Sorcerer’s Handbook
Chapter 644: Inheritance Discussions

In the heart of Black Robe Town, within the largest Foxlamp Ice Room, the air buzzed with lively chatter and spirited debates.

“Yesterday, three Ordinary Inheritances were claimed in the Eternal City. I wonder which lucky ones got them…”

“Those are just Ordinary Inheritances. Above them are the Golden Flow Inheritance and the Unmatched Inheritance!”

“The Golden Flow and Unmatched Inheritances are meant for true prodigies. Perhaps those whose spellcasting realms have surpassed the golden level to reach the Sanctuary, the two-wings sorcerers, are all lingering on the Time Continent, vying for the position of King of Time. I’m not arrogant enough to compete with them… If I could just secure one Ordinary Inheritance out of thousands, manage a resource point for a year, I’d be more than satisfied.”

At that moment, the mature woman at the counter, as ripe as a peach, suddenly rang a golden bell. Once she had everyone’s attention, she leisurely took out an ink pen and wrote a piece of intelligence on the whiteboard behind her:

“96: In the Specter’s Inheritance, every twenty levels guarantee a ‘specter key.’ The key can be used three times, allowing you to exit the Inheritance at any moment.”

After writing, the woman announced, “Table 13, your meal is on the house!”

Instantly, the glamorous girls in the Ice Room turned their attention to the six people at Table 13: the most noticeable being the entirely black-clad Raven, followed by the tall, masked orc. The other four were relatively normal-an aloof blonde girl with glasses, a quiet blue-haired girl, a red-haired girl eating Lala Fatty, and a curly-haired, dark-skinned girl with shackles on her wrists.

The crowd nodded respectfully towards them, silently expressing their gratitude.

After all, those who could provide clues about the Specter’s Inheritance were only the sanctuary sorcerers. Even though Black Robe Town was teeming with sorcerers, sanctuary sorcerers were still a rare sight, as evidenced by the shared board-out of 96 shared pieces of intelligence, less than ten concerned the Specter’s Inheritance.

However, the crowd soon returned to discussing the Lake Inheritance and the Eternal City. The red-haired girl signaled for another serving of Red Flame Lala Fatty, while the dark-skinned girl asked, “Since it’s on the house, can we have Alice join us for a meal?”

“We can, but what will Alice eat?”

“There should be a pile of cockroaches here, right? At the very least, there must be some rats?”

“If you keep talking like that, the manager might pay you to dine at the canteen next door.”

The group enjoying the free meal was, of course, Ash and his companions.

After leaving the Dead City, Ash had been evading the Four Pillars Cult while seeking the gray fox heritage. Their two teammates picked up in the Dead City, the orc Chikara and the Star sorcerer Gwen, had temporarily joined their group.

Logically, having Chikara bound by a slave Pact made sense, as he was a sanctuary-level combatant, useful for covering their retreat in danger. But Gwen, with her average combat skills and history as a vessel for the Mercury Trojan Horse, was a different story. Keeping her, a potential ticking time bomb, seemed like Ash and his team were deliberately upping the ante on their adventure’s difficulty.

Gwen had used the “Sanctuary: Chrono Hourglass,” which cleared the mercury from her system, ensuring she wouldn’t turn into a trojan horse again. Moreover, having held a high position within the Four Pillars Cult, she possessed valuable intelligence, making her an asset to Ash’s group of adventurers, who were in dire need of resources.

More importantly, Gwen was unwilling to leave and continued to follow them from a distance.

Not wanting to kill her nor leave her unattended, Ash asked Igor to keep an eye on her. If she attempted to leak information or showed any suspicious behavior, Igor was to eliminate her immediately. Igor begrudgingly took on the role of managing this new assistant.

However, having Gwen as a “spy” proved beneficial, allowing them to evade several attacks from the Four Pillars Cult and even raid a few of their secret vaults. This ensured they wouldn’t have to worry about feeding their spirits for a while-three-winged spirits required more gold coins than two-winged ones, and after upgrading their spirits to the three-wing level, each spirit needed three gold coins daily.

Even in the wasteland where prices were high, three gold coins could cover a month’s food expenses for an average person!

Fortunately, the four-winged spirit, Round Cicada, could be sustained with Golden Flow Water, sparing Ash from financial ruin.

