reasonable choice to make was the second. He would head for Sky City and the Endowing Scepter.

Of course, Leylin was rather confident in his travels. He was a peak Morning Star and could escape with his life even if he met with a Radiant Moon Magus.

The two bloodline imprints from the bloodline of the Sun's Child gave him more than enough confidence.

Sky City was the home to the Monarch of the Skies. He did not wish for there to be a rank 6 battle at that place!

'Besides, I haven't provoked the Monarch of the Skies at all. I just have to be careful of Jupiter's Lightning…' Leylin stroked his chin and sank into deep thought.

...

A few days later, in the area surrounding Phosphorescence Swamp.

A completely black private airship that looked like a water droplet soared into the skies. In just a few minutes, it disappeared into the horizon.

Atop high towers, countless figures stared at the floating airship in a daze until it disappeared.

"Relax, Freya!" Emma patted the back of Freya's hands, looking at her lovingly, "Leylin is now comparable to a rank 5 Warlock. He'll be fine!"

"Indeed. Leylin is very powerful. We just have to do our duty here at the Ouroboros Clan," Gilbert consoled her.

"Your Graces are right!" Freya bowed slightly, the concern in her eyes still not completely gone.

After all, Leylin was going to the territory of a Monarch. What if something happened? Freya did not dare think further.

"Haha… Ever since little Freya got married, she doesn't listen to her mentor!"

Emma grabbed Freya's hands and began to repeat, "You don't have to care about other things right now. What's most important is to spread the bloodline of the Farlier Family. Leylin has a lot of secrets on him, and his Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline is the best I've seen… No! It's THE best Kemoyin bloodline! If you don't spread it, it'll be a true waste…"

"Mentor, what are you saying?" Freya protested coquettishly, two attractive flushes of red rising in her cheeks. Yet, that had eased her worry.

...

*Bang!* The Colossal Serpent parted the clouds and shook off the winds, breaking through the troposphere and reaching a higher part of the sky.

One could see intense sunlight shining down through the glass windows. Below was a seemingly boundless white sea of clouds, the scenery incomparably beautiful.

The private airship was very quick, but it was not obvious from the scenery which seemed to be still.

After he finished setting up the automatic navigation system, Leylin sat alone on the sofa with red wine in his hands as he watched the scenery on both sides through the windows. He looked on absentmindedly.

A long while later, he sighed. "I'm not treating Freya well!"

Ever since Leylin had returned from the Lava World, he had extremely busy with reclaiming territory and contacting other bloodline organisations. He had basically given Freya the cold shoulder.

Now, he was going on a solo journey to Sky City. Though Freya had been strong and not displayed it, Leylin could feel her worry as she sent him off.

Whatever it was, Leylin would definitely not bring her along. He was going to take a risk here, and this was no holiday. If he were alone, it would be easier to escape, but if he had someone else around, things would get difficult.

'I'll make it up to her in the future!' Thinking this through, Leylin focused on other things.

"A.I. Chip, how much longer till I reach Sky City?"

[Beep! Based on the speed of Giant Serpent, estimated time of arrival: 45 days, 13 hours, 46 minutes, 19 seconds!] The A.I. Chip loyally intoned.

"That's really quite far. If not for me having my personal airship, it might have been even more troublesome!"

Leylin was speechless. If it required such a long time with the speed of his personal airship, it was quite obvious how vast the central continent was.

'This is a great time to meditate! Besides, there are still some more improvements to be made to the fusion of the Fireplume and Kemoyin's Pupil…'

Leylin sunk deep into thought, eyes glowing a blue that was indicative of the workings of the A.I. Chip. Numbers, letters and runes from different worlds were processed by the A.I. Chip. The A.I. Chip operated continuously, calculating and deducing information, forming a wondrous cycle of numbers...

...

Within a hidden Magus Tower.

This was a Magus Tower constructed by a Radiant Moon, filled with black thunder and lightning. It gave off a dark atmosphere that would cause one's heart to palpitate. These flashes of lightning constantly flickered around, causing the Magi walking along the passageway to break out in cold sweat.

"The feeling of this area really gives me the chills…" The Morning Star who spoke was one of Jupiter's Lightning.

After the incident during the Holy Solar Festival, Wayde had brought along a group of high-ranked Warlocks to attack them. The Mobius Organisation lost time and time again in the Lava World, and quite a few Morning Stars were either killed or heavily injured. This led to a lack of manpower in Jupiter's Lightning.

At such a critical time, the leader of Jupiter's Lightning, the great Radiant Moon Magus Zegna, had suddenly announced he was going to seclude himself in meditation, which had given rise to protests and confusion. Of course, that was only in the hearts of his subordinates. Those that would dare oppose Zegna overtly had been turned to ashes hundreds of years ago.

Passing through the alley, the Morning Star Magus arrived at a bronze door. The uneasiness he felt had reached its peak.

"Your Highness, this is Loki seeking an audience!" he transmitted after a momentary silence.

"Come in!" Zegna's voice was heard. It was the same old voice, but there was something oddly jarring about it.

While wondering about it on the inside, Loki showed the utmost respect as he bowed and entered.

Behind the large brass door was a giant secret room. The walls were full of binding and summoning runes, as well energy isolation spell patterns.

At the heart of the room was a large pool where streams of black gas surged, producing bubbling sounds.

Zegna stood by the pool, clad in black and gold. His eyes were fixed on the current of the black gas.

"Your Highness!" Loki bowed, watching the pool with some curiosity. This was what had caused his uneasiness!

Yet, he would not dare to ask Zegna about it. He did not even have the guts to probe it with his soul force.

"What is it? You even used the emergency communicator to contact me." Zegna's hands were behind his back, but Loki knew that this meant His Highness was beginning to be enraged. If his next words were unsatisfactory, he would be in trouble.

"Your Highness had put me in charge of information about the Ouroboros Clan, and in particular the Warlock named Farlier. I've acquired some intelligence!"

Zegna was paying close attention to Leylin, and hence he turned back to stare at Loki. "Speak!"

"Leylin of the Ouroboros Clan left Phosphorescence Swamp yesterday. His destination is most likely Sky City!" Loki hastily reported, but strangely enough, Zegna merely listened quietly and did not do anything special.

"Your Highness?" Loki raised his head and saw the dazed look on Zegna's face. There were a few distorted spirit bodies hovering around him, pale, crooked palms grabbing at his collar.

Loki felt his heart lurch, but after sneaking another glance at Zegna, everything seemed like it had been an illusion.

This discovery had him sink deeper into fear.

"Your Highness, do you need me…" Loki asked as he tried to sound out.

"I'm conducting an exceptionally important spirit body experiment. I'll take care of Leylin myself. Don't bother with it anymore!" Zegna answered coldly.

"Yes, sir!" Loki bowed once more and left. Only after leaving the Magus Tower did he let out a long sigh. He felt like his entire top half was drenched in sweat.

His Highness, who had always been very enthusiastic about destroying the Ouroboros Clan, had been reduced to this state. The scene just then even had Loki in shock.

"Could that just now have been…"

-x-X-x-

Within the Magus Tower's secret room, at the side of the Pond of Lamentation. The silent Zegna was in a daze, only turning back after he left and lifting up the sleeve on his right arm.

On his right arm, crests and troughs formed on what should've been smooth skin, taking on the shape of a mysterious female face.

"What should we do about the Ouroboros Clan?" Zegna asked.

Two cracks opened in the skin, rolling apart to form a vivid pair of eyes. "You are now at the advanced stage of the transformation. Your main body will probably not be able to…" the mysterious woman's voice sounded.

"You mean we should let go of this opportunity?" Zegna raised his eyebrows.

"No! We…" The woman's voice grew softer and was quickly concealed by the waves of water in the black pool.

...

Above the troposphere. The large amounts of white clouds gathered to form a boundless white sea.

A black streaking was soaring through this see, a private airship with a smooth structure. Currently on its surface was a faint layer of defence, allowing the interior to be silent.

Leylin sat cross-legged on a platform in the bedroom, a phantom Kemoyin Serpent slowly taking form behind him. Light flickered on the phantom causing it to seem illusory, and it looked more regal as fine red stripes appeared on it.

Meditation was something Leylin did every day. Even though he'd already reached the peak of Morning Star, he would not set this task aside.

