Chapter 101: The Great Sage Embraces! (13)

With a moment's hesitation, Luosen still chose to evade.

Pure doubt is better than clear revelation.

More importantly, he does not understand the mentor's single‑minded pursuit; in his view, the mentor is not someone who would lose restraint merely out of curiosity.

So he took a step back, avoiding the mentor's finger.

Lady Agneth did not chase Luosen with her inquiry; her finger hovered less than half a meter from him, its tip shimmering with a faint lavender glow.

She asked softly, "Is it a secret that must not be known to the mentor?"

Luosen stared into her violet‑colored beautiful eyes and said, "Mentor, why the curiosity?"

"I simply want to know what my apprentice has truly achieved, rather than being kept in the dark carelessly."

Luosen shook his head: "That reason is insufficient."

Lady Agneth was silent for over ten seconds, then switched to Spiritual Whisper.

"You don't wish to be Regent Minister; what you truly want is to become the Duke of Weilan, right?"

Luosen was not surprised by this remark.

Because Lady Agneth has been the person he has interacted with the most over the past ten years, far more than anyone else.

She is also an exceedingly wise person.

At first, perhaps due to underestimation, she missed it, but once she took it seriously and began a careful investigation, she naturally uncovered abundant clues.

After all, Luosen spent ten years at Azure Manor, and the greatest protection he received was not the arcane itself, but the very notion of "low‑profile."

Lady Agneth continued, "Legally, as long as the next Duke is your child with Selena, you could indeed take the title."

"But matters are not that simple."

"To truly succeed, mere worldly effort is insufficient; you also need the protection of high‑ring power to ensure that critical links are not shattered by high‑ring forces."

"Leaving other factors aside, if you lack sufficient high‑ring defensive capability, your child cannot survive, perhaps not even be born!"

"Because the natural divine blood within you is not pure enough."

Those words truly struck Luosen's soul.

"Mentor?"

Lady Agneth spread her arms: "I have been in this library since childhood; my family's scholarly lineage has revealed to me countless secrets unknown to others."

"In this regard, my brother happens to be the opposite extreme."

"Of course, he is still a competent lord, and someone always has to handle the mundane affairs of governing a domain."

"Therefore, if my apprentice needs knowledge of high‑ring power, I will, of course, find a way to sift through the old scrolls for him, fulfilling my duties as a mentor."

Being able to say that indicates Lady Agneth already strongly suspects Luosen possesses high‑ring magical power, and her prior probing was merely to confirm that suspicion.

Luosen retorted, "Mentor, why did you choose to support me?"

"The nation is a great ship sailing on the sea, and the ocean is about to face a terrible storm. Without a great captain to guide its course, the ship will inevitably capsize, and every passenger will be devoured by the sea."

Lady Agneth's voice was very firm.

"Clearly, Duke Laid is an incompetent captain, and I now believe you should have sufficient ability to lead Weilan through the storm!"

Hearing this, Luosen instantly understood: "The mentor intends to aid me!"

If the mentor were to join the island, the assistance would be as massive as delivering a powerful kick to the island, which is like a tiny soccer ball! She is the Princess of Shire County, promoted to senior rank at eighteen, has produced numerous outstanding achievements in the arcane field, enjoys extremely high arcane reputation, and has now been elevated to Arcane Master.

She is benevolent and generous, stunningly beautiful, and holds great prestige in the mortal world.

Subtly, she has already become a leading figure among the Northern mages.

Now she wishes to know her own magical cultivation, probably the final step to confirm whether she is worth following.

A sage of this caliber is something Luosen could not ask for more.

Thus, he proactively extended his finger, and a strand of pure magical energy gathered at its tip.

Lady Agneth also extended her finger again.

The two fingertips lightly brushed each other.

In that instant, arcane light flared, briefly illuminating the depths of the library before fading, returning the ancient corner to tranquility.

A deep shock flashed across Lady Agneth's eyes, causing her body to tremble slightly.

She gazed at Luosen with incredulous eyes: "I've had many guesses, but I never expected it to be this high."

"This is how many rings… never mind, you must not tell me, and no one else should say it!"

"Not even Selena should be told lightly; she cannot keep a secret!"

Lady Agneth, excited, spun around several times in place, then suddenly halted and stared at Luosen again.

"Oh~ at your young age you have such great achievements; you truly should become the Lord of Weilan. If you don't, no one else will be qualified!"

"You possess such outstanding lordly talent and such ambition; you are literally the Creator's envoy sent to the mortal realm to save Weilan!"

