Chapter 75: Mr. Huang

The Hidden Sage, after answering Lei Kedun's question, instantly turned into a torrent of data and vanished. Lei Kedun had originally planned to have the Hidden Sage help him with the Knowledge Church's exam questions, but the other party left without giving him a chance to speak.

"Sigh~ I still have no clue about the previous task, and the next one is already here. Is there no one left under the Knowledge Wilderness to use?" Lei Kedun sighed inwardly.

After learning the function of that massive ring, Lei Kedun couldn't fall asleep.

He simply got out of bed, intending to let Tu Ba Ge conduct an experiment to see if it could successfully visualize.

In a little nest on the side, the sleeping Tu Ba Ge was rudely shaken awake by Lei Kedun.

"Whoa~ Boss, an earthquake! Run!" Tu Ba Ge shouted in panic as soon as it was shaken awake, ready to flee.

Speechless, Lei Kedun reached out, grabbed Tu Ba Ge's ear, and pulled it back.

"Sit down, there's no earthquake. What knowledge did the Hidden Sage feed you before! You're looking less and less like a rabbit!" Lei Kedun said, somewhat speechlessly.

"There's no earthquake! Then why did you wake me up, boss? I just dreamed I grew a huge watermelon on a tree, and I was happily eating its multicolored flesh!" Tu Ba Ge muttered.

"Grown on a tree? Multicolored? Watermelon?" Lei Kedun didn't understand how his plump rabbit linked those keywords together.

"I need you to visualize a pattern for an experiment." Lei Kedun set aside the rabbit's pleasant dream and stated his purpose.

While speaking, Lei Kedun felt his drawing might not be detailed enough, so he changed his words: "Never mind, watch closely; I'll show you the actual object directly."

He got up, turned on the gas wall lamp in the room, and quickly visualized the massive ring in his mind. Then he resonated his own spirit with the imagined ring.

A brass-colored ring constructed from countless gears slowly materialized behind Lei Kedun.

Around it swayed several tentacle‑like chains; the gears spun rapidly, causing the massive ring to turn slowly, and as it rotated, ethereal smoke and sparks continuously rose around it.

As the massive ring appeared, Lei Kedun felt his spirit slowly draining, yet his connection to the Spirit Realm was greatly strengthened; he sensed that his spells would now receive Spirit Realm augmentation, casting faster and with increased potency.

"It feels like a spell‑casting aid," Lei Kedun thought.

Then he looked at the wide‑eyed Tu Ba Ge and said, "Watch the ring behind me closely; later you'll need to visualize it for meditation."

"Awo! Okay, boss." Though Tu Ba Ge didn't understand, it still thought the boss looked cool and wanted to try.

After Lei Kedun displayed the ring once, Tu Ba Ge curled up in its little nest and began meditating.

As Tu Ba Ge meditated, Lei Kedun felt the massive ring in his mind being activated. He also entered meditation, pouring his consciousness into the ring without obstruction this time.

Lei Kedun sensed an illusory light dot appearing around him, and he reached out with his consciousness to touch it. The once‑illusory dot seemed to gain support, rapidly coalescing into a tangible point of light.

Through this light dot, Lei Kedun felt a deeper connection forming between him and Tu Ba Ge.

Before Lei Kedun could figure out what was happening, he was kicked out of the space, ending the meditation.

"Boss, I succeeded!" Tu Ba Ge jumped out of its nest excitedly.

"Hmm, try visualizing the ring in your mind while you stir your own spirit," Lei Kedun nodded and said.

Tu Ba Ge quickly began the attempt, and Lei Kedun saw a shrunken version of the ring materialize behind the rabbit.

Tu Ba Ge felt wondrously bouncy, yet could never reach the ring behind it; the ring seemed to exist between reality and illusion.

After the hopping, Tu Ba Ge stopped, looked at Lei Kedun in disbelief and said, "Boss, I think I can perform the trick without that hat."

Tu Ba Ge waved its paws, then froze in midair: "I guess I still can't cast spells; I can't produce them."

Lei Kedun was speechless for a moment, having thought the rabbit a prodigy who could learn simple tricks on its own, only to find it could use them but didn't know how.

"I'll find that crow and have it help us refine the usage," Lei Kedun said after a moment's thought.

"Boss, don't you distrust it?" Tu Ba Ge asked, puzzled.