After he absorbed a large amount of darkness and fire elemental particles, the phantom behind him shrunk down and entered his body.

*Whoosh!* Leylin's eyes opened, and it seemed like large amounts of lightning streaked past the room.

"Mm. With the A.I. Chip's optimisation, the fusion between Fireplume and Kemoyin's Pupil is now half a fold more effective than before!" This was the most precise number he could come up with through his own personal experiments.

Having a top-grade meditation technique such as the Wing of the Sun for reference, Leylin knew fully well that other than not having enough levels, Kemoyin's Pupil was rather similar to a top-grade meditation technique.

At this thought, Leylin could not help but focus on the A.I. Chip, "How is the progress on the fifth level of Kemoyin's Pupil?"

[Beep! 76.5% completed! The remaining path is being optimised.] The A.I. Chip's robotic voice intoned loyally.

"It seems like the fifth level will be completed soon." A hint of glee appeared on Leylin's expression.

The bloodline shackles had ensured that no Kemoyin Warlock had ever broken past the Morning Star realm. Hence, Kemoyin's Pupil which was specialised for his bloodline only had four levels to it.

This was a type of bloodline shackle. The meditation technique itself would hinder a Kemoyin Warlock from breaking through!

Now, Leylin could hope to destroy these shackles! The meditation technique may be just one part of them, but it had a hole in the bloodline shackles. Now, all he had to do was pry it open.

Leylin believed that, one day, he would manage to break through these shackles as long as he persevered.

'Meditation techniques are only one tiny aspect of the Warlocks' bloodline shackles. The fundamental issue is still the bloodline, as well as restrictions on the spirit…' At this thought, Leylin turned gloomy. Though he was confident in his future, that did not mean he thought the troubles ahead of him were easy to deal with.

'The limit of a Giant Kemoyin Serpent is rank 4. I, who have fused with its blood and soul, am now bound to rank 4 as well.' The limits imposed by a bloodline would extend to the soul once one reached the Morning Star realm. This was the true issue of the bloodline shackles.

The soul was just too complicated. Even Morning Stars could only graze the surface in researching it.

'How do I break through the restrictions on the soul?' Leylin touched his chin, 'Do I have to begin experimentation on synthesising and altering bloodlines?'

Leylin, equipped with large amounts of information from the ancient Quicksand Organisation, was no stranger to all this. He also had much experience under his belt.

Leylin was perhaps the only one in the central continent in altering Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline or form a new one!

'However, artificially-constructed bloodlines always have defects. They are less lively in comparison to those that have gone through the order of survival of the fittest, shaped by nature and history.'

This was the disadvantage of artificially-made products. The only other option was if Leylin was willing to expend much time and wait, allowing the formed bloodline to grow in nature for up to several tens of generations and slowly ripen. However, the amount of time required far exceeded Leylin's lifespan.

Besides, though altering bloodlines could result in the creation of more powerful types of bloodlines, the chances of failure were equally high. Leylin was not going to gamble on his future.

Hence, this very attractive train of thought lingered in Leylin's mind but was eventually abandoned.

"If this doesn't work, I can only rely on the plan the ancient Wisdom Tree came up with! It's a pity… At my level, I can't use it yet…" A deep wrinkle appeared on Leylin's forehead.

In terms of just intelligence and knowledge, it was impossible for him to measure up to the Wisdom Tree which had lived since time immemorial. He knew that it's suggestion was definitely viable.

The A.I. Chip had also performed many simulations and verified its feasibility.

It was a pity that these plans were still far away for Leylin. His current strength was insufficient for him to carry them out.

"Besides, the method it gave me can take care of this issue once and for all. If I use it now, the effects definitely won't be as good as me employing it in the future! I must use it as a trump card, because this might be the only thing I can count on when I meet the Snake Dowager!"

Leylin's eyes glinted. "Perhaps… My ideas were wrong from the start. Rather than finding other forces to contaminate the bloodline, I should focus on developing my own bloodline. I might even get some results from that!"

Leylin made up his mind.

[Beep! Reached vicinity of Sky City! Arrival in 1h, 24min, 13s.] the A.I. Chip prompted.

"Hm? A month has already passed?" Leylin was puzzled, but then looked through the time records the A.I. Chip had created and could not help but burst out in laughter as he shook his head, "I've long since heard that high-ranked Magi have experiments that go on for years or even decades. When they come out, nothing will seem to have changed but that would be untrue. I never expected to find myself in this situation. Just meditating a few times and going through a few conjectures and proofs on experiments had time passing so quickly…"

To outsiders, Magi possessed great strength as well as an enviably long life. Even rank 1 and 2 Magi could live for hundreds of years, which seemed endless.

However, Leylin knew that their time was short, much too short. Besides meditating, they had to conduct experiments and embark on explorations. Each incident of these could take up decades, even centuries! Hence, even after reaching rank 4 and acquiring a lifespan of over a thousand years, he still felt that there wasn't enough time.

'This is why so many Magi transform into undeads or become spirit bodies. However, that's merely struggling at death's door. The body cannot do anything about the death of its soul, and there will be huge side effects, even going so far as the degeneration of their intelligence.'

Leylin could not help but shiver at that thought. Even if he was at the end of his lifespan anyway, he would not choose to use this method. While he could live for a longer period of time, the price to pay for that would be becoming slow-witted, a fool or lunatic. He would rather return to the astral plane with a clear mind.

*Buzz!* At this moment, the Colossal Serpent began to tilt upwards.

'Am I finally there? Sky City, the holy land of the Magi of the central continent, said to be the cradle of truth and knowledge!' Anticipation glinted in Leylin's eyes as he walked to the deck of the airship.

The great wind and atmospheric pressure did not affect the defence of the Colossal Serpent at all. Leylin, who was inside, felt nothing.

At this moment, the head of the airship tilted further, climbing upwards rapidly.

From the troposphere where the weather was peaceful, he had broken through the stratosphere, arriving even higher than that.

[Beep! Air pressure around host has dropped, oxygen supply dwindling.] The A.I. Chip prompted.

"Hehe, not yet!" Leylin shook his head, and the Colossal Serpent became a flaming arrow as it began to shoot up almost vertically.

[80 km altitude. 200 km. 500 km!] The A.I. Chip rapidly refreshed its prompts.

"If I was in another world, I'd probably have broken through the warm layer and arrived above the ionosphere, right?"

Leylin looked at the A.I. Chip curiously. He noticed that besides the strange reduction in temperature and a change in the behaviour of ions, there were no other changes.

"No!" Leylin looked up. He did not see a universe, but just the sky from before. However, the sunlight seemed more vast and dazzling.

"The Magus World it just a world amongst many others. It naturally can't be the same as in my previous world!" Leylin seemed to mock himself as he laughed.

At this moment, dark clouds appeared above the Colossal Serpent, as if shrouding the whole sky.

When he got closer, he realised that these gigantic dark clouds even had lightning snakes within, thunder booming constantly inside.

"The thunder layer of Akev! Sky City's first line of defence!"

Leylin chuckled, piloting the Colossal Serpent and charging straight in.

*Whoosh!* The lightning seemed to be enraged and struck downwards suddenly!

-x-X-x-

The multiple bolts of lightning twined together, converging into a giant lightning serpent. There even seemed to be a hologram behind it, as it faced the unwanted guest that had just entered its lightning zone.

*Bzz Bzz!* Sparks flew madly on the surface of the Colossal Serpent, and the original defensive layer began to deform, seemingly unable to endure further.

"Emergency alert? The strength of each lightning bolt is above 300 degrees?" Leylin touched his chin.

An attack strength of 300 degrees was rare even amongst rank 3 Magi. Even Crystal Phase Magi would find it difficult to take on the combination of the lightning storm and the atmosphere.

Other than Morning Star Magi, perhaps only a fleet of tens of rank 3 Magi could gain entry using the airship's defences augmented by a continuous supply of magic crystals and potions.

This had caused tickets into Sky City to become immensely expensive, enough to make official Magi go broke.

'If not for caring little for this meagre source of income, Morning Star Magi could earn quite a lot of money if they took charge of these airships!' Leylin thought indifferently.

Of course, Morning Star Magi were exceedingly rich and cared little for such a meagre profit. In addition, their arrogance would not allow them to do something like this.

