Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2682: Chapter 2683: Arrogance and Ignorance

Angel actually had some vague guesses in his heart, but these guesses all needed to be based on one major premise.

And that is if everything really was orchestrated by the Wood Spirit behind the scenes.

Although Angel leaned towards it being the Wood Spirit, other possibilities couldn’t be ruled out, such as the blonde woman from the previous painting.

Unfortunately, based on the current clues, Angel could not confirm who was really behind the scenes.

However, discovering the truth wasn’t his current task. Many things, as long as the objective can be achieved, knowing the truth isn’t really necessary.

Just like in this case, Angel’s goal was to find the Wood Spirit, which isn’t directly related to knowing the truth. As for the Wood Spirit’s location, based on the current information, the scope had already been narrowed.

If nothing unexpected happens, the Wood Spirit should be on the second floor.

...

After leaving the fork in the road, Angel and the others walked for about a minute before they saw the first room wreckage drifting near the path in the Void.

Angel glanced briefly, found nothing of note, and continued on.

Soon, they discovered the second and third room wreckages. It might sound like three rooms had been encountered on this right path, but that’s not the case. Though each of these room wreckages was different, Angel had visited a complete Hanging Jail Stairway in Naraku City. In his memory, the furniture styles scattered among the three room wreckages seemed to originate from the same room.

This means the three room wreckages are most likely parts that had disassembled from one grand room; originally, they were one.

Perhaps because they were once whole, even their barren state is completely identical. The second and third room remnants still provided no clues either.

Leaving this room wreckage drift, they continued forward.

After not walking for long, Angel suddenly heard whispered murmurs beside his ear. Turning his head, he saw Vay had appeared beside him seemingly out of nowhere.

Seeing Angel glance over, Vay exaggeratedly signaled with his eyes for Angel to look behind him.

Angel promptly looked back to see that the Wise Sovereign had somehow fallen to the back, and he was lowering his head, seemingly deep in thought. Even the third eye on his forehead was squinting into a narrow slit.

Vay edged closer to Angel, deliberately lowering his voice, "He’s been like this for a while, who knows if he’s plotting some conspiracy in his mind, you have to be careful."

Angel hadn’t expected Vay to deliberately come over just to say this. This young apprentice was quite loyal, but...

"It’s no use lowering your voice, he can still hear you."

Vay’s expression instantly froze.

Angel: "However, this situation of the Wise Sovereign is more that his mind temporarily left the Illusionary Realm."

Vay’s eyes lit up, "Does that mean he didn’t hear what I just said?"

Angel shrugged, "I can’t be certain. But rather than worry about that, you should now be more concerned about whether something happened on your side."

At this point, Angel gestured for Vay to look at the Black Earl and Dox.

Vay turned his head to see that his lord had fallen onto the floor and remained motionless. Meanwhile, Dox’s situation was the same as the Wise Sovereign’s, also lowering his head, looking like a living corpse, obviously with his mind detached from the Illusionary Realm.

Two Official Wizards simultaneously separating their minds from the Illusionary Realm actually meant that something unknown might have occurred outside.

"Could it be...the Wise Sovereign took the opportunity to act on our True Body while we were unprepared?" Vay’s expression started to panic.

Angel shook his head, "Don’t worry, he didn’t act."

The Illusionary Realm left outside by Angel, and Earl Mi hiding in the shadows, could both convey information to him. Currently, neither the Illusionary Realm nor Earl Mi had been attacked, indicating that the Wise Sovereign hadn’t acted.

Yet them leaving simultaneously clearly wasn’t ordinary either.

Angel thought for a moment, then lifted the block on the Mind Ribbon and quickly contacted the Black Earl and Dox.

"So now you decide to ask me, I’ve been calling you for ages," Dox’s disgruntled voice came through the Mind Ribbon.

At this moment, the Black Earl also responded, "Just now, the Wise Sovereign suddenly departed the Illusionary Realm, I sensed something unusual and came out to investigate, discovering he had left."