"You can tell that? I don't trust it because it concealed something from me, but that doesn't stop me from seeking its help," Lei Kedun replied, surprised by Tu Ba Ge's keen observation.

"Kin of knowledge and wisdom, ancient guardian, eyes that perceive the world, sage seated in the heavens, guardian of reason and knowledge," Lei Kedun recited in Dragon Language the angel's revered name from the Church.

"You gave up the exam so quickly?" the crow's voice echoed in the room.

"You yourself know those questions were absurd?" Lei Kedun replied, speechless.

He then added, "It's not about the exam; I have another matter to ask of you. Do you remember the system I mentioned before that was completely different from the demonic elixir?"

"I remember. You haven't given up yet?" the crow nodded.

Finally, he added, "Those questions aren't absurd; as long as you master the relevant knowledge and apply reasoning flexibly, it's simple—something a detective excels at."

"I have new progress," Lei Kedun said, skipping the crow's subsequent remarks.

Afterwards, Lei Kedun displayed the ring again, explaining its function and abilities.

The crow fell silent for a long time after hearing Lei Kedun's description; when it spoke again, its voice had changed, losing its characteristic sharpness and gaining a solemn authority.

Lei Kedun realized the angel's primary consciousness had temporarily taken over the vessel.

"This place is inconvenient; I'll take you to the Spirit Realm first, where the ring's abilities can be better demonstrated," the angel said.

Lei Kedun felt the surroundings blur, then turn into stacked, vivid color blocks like an abstract painting.

When the scenery cleared again, Lei Kedun found himself before an oddly abstract‑looking library.

"This is the library I built in the Spirit Realm; occasionally spirit‑realm beings come here to read. Of course, if anyone asks me for knowledge, I usually toss a book to them from here," the former crow's form had changed.

He wore a brown‑yellow hooded robe, his face lined with wrinkles, hair and beard a withered yellow, and he held a staff resembling a dead branch.

"Greetings! I still don't know the proper title beneath the crown?" Lei Kedun politely bowed to the elder, drawing the All‑Seeing Eye on his chest.

Lei Kedun's intuition told him that this elder was likely the angel's true form.

"My name is 'Tor Ka'; you may call me Mr. Huang. I'm an unofficial staff member of the Knowledge Church, usually residing in the Spirit Realm. Even within the Church, few know of my existence," the elder said warmly.

"Alright, Mr. Huang, what shall we do next?" Lei Kedun asked politely.

"No need to be overly formal; just maintain the usual way you interact with my avatar," Mr. Huang said gently.

He added, "First, let's test the ring's range. I'll find some opponents for you—by the way, bring that little rabbit along!"

As Mr. Huang spoke, Tu Ba Ge, still curiously surveying the surroundings, was suddenly pulled by an invisible hand to Lei Kedun's feet.

"Whoa~ There's a ghost!" Tu Ba Ge clutched Lei Kedun's thigh in panic and shouted.

Lei Kedun's mouth twitched involuntarily; he truly couldn't understand how this rabbit could be both so curious and so cowardly at once.

"Are you ready?" Mr. Huang asked aloud.

"There's a problem: I only know a few spells, and they require casting components," Lei Kedun said helplessly.

After being promoted to wizard, he comes with some spells, but a wizard's casting requires the appropriate materials; it cannot be as simple and quick as a non‑mortal using his own extraordinary ability. In the spirit realm, Lei Kedun couldn't find any casting materials to use at all in a short time.

"I understand. I will temporarily grant you part of Sequence 6's ability, along with some temporary casting knowledge, so you can use spells now," Mr. Huang nodded and then offered a solution.

"What about the rabbit? It's not a creature of the reader's path, so this method shouldn't work on it, right?" Lei Kedun asked, while the Tu Ba Ge clutched his own thigh.

"That's easy. I can let it temporarily fully master the top hat it wears; this sealed item bears the extraordinary traits of a trickster master and a clown, and it can use those tricks through the seal," Mr. Huang likewise offered a solution.

"Alright, I have no further questions," Lei Kedun said, nodding in understanding.

Hearing that, Mr. Huang reached out and grasped at the void before him, pulling specks of brass‑colored aura from the emptiness, then waved his hand and tossed the aura into Lei Kedun's body.

(End of Chapter)