Leylin was not staying idle right now. A terrifying soul force emanated from this body, wrapping the Colossal Serpent within it.

*Buzz!* With the support of soul force, the Colossal Serpent's defensive membrane immediately stabilised and was now reinforced with another thick layer. It was now like a solid black crystal.

The deck of the Colossal Serpent, that had been shuddering all this while, was now as solid as a mountain.

That was not all. Tiny black flames clung to the energy defence. The lightning could not even reach the Colossal Serpent itself and was instead absorbed by these flames. In fact, the Colossal Serpent's energy reserves grew rapidly.

The black flames seemed to form a pathway in the air, not allowing any lightning to strike in its path.

The Colossal Serpent was then free to move as it liked, the lightning no longer daring to attack.

"Oh?" Leylin scanned an area and chuckled. The Colossal Serpent turned into a black streak as he quickly left.

"Hah…" A long while after the Colossal Serpent disappeared, the clouds dissipated to reveal an elemental sprite whose lower body was covered by a spiral of unlimited lightning elemental particles.

"What a terrifying human!" Only now did it dare mutter to itself, a tremble in its voice, "He'd long since found me! Just his gaze alone was paralysing… Even the earlier Morning Stars haven't given me this feeling, could he be a great Radiant Moon Magus?"

This lightning elemental sprite with a body of lightning energy particles shuddered as it looked in the direction Leylin had departed, eyes full of fear...

*Boom!* The black clouds parted as a similarly black streak flew across the skies, with black flames trailing behind as it left a magnificent path in the air.

"Hah… So this is Sky City, the airborne holy land of the Magi!" Leylin observed a large floating city from the deck in amazement.

This city was constructed on a hemispherical island. The city itself was massive, glowing with light from all types of spells. Once in a while, a few ant-like black dots would move in the distance horizon. With Leylin's sight, he could tell that they were no ants, but magic airships that were bigger than even the most gigantic cruises in his previous world.

In comparison to the floating city, these large airships appeared to be tiny.

"And to think I still knew that Sky City was afloat. Pictures and words can't describe the mind-blowing nature of this view." As the Colossal Serpent approached it, the city seemed to grow even larger. A faint golden light rose from the heart of the city, seeming to create a holy radiance in the sky.

"Peace and harmony! What a beautiful city!" Even Leylin could not help but sing its praises right now.

[Beep! The Colossal Serpent has received a communication request.] the A.I. Chip sounded. The floating city had obviously discovered the communication devices on Leylin's personal airship.

'As expected of something from the Fallor Family, they'd tampered with the airship!' Leylin's eyes flashed coldly. While he had known of this, he had allowed it because it made communications easier, which did not go past his bottom line.

Leylin had intentionally used the Colossal Serpent to come here. If he were to sneak in alone, who would discover him?

Through the communications channel, a polite and humble voice was heard. "Airship number DKGW1394! Distinguished Duke Farlier, welcome to Sky City! Please follow our guiding airship and park at the private port we've allocated!"

"Mm!" Leylin agreed, and the Colossal Serpent began to slow down while following the mentioned route before it stopped.

Meanwhile, in the command room somewhere in Sky City, things were in chaos!

"Morning Star undulations detected! Determined to be at Four Stars!"

"No issues with the Colossal Serpent. Kemoyin Duke Farlier is confirmed to be inside." Information was flashed through red warning lights and many staff members gaped at the gigantic airship. The figures working the deck felt faint.

"A Morning Star has come to visit us. Why were we not notified earlier?" A burly middle-aged man shouted as he barged in after bursting through the door. He looked panicked as he snarled, "Do you know who he is? He's the most powerful Kemoyin Warlock in history, the one who killed Demon Hunter Cyril. It's Duke Leylin Farlier! If this kind of person flares up at us for how we receive him, we're finished!"

Immediately after, he looked at the red warning alarm and couldn't help but hold his head in his hands, feeling the desire to end his life there and then. "Four Star undulations? The upper-tier of Morning Star? Gods, just let me die!"

Morning Star Magi were a rarity in the central continent, and there were naturally no clear methods of classifying them. They were normally classified based on their reputation and battle achievements among others.

As the holy land of Magi, Sky City was the most advanced research centre in the central continent. It had independently come up with a standard to measure the strength of a Morning Star.

They had divided Morning Stars into five levels represented by five Stars, with a One Star Magus being the weakest. A grade of Four Stars was already at the upper tier of Morning Stars, while Five Stars was the peak!

Of course, since Leylin had intentionally hidden some of his strength, their detection was not accurate.

However, even Four Stars was already terrifying. Most of the Morning Stars were around One to Three Stars. Morning Stars at Four Stars or above were absolutely powerful, and even Radiant Moons would be apprehensive when up against them.

Sky City might be called the holy land of Magi, but there were few Morning Stars of this calibre among their ranks.

People like them in charge of the ports could not afford to offend him. Even if they were exposed to the radiations on his body, there would be massive casualties here!

"We've already sent out the signal and requested that he stop at the personal dock. He's accepted our guidance airship, and is probably here with kind intentions…"

A golden-haired young man produced a handkerchief and wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead. "What we need to do now is to report this news to the Sage Committee, and then all of us should welcome him!"

"Oh, yes, yes! You're right. Quick, report it in!" While the Sage Committee which controlled Sky City had their own methods of detection, as their subordinates, they had to do their utmost as well.

The burly man from before looked like he had just woken up as he snarled, "What are you standing there like that for? Report it in, and follow me to welcome him!"

"No need for that." A white-gold flash appeared in the control room.

"Lord Boffel!" The staff of the control room immediately bowed to the man.

"He comes with good intentions and doesn't want to act ostentatiously. I'll see to him myself. Go back to your posts and forget about this!" The white-gold light spoke and diverged into many rays of light.

"Good, good! With our Morning Star taking over, anything that happens next isn't our problem!" The burly man sighed, hands behind his back as he left the control room.

The other members in the control room looked relieved as they sat back down. The young man who had reported this earlier continued to work diligently, concealing the envy and feverish look in his eyes.

*Boom!* The Colossal Serpent steadily descended atop a lawn with a large rune on it, not flipping up any dust.

"Is it Lord Leylin? Welcome!" Due to the urgent message just now, there was no staff member around. A young man with platinum hair and wings of light similar to the wings of angels stood under the elevating platform of the airship.

"I am Leylin Farlier. You are…?" The door opened and Leylin walked out, looking friendly.

Though Gilbert had suggested that he sneak in and conceal his identity, Leylin wanted the title of a Virtuous Sky Sage in Sky City, and he would need to make contact with the Endowing Scepter. He would definitely be interrogated thoroughly and would even attract the attention of the Monarch of the Skies. How could he conceal himself?

Hence, Leylin had chosen to step forward without any tricks. The title of a Virtuous Sky Sage from Sky City was an honour open to all Magi of the central continent, and large numbers of scholars would be attracted here. It was not shameful in any way that he wanted to obtain this.

-x-X-x-

The title of Virtuous Sky Sage was an honour given by Sky City to top scholars. As long as Magi had achievements in academics and were acknowledged by the Sage Committee, they could be awarded this title.

Not only was it an honour to become a Sage, there were benefits to it as well. Not only could they gain a bonus of two levels to their vitality from the Endowing Scepter, they also had the opportunity to join Sky City themselves. Even if they did not enter, the Monarch of the Skies would still protect them, and they would be able to move around the central continent without obstruction.

Hence, whether it was for the fame, the benefits, or just to make up for their weaknesses in academics, large numbers of scholarly Magi came here every year, which allowed Sky City to gain the good reputation of being the cradle of truth.

Even if he couldn't pass, just gaining the favour of the Monarch of the Skies and being baptised by the Endowing Scepter once was no big issue.

Leylin was now feeling very confident. The gift he had prepared would surely move rank 6 Breaking Dawn Magi!

How could the coordinates of another world not be enough? He'd never promised Wayde not to give away the coordinates of the Lava World to a third party anyway.

It was attractive enough that the Monarch of the Skies could make an exception.

He was just unsure if Wayde and Zegna would cough up blood after finding out about this.

Which Magus would not take the secret of a world's coordinates to their grave? Only a freak like Leylin would actively go around, using it as a gift and giving it to others.

"Boffel!" The person who had arrived announced his name.