"Left?!" Vay: "Does this mean we don’t need to complete any additional conditions or necessary conditions anymore?"

Dox: "Unfortunately, while we were talking, he’s already come back."

As Dox’s words faded, Vay heard a familiar voice nearby:

"Indeed, I’m back now, sorry to disappoint you."

Vay whipped around, immediately locking eyes with a youth whose three eyes had all squinted into smiling slits.

"Wise...Wise Sovereign!"

The Wise Sovereign gave Vay a meaningful glance, "Although I was gone for a short moment, I did not fully withdraw my mind."

Vay forced a grin, "Wise...Lord, what do you mean by this?"

The Wise Sovereign grinned, "Just pointing out that he’s right, lowering your voice doesn’t help, I can still hear you."

Vay’s expression froze once more.

However, as Vay’s composure was collapsing, a massive amount of Nightmare Illusion Breath began to gather near Vay’s True Body, forming what seemed like a ring, enclosing him quite tightly.

With the emergence of the Nightmare Illusion Breath, the Wise Sovereign shifted his gaze from Vay to Angel.

"Previously guessed your Illusion Technique could sense emotions, but unexpectedly, it could also conceal emotions," the Wise Sovereign smiled, "Yet, even if you masked his emotions, some information still got out."

With a calm expression, Angel listened to the Wise Sovereign slowly state, "A very abundant Power of Earth. He’s a descendant of Noah, isn’t he?"

Vay’s eyes widened instantly...had he been tricked? The Wise Sovereign’s sudden departure was to disrupt their emotions and then seize the opportunity to uncover information?

Angel: "No need to guess one by one, Wise Sovereign, you could simply treat all of us as Noah descendants."

Wise Sovereign: "If I were to say that the fate of a Noah descendant might not be too favorable, yet being not a Noah descendant might actually offer a better chance of survival, would you still say that?"

Angel first regarded the Wise Sovereign with a puzzled gaze for a few seconds, then suddenly chuckled softly.

"I originally thought the Wise Sovereign’s heart held boundless arrogance, but unexpectedly, I overestimated it still."

Arrogance is a sin, but ignorance is the original sin.

Wise Sovereign: "What do you mean by this?"

Angel: "Nothing much, a phrase from my enlightenment mentor just sprang to mind...times have changed."

After speaking, Angel didn’t say much more and directly turned to leave.

The Black Earl and Dox had already returned, so there was no need for him here. He decided to find the Wood Spirit first, while ignoring whatever the Wise Sovereign had said.

What might happen to the descendants of Noah? In short, the descendants of Noah might die.

However, if a descendant of Noah really dies here, the ensuing giant wave is something the Wise Sovereign absolutely cannot withstand, enough to overturn Naraku City.

In the past, Naraku City was unrivaled in its glory. And the Noah Clan was just an inconspicuous wizard family within Naraku City.

But after ten thousand years, Naraku City has become a ruin, while the Noah Clan has turned into a colossal entity.

With such a change, the Wise Sovereign still regards everything as the past, which is outdated and ignorant. The current Noah Clan not only has strong individuals but also resources and connections; not to mention a ruin like Naraku City, even if they forcibly control a thousand-mile radius nearby, King Gumman would say nothing.

If Naraku City falls under the watchful eyes of the Noah Clan, if it’s just a speck of vermillion nothing may happen, but if it’s a sore or a mosquito bite, the only outcome is: elimination.

Perhaps Naraku City still harbors some depths, and even many masters who have yet to awaken, but if they insist on clinging to these ruins, ultimately Naraku City will be the loser.

Due to the issue of heritage, forcibly erasing Naraku City isn’t feasible; but like boiling a frog in warm water, eroding it bit by bit isn’t difficult.

So, Angel said that today is not like the past.

Pride is fine, but ignorance invites ridicule.

...

Vay never expected that Angel would directly confront the Wise Sovereign. Moreover, it seems that he is the "trigger"?

