Sorcerer’s Handbook
Chapter 642: Specter Handbook

Although the use of spirits and spellforce was prohibited, Ash and his team, with their seamless cooperation and the aid of their collection, effortlessly cleared out the pack of Soul Hounds.

Upon their defeat, the Soul Hounds transformed into a pool of pale blue glimmers. Once all the Soul Hounds were vanquished, these glimmers coalesced into three light orbs of varying sizes. Without needing any explanation, the sorcerers instantly understood what each represented-

The fluffy orb on the left was the Miracle “Soul Restoration,” which replenished the sorcerers’ depleted soul energy. Its size was the smallest, indicating the next challenge would be easy.

The orb in the middle was the two-wings spirit ‘Primordial,’ signifying that if a sorcerer chose this orb, their ‘Primordial’ spirit would directly advance to two-wings. Its size was moderate, suggesting the next challenge would be of average difficulty.

The orb on the right was dazzlingly bright, representing a significant amount of Soul Sect realm experience. Its size was the largest, indicating the next challenge would be difficult!

Ash and his team immediately realized that the style of this Inheritance was a blatant survival of the fittest. Among the three options, the soul experience was undoubtedly the most valuable, yet it carried the greatest risk; if one wanted the least risky option, they could only restore their soul, which was akin to gaining nothing.

Moreover, it was clear that the next challenge would be tougher than the previous one, and merely restoring soul energy without any enhancement in combat strength was a dead end.

However, Ash and his team were still in good condition, so he glanced at the middle and right options, pondered for a moment, and said, “Vesser, you take the reward on the right.”

Vesser was somewhat surprised, “Me?”

“After all, you’re a genius who has mastered over twenty spells and are more likely to enter the Soul Sect,” Ash glanced at the sword Princess and the Witch for their opinions, and the latter had no objections, “Resources should be allocated to the most suitable person.”

Vesser said no more, approached the right orb, and as she touched it, the other two orbs vanished instantly. Then, eight enormous and fierce Harpies appeared around the hall, attacking together with howling winds, their sharp talons like blades!

Ash and the others hurriedly engaged in battle, and at that moment, Vesser, having dominated one of the Harpies, suddenly said, “I see now, no wonder the Specter’s Inheritance allows us to team up.”

“What?”

“Sixteen Soul Hounds, eight Harpies-this is definitely not the normal setup for the Inheritance Trial. The number of enemies likely increases with the number of participants, but the reward after passing the trial is only for one person. This means that if sorcerers want to team up for the trial, the consumption won’t decrease much, but only one person will get the reward.”

Ash and his team immediately understood-the Specter’s Inheritance doesn’t mind whether they are a team of four sorcerers or a hundred. The difficulty of the trial scales with the number of participants, and regardless of how many pass, only one person ever receives the reward.

Deya was a bit puzzled, “But the Specter Seer designed it this way, it should encourage solo trials. If that’s the case, why not forcibly separate us? Surely he could do that?”

Since even spirits and spellforce can be sealed here, separating them should be no difficult task.

“The exact reason might be elusive, but we can speculate,” Vesser suggested. “From his title ‘Specter Seer,’ it’s clear he’s a sorcerer skilled in both prophecy and soul magic. Rather than direct combat, he likely excels in strategy and collaboration. Perhaps he believes that even under unfavorable conditions, the ability to organize sorcerers to work together is a trait he seeks in a successor.”

As they conversed, they had already dealt with the Harpies, but the cost was that their forms became even more translucent. Without replenishing their soul energy, their Primordial spirits continued to deplete. Even though they had only been in the Virtual Realm for less than an hour, half of their soul energy was already consumed.

Once again, three light orbs appeared: “Soul Restoration,” “Specter Handbook,” and “Leave!”

Yes, “Leave” was also a reward! In the Specter’s Inheritance, Ash and his companions couldn’t return to reality on their own!

“This Specter Seer is likely an Evil Sorcerer,” Sonya suddenly remarked.

Ash and Vesser silently nodded, while Deya was puzzled. “Why? Wouldn’t someone who leaves an inheritance be a Good Sorcerer?”

“If a Good Sorcerer left an inheritance, it wouldn’t endanger a sorcerer’s life. Even if a sorcerer failed the trial, at most, they would suffer some loss,” Sonya explained. “But this Specter’s Inheritance, if you don’t choose ‘Leave’ as a reward, you might die in the trial and not return to reality, with your soul being devoured by monsters! Such disregard for life is a common trait of Evil Sorcerers.”

“The timid are halted, the reckless meet their end, only those with wisdom, courage, and skill can qualify to inherit his legacy through the trials!”

Ash added, “In comparison, although the Dramatic Poet was a bit quirky, his inheritance genuinely aids future generations.”

Compared to the Specter Seer, the Dramatic Poet’s inheritance seemed much more humane. In any of the Dramatic Poet’s inheritances, sorcerers had choices-whether to accept, which to accept, and how to accept. The autonomy was always in the sorcerer’s hands. The Dramatic Poet was like a mischievous older brother; sorcerers might find him exasperating but never fear him.