"Perhaps only you can free Weilan completely from Aaron's manipulation!"

"If someday you truly make up the shortfall in your high‑ring arcane achievements, you could even… never mind, I'm thinking too far; that's unrealistic."

"But the Lord of Weilan is realistic, a goal within reach."

"I never imagined that the child I watched grow up from childhood, my first apprentice, would become such a miraculous mage!"

"I have always dreamed that someone could save Weilan, yet I never expected that person to have been by my side all along!"

"Ah~ fate truly is marvelous!"

Lady Agneth was so excited that she was even a bit incoherent.

Luosen listened to her words, never expecting the mentor's mind to conceal so many thoughts.

He had assumed the mentor was a leisurely, elegant genius female mage, but did not anticipate she also possessed such a patriotic, people‑concerned side.

Perhaps she sensed his agitation, or perhaps she found the apprentice's constant composure oddly strange.

She asked, "Is this the benefit of a powerful soul, that no matter the circumstance, the soul remains untroubled?"

Luosen shook his head: "Mortal souls all have ripples, Master. I am a mortal, so of course I have them."

"It's just that the ripples are smaller."

"That's true; after I advanced to Four-ring, I clearly felt my mind and spirit steadier, and you naturally became even more stable."

Lady Agneth said: "Hold on, I'll fetch you two spellbooks now; they are the Robert family's treasured high‑ring spellbooks. Both are Six Rings."

"I always thought they'd be sealed away until they turned to ash. Now they finally have a use."

She turned and went to get the spellbooks.

Luosen felt a slight shock in his heart; he hadn't expected this data‑gathering mission to bring such a huge profit, and thought silently: "Alas~ now I really can't repay the favor I owe Master~"

Most of the others were purely transactional, but with Master it was different; the relationships were tangled, and the logic became incomprehensible.

After a short while, Lady Agneth carefully carried the two extremely old spellbooks that seemed about to crumble and walked over.

She smiled: "Guess who left them?"

Luosen thought for a moment and said: "Saint Weilan is a Six‑Ring Spell Saint; the high‑ring spellbooks she left should all be in Dawn City."

If it weren't for founding Weilan and a comfortable life, and occasionally sleeping to stall time, the saint could easily live into the modern era.

Unfortunately, 498 years ago, she was besieged in the north by the Three Sages of Gusset. Though she slew all three sages, she herself was gravely wounded.

She fell in the fifth year after returning to the south.

And that is the price one must pay to change the world! "According to the *World Noble Genealogy*, this book is either a dowry from 480 years ago—when Weilan's third daughter, Arcane Master Lafna, married Prince Robert, the last prince of the Gusset Kingdom—or it is an ancestral tome of Prince Robert."

Lady Agneth sighed, a trace of distress appearing on her face.

"It was originally too mediocre, making me worry about my future. Now it's too erudite, yet it gives me no sense of achievement as Master; it's just never good."

She gently placed the two spellbooks on the table and fetched the copying tools:

"The books can't stay out for long; copy them quickly. As for this nautical log, there's still a long section left; I'll organize it for you."

"Thank you, Master."

Luosen didn't hold back, took the paper money, and began copying carefully.

Of course, this was only surface work; in reality he was uploading all the spellbook knowledge into Laifu's database.

Two Six‑Ring spellbooks.

One is titled *Nature's Gift*, a tremendously powerful healing spell.

According to the description, as long as the soul remains intact, even if the head is severed, the person can still be saved.

Yet even with such a potent spell, mortals still find it hard to escape death.

Why? Because a high‑ring mage's natural lifespan is determined by the soul.

The soul is also a highly complex energy‑dissipation structure; as time passes, various irreparable soul injuries arise until it collapses.

Reading the detailed explanations, Luosen felt a slight stir in his heart.

"This high‑ring knowledge seems able to greatly refine my Transformation Technique."

Previously, he dared not alter delicate organs lightly, largely because the damage would be too great; but with this, it seemed possible.

Yet how to perfect it required careful study.

He then examined the second Six‑Ring spell, titled *Flawless Steel Dragon Body*.

A thought sparked; he immediately recalled the *Dragon's Blessing* elixir that grants a steel‑hard body and strong spell resistance—like activating a mini‑invincibility.

As he examined the spell closely, he silently sighed.

"It's actually an application of high‑ring steel power. Tch tch~~ What a clever use; the mage who created this spell is truly a peerless prodigy!"

Luosen wouldn't claim to be clever, especially on the path of sorcery; he would never call himself a genius. The many insights he had stemmed mainly from inspiration by Earth knowledge.