As he began to judge the Magus opposite him, the first word that came to Boffel's mind was 'Young'! Whether it was his handsome face or the surging life force, everything gave him a sense of youth.

"Based on the rumours, Lord Leylin should be less than three hundred, yes? You've already become a Morning Star and gained such a huge reputation!"

Boffel observed this genius Warlock. He wore gilded robes and gloves. His eyes were full of warmth and his smile was like the sunshine. With the crescent dangling from his earlobe, his handsome face was the type that young, teenaged girls or even female Magi would go crazy over.

"So it's Lord Boffel!" Leylin looked at this person who seemed very similar to an angel, and had no idea how to react. However, the Morning Star radiation from his body was something that could not be imitated.

The Monarch of the Skies held control of various organisations across the continent, and had quite a few Radiant Moons under his wing. Obviously, the Morning Stars subordinate to him were much larger in number. Boffel here was one of them.

Official Magi could make modifications to their own bodies. By the time a Magus reached Morning Star, they were almost guaranteed to have something strange on their bodies. Presently, Leylin could not tell if the other party's shining wings were due to his bloodline or some sort of spell. The only way to confirm would be to run tests on him.

"Are you here as a representative of the Ouroboros Clan, my Lord? What is it that you require?" Boffel asked after the greetings. This was a question that had been weighing on his mind for a while. He had heard of the Ouroboros Clan's recent activities, as well as of their conflict with Jupiter's Lightning. It was unlikely that Leylin would come out at such a crucial time for a holiday.

"Mm! I heard that the appraisal for Virtuous Sky Sages is about to begin. I've come bearing the truth!" Leylin did not conceal his motives.

"Appraisal?!" Boffel was dumbstruck. Never could he have expected that Leylin would actually be interested in this,

The title of Virtuous Sky Sage was only something that made it more convenient for scholars to travel across the continent. However, Leylin was already at Morning Star. Which organisation would not give him face?

Benefits, honour and the like were as fleeting as cobwebs to Morning Star Magi. Perhaps the only thing they would regard with importance would be the baptism of the Endowing Scepter for them, the only thing that they regarded as important would be the baptising through the Adept Scepter.

An increase of almost 20 points in vitality was very attractive even to Morning Stars.

"The Sage Appraisal is a public selection of Magi throughout the central continent. Am I not qualified?" Leylin asked with a smile.

"Of course you are! Lord Leylin's presence is sure to make the appraisal more exciting than usual!" Boffel answered without any hesitation.

The Sage Appraisal had long since gained a reputation for its independence of factions and status. It held the unanimous approval of all of the central continent's Magi, which was how it had become a holy land in the first place. It took in fresh blood all the time, and Boffel would be a fool to refuse Leylin.

"Hehe… In that case, please follow me to the temporary villa we've prepared for you. You can organise the thesis that you wish to present as well as your experiments, and wait for the appraisal to begin!"

Boffel's invitation was enthusiastic. Though they were few in number, Morning Stars were known to attend the Sage Appraisal, and Sky City had its own policy on dealing with this.

In general, as long as the Magi who came forward did not break laws and had no restrictions placed on themselves, they could do as they wished and would need to be received warmly.

"Many thanks!" Leylin did not reject Boffel's invitation.

No matter where he went, he would be monitored anyway. He could just move into the place that had been specified, and he would be treated well too.

...

"My Lord!" A maid wearing a pure white silk gown was respectfully holding a towel and other items, waiting for Leylin's summon.

"This is a pretty good place!" Leylin had on a loose white robe and was half reclining on a chair made of jade and stone. Within arm's reach were fine food and good liquor.

He was now inside a gigantic white villa. The whole place seemed to be made entirely out of white marble, resulting in an aura of refined elegance. Three fountains were placed next to Leylin, spurting out fragrant spring water.

Outside was a flowering garden with a lawn. The lands of the villa were very expansive, and in Sky City where every inch of land was extremely valuable, this was practically unbelievable.

Of course, special privileges and preferential treatment were inevitable and only rightful when it came to Morning Stars.

After bringing him to this area and instructing the staff inside to take care of him, Boffel left in a hurry, probably to report to his superiors.

Hierarchy was etched deep into the minds of the people in the Magus World. Even if Leylin displayed his incredible battle might and terrifying talent, the one receiving him was merely a Morning Star.

The real ruler of Sky City, his Majesty, the Monarch of the Skies, was still acting behind the scenes alongside with the other Radiant Moon.

"You are a Lightwing?" Leylin couldn't help but ask after seeing the white feathers behind this maid's back.

"Yes, my lord!" This maid was rather tall and slender. Her legs and body were perfectly proportionate, resulting in a smooth curve.

The Lightwings were one of the winged races. They had an exceptional sensitivity to light elemental energy particles, and usually had very good results when training in light-type high-grade meditation techniques.

She seemed to be using a three level meditation technique.

Of course, if she were of Boffel's level of strength, Leylin would be unable to identify her bloodline and specific meditation technique, as they were both at the Morning Star realm.

"What's your name?" Leylin took a towel from the other party and wiped his hands as he asked in curiosity.

"Yuro, my lord!" The Lightwing maid spoke as if in a hurry. Leylin's presence just put too much pressure on her, even if he intentionally withheld his energy undulations.

"Accompany me outside." Since he had come to the place called the cradle of truth, how could Leylin miss a chance to go out? Besides, he had come as a guest. Boffel would be stupid to dare restrict his freedom.

However, he was currently in someone else's territory. With Boffel being backed by the Monarch of the Skies, Leylin had to give him some face and bring the maid along.

"Al- Alright!" Yuro lowered her head deeply. As a maid of this villa, she obviously knew her duties.

"Let's go!" Leylin stretched before taking the lead.

"Do you know where the Great Library is?" Leylin was most interested in this place. The information in his A.I. Chip only came from the Ouroboros Clan and what he'd gathered himself during his travels. Compared to the entirety of the central continent, that was like a drop in the ocean.

The Sky City, however, was different. Not only was it the territory of the Monarch of the Skies, it was also the holy land of knowledge, the academic center of the entire central continent.

The knowledge they had accumulated was bound to be at a terrifying level. How much would the A.I. Chip grow after he acquired all of it?

Knowledge was power among Magi. This was no longer just a maxim, and had instead become a fundamental truth.

"The Great Library is beside the Sky Plaza. Would you like to go there, my Lord?" Yuro asked in a low voice. As she raised her head, Leylin's near devilish handsomeness warmed her face.

"Of course! I've long since been interested in the largest library in the entire central continent!" There was a hint of worship in Leylin's tone. There was a thirst and worship of knowledge specific only to those who were keen to learn the truth.

"Understood, my Lord. Please come with me!" Yuro began to lead the way.

Her long, soft hair came loose, occasionally floating above the feathered wings on her back, as it it were sitting on a gentle breeze.

Leylin rubbed his nose and followed with a laugh.

After heading out of the residential area, the shadows of conical buildings were seen as the buildings covered the glaring sun in the sky. There were plants growing beside the spotless streets. The bustling streams of people travelled back and forth, making Leylin feel like he had returned to his previous world.

-x-X-x-

Seeing some of these structures, Leylin suddenly understood a fact. 'Sky City occupies a small region of land, but it has a burgeoning population. It's obvious that every bit of land here is expensive. The villa that I was allotted to was probably in the wealthiest region. In this place, nobody below the Morning Star realm can have such a luxury…'

There were streams of people on the streets, and practically all the different races in the central continent could be seen here.The Magi here possessed scholarly auras and were dressed in luxurious clothing, treating the others with respect.

'Through the influence of civilisation, the behaviours of the residents of the city have evolved…' Leylin exhaled deeply. Only a place like Sky City which was under the protection of a Monarch could display such a moving scene.

As Leylin had withdrawn his aura, he now seemed like the most ordinary of low-ranked Magi bringing his maid out as he took a stroll. He did not attract any attention.

As he was walking, he saw many Lightwings like Yuro. Quite a few were dressed like servants, following behind Magi. This made him observe Yuro herself, and he found her to be lacking.

Lights flashed in Leylin's mind. Yuro's talent was nothing in Sky City, and if she truly wanted to stay here she would need to rely on the Magi. Her best option was to become a servant.