In contrast, the Specter Seer immediately sealed their spirits and spellforce, using the threat of death to filter out qualified individuals, like a mastermind orchestrating a Battle Royale. The design of the inheritance alone revealed the stark difference in humanity between these two upper-tier sorcerers.

Deya became anxious. “Then let’s leave quickly!”

Among the four, the Witch sisters were probably the most timid-not only because they feared for Ash’s safety but also because she was confident that as long as she followed the steps, reaching legend status was only a matter of time. More importantly, even if she remained in the Sanctuary her whole life, it wouldn’t matter much, as she was still the Empress of the Gospel Kingdom!

“No,” Ash pointed at the “Specter Handbook.” “You all want to choose that, don’t you?”

Sonya and Vesser immediately nodded-if their guess was correct, this might be the Sorcerer’s Handbook of the Demigod Angel!

Even if they learned nothing, just glimpsing the secrets and gossip of a demigod sorcerer would be worth it!

However, there was a lingering doubt in their minds. Could such a handbook of a Demigod Angel really be obtained so easily? Could it be a counterfeit?

When Ash chose this reward, they immediately entered the third trial, where eight Blade Fish Dragons appeared. This brought excitement to the Sword Princess, the Witch, and Ash, who greeted the Blade Fish Dragons with smiles.

After dealing with the Blade Fish Dragons, they didn’t immediately look at the new rewards but instead gathered to examine the “Specter Handbook.” As expected, it wasn’t a genuine Sorcerer’s Handbook, nor was it a counterfeit; it simply lacked the latter part.

“Specter Handbook”

“I traversed the Path of Origin, reaching the summit of Ruby Mountain, where I encountered the legendary Angel. As the legends say, the Angel wished for me to offer my first half-life to Him-essentially, to write the first half of my Sorcerer’s Handbook.”

“Perhaps He expected me to pen a thrilling account of my early life, but my writing is rather dull, so I can only provide a simple summary.”

“This is actually my second life. In my previous life, I ascended to Sanctuary at the age of 87, and by sheer luck, I obtained the Core Heritage of the Crystal Time Lord. Unfortunately, I was besieged and had to activate the one-time deity ‘Second Cycle,’ beginning my second life.”

“With knowledge of the future, I swiftly gathered all my family’s assets and left before disaster struck, subsequently acquiring the Soul Heritage of the Soulwalker and the Prophecy Heritage of the Seer. Using my past life’s insights, I quickly amassed cultivation resources and preemptively eliminated potential obstacles. Unfortunately, the Crystal Time Lord’s Heritage can only be inherited once across all timelines, so I remain unworthy of the greatest Time Heritage.”

“In virtual realm exploration, many claim that the Path of Origin is now a relic, and sorcerers can only ascend the Virtual Realm by enhancing their Sect Realm. The Path of Origin, paved by Golden Fish, Rainbow Tail, and faded dreams, is no longer what it once was.”

“But I know that the Sea of Knowledge still harbors the last group of Silver Scale Mermen. After slaying them and condensing their scales into the Second Silver Wing, I successfully found the Golden Fish and traversed the Path of Origin to reach the Time Continent.”

“The Rainbow Tail on the Time Continent now only has three colors, with the other four lost, either held by Demigods or Divine Sovereigns. In theory, I cannot gather the Rainbow Tail like the ancient sorcerers to traverse the Path of Origin.”

“However, I know the four colors haven’t vanished; they’ve merely transformed into another form and hidden away, and I know where they’re concealed. After successfully gathering the Seven Colors, I seized the Rainbow Tail and arrived at the Distant Sky Domain.”

“The faded dream is the most challenging. In ancient times, the faded dream required obtaining the ‘Into Dreams’ spirit from the Dreamland, then feeding it with materials like Wound of the Wind, Language of Flowers, Scattering of Snow, and Crystal of the Moon to transform the ‘Into Dreams’ spirit into the ‘faded dream’ spirit, thus embarking on the Path of Origin to reach Ruby Mountain!”

“But now, the Dreamland has become the Nightmare Angel’s exclusive domain, and sanctuary sorcerers cannot enter. More importantly, Wound of the Wind and Language of Flowers are no longer produced; sorcerers can at most find Scattering of Snow and Crystal of the Moon, making it impossible to nurture a faded dream spirit.”

“However, the Four Pillars Cult, with its long history, surely possesses Wound of the Wind and Language of Flowers. Thus, I joined the Four Pillars Cult, found a way to obtain these two materials, successfully nurtured the faded dream spirit, and embarked on the Path of Origin, reaching the summit of Ruby Mountain.”

“This is likely my only chance to stand at the mountain’s peak; from now on, I can only climb from below.”

“Upon seeing my arrival, the Angel was somewhat surprised. He mentioned that no one has traversed the Path of Origin recently. Given His time scale, ‘recently’ probably means within the last century.”

“So I wrote this half-handbook as a gift to Him.”

“To the Angel of Ruby Mountain.”

“-Specter Sorcerer, Dolok Mirahorn.”