Chapter 543: Eerie State, Disguise

With a Great Arcanist stepping forward, the crowd observing the ceremony suddenly quieted down, sitting in their original seats and waiting silently for Archmage Sandro to awaken; this wait lasted for several hours, but this time, no one was impatient anymore.

At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.

It was unknown how much time had passed when Xia Duo noticed that Archmage Sandro, lying on the recliner at the front of the ceremonial hall, had suddenly moved; there was nothing to do here, and the only thing worth watching was likely the Archmage himself.

It wasn't just Xia Duo; many others had seen it too, and the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became somewhat scattered; although they remained quiet, there were quite a few small movements.

Xia Duo kept tracing patterns on Niya's palm with his finger; perhaps Niya did not have the same level of comprehension as him, or perhaps the content he wrote was too much and too complex, as Niya looked at him with a blank expression, which made Xia Duo feel somewhat discouraged.

Archmage Sandro had indeed moved just now, but his state, as presented in Xia Duo's Magic Vision, was still that of a dead person, which was very strange.

Because they had been instructed by Temple personnel not to cast spells, and with a Great Arcanist right beside them, Xia Duo had no other means to pry; judging only from the current situation, this so-called Longevity Ritual and Transformation Ritual seemed to really have something to it!

As time ticked by, the movements of Archmage Sandro's body became more frequent and the range of motion increased, from just moving his fingers at the beginning to later twitching his thighs, which appeared very eerie under the gaze of the crowd.

However, Xia Duo could clearly hear the breathing of the people around him becoming heavier; it seemed everyone was also very expectant.

Finally, the movements of Archmage Sandro's body stopped, and immediately after, the Archmage seemed to have truly come back to life; in Magic Vision, the Archmage's body, which had previously been disconnected from the Magic Net, responded to the Magic Net once again, becoming no different from a living person.

Xia Duo was so surprised that his mouth hung open; even without looking, he believed the others were in much the same state; this was too exaggerated—was it resurrection from the dead? Or had he not been dead at all?

"Thank you all for witnessing; I have attained eternal life." Before the Archmage had even opened his eyes, his voice suddenly echoed through the ceremonial hall.

Immediately after, he stood up from the recliner, and the first thing he did after opening his eyes was to cast a Teleportation Spell on the Spellbook that had just been placed on his chest, making it disappear.

Only then did he face the crowd and speak slowly, "The Arcane Path is endless; only with eternal life can one pursue it infinitely."

*Cough*—

Archmage Sandro's words were interrupted by a light cough before he could finish, and Great Arcanist Lander stood up, "Teacher Sandro, the Transformation Ritual has just been completed; you should return to Morien Tower to rest first!"

"No rush, no rush." Archmage Sandro walked down from the stone steps, saying as he walked, "Lander, I didn't expect that even though I deliberately didn't notify you, you still came; seeing you is like seeing the scene from one hundred and thirty-five years ago when we first met—you were only this tall back then."

As he spoke, Archmage Sandro reached out and gestured to a height that only reached his chest, his eyes revealing a sense of nostalgia.

"Teacher!" Lander seemed somewhat embarrassed.

Fortunately, Archmage Sandro only mentioned it briefly; afterwards, he looked at the others, calling out their names one by one, as well as their past connections, and conversed with them individually.

Even for those like Xia Duo who had been temporarily invited to observe the ceremony, the Archmage's judgment was very accurate.

"Xia Duo, I have heard of you; a Pioneer of Nan Jing, the *Daxia Territory Standard Development Guide* is a good book, and the 【Arcane Maze】 is also very interesting; I was talking about it with someone this morning; I hope you become an Arcanist soon and embark on the true Arcane Path."

Xia Duo returned the courtesy, "Thank you for your blessing, Archmage."

At this moment, Xia Duo did not undermine the Archmage by stating directly that he was already an Arcanist; clearly, Archmage Sandro's current state was somewhat eerie.

The two had clearly had no prior interaction, yet he could recognize him, but he did not know that he had already successfully advanced to an Arcanist.

It was the same for the others; no matter who it was, he could chat for a few sentences; Xia Duo couldn't put a name to this state—it was somewhat similar to omniscience, but not quite that omniscient.

In short, it was best not to provoke him.

Including Xia Duo and his group, there were only thirty or forty observers in total, so it didn't take long for Archmage Sandro to talk to them one by one, but in the end, Archmage Sandro invited everyone to a banquet.

Since even the Great Arcanist went, the others found it difficult to decline.

Calculating the time, it was already evening, and it was time for dinner; for the first time, Xia Duo enjoyed the "private transport" of a Great Arcanist, which felt quite good—a single Teleportation Spell transported them all to the banquet location.

The location of the banquet was not at Morien Tower, but at a private Arcane Association in the Old City District of Seventon.

Once they arrived, Great Arcanist Lander and the Archmage left first, allowing the others to finally speak freely; everyone had been suppressing a bellyful of words.

Xia Duo and his group were not in a hurry to discuss the Archmage, but instead brought up the exchange meeting; as the organizer, Beilaila was the first to put forward her idea, "I think after the banquet ends later, we can continue our exchange; I know a place that is very quiet and safe, suitable for communication and discussion."

"I agree; if we push it to tomorrow, who knows if another accident will happen."

"I agree too."

Xia Duo did not object either; he didn't want any more complications, and soon, the group decided that after the banquet ended, they would go to a newly opened Arcane Association in the New City District to continue their exchange.

A banquet for pure Spellcasters was not difficult to endure, and there was basically no wasted time, but later, many new guests arrived one after another, making Niya somewhat nervous; noticing this, Xia Duo asked with concern:

"What's wrong? Do you feel there are too many people?"

In fact, there weren't many people, and Xia Duo found it strange that Niya was even more reserved than him; unexpectedly, Niya leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Teacher is here too!"

These words made Xia Duo immediately alert; it wasn't that he was worried about an attack or anything, but a Great Arcanist mingling in the crowd was like a lion mingling in a flock of sheep.

Xia Duo looked around, but did not find the Princess, and he couldn't help but suspect that Niya had seen wrong, "Are you sure it's your teacher? Could you have mistaken her for someone else?"

"How could I! I have seen Teacher in that outfit before!" Niya nudged Xia Duo's arm, signaling him to look to the other side, "And I have only ever seen Teacher wear that Sun Emblem on that purple Mage Robe."

Xia Duo looked in the direction of Niya's gaze; it was indeed a Mage in purple robes, who looked somewhat androgynous and not at all like the Princess in his memory.

He had always thought the Princess's personal emblem was a silver ring, and although it also had complex Sun Emblems on it, he hadn't expected that the Sun Emblem could also be used as a personal emblem on its own.

After all, he hadn't specifically studied it, so while Niya recognized it, Xia Duo could not.

Moreover, Niya's words also led Xia Duo to have more associations, "Do you think other Great Arcanists might come?"

"Of course it's possible, but I have only seen Teacher and Lord Lander in other outfits; I wouldn't recognize the other Great Arcanists."

Put that way, Xia Duo felt that everyone he didn't recognize looked like a Great Arcanist, and even the food at the banquet seemed to lose its flavor.