Of course, those who were already considered excellent amongst the Lightwings obtained a higher status. However, no matter how much status they had, they could only remain as subordinates in front of their owners. This was rather uncomfortable, and feeling sorrow for their own kind living this way was understandable.

*Boom!* There was a sudden explosion in the streets, and the place immediately turned chaotic.

"Hm?" Leylin moved several steps backwards without leaving behind any marks, and Yuro grew nervous as she looked around them.

'This intense energy wasn't targeting me, it seems to be a coincidence.' Leylin thought. He had stepped backwards in order to avoid trouble and waved his hands to get the nervous Yuro to back down. He then turned his attention to the scene.

A group of white-robed Magi with jewelled crowns on their foreheads and curved blades in hand were in a fight with another group of Magi.

'These energy undulations… They are at rank 3, but they possess a frightening vitality. Not bad!' Leylin easily saw through the veil that the Magi had cast upon themselves.

The white-robed Magi had astoundingly high vitality. This was especially true of their leader, his curved blade launching terrifying glints of light as it forced the dark Magi opposite them to withdraw.

Leylin was rather interested in gaining information about tempering the body.

"Do conflicts like this happen often here?" Leylin shot a glance at Yuro.

Yuro shook her head, "No! I've been here for decades, and this is only the fourth time such a thing is happening! The Sage Committee will react soon enough!"

"They're already there." Leylin looked towards the sky, a smile on his face.

*Rumble!* Platinum flames flickered, forming a clump of light from which a Magus in platinum robes stepped forth. He looked extremely young, even childlike. However, the moment he arrived, a frightening energy swept across the area.

*Thud!* The two groups of Magi who were in a tussle were immediately blown backwards. The leader fell to his knees as his bones exploded under a suppressive force. Finally, he collapsed to the ground like a giant toad.

Morning Star domain! This little imp was actually a Morning Star Magus! And what's more, Sky City's first reaction to such an issue was to send a Morning Star to suppress it!

*Swish!* In the meanwhile, even more Magi dressed in Sky City's uniform had rushed to the scene. None of them was below the Hydro Phase in terms of power, and all of them had a hardened, bloody aura and indifferent expression.

With the suppression from a Morning Star as well as the arrival of a large group of elites, the two groups were immediately restrained. Even their seas of consciousness were bound as they were escorted away. Their heads hung low.

'Hehe! As expected of Sky City. Their strength is so great that they can send out such elite forces quite casually.' Leylin envied them.

Yuro misunderstood his gaze. Seeing this lord watching the direction in which these Magi were taken, she thought he might be wondering how they would be taken care of.

"They're done for. Since they dared create trouble in Sky City, people from both ends will be punished. At the very least they'll be expelled, and they might even be forced into labour…" she explained to Leylin in a low voice.

"Mm! Who are they?" Leylin was not really interested in the state they would end up in. What he was more concerned about was the body-tempering spells that the Magi had used.

Though it was merely a quick glance, Leylin could tell that their body-tempering methods were complete. If there was information for Morning Stars, then it would definitely be able to affect him to a certain extent.

"I don't know, but based on their attire, they should be people from the Northern Desert!" Yuro answered.

Suddenly, she felt a chill in her body and looked around, realising something had changed.

Under the domain of a Morning Star, be it the Magi or the residents, they were all lying on the ground, too afraid to move. Actually, they couldn't move at all, and yet she was standing as if nothing had happened. She and Leylin seemed extremely out of place in this scene.

'Is this my Lord's strength? After all, he's a Morning Star as well!'

The Magus floating in mid-air discovered this strange situation quickly. With a flash of platinum flames, the childish Morning Star appeared in front of Leylin.

"I never expected to see a Lord here!" Upon seeing Leylin, the arrogance on his expression was moderated.

When the young man turned and saw Yuro, recognition dawned in his eyes. "I remember you! You're a maid in Boffel's villa!"

"Yes, Lord Weyers!" Yuro knelt respectfully, making introductions "This is an important guest of Lord Boffel's— Lord Leylin Farlier of the Ouroboros Clan!"

"So it's you! The strongest Kemoyin Warlock, someone who killed Demon Hunter Cyril right after advancing to Morning Star."

Leylin could do little about this. As there was no obvious method of classifying Morning Stars, their reputation and achievements in battle had become their distinguishing characteristics.

And what he was currently famous for was killing Demon Hunter Cyril. As for the title of strongest Kemoyin Warlock in history, he had no idea how that had come about. It left him speechless.

"Lord Weyers became a Morning Star even before reaching a hundred years of age. Even in the entire history of the continent, he's among the top hundreds!"

"Before reaching a hundred?" Leylin nodded in understanding.

When someone advanced to become a Magus, they would permanently keep their original appearance. This fellow must have become an official Magus extremely early, and the following advances had helped him retain his looks. This was why he appeared this juvenile.

'It looks like he probably became an official Magus at eight to nine years old. What a demonic genius!' Leylin's pupils shrank.

When he was eight to nine years old, he probably didn't even know what a Magus was.

'To reach that level, one needs an astonishing aptitude, but that is not enough. There also need to be top-grade meditation techniques and expansive resources, as well as the mentorship of famous teachers. It looks like this Weyers has a great backing.'

Even as he wondered about such things inside, Leylin feigned shock. "Lord Weyers is a rare genius in the continent! Morning Stars like us can only blush with shame…"

Words of flattery were free of charge, and he specifically picked out the nicest words. As expected, a look of pride rose on Weyers' face.

Face was something he had long since thrown into the drain. With this Magus' strength, talent and backing, one could not show distaste on their face unless it was possible to kill him in one move and eliminate his backers.

Leylin had nothing against him, and he began to assess his own strength. It was probably difficult to destroy Sky City, which was why his words of flattery were boundless.

Even if they were merely pleasantries, it also depended on who was saying them.

Weyers had been treated as a genius since he was young, and he had probably heard many compliments like this before. However, praises from Morning Star like Leylin evidently put him in a good mood.

"Of course not! If I, as I am now, were to be matched against Cyril, things might be slightly difficult. I quite admire Lord Leylin…"

Geniuses were perhaps the loneliest of people. Weyers had never had someone at a similar age to his who could speak to him as an equal. While Leylin was slightly older than he was, they were somewhat around the same age. Apart from being a Warlock, Leylin had some reputation in Potioneering too. Hence, Weyers felt like he had found a companion at the same age and began to converse with Leylin.

"...Haha, Once this matter is over, I'll definitely drop by for a visit, Leylin."

By the end of their conversation, Weyers had automatically dropped the formality of the Lord title, calling Leylin by name. It showed that they had gotten closer.

Weyers and Leylin conversed for a long while as if nobody else was present. Whether it was the Magi on the ground or the other guards, nobody dared disturb them, and they could only wait pitifully.

Of course, due to the power of the Morning Star domains, they could not hear the contents of the conversation between the two. All they knew was that this Lord of theirs, who had always looked cold, seemed to be in a good mood.

There were very few Magi who the Lord found to be pleasant company. The guard team was astonished as they all snuck peeks at Leylin before departing with Weyers.

-x-X-x-

"Let's go! Leylin watched Weyers as he left and brought Yuro with him. He had yet to arrive at his intended destination, which was the Great Library. To him, whatever just happened was like a circus act and nothing more.

When Leylin's figure had disappeared as well, the remaining Magi present immediately got up, their faces full of grime.

Being affected by the battle out of nowhere and being suppressed by a Morning Star domain for a long time had now left them in a pitiful state.

Afterwards, the officials who had arrived slowly began to tidy up the roads and calculated the losses. Everything was methodical and thorough.

"Gill!" back in the office, Weyers' voice was low. The arrogance from before had completely vanished.

"Master!" A black shadow silently surfaced from the floor.

"Investigate this! Who's responsible for the incident at the Floating Feather Avenue? Who was it that did this on my watch?" Weyers' voice was frigid as he spoke in a discerning manner.

"Understood!" The black figure answered and withdrew noiselessly.

Once Weyers was alone in the room, he frowned. He began to sift through the memories of the day's events, and a cold smirk appeared on his lips. "Trying to use me as cannon fodder, eh? Good! Very good!"

How many among those who had reached the Morning Star realm were fools? No matter how young he looked, even if he seemed like a child, Weyers had lived for almost a hundred years. It was clear to him what had happened.