They arrived at the Qinyi Alliance in search of heritage clues, but the wasteland’s situation deteriorated rapidly. Despite adopting the “Traveler” identity, they were constantly monitored and even expelled, nearly clashing with the Bronze Law Cult.

Six days ago, a dramatic shift in the Virtual Realm prompted Ash and his companions to seek stability and gather intelligence, leading them back to Black Robe Town-amidst the holy war fervor, only trade towns tolerated “non-believers” like them.

Upon returning to Black Robe Town, they found the transient population had doubled. Previously, each could have their own room, but now the six of them had to share three rooms. However, since everyone transformed into beautiful maidens at night, it wasn’t much of an issue.

The sudden influx of visitors to Black Robe Town was primarily due to the Four Pillars Cult’s destruction of the War Temple, which nominally governed Black Robe Town.

As the War Temple’s forces crumbled, several cults quickly moved into Black Robe Town, both to protect and to vie for control of this trade hub.

The secondary reason was the emergence of Inheritances within the Virtual Realm, sparking a surge in sorcerers’ desire for communication.

Unlike Blood Moon and Gospel, Senlo Kingdom lacked any online communication channels, restricting exchanges to within cults. In normal times, this wasn’t a problem, as they had little to discuss with outsiders, and different cults practiced distinct spellcasting methods, limiting interaction.

But now, things were different. The Lake Inheritance from the Sea of Knowledge and the Eternal City on the Time Continent had become global hot topics. Sorcerers were eager to discuss and analyze gains and losses with others to advance further in the Inheritances.

Consequently, Senlo sorcerers gathered at trade centers, actively seeking intelligence exchanges.

The Foxlamp Ice Room was originally just a canteen, but since Senlo sorcerers frequently gathered there for discussions, the manager had a stroke of genius and introduced a “provide Inheritance intelligence for a free meal” policy. All the intelligence shared was written on the whiteboard behind her, visible to everyone, turning the place into the intelligence exchange hub of Black Robe Town.

Some might wonder why sorcerers would openly discuss confidential intelligence about Angelic Heritage instead of keeping it secret. However, intelligence comes in many forms. Those “premium intelligence” pieces that give one an edge are naturally kept under wraps; yet there are many “curious anecdotes” that don’t offer any advantage but are worth discussing. These are the main topics in the Ice Room.

Moreover, don’t underestimate the sorcerers’ desire to express themselves. Every sorcerer has undoubtedly received some legacy from predecessors in the Virtual Realm, making them naturally inclined to share. Additionally, sorcerers, who constantly need new knowledge, must regularly output to maintain their mental health. Just like eating leads to digestion, watching a captivating film inspires one to write a review, or finishing a good book prompts one to leave comments-seeking emotional resonance is a biological instinct, and seeking intellectual exchange is a sorcerer’s nature.

Ash provided the intelligence about the Specter’s Inheritance because he had heard and seen many intriguing pieces of intelligence there, so he returned the favor to the community, saving some money in the process.

Just as Ash received the Specter Handbook, the Lake Inheritance and Eternal City revealed the Lake Handbook and Time Handbook as rewards. This might suggest that leaving behind a sorcerer’s handbook is a tradition of Angelic Heritage, further implying that the Lake Angel and King of Time both embarked on the Path of Origin to ascend the Virtual Realm, thus encountering the Angel of Ruby Mountain and creating sorcerer handbooks in their lifetimes!

While one Angel might be a coincidence, the fact that three Angels took the Path of Origin naturally leads sorcerers to wonder: in the distant past, was taking the Path of Origin the most profitable high-level upgrade method? Could the modern method of advancing through Sect Realm actually be a lower-yield, inferior upgrade method?

The contents of the Lake Handbook and Time Handbook gradually validated the sorcerers’ thoughts. Notably, the era of the Lake Angel seems to be the most ancient, followed by the King of Time, while the Specter Seer is the closest to the modern era.

When the Lake Angel was still a silver sorcerer, the Sea of Knowledge housed the shallow sea Kingdom formed by Silver Scale Mermen, where the “Silver Wing Test” special mechanism existed. Sorcerers who passed the test could obtain the Second Silver Wing, allowing them to find the Golden Fish and reach the Time Continent.

The pass rate for the Silver Wing Test was one in ten thousand, achievable only by genius sorcerers, which made the Lake Angel quite proud of passing it. From the text, it seems that the relationship between sorcerers and Silver Scale Mermen was relatively harmonious at that time.

