In a dimly lit chamber, a young nobleman with golden curly hair and blue eyes reclined on a soft silk bed, his face marked with a contemplative expression.
"An
The Arcanist class! It did not represent a simple combat and spellcasting template — it encompassed far more than that.
Arcane alchemy, botanical cultivation, magical architecture, Field theory, arcane runes… it was practically all-encompassing. If mages were to be selected by Arcanist standards, the number of spells currently in the World of Gods would plummet by at least ninety percent!
After all, an Arcanist was a localized
And among these materials, what Leylin valued most were the philosophies of the ancient Rule Wizards!
The immense power and glory of the ancient Rule Wizards filled Leylin with deep admiration and a fervent desire to learn.
Though the Arcanist research was extremely difficult, it posed no real challenge for him. What truly consumed Leylin's mental energy was separating the ancient Wizards' philosophies, legacies, and ideas or methodologies from the Arcanist inheritance.
These were the true treasures! And the brightest beacons to guide him!
Because of the ancient War of the End, a great gap had appeared in Wizard heritage. All that remained in the Wizard World were tales of the ancient Wizards' mystery and power, while the truly substantive knowledge was exceedingly scarce.
It was only after Leylin's main body advanced to the Half-seventh rank — and especially after encountering beings like the Mother of the Earth's Core — that he had truly begun to access this portion of knowledge.
But even they did not have a particularly clear understanding of the paths of other eighth-rank Wizards.
Too many Rule Wizards had perished during the War of the End, and many had never even had the chance to leave behind their legacies.
Now, however, Leylin had combined what he had gained in the Wizard World with what he had seen in the Arcanist inheritance, and he was finally gradually reconstructing the true image of the ancient Wizards. He could even glimpse the rough outline of the path beyond the Laws.
"The path of a Wizard — every three ranks represent a tremendous threshold. Wizards from the first to the third rank hone their Spiritual Power; from the fourth to the sixth rank, they advance their souls. And upon reaching the seventh rank, they must command the power of Laws!"
Leylin's eyes shimmered with light.
"A seventh-rank Wizard must command one complete Law. An eighth-rank Wizard must command several Laws. And to advance to the pinnacle of the eighth rank, the threshold requires finding the right power to refine and integrate one's Laws into a personal 'Path'! And within that Path, one must leave sufficient room to accommodate the power of
Leylin's eyes grew ever brighter. "A Path cannot be torn down and rebuilt. That means someone like the Mother of the Earth's Core, an existence at the pinnacle of the eighth rank, most likely chose the wrong Path. Her own power was unable to embrace the force of Space and Time, and so she could not advance!"
"And my own path… How should I plan it?"
Leylin fell into deep thought. The route for advancement had to be solid, and the power chosen for refinement was even more crucial.
Like the ancient Shadow of
Using the Force of Distortion to contain the Laws of Time and Space! That was why the Shadow of Distortion was infinitely close to the ninth rank. Even after falling for tens of thousands of years, it could still stir up chaos!
"The foundation for bearing Laws is critical! The Mother of the Earth's Core gave me a feeling of weight and stability, so her foundation must still be related to the powers of earth and fire. Attempting to bear the power of Space and Time on that was far too much of a stretch…"
With his horizons elevated, Leylin gained a much deeper understanding of the strength of those Law Wizards.
"The Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes is different! Although she hasn't yet reached the pinnacle of the eighth rank, the power of Shadow she chose is quite good. At least… using the power of Shadow to bear spatial power is relatively suitable. Therefore, if she truly obtains the Source Power of the Shadow World and reaches the pinnacle of the eighth rank, her strength will definitely surpass the Mother of the Earth's Core. But advancing to the ninth rank would be very difficult. Shadow and Time… they have absolutely no relation…"
"Using one's own path to bear Time and Space is the prerequisite for advancing to the ninth rank!"
Leylin stroked his chin. "Then… what if I directly refine the power of Time and Space at the eighth rank? No! Impossible! An existence that hasn't formed its own path cannot even touch the power of Space and Time. Simple power refinement cannot dissolve the Laws of Space and Time…"
As his understanding of the paths of ancient Wizards grew ever deeper, Leylin's own path became increasingly clear to him.
