Sorcerer’s Handbook
Chapter 636: The Stars Taboo

Sonya’s pupils contracted sharply.

She remained silent for a moment, then sat in the back seat of the car, saying, “You really do keep an eye on me.”

“You haven’t adjusted to your change in status,” Felix said. “You’re no longer that unnoticed female student, nor just a two-wings sorcerer with decent results in the Meteor Trial… You’re a sanctuary sorcerer with secrets.”

“What you like, what flowers you prefer, where you’ve been, whom you’ve met-every move you make is under the spotlight. Every action of yours will be scrutinized for hidden meanings, and yet you dare to openly seek ways to time travel across the Kingdom… You should value your life more.”

Sonya frowned, asking, “What do you mean? Am I in danger?”

“If I hadn’t helped alter your borrowing records, you might already be on the Throne Hall’s watch list, monitored by at least one Starburst Warrior.”

Throne Hall!?

The village girl never imagined she would be connected to the Royal Family’s direct institution, the Throne Hall.

The Stars Kingdom citizens’ understanding of the Throne Hall is limited to its dashing and powerful Starburst Guard. As for what it actually does, they are mostly in the dark.

Though most of what people know about government agencies comes from TV dramas, the absence of the Throne Hall and Starburst Guard in any show speaks volumes about this mysterious department’s influence.

“Why would the Throne Hall be interested in me?” Sonya wasn’t entirely convinced by Felix’s words. “I haven’t done anything to harm the country. I’ve been keeping a low profile these days. What reason would they have to focus on me?”

“You should know that every book you check out from the library is marked with ‘keywords,’ and over the past two months, you’ve been reading a lot of books with keywords like ‘exotic land,’ ‘time travel,’ and ‘foreign insights,’” Felix explained. “If you were just an ordinary person, it wouldn’t matter. If you weren’t reading these books, the Throne Hall wouldn’t pay attention to a newly promoted sanctuary sorcerer.”

“However, you are someone who has begun to grasp the Truth of the world and can disregard societal systems, yet you delve into books with forbidden keywords. You’re practically offering yourself up to the Throne Hall.”

Sonya couldn’t understand. “Why would looking into how to time travel across the Kingdom attract the Throne Hall’s attention? If it’s really taboo, why don’t they just ban all related books instead of leaving them for us to read…”

As she spoke, her voice gradually faded.

Felix said, “You’ve realized it, haven’t you? As long as the Virtual Realm exists as a place of inheritance connecting all sorcerers, monopolizing knowledge is impossible. On the contrary, the more the Royal Family tries to ban it, the more people will seek forbidden knowledge-sorcerers are forever rebellious adventurers.”

In the Virtual Realm, there are wild spirits, the Sorcerer’s Handbook, and various virtual realm mechanics. Even sorcerers without formal education can gain countless legacies from repeated opportunities.

Any attempt to monopolize knowledge might work for a year, maybe ten years, but never a hundred-you might control the living, but can you control the dead?

Not to mention, just by reading others’ Sorcerer’s Handbooks, people naturally learn about other Kingdoms. Curiosity follows knowledge, and in such an environment, how could the notion of time traveling across Kingdoms be eradicated?

Felix tapped the steering wheel lightly. “Instead of futilely blocking information flow, it’s better to place these materials where everyone can see them. But if a sanctuary sorcerer frequently and extensively reads them, it triggers the Throne Hall’s trap mechanism, expediting their inclusion on the surveillance list.”

By now, Sonya was half-convinced, though she still didn’t understand. “Why is the Throne Hall wary of sanctuary sorcerers wanting to time travel across the Kingdom? Is it considered a taboo?”

Felix shook his head.

“It’s not. Among the six Kingdoms, the other five don’t have such a taboo. After all, time traveling across Kingdoms is as hard as reaching the sky. If sanctuary sorcerers focus on this, they might gain benefits in the Spatial Sect or invent other Miracles-many Miracles are discovered by accident-but it’s nearly impossible to invent a Miracle for time traveling across Kingdoms; otherwise, you wouldn’t be without a clue.”

“Thus, ‘time traveling across Kingdoms’ isn’t a taboo in other Kingdoms. Even if it’s a difficult goal, the pursuit itself allows sorcerers to discover new vistas and gain new insights.”

“But only in the Stars Kingdom, any sanctuary sorcerer interested in time traveling is monitored by the Royal Family and the Church.”

Sonya suddenly realized something, her ruby-like eyes glinting with a peculiar light.

Felix saw the village girl’s eyes light up in the rearview mirror and chuckled. “I know what you’re thinking-you probably believe that other Kingdoms don’t ban time travel because it’s difficult, whereas the Stars Kingdom’s fear implies there’s an easier way to travel from the Stars to elsewhere?”

“I can tell you clearly, that’s not the case. Whether entering or leaving the Stars, it’s equally challenging. Those sorcerer’s travelogues you read, the authors mostly reached other Kingdoms through virtual realm passages, as it’s the only regular route accessible to all Kingdoms, even if it’s random.”