However, by the era of the King of Time, the Sea of Knowledge had become a war zone between sorcerers and Silver Scale Mermen. Thus, the only way to find the Golden Fish was to kill enough Silver Scale Mermen, strip their scales, and forge one’s Second Silver Wing!

The Silver Scale Mermen generally possess combat abilities equivalent to a One-Winged Sorcerer, with some even reaching the level of a Two-Wings Sorcerer. They typically gather in impulsive groups, making them challenging to hunt.

By the era of the Specter Seer, only a small group of Silver Scale Mermen remained, and they were ultimately wiped out by the Specter Seer, rendering the Second Silver Wing a thing of the past.

Regarding the Time Continent, the Specter Seer’s understanding was not vastly different from the present, except for the documentation of two additional color mechanisms.

However, the descriptions by the Lake Angel and the King of Time completely overturned the modern sorcerers’ worldview-there was indeed a Kingdom on the Time Continent in the past!

Back then, the Time Continent was not known as such but was called the ‘Concept Continent.’ The native inhabitants of the Concept Continent referred to themselves as ‘Concept Sprites’ or ‘Spirits of the Law,’ while sorcerers called them-Elves!

These beings were natural sorcerers, capable of managing the Golden Flow, commanding virtual realm creatures, and exploiting the continent’s resources. Despite their sparse numbers, they developed a magnificent sorcerer civilization!

The resource points on the Time Continent that are still operational today are relics from that era!

Clearly, the Ancient Sprites of the distant past and the Elves of today are different species. To distinguish them, sorcerers refer to them as Ancient Sprites.

In the Lake Angel’s era, sorcerers and Ancient Sprites frequently clashed, even leading to the ‘Sky Turmoil,’ where Ancient Sprite sorcerers rode dragons to hunt sorcerers of other races, causing widespread discontent and intense conflict among humans and other sorcerers.

At that time, sorcerers were at a disadvantage against the Ancient Sprites. After all, sorcerers of other races on the Time Continent were typically Two-Wings, while Ancient Sprites, due to their originals being on the Time Continent, could remain even after reaching the Sanctuary Legend level!

It is easy to imagine how difficult it was for sorcerers of other races during the ‘Sky Turmoil.’ They not only faced groups of Ancient Sprite sorcerers but also had to contend with Sanctuary Legends far beyond their capabilities! It was like children being beaten by adults!

The Lake Angel specifically recorded being hunted by an Ancient Sprite Sanctuary!

Reading the Lake Handbook and then the Time Handbook brings a sense of irony.

Because the King of Time was an Ancient Sprite!

But in the King of Time’s era, the Ancient Sprite Kingdom had already significantly declined, with most of their outer cities lost, leaving them to defend the Eternal City of ‘Unfading Twilight.’

In the Time Handbook, he explicitly pointed out the reasons for the Ancient Sprites’ decline-Divine Sovereigns like the Blood Moon and Stars used despicable means to eliminate the upper-tier Ancient Sprites, continuously suppressing the Ancient Sprite Kingdom!

As for the description of the Rainbow Tail, both the Lake Angel and the King of Time were almost identical: finding the seven colors allowed one to capture the Rainbow Tail, indicating that in their time, these seven colors were still discoverable.

By the time of the Specter Seer, only three colors remained.

In modern times, only the Golden Flow is left.

Regarding the Distant Sky Domain and faded dream, in the Lake Angel’s era, Dreamland was freely accessible, and the four materials of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon could be found;

In the King of Time’s era, the material ‘Wound of the Wind’ was already missing, but it could be substituted through a Miracle;

In the Specter Seer’s era, not only could missing materials not be substituted, but Dreamland was also occupied by the Nightmare Angel.

In modern times, not only are the four materials absent, but Dreamland itself has shattered.

Considering everything, although all three Angels embarked on the Path of Origin to reach Ruby Mountain, the Lake Angel had a clear purpose throughout her journey. Despite numerous challenges, she never wavered. The King of Time faced much greater difficulty, having to fill in many gaps himself. As for the Specter Seer, by his time, the Path of Origin was theoretically severed. If he hadn’t been a “Second Cycle sorcerer,” he might not have been able to tread that path at all.

Comparing the contents of these three Angel handbooks, the sense of time’s passage practically leaps off the pages.