"With the Arcanist template, the speed of my advancement can be greatly increased. Moreover, the Arcanist's ability to cast spells without the
"This way, even if the gods discover me, they'll at most think I'm a remnant Arcanist or a lucky fool who stumbled upon an Arcanist inheritance. That's far better than being suspected as an outsider…"
"In that case, the plans I prepared before can now be put into action!"
"Perfectly timed, as similar news has arrived from the clan as well!"
Leylin's eyes grew even deeper and more profound.
After advancing to High-Rank Wizard, the Legendary Wizard rank was no longer a significant hurdle for him. That meant the preparations for his future apotheosis could be put on the agenda.
At the very least, the selection and acquisition of Divinity had to be planned well in advance, and it had to be compatible with his own path.
"The choice of Divinity directly affects the difficulty of future apotheosis and one's alignment. It must be considered with extreme caution!"
Leylin's expression turned grave. The gods had engaged in numerous divine wars due to conflicts and usurpation over divine portfolios.
Leylin had no intention of facing off against other Greater Powers the moment he ascended.
"Right now I'm human. Ascending as a human means I should naturally choose the human camp, and ideally align with the Lawful gods. That already rules out quite a few Divinities and Domains... On top of that, it needs to fit with my main body's future development path..."
Leylin rubbed his temples, feeling quite the headache.
"Still, even if the gods stand in my way, I'll just have to send them to their deaths..."
When it came to those gods, Leylin had every right to look down on them as a wielder of the Path of Truth.
In his view, the gods had mastered at most one or two particularly powerful Laws and Domains. In terms of comprehension on the path and depth of personal research, Rule Wizards could leave them in the dust!
This was the limitation of all divine ascendants. Having enjoyed the power of the world and their believers, there were inevitably restrictions!
Gods worked much like an official ranking system. With a divine seat, a god could wield power no less than that of a Rule Wizard, and in their divine kingdom they could even exceed them. But once stripped of their office, their divine portfolio, or even their divine authority, they weren't even comparable to peak Legends!
Wizards were different. No matter where they were, their power could at most be suppressed but never taken away. In other words, it was power that belonged entirely to themselves!
That was why among Wizards there existed the Ninth Tier, where one could seek a path of transcendence. Among gods, the highest was simply Greater Divinity, and the sole Supreme Deity was the will of the Gods' World itself.
"The moment I ascend, I'll be a Minor God — equivalent to a Seventh Tier Rule Wizard in the Wizard World. Going up against Eighth Tier gods of Intermediate Divinity or Eighth Tier Peak gods of Greater Divinity is basically out of the question. I'd best avoid those two categories of powerhouses, and my Divinity choices need to avoid conflicts as well..."
Leylin was perfectly willing to bully the weak.
"That leaves me with very little room... but fortunately, it's not as if there are no options..."
A strange smile crept onto Leylin's lips.
...
As the distance to the Kingdom of Danbres grew shorter and shorter, Leylin's learning speed grew faster and faster.
[Beep! Arcane Templates recorded. Total Legendary Arcane Templates: ? Ninth Tier Arcane Templates: 17 Eighth Tier Arcane Templates: ...]
The Chip's notification popped up, and Leylin nodded with satisfaction.
Among these arcane spells, he could see many templates similar to current spells, some even bearing traces of Witch Arts.
If he had relied on the Chip to derive them slowly, it might have taken thousands or even tens of years. But now, building directly on others' results required no computing power from the Chip at all.
[Seventh Tier Arcane Template transfer complete! Proceed with Eighth Tier Template transfer?] Another prompt window appeared from the Chip.
"Yes!"
With Leylin's current strength as a fifteenth-tier Arcanist, he could cast seventh-tier spells without any loss in power, but eighth-tier templates were still somewhat beyond his reach.
For a traditional Wizard of fifteenth-tier professional level to cast an eighth-tier spell, the Weave would directly deny them access. But an Arcanist, through their understanding of arcane arts and various preparations, could successfully cast one after paying a certain price.
It was precisely because of this that these eighth-tier and ninth-tier arcane templates would become Leylin's powerful trump cards, rivaling the torrent of spells that could only be cast by relying on the Weave.
[Eighth-tier Arcane Template transfer in progress!]
The Chip faithfully carried out Leylin's command.
Sensing the additional arcane template data stored in his memory zone, Leylin nodded, then turned his attention to his other gains.
Among the materials recovered from the Nether Ruins, he had also found other rather interesting things.
A vast amount of data and information flickered past before Leylin's eyes, finally settling on several short songs.