“What the Royal Family and the Church truly fear isn’t whether sanctuary sorcerers can research a ‘method’ to leave the Stars, but the ‘idea’ of trying to leave.”

“Just like how guard palace nobility can’t entertain thoughts of corruption, and inner court nobility can’t harbor ambitions for power, Sonya, what you’ve committed is a crime of thought.”

Sonya pondered for a long time, gazing at the distant sports field where the night sky was painted with vibrant hues. Tonight, the sky was clear, the stars shone brightly, and everything seemed draped in a thin silver veil.

“Are you saying that just having this idea makes me a potential threat to the Stars?” Sonya speculated. “Indeed, why would a normal sorcerer want to leave their Kingdom if they’re living well? Even if sanctuary sorcerers are curious about foreign lands, they would naturally give up if they repeatedly hit dead ends in their research.”

“If I’m determined to research time traveling methods, the Throne Hall would see me as dissatisfied with the Stars? They might even think I’m disloyal and only want to move to another Kingdom?”

However, Felix didn’t answer directly but asked, “So, can I still offer some help to the stretching paw sword saint?”

Felix’s implication was clear-what he just shared was free public content, but the next part would be VIP, requiring payment.

Sonya still wanted to get it for free. “You’re just a two-wings sorcerer. How do I know if what you say is true?”

“I don’t actually know if it’s true.”

Felix admitted, “I’m just a sorcerer who hasn’t even entered the Distant Sky Domain. Even if I’m interested in time traveling across Kingdoms, the Throne Hall wouldn’t care about me.”

“But my intelligence source is a mutual aid group, where there are quite a few sanctuary sorcerers. Some of them have been monitored by the Throne Hall for researching how to time travel across Kingdoms, and they barely have any personal freedom, almost like being under house arrest.”

“You can choose not to believe me and continue your research, but my help ends here. Next time you look for books with ‘time travel’ keywords, you’ll have to find a way to erase your borrowing traces.”

Sonya finally understood why Felix was so confident-if his previous temptations were “join us and gain something,” this time his condition was “if you don’t join us, you’ll lose something!”

As long as Sonya continued to seek ways to time travel across Kingdoms from within the Stars Kingdom, she would inevitably attract the Throne Hall’s attention, and possibly face suppression, warnings, and house arrest!

Felix’s timing was also quite clever, just as Sonya had nearly finished going through the Forest Library and Flower Library at Swordflower College and was about to seek more information from other university libraries.

Although Sonya could try to hide her tracks, she lacked experience in this area, making exposure highly risky, and she wasn’t mentally prepared.

Essentially, Sonya was still a cautious village girl, avoiding anything illegal or criminal. The worst thing she’d ever done was pretend to accidentally stomp on someone’s foot with high heels and exploit a system loophole to take unlimited hot showers in the dorm.

The thought of possibly offending the Royal Family and the Church made Sonya nervous-what right did a little sword Princess like her have to do that?

It’s not that she didn’t dare, but merely “researching time travel methods” and becoming an enemy of the Stars felt as absurd as killing someone over a debate about whether to dip Lala Fatty in vinegar!

From another perspective, Felix’s offer wasn’t particularly compelling. Normally, people would choose to abandon researching time travel methods to avoid being targeted by the Throne Hall. Why would anyone join them just to continue their research?

But Felix was confident, though without any apparent reason, that the matter of “time traveling across Kingdoms” was extremely important to Sonya!

That’s why she had gathered so much intelligence on time traveling across Kingdoms in advance, to present Sonya with an offer she couldn’t refuse!

Sonya finally asked, “Do you have a method for time traveling across Kingdoms?”

“Not currently, because it’s not our main project, but we do have quite a bit of information, definitely secrets you wouldn’t find even if you turned the entire Galaxia library upside down,” Felix said. “And there are many sorcerers skilled in the Spatial Sect. Collaborating with them is better than wandering blindly.”

“Even if there’s no breakthrough, we have ways to find virtual realm passages. Though these passages are random, many appear each year. No matter where you want to go, if you’re patient, you’ll eventually get there.”

Felix finally revealed her trump card: besides resources, she offered a guaranteed fallback!

If Sonya wanted to delve into researching time travel methods, Felix had the connections and research resources. If Sonya simply wanted to achieve her goal, Felix had a surefire fallback method!

As long as time traveling across Kingdoms was an unyielding goal for Sonya, she couldn’t refuse Felix’s offer!

Sonya pressed her lips tightly together, and only when the laughter from the sports field overflowed again did she ask, “Who are you people, really? Don’t give me that ‘sorcerer mutual aid group’ line.”

“Before you join, I can’t say, but I can give you a glimpse of our foundation…”

Felix bit the white glove with her fingers, pulling it off to reveal her fair-skinned, slender left hand, and-

The horrifying circular hole in her left palm.

Felix covered her eye with her left hand, and through the circular hole, Sonya could see her eye. This bizarre composition gave the village girl a strong sense of awe, like admiring a masterpiece painting or a marvelously crafted sculpture!

Huh!?

Sonya suddenly realized she couldn’t move, and her spellforce had completely stalled!