Yet, among the Inheritances of the Eternal City, Lake Inheritance, and Specter’s Inheritance, the most valuable isn’t the Specter’s Inheritance from the Distant Sky Domain, nor is it the oldest Lake Inheritance.

It’s the Inheritance of the Eternal City!

Because while Lake and Specter Inheritances are merely the legacies of individual Angels, the Eternal City represents the heritage of an entire civilization!

The Eternal City contains countless Ordinary Inheritances. If a sorcerer can obtain even one, they gain access to a resource point on the Time Continent for a year. As long as the sorcerer remains in the Virtual Realm, they can receive resources produced there at any time!

For a two-wings sorcerer, this is already a considerable fortune, not to mention the rewards within the Ordinary Inheritances. And the most coveted prize is the chance to become the successor to the King of Time, effectively becoming the master of the Eternal City!

That is the heritage of the Ancient Sprites, the Eternal City acknowledged by the Virtual Realm!

The value within is simply unimaginable-even the most wildly greedy sorcerer never dreamed of carving out a domain in the Virtual Realm!

Ash heard from the sword Princess that the two-wings sorcerers on the Stars’ side were practically going mad with study and research. The Royal Family of Stars even offered a real-world reward for the King of Time’s Inheritance: a Duke’s seat!

After all, inheriting the Lake Inheritance or the Specter’s Inheritance benefits only the individual. But becoming the lord of the Eternal City allows one to shelter other two-wings sorcerers in the Virtual Realm, enhancing the Kingdom’s overall foundation!

However, compared to seizing an Inheritance, more sorcerers lament the loss of the Path of Origin, wistfully wishing they could return to ancient times to easily reach Ruby Mountain and so on.

Chikara, for instance, has been complaining for days, lamenting how past sorcerers weren’t environmentally conscious enough, leaving nothing but scraps for future generations, forcing everyone to strive and compete…

Only Ash has a vague understanding that the risks of walking the Path of Origin likely far exceed those of normal realm advancement.

Because of the secret toxin!

Embarking on the Path of Origin means being exposed to various secret toxins along the way!

In the Lake Angel’s era, even if the success rate of the Silver Scales trial and Seven Colors collection was only one in ten thousand, the accumulated number of successful attempts over time must have been in the hundreds, undoubtedly transforming the secret toxin into a potent poison!

At first, Ash thought there were no secret toxins in the past, but upon closer inspection, the true nature of the Golden Fish, Rainbow Tail, and faded dream wasn’t detailed in any of the three handbooks. Clearly, the Angels deliberately withheld this information, only describing the specific processes while leaving the outcomes vague.

These Angels were evidently no fools; the only fool here seems to be Ash himself. There must be effects of the secret toxin he still doesn’t understand, which is why the Angels continued to pursue the Path of Origin.

And precisely because they didn’t document the outcomes, Ash still can’t discern the truth behind the faded dream.

Most sorcerers generally believe that the ‘Golden Fish’ and ‘Rainbow Tail’ refer to specific entities. However, only someone like Ash, who has traversed the Path of Origin, understands that these are metaphors. The Golden Fish refers to the shimmering scales of the golden ocean in the sky, while the Rainbow Tail describes the spectacle formed by six colors converging in the Golden Flow.

So, what is the faded dream a metaphor for?

“Of course, there’s no intelligence on the Blank Concept…” Igor muttered.

“It would be strange if there were. So far, only the Lord of Wishflux has mentioned the Blank Concept, and that was in the Divine Lord Inheritance at Ruby Mountain,” Ash said with an air of inevitability. “Senlo has only three legendary sorcerers. If there were intelligence on the Blank Concept here, it would mean those three left the front lines just to come to this Ice Room for the signature Lala Fatty-how unlikely is that!”

“Who suggested we come here to gather concept intelligence?” Igor gritted his teeth, almost raising a hand to knock some sense into Ash, but seeing Ash’s cute red-haired girl appearance, he reluctantly lowered his hand.

“The Four Pillars Cult has ceased its offensive and is actively pulling back its defenses,” Gwen said, setting down the reports she had gathered from various channels that evening. “The front lines are in a standoff.”

“That’s normal. Right now, every sorcerer’s primary target is the Angelic Heritage. Even the War of Faith has to take a backseat,” Igor tapped his finger on the table. “Who would have thought a war could be forcibly halted for such a reason?”