Earth knowledge was created by countless Earth prodigies; it wasn't his own ability.

Now, truly reading the high‑ring spells honed over ages by otherworldly geniuses, he felt an exhilarating thrill.

Although both are ancient spells and their control methods differ somewhat from modern ones, it's only a minor formal difference; a slight modification will suffice.

While copying the second book, Luosen felt much more at ease.

"Once I fully master this spell, I won't have to live as if walking a tightrope."

He could take a little risk now.

Moreover, besides a huge boost to defensive ability, his understanding of steel power deepened, and he should be able to develop more applications in the future.

Soon after he finished copying, Master promptly returned the spellbooks to their place.

Upon returning, she smiled and asked, "Guess how Captain Ailankate finally got back to land?"

Luosen truly couldn't guess, for the most absurd thing in the world is the real world, which offers no clues for speculation.

But he noticed Master's cheeks flushed and eyes watery, and felt that the captain must have written about Uncle Huang again.

Lady Agneth's cheeks reddened even more: "It's simple; the female demons are satisfied."

Luosen was taken aback, still not understanding.

"The female demons aren't seeking pleasure aimlessly; they do it to propagate offspring, of course. They also largely seek enjoyment, just like us land‑dwellers, always devising ways to pursue pleasure."

Saying that, her cheeks reddened even further.

Luosen instantly understood: "If that's the case, this problem might have a solution. After all, my island lacks nothing in energetic young men."

Lady Agneth shrugged: "Indeed, even the lord is full of vigor, cough~ Selena must have been quite lively lately, right?"

In the last sentence, her voice lightened considerably, clearly aware she shouldn't ask, yet she couldn't help but ask.

Luosen felt a slight stir, looked up, and saw the woman opposite the small square table, less than half a meter away, her eyes watery.

He smiled faintly: "Master, are you concerned about your apprentice's happiness in life?"

Lady Agneth seemed startled by the word "Master"; a flash of panic crossed her eyes, and she patted her forehead in annoyance: "Oh~ this damned nautical log has clouded my mind."

Luosen felt a slight movement in his heart, raised his hand, and grasped the other hand Lady Agneth had placed on the desk, feeling its soft, slick texture.

He could feel the hand tremble slightly, yet it did not withdraw from Luosen's grasp.

The two didn't move, just silently gazing at each other.

After a moment, Luosen moved from opposite the square table to the same side as Lady Agneth, still gazing, but he gently pulled her arm, and she fell into his embrace.

No one spoke, nor made any extra movement; they just silently hugged.

After a long while, Lady Agneth whispered, 'I never expected that the child from back then would have grown so tall and strong.'

Luosen also softly replied, 'Mentor, I am very grateful for the high-circle spell you gave me today.'

'This is not just knowledge; it is very likely to save my life and the lives of my unborn children on my future life journey.'

'I really don't know how to repay you.'

'Repay me?'

Lady Agneth lifted her head in Luosen's embrace, looking up at him, and said solemnly, 'If you want to repay me, then do everything you can to save Weilan!'

Luosen nodded, 'No need for you to say, I will do it anyway.'

'Even if I don't want to, I must do this.'

'Because I feel that King Dange is merely enduring temporarily; he will surely take harsh revenge on me someday.'

Lady Agneth sighed with satisfaction, 'Hearing you say that, I am completely relieved; everything I did was worthwhile.'

But she didn't leave Luosen's embrace; instead, she held him even tighter.

'I know what I'm doing now is wrong, so stand still and let me borrow your embrace, so I can feel again the feeling of being cared for.'

'But don't move your hands randomly; just place them on my waist, don't go lower.'

Luosen knew the mentor's temperament well; he knew she was speaking sincerely, and also knew that if he went too far, she would definitely turn against him on the spot, so he stood still without moving.

After a long time, Lady Agneth reluctantly left Luosen's embrace, lightly brushed a stray lock of hair from her temples, and smiled, 'I really am a bit envious of Selena.'

'But the important thing is to continue looking for information.'

Thus, the two continued to search for more related information about fish-people and demonesses.

'Mentor, I hope you can stay on the island a bit longer.'

'Huh?' Lady Agneth didn't quite understand.

'Selena'

Luosen pointed at his belly and then said, 'I hope to have a familiar person accompany her.'

Lady Agneth blinked in surprise, 'How so fast?'

But she immediately said without hesitation, 'I will write a letter now to arrange matters in Dawn City; I will stay on White Sturgeon Island for the next year.'

(End of chapter)