Provoking a Morning Star Magus just for some false reputation? He would not do anything so stupid. Even if his backing could take on the backlash, pointless actions should be avoided if possible.

"That Warlock Leylin from today was quite interesting. Like me, he's being bound by some pointless reputation." Through the events that had occurred that day, Weyers had formed a favourable impression of Leylin.

He was currently enraged at the person who had set up this situation. "Perhaps I've been keeping a low profile for too long, and some people have begun to think I'm an easy target…" he muttered to himself after a long period of silence. The temperature dropped as his voice sounded, and the place turned into an icy wonderland…

Of course, Leylin was not aware of any of this. After Weyers had left, he had arrived at the Great Library under Yuro's guidance.

"Truth is my calling!" "The pursuit of knowledge is the foundation of all strength."

Leylin was currently observing a large number of statues in a seemingly boundless palace. They were proportionate, and so detailed one could differentiate the strands of hair on their bodies. It made them seem lifelike.

The pedestals under these statues held information like their time periods, maxims, achievements and the like.

Leylin turned his attention to the time period of the central statue after reading its maxim. "Illesme. Year 1327–?"

"Just a birth date, and no death date. Could he have lived for over five thousand years?' Leylin stared at this statue in astonishment. He saw a kindly old man there, a spotless white beard floating in front of his chest. A pair of wise eyes hid behind circular rimmed glasses.

"This is the Great Sage, Lord Illesme. He was the first generation ruler of Sky City and is a Breaking Dawn Magus. While his whereabouts are currently unknown, many still believe that he is alive, and is perhaps risking his life exploring foreign worlds…" Yuro was full of admiration as she made the introduction.

"Mm!" Leylin had seen some information regarding this Great Sage, but those were all mixed in with legends and rumours. None had been as specific as the base of the statue.

He circled the forest of statues with interest, finding that only Morning Star Magi and above were allowed here. They were scholars who had made significant contributions to Sky City or the Magus World.

There was a small number of Magi who were like Illesme, with only a birth but no death date.

This meant there was a good possibility of them still being alive, perhaps stuck in foreign worlds or ancient spell formations. However, if they were to appear as a group, the strength they possessed was enough for the entire central continent to tremble.

"Without the contributions of the past sages, there would not be the Magi of today!"

Leylin looked solemn as he bowed to the many statues, "I, Leylin Farlier, shall complete all your unfinished work, and resolve all regrets!"

Of course, he could only say this inside his mind. If Yuro heard it, things would be slightly troublesome.

Though the continent was full of ambitious Magi, there were few as egotistical as Leylin.

After they paid their respects, Yuro brought Leylin to the entrance of what seemed like a greek temple. "My Lord, here is the entrance to the Great Library. The collection here in the Sky City is open to all Magi with no restrictions."

What surprised Leylin was that the entrance to the library had no doors, nor were there any guards. Everyone could move about freely.

A comfortable warm glow from eternal light spells filled the area.

Magi would pass by Leylin every once in a while, but while there were quite a few of them, they were generally very quiet.

Yuro spoke in a low voice by Leylin's ear. "The Great Library is set up above a gigantic spell formation and is being managed by a sentient spirit genie. It's in charge of all management, and while there aren't any guards stationed here, there has never been an incident thus far!"

"There's never been an incident here?" Leylin nodded. This meant that on top of the basic effects of repelling dust, moisture and flames, the gigantic spell formation also possessed an exceedingly more powerful defensive ability.

"Yes! Rumour has it that the defensive spell formation of the Great Library can even confine a Morning Star…" She was apprehensive while she spoke, peeking at Leylin while afraid he would grow angry. However, Leylin remained calm, and Yuro could not tell if he was happy or annoyed.

"Not bad! My expectation on the information here has risen further now!"

With the spirit genie managing the area, every single corner of the library was probably being monitored. With the ability to suppress even Morning Stars and the Magi of Sky City being ready to provide support very quickly if anything were to happen, there seemed to be an impenetrable defence. There was obviously a vast amount of information.

There was a large bright hall past the entrance that could hold over a thousand people without becoming crowded. At the middle were hundreds of tables, and what looked like terminals.

"The Great Library is separated into seven levels. The first three are open to all Magi, and you can browse through once you pay a certain number of magic crystals. The information and documents at the fourth level and above are kept very confidential, and one can only browse through them using information points."

Leylin stood aside, watching a Magus operating the system. After inserting pure magic crystals into the terminal and using spiritual force to interface with it, he took out a blank crystal ball at the opening of another device. Large amounts of information was transmitted, instantly filling the crystal ball up with information.

"Transmission of data, as well as a backup!" Leylin shouted in surprise. Thankfully, the terminal could not directly send information to the Magus' memory, or Leylin would be worried that something like the A.I. Chip existed in this world.

"Yes! As long as it's information that the spirit genie has a backup of, it can be duplicated using the terminal. Of course, there is a required fee."

Some information was stored in certain special materials, and it could only be presented in that specific format. For example, there were some books that the spirit genie was unable to make a duplicate of, and required that one read using the physical copy.

Leylin now had so many magic crystals that he cared little for them. He asked Yuro, "How do I obtain information points?"

"There are two methods. One is to complete missions by the Sage Committee. The second is to furnish the spirit genie's inner library with information it still does not possess. One will be awarded information points based on the value of the added information."

Yuro laughed wryly, "But I don't recommend the second method. This could have been possible in the early days, but with the addition by generations of Magi, there's very little information that the Great Library has yet to obtain…"

After hearing how the library operated, Leylin was quiet for a long while and took a deep breath. "How bold!" he exclaimed. Even the first three levels being made public showed how bold they were.

The system of information points conversion also allowed the library to become more abundant in information, and by this point, it had accumulated a vast trove of knowledge.

Such a huge amassment of information had allowed Sky City to withstand the test of time. Considering it one of the strongest organisations in the central continent was not even a stretch.

Yuro brought Leylin to a terminal. After paying the magic crystals, she passed a white crystal card to Leylin. "This is a blank crystal card. Every newcomer here will obtain one!

"You may choose to seal it with your spiritual force, or you can leave it open. However, you will then need to keep your crystal card properly, or else anyone can choose to use it!"

With a sweep of Leylin's soul force, the library card began to emit a black luster. He placed the card in a small depression, and the terminal's screen instantly brightened.

A few lines in a familiar script appeared on it and gave him a few choices.

Leylin did not try to skim through the table of contents, but instead chose to obtain information points through providing data.

Though Yuro mentioned that the database was already quite complete, Leylin was confident. His A.I. Chip had a lot of information regarding the Lava World! The Great Library couldn't have information from foreign worlds, could it?

-x-X-x-

[Beep! Spiritual force data connection detected, proceed with transmission?] The A.I. Chip intoned.

Although Leylin had placed a crystal ball on the transmission port of the terminal, he was actually mobilizing his A.I. Chip for it instead.

"Try this first!" Leylin selected a piece of information regarding the one-horned clan of the Lava World and uploaded it.

"Serial number ZXC678 has chosen to contribute information. Processing…" A progress bar suddenly appeared on the terminal screen.

As the progress bar reached completion, it was replaced with new content.

"Helix Tree composite image: 89% complete! Initial inventory: 40% complete! Effectiveness: 51%! Initializing fusion of data... Helix Tree composite image: 91% complete! Your contribution has been evaluated and you will be awarded 26 information points!"

*Whoosh!* A golden light flashed, and the number 26 appeared in a new row on Leylin's library card.

He drew a sharp breath. 'It even contains knowledge from such a remote place as the Lava World, even if it's flawed…'

After a moment of thought, though, he came to a realisation, "The ancient Magus World was in control of a great number of other worlds. Sky City obtained a portion of the ancient world's database, so it's no strange matter that it contains some pieces of flawed content!"

After that one attempt, Leylin had to restrain his excitement. "I'll be living here from now, so don't disturb me unnecessarily," he instructed Yuro. Soon after, he left the dumbfounded maid alone and buried his head into the sea of knowledge.

...

The huge library in Sky City could be said to have everything. Its information was not limited to that about the central continent; there was data about other worlds as well.

Further in from the data terminals and the hall was the gigantic library that resembled a palace. Some sort of technique had been employed to expand the space within. At a glimpse, one would see bookshelves as massive as mountains, all so densely packed and numerous that there seemed to be no end.