The Senlo wasteland is undoubtedly the area most affected by the Angelic Heritage-while in other Kingdoms, it might just spark social debate, in Senlo, it can suppress social unrest!

But upon reflection, it’s not surprising. No matter your Kingdom, faith, or race, as long as you can access the Virtual Realm, you have the right to challenge the Angelic Heritage.

Even if the Mercury Trojan Horse and the Qinyi Alliance ignore the sorcerers’ strong desire for the Angelic Heritage and demand they continue fighting, wouldn’t they just touch fish, avoid battles, and conserve their energy during the day to prepare for the nighttime inheritance challenges?

Unless they can prevent sorcerers from accessing the Virtual Realm, no real-world cage, no matter how tight, can imprison a sorcerer whose heart yearns for something more.

Ash asked, “By the way, how far have you all progressed?”

Igor: “We just cleared the fifteenth level last night.”

Harvey: “Still on the twelfth level.”

“I only played on the first day; I haven’t gone back since,” Chikara scratched his head.

“Why not?” Everyone was surprised. “This is the Angelic Heritage.”

“But I’m neither interested in nor talented for the Soul Sect or the Prophecy Sect,” Chikara shrugged. “My rainbow wing is fully formed, and there’s little gain for me in the Specter’s Inheritance. I’d rather continue exploring the Phantom.”

“Maybe the Virtual Realm has a special favor for honest folks like me. Last night, I stumbled upon an affix bubble and got a super rare spirit!” said the orc from the Sanctuary, who was adept at looting and causing mayhem.

Igor was surprised, “Really? That lucky? I’m so jealous of you.”

Chikara proudly patted his chest, “It’s not luck; it’s the inevitable result of my years of diligent training!”

“Then during the day, give me that super rare spirit.”

“What? Why should I! That’s my stuff!”

“Did you forget you’re our slave now?” Igor said mercilessly.

“Nooo-“

Ash watched the orc cling to Igor, whining and pleading, thinking that coming to Black Robe Town was worth it. Otherwise, it would have been hard to witness such a scene…

Ash and the others silently raised their estimation of Chikara by a notch.

For Chikara to become a sanctuary sorcerer, he certainly couldn’t be a fool. He realized that the Angelic Heritage wouldn’t benefit him and decisively abandoned this once-in-a-millennium opportunity. This level of restraint and decisiveness far surpassed other sanctuary sorcerers.

In fact, from his ability to surrender without hesitation in the Dead City, it was clear that he wouldn’t be swayed by honor, greed, or luck. He approached everything based on his own needs, executing when necessary and discarding when not, never wavering or hesitating.

It’s hard to predict the future of someone like Chikara. Perhaps his decisiveness will propel him to great heights, or perhaps his shortsightedness will lead to his downfall. But one thing is certain-

He is enviable.

Never doubting himself, never regretting his choices, never blaming himself for anything, but rather pointing fingers at others… Living like Chikara would make life much happier.

“Compared to the Blank Concept, I’m more interested in the rewards from the Divine Lord Inheritance,” Harvey said, holding a fry between his fingers as if simulating smoking. “A Celestium… Does obtaining a Celestium mean a sorcerer can become a Divine Sovereign?”

“If a two-wings sorcerer possesses a Sanctuary, would they then become a sanctuary sorcerer?” Ash countered. “Though it might not be a direct comparison, I doubt the Virtual Realm would allow sorcerers to exploit such loopholes. However, if one could obtain a Celestium and the Divine Lord Inheritance, it would certainly make surpassing human limits easier.”

“But the Celestium left behind by the Lord of Wishflux after his death…” He mused, “So even a Divine Sovereign can die…?”

Igor was startled, carefully observing Ash to ensure he wasn’t maliciously connecting this to other matters, and then relaxed, quickly changing the subject. “Ash, is there anything else you want to eat?”

“Let me see…”

Ash glanced at the menu and suddenly noticed that the milk tea in front of Raven hadn’t been touched. Upon closer inspection, Raven hadn’t even removed his Mask, and considering that the ongoing discussion was about the Virtual Realm, which Raven was completely unfamiliar with, Ash felt a slight stir in his heart.

He put down the menu and said, “I’m tired of the food here. I’m going outside to get some other snacks. Tamashi, come help me carry things.”

Raven was momentarily surprised but then stood up to follow him. Igor watched their backs, shook his head, and used his foot to push Chikara’s face away.