Though Vay was somewhat afraid of the Wise Sovereign’s anger, the predominant feeling in his heart was a different sentiment... Ah, Lord Chaowei truly is his idol!

On the other side, the Wise Sovereign lowered his head, exhibiting a thoughtful expression, as if his mind had once again wandered away.

However, this time neither the Black Earl nor Dox left the Illusionary Realm. Because the Wise Sovereign was genuinely deep in thought.

Angel speculated, perhaps it was due to the words he had just spoken?

Regardless, if the Wise Sovereign can think clearly, abandon arrogance and prejudice, it would be beneficial for them. But if not, then they’d have to be ready to escape at any moment.

While Angel was pondering this, he heard Kaier’s exclamation.

"Lord, there’s a room over there?!"

Kaier’s exclamation was entirely because this room was unlike any they’d encountered before.

Its location wasn’t on a tangible road. Like the drifting debris they previously encountered, it also floated in the void.

However, this room managed to retain about ninety percent of its completeness.

At first glance, it didn’t look like debris from ruins but rather an old house slightly tinged with dust.

Its peculiarity is precisely what made Kaier both astonished and... delighted.

Even if the Wood Spirit wasn’t inside such a complete house, it wouldn’t be a loss. There must be many ancient traces within, which is a feast for archaeology enthusiasts.

Kaier was already eager to step into the room.

However, for safety’s sake, Kaier gestured to Angel first. After Angel confirmed there was no obvious danger, Kaier then flew inside.

Angel didn’t immediately enter the room but looked towards the Black Earl: "Is this the last room on the second floor?"

The Black Earl nodded: "Yes, there’s no road forward."

Upon hearing this answer, Angel then slightly compared it with the previously perceived resonance coordinates, confirming that this room should indeed have a resonance point.

If the resonance point was made by the Wood Spirit, even if it’s not here, there should be traces of it.

With this thought, Angel also stepped into the room.

...

The room had two floors, the first of which was mostly ruins, with broken items scattered everywhere. However, compared to other room debris, the "recyclable" items here were many.

For instance, floor tiles, sand beds, oil lamps, ghostly fires... all possessed certain extraordinary traits and could be considered extraordinary materials.

Single pieces might not be expensive, but if you take them all, their value would be quite substantial.

From Dox’s drooling gaze, it was clear how much he coveted this room.

But no matter the desire, he could only look but not take, since he was merely an illusion. However, Dox secretly decided that it would be his turn next; when he explores the Hanging Jail Stairway, he would make sure to clean out this place.

To maximize his interests, Dox even began persuading Kaier not to take anything here.—This way, everything would belong to him when he comes back to scour!

As for Angel, Dox didn’t bother persuading him at all. For one, Angel was still blocking him from talking, and secondly, Angel himself wasn’t very interested in these things.

Dox had a beautiful plan, yet he hadn’t considered what would happen if Angel found the Wood Spirit this time around, with no third round of searching.

After exploring the first floor, everyone arrived at the staircase entrance.

The reason they didn’t immediately ascend was because the Black Earl was floating at the entrance with his nostrils aimed at the staircase railing.

And on the staircase railing hung a row of thorn-bearing vines.

"Are these Bloodthirsty Vines?" Vay curiously asked: "Are they alive or dead?"

Kaier carefully sensed for a moment and replied: "It seems dead, devoid of any life aura... However, I feel there is something odd about these vines. But what it is, I can’t say."

Unable to figure it out, Kaier could only look to Angel for help.

Angel: "You feel it’s off because... it’s fake."

"Fake?" Kaier and Vay looked over in surprise.

Angel nodded: "Yes, it’s fake. If you look closely, you’ll find it’s a wooden sculpture, not a vine."

The Black Earl then said: "Indeed, it’s sculpted. I didn’t pay much attention to details when I first arrived, but upon closer inspection, the vines align so well with the railing as if tailor-made."

"However, the colors completely mismatch, and the style is off. It doesn’t seem to belong to this house’s original items but more like..."

"Someone embedded it later."