Leylin was now standing at the foot of a bookshelf that was tens of metres tall. The giant wooden ladder brought him in front of a row of little black catalogues as per his wish.

"Mm! Raphael's Poetic Saga!" Leylin nodded, his eyes glistening.

"The many ancient myths and legends actually contain a large amount of intelligence, it's just that those who recorded these accounts have beautified and romanticised them. Thus, we have to separate the wheat from the chaff in order to obtain the most accurate information. Raphael was a famous poet in ancient times, yet he also had a hidden identity as a Magus. Therefore, all the accounts that he recorded have high research value…" Leylin muttered to himself as his eyes glistened. He fingered through the numerous volume numbers of a series of books and stopped when he reached volume 239.

When he tried to pull out the book, the robotic voice of the spirit genie rang in his mind, "Beep! You are requesting to read Raphael's Poetic Saga, Volume 239. Fee is 2 information points. Do you wish to proceed?"

"Yes!" With a motion of Leylin's soul force, 2 information points were automatically deducted from his library card. The energy that had been protecting Raphael's Poetic Saga also disappeared suddenly, allowing Leylin to remove the book easily from the shelf.

He clicked his tongue. "Although I know that library books of grade 3 and above are very expensive, even these mere historical records have such exorbitant costs…"

Leylin shook his head. The wooden ladder, as though a living creature, automatically transported him onto the ground.

Leylin was now in the fifth storey of the library, which was much quieter than the previous levels he had been to. There was practically no one there, and beside the tens of bookshelves, there would always be a small area where Magi could peruse the books.

Leylin found a random chair and sat down as he began to flip open the jet black cover of Raphael's Poetic Saga.

"I have come…. I can see…"

The pages of the book were a dazzling flame-like red. The words, especially, were like fire sprites, jumping around the pages.

'A.I. Chip, record this!' Leylin commanded inwardly.

[Assignment established, beginning scan! Beep! Raphael's Poetic Saga, Volume 239 discovered. Supplementing Raphael's Poetic Saga in the history folder!] The robotic voice of the A.I. Chip sounded. Seconds later, the entirety of Raphael's Poetic Saga had been recorded.

"I've been searching high and low for this portion of Raphael's Poetic Saga, and was lacking just these few volumes. Who would have thought that this huge library would actually contain the full set! Now that it has been supplemented…"

An expression of satisfaction surfaced across Leylin's face. As a bonus, he had discovered the shortcomings of the spirit genie and the data terminal.

Through data transmission, the spirit genie could only fully engrave low grade data records into crystals. However, Magi would still have to obtain the knowledge within them through studying them, unlike the A.I. Chip which was able to directly transmit information to one's memory.

Comparing the time consumed by the two methods, the disparity was rather frightening. This further proved that the A.I. Chip's operational and analytical abilities were far better than that of the spirit genie.

Moreover, content that was at grade 3 and above were mostly engraved using the Magus' own energy. The materials the books were made of were also very special. The spirit genie was unable to duplicate such information, and thus Magi had to come down personally to study the content from the physical book itself.

"Even so, this huge library is still rather overwhelming!" As compared to his previous database, the amount of information in the entire library was seemingly like a vast ocean—boundless. It was incomparably enriching. Leylin felt like a person who was nearly dying from thirst being thrown into a freshwater lake all of a sudden. He absorbed all the content as though his life depended on it, and never stepped a foot out of the place.

The same went for the A.I. Chip. As its database grew with even more detailed and complex subjects, its technical ability was supplemented unceasingly.

The copious amount of information in here formed a foundation for all disciplines of magic scholarship.

Leylin had a premonition that the numerous resources he had amassed this time would result in a relatively drastic upgrade for the A.I. Chip. After this upgrade, he would definitely reap harvests that he would not have even dreamed of before!

[Beep! Supplementation of foundational information complete. Refreshing and restarting system, estimated time: 2 hours, 34 minutes and 13 seconds!] The A.I. Chip prompted, startling Leylin.

"It actually grew to such an extent? What surprises will be the renewed database bring me?" This was a happy occasion, and Leylin's face almost lit up with delight.

"Indeed, I made the right choice to come to Sky City. Even if not for the Endowing Scepter, I just had to make this trip."

Although there was loads of information in the huge library, Leylin felt that content that was grade 3 and below were the most important. This was because he possessed a near unlimited amount of magic crystals, and coupled with the data terminal the convenience of information transmission was unparalleled. In just a short span of time, the foundational information that could be duplicated by the spirit genie had all been backed up into the A.I. Chip.

As for more advanced content that was above grade 3, Leylin had tossed out all his information to the spirit genie—as long as it was eligible for conversion and would not attract any trouble, of course. This allowed him to exchange his data for a monumental amount of information points. He then specifically searched for topics that Warlocks and the A.I. Chip lacked information on before commanding the A.I. Chip to scan and record it.

With the A.I. Chip, a large amount of academic content could be derived from just the foundational information alone. No matter how high the grade, the content could still be deduced.

After all, now that he already had a great foundation, all that was left was to perform derivations that would consume copious amounts of operational energy.

Leylin used his information points to directly access the content that the A.I. Chip did not have the ability to derive, thus completing his database.

In this manner, within the short span of a month or so, he had already recorded roughly all of the content in the huge library.

One must know that even Radiant Moons, Breaking Dawns and other Magi or scholars who grew up in Sky City wouldn't be able to remember so much. The excessive accumulated information would have conflicting information, causing the Magus to forget some things. They would have to constantly refresh their memory.

With their standards, being able to remember all the grade 1 and 2 information would mean that one was an absolute genius. Leylin, however, had exceeded them by leaps and bounds. He'd accumulated a lifetime of information!

If others knew about his terrifying rate of progress, Leylin would definitely attract a lot of trouble. Thus, he could only be secretly satisfied with himself, not revealing anything.

"When the A.I. Chip is done refreshing, I'm afraid that I will be worthy of being called the most learned person throughout the entire central continent, and will be knowledgeable about even the research done in other worlds…"

Leylin had now thoroughly understood the meaning of the phrase "knowledge is power!"

While his further studies did not increase his strength by a single bit, the underlying effect on his foundation was truly terrifying.

"This is just right! The information points are mostly spent, so I might as well use up all of the remaining ones as well!

Leylin fished out his library card, the thin lines of golden numbers immensely glaring. They couldn't be compared to the single long line of numbers on his card previously. The astronomical number of information points had only lasted him a month or so.

*Crash!* Opposite Leylin's desk, a female Magus raised her head and peered over her book curiously, gazing at Leylin's back. A pair of spectacles with thick lenses was perched on the bridge of her nose, and her hair was tied in two braids.

She had been paying attention to this strange Magus in front of her for a long time now.

He didn't seem to lack information points, which could be seen from how he often referred to thick stacks of resources. Even if she worked all day and night for a month without rest, she wouldn't be able to earn the amount of information points required for such information.

After selecting his resources, he didn't read the information carefully, but instead flipped through it briefly before casually casting it aside. This made her heart ache.

Library resources that were grade 3 and above were only for private browsing in the reading room. They couldn't be brought out of the library or exchanged with others. Under the supervision of the spirit genie, there were no loopholes.

Thus, this female Magus could only drool with envy at the mountains of resources Leylin had acquired with his information points, and couldn't do a single thing about it.

Without the scanning abilities of the A.I. Chip, Leylin could only depend on reading the resources himself to obtain knowledge. Thus, he chose a book on how to optimise one's vitality, and laid back in his chair as he slowly started to read.

The eternal light spell was adjusted by the spirit genie, gently tuning the light rays for a better reading experience. Time ticked by along with the rustling sound of the pages turning.

'This odd Magus is finally acting normal!' The female Magus secretly nodded, then continued to immerse herself in her books. Time was precious, and she could not afford to waste any of it.

-x-X-x-

[Beep! Database has been refreshed. Update completed.] After Leylin had flipped through about half of the book in his hands, the A.I. Chip which had gone silent for a while suddenly sounded out.

"Good! Let's see if there are any differences in the upgraded A.I. Chip!" His attention immediately wandered from the book, and he focused on his A.I. Chip.

[Beep! Database on soul force is complete. Beginning collection of host's data, recalculating.] The first prompt that the A.I. Chip gave had Leylin elated.

"So soul force has finally been enumerated..." He had been at a loss due to the A.I. Chip's inability to enumerate soul force for a very long time. All this while, he had collected a lot of information on the soul, and performed many experiments and thought of numerous conjectures. However, all that had not been able to complete the database on the soul.

Now, the A.I. Chip had completely deduced this information.

"Show me my current stats!" Leylin immediately commanded.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 4 Warlock. Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent (complete form). Strength: 50, Agility: 45, Vitality: 74.9, Spiritual Force: 956.8, Magic Power: 956 (magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force). Soul force: 96 (Five Star)]

The A.I. Chip intoned.

"96 soul force? What does 'five star' mean?" Leylin asked.

Soon after, a passage of information was shown by the A.I. Chip, [The star rating is a method that the Sky City has come up with to evaluate Morning Stars, based on organisms in the astral plane. Newly-advanced Morning Stars are at one star, while the peak is at five stars…]

"I see. What beings are used as the standard?" Leylin wasn't that interested in this star system. Instead, he was rather tempted to perform research on the organisms that had been set to be the standards for Morning Star Magi.

[The organisms that have been set as the standard are the beings of the astral plane— the Heavenly Astral Race! At birth, they possess strength at the Morning Star realm, and it's unknown how powerful they can become. The race was wiped out during ancient times. The Magi of Sky City obtained some of the data from ancient times, which is how it became the standard when it came to evaluating strength!]

"Heavenly Astral Race? Beings from the astral plane? Morning Stars at birth?!"

This piece of information had Leylin completely stunned. Never did he expect there to be dwellers in a place like the astral plane, and they were even so powerful that they had Morning Star strength right from birth.

If compared to the Heavenly Astral Race, Giant Kemoyin Serpents could only cry. Their end point was this race's beginning! There was no way to begin to compare them since they weren't even on the same level.

"Even such gifted creatures went extinct. Looks like the events during the ancient times were unfathomable…" Leylin sighed deeply.

[Acquired information on a standard individual of the Heavenly Astral Race. Change standards?]

Leylin's current system of measurement used the standards from his previous world, which was why the numbers in each attribute seemed to be so phenomenally high, especially since they were calculated with regular humans in mind. If he used the standard criteria of the Heavenly Astral Race, his stats would immediately drop sharply.

Compared to before, with the standard strength of a regular person at 1, this was now compared with the terrifying strength of a Heavenly Astral Race at 1. There would obviously be a marked difference in quantity.

'Changing the measurement units? Let's try!' Leylin touched his chin. "Display it!"

[Beep!] A blue light flashed, and the numbers immediately changed before Leylin.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 4 Warlock. Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent (complete form). Strength: 1.5, Agility: 1.2, Vitality: 2.7, Spiritual force: 4.3 Soul force: 4.3 (Five Star)]

Seeing the numbers that had decreased drastically, Leylin was rendered speechless.

'In other words, my strength and agility are only slightly higher than a Heavenly Astral Race at Morning Star. My vitality is twice that of theirs, while my spiritual and soul force are more than four times greater. All in all, I can take on two or three of them at once?'

This comparison had stunned Leylin. He was now considered to be at the apex amongst Morning Stars in the central continent. He could even rival a Radiant Moon, and yet he was only slightly stronger than a child of the Heavenly Astral Race?

This was quite a blow to his ego.

"Forget it! Show the numbers according to the units from before. At the very least, the smaller the base numbers, the higher the precision!" Leylin stroked his chin, 'When the numbers in all aspects increase by a large amount, I'll then begin using the units of the Heavenly Astral Race. That's better!'

With a flicker from the A.I. Chip, all his data reverted to the original.

[Display host's soul diagram?]

At this moment, the A.I. Chip showed another prompt.

"Of course!" Leylin did not hesitate at all. After the soul force database was completed, his grasp on soul force was even greater, and he could do things that would have been very difficult before.

One of these included the structural diagram of his soul.

*Bzz!* A diagram that had been magnified countless times was projected in front of Leylin's eyes.

His soul, which was also the truesoul of a Morning Star, was protected within the point mass. The point mass' terrifying density and strength was the last defensive layer protecting a Morning Star's truesoul.

There were few Magi who could clearly observe their own truesouls within their point mass, and make appropriate changes to train the soul. In fact, there were practically none.

With the help of the A.I. Chip, he could finally pass through this barrier.

In the diagram, Leylin's truesoul was like a tiny star, emanating bright rays of light, with a tinge of crimson within. It was as if a crimson Giant Kemoyin Serpent was cruising inside the thing.

[Beep! Host's soul composition is loose and not dense enough. Suggestion…] Through the diagram and the A.I. Chip's analysis, Leylin's issues when training the soul were made apparent, and the A.I. Chip gave concrete suggestions.

If other Morning Star Magi were to know of this, they'd want to commit suicide out of envy.

When had the mysteries of the soul ever been displayed before Magi?

'It was probably because of the hasty infusion of Fireplume.' Leylin stroked his chin, 'Luckily, I can still salvage the situation through the improved meditation technique.'

Every three ranks in training as a Magus was a major hurdle. The first to third focused on training spiritual force, and the fourth to sixth on the soul. If problems with the soul were not resolved now, there would be huge issues during his future advancements.

However, this was not the end of the surprises that the A.I. Chip had to offer.

[Beep! To generate a conjecture of Radiant Moon soul and compare it to a diagram?] The A.I. Chip asked robotically,

"Yes!" Leylin obviously chose that option.

Afterwards, beside his soul diagram, a few other similar ones appeared, marking out the initial, middle, and late stages of Radiant Moon.

In the diagram, the difference between Morning Stars and Radiant Moons was made obvious. The soul of a Morning Star was similar to a star, dazzling and condensed, but a Radiant Moon who had just advanced had a soul that was tens of times larger than that of a Morning Star, forming a large and full sphere.

In other words, it resembled the moon.

As for the Radiant Moon stages, those who had just advanced had souls which only emanated bright rays from a small portion of its full area. The rest of the moon was dim, forming a crescent. It was like a new moon being blocked by the sun.

Magi at the middle stage of Radiant Moon had half their soul emanating clear rays, like a half moon. Peak Radiant Moon Magi had light that was dazzling and transparent, like a full moon.

"Name these stages New Moon, Half Moon and Full Moon!" Leylin did not hesitate to label these Radiant Moon stages.

Of course, his soul was now merely a star and was a large distance away from reaching Radiant Moon.

'There were mistakes in my previous conjectures. Zegna was probably merely a New Moon, while Scarlet Eye was at most a Half Moon. He had yet to achieve the peak, Full Moon!'

Leylin's eyes suddenly flashed with understanding. He had not obtained the twelfth and thirteenth levels of Fireplume, so it was plausible that the fourteenth level could still be at the Radiant Moon realm, and was representative of the soul reaching Full Moon.

'In that case, the road from rank 4 to rank 5 has completely unravelled in front of me!' Leylin looked ecstatic. The third and fourth ranks had a very large disparity between them, with spiritual force upgrading to soul force. There was another huge gap between rank six and seven, with soul force upgrading to the manifestation and wielding of Laws. Hence, all these gaps were immense and usually caused tremendous changes.

Advancing from rank 3 to 6, one's training was mostly on the soul, because it was the level of one's soul that signified one's strength.

"First is Morning Star, where the soul becomes a tiny star, with power from one star up to five. Next are the New Moon, Half Moon and Full Moon phases at the Radiant Moon realm!"

The path through Morning Star and Radiant Moon were completely presented before Leylin.

'That's basically it. Of course, there might be some odd geniuses at the apex who break through these boundaries, but in general, that's how this is divided.

'This upgrade was definitely worth it! Even just the completion of the soul force database alone would have been enough, not to mention the rest.'

An expression of elation rose on Leylin's face as he could not hold himself back and burst into laughter.

"My Lord!" At this moment, Yuro's voice travelled over. It was very low, and she was obviously afraid of disturbing the other scholars.

"Mm?" Leylin turned back and saw Boffel behind her.

"Haha! So Your Grace has been staying in the library all this while. Such a thirst for knowledge is definitely admirable, but the Sage Appraisal is about to begin. Besides, the Monarch of Skies would like to meet Your Grace..."

Boffel had on an amiable smile, while the female Magus beside him looked rather flabbergasted.