Chapter 108: Nothing Is Uncommon

"Large-scale search mode? What's that?"

In Li En's usual impression, his Spirit Codex was always rather "aloof."

Unless you asked it something that touched on a keyword, it would ignore you entirely.

【This search mode will expand the search range and moderately lower selection criteria; thus, the number of candidates under this mode will very likely exceed the user's expectations. The user may manually remove candidates and erase their short-term memories.】

This touched on the Spirit Codex's functionality—it simply dumped out a flood of explanations.

This expanded search was designed, in theory, for when the first search fails. Some spirits have such bizarre personalities or abilities that finding a qualified heir is normal.

The expanded selection naturally brings in too many unqualified candidates; under this mode, Li En can manually remove their candidacy.

In fact, this is possible normally too—after all, the Legacy Hall is ultimately Li En's dream, and he can simply blacklist them and bar entry.

But this mode's active removal is permanent and adds the function of erasing short-term memories.

"Quite thorough—prevents information leaks."

Li En pondered for a moment; perhaps it was truly time to activate it. He turned his gaze to Kuku and asked.

"Kuku, who do you think your heir might be? What traits would they inherit from you?" For his first use of this mode, Li En intended to proceed cautiously.

The Spirit Hall might be the foundation of Li En's standing—he could not accept it being flooded with chaotic, unsuitable people and losing control.

Sul's legacy was likely that "will"—that uncompromising justice.

But Kuku was far too free-spirited; Li En couldn't be sure.

If he couldn't grasp Kuku, he naturally couldn't grasp Kuku's heir standards.

Putting down his notebook, Kuku tilted his head and thought for a moment.

"Gaa gaa! My heir? Smart! Wise! Handsome! Just like me."

Right, I shouldn't have asked a dog-headed creature—this confidence was as invincible as ever.

". hey're ordinary people! But they refuse to be ordinary! They crave change—even just a little!"

The second half left Li En silent.

To be ordinary yet unwilling to accept ordinariness, to seek change—that's a high bar? If you don't require actual change, it's not high at all.

But this probably wasn't the full condition.

Li En had already noticed: Larry, Deniya, and Dimon were all young people with immense potential—they had the possibility of becoming "spirits." The Spirit Codex's threshold was not low.

Even with this restriction, there should still be many qualified candidates—heroes emerge from the common folk.

Or put another way: before heroes encountered the moments and suffering that made them heroes, they were just common folk.

"Looks like we'll need to prepare to remove unqualified candidates."

Li En didn't activate it immediately; the night was still young. He planned to use it at two or three in the morning, maximizing search potential.

He played cards with Kuku for a while, continuing his losing streak—he was clearly no match for Kuku, no matter how lucky he got.

He chatted briefly with the anxious Saliman, helping ease her mounting anxiety. He thought it funny: when they first met, he'd thought she was a seductive, cunning mature woman; now he saw she was just a girl pretending at maturity, shoved onto the stage by fate.

He felt a touch of pity for her.

Just pity—not romantic affection.

Li En knew himself: this fondness for a cute little creature likely stemmed from Sul and Kuku's personalities.

But this kind of senior's attention toward a junior didn't seem bad at all.

It just gave Li En the odd feeling that he hadn't even married yet, and was already widowed and retired.

"Next, I'll probably have to keep pushing you onto the stage," he glanced at Saliman, still fretting, and kept playing cards.

Li En felt a twinge of sympathy for two seconds, then unhesitatingly shoved Saliman back onto the hot stove again. This time, the "backdoor and runner-up slot" was yours, little snake.

There was no choice—he couldn't report to Deniya himself; many things Saliman couldn't tell Li En.

"That's enough. Let's begin."

Back in his room at night, Li En read a book, confirmed most of the temporary embassy had fallen asleep, then activated the "Dream Guidance Mode."

【Synchronization rate exceeds 20%. Dream Guidance Mode activated. Expanding search.】

The first to return to that silent place were still Li En and Kuku.

But this time, standing before Li En was not the comical, cheerful Kusla—but Kuku Kudraken, clad in the white robes of a sage.

Li En had checked the Mage Tower's records: Kuku had indeed left historical traces, but not necessarily in the way he wanted.

Now, this former Grand Sage stood before Li En.

The tiny dog-headed creature stirred the massive cauldron before him, then scooped out some orange-yellow liquid and bottled it.

"There! There! Take it."

Li En took it—this was Kuku's test for him.

The Dream Guidance Mode required the spirit's approval.

Was he to analyze it? Or perfect this potion? Neither seemed possible now—but he could take his time later.

"Drink it."

Li En didn't hesitate—he tilted his head and gulped it down.

"Ugh, orange flavor. Not bad—sweet but not cloying." Li En found it pleasant; Kuku's flavoring skills were excellent.

"What's the effect? Any feedback in this state?" Li En waited several seconds—the potion gave no response.

"Huh? This is just orange-flavored carbonated soda! Tasty, right? I just invented the recipe! I gave it to you!"

Li En froze. Wait—where was the test?

"That's it! You passed. I wrote the recipe and put it in my space bag—deliver it to Dimon. They can produce it. Cheap ingredients! Tasty! Healthy! People will drink lots of it."

As he spoke, the dream began to shatter.

The former Grand Sage grew hazy.

This, perhaps, was destined to be the simplest spirit trial.

Perhaps also the most mundane, the most unforgettable one Li En would ever face.

"Truly a memorable Grand Sage Kuku."

"Ah, you called me?"

The sudden voice startled Li En—he looked up, torn between laughter and exasperation.

He had returned to the Spirit Hall—and the figure above him was none other than Grand Sage Kuku himself. Under the split-operation mechanism, Li En had naturally been kicked down below.

Looks like he'd have to endure a few more days.

Li En glanced around—the familiar hall and starry sky showed no difference, except for the Grand Sage Kudraken above, who drew all attention.

After all, a dog-headed creature in a white robe far too large for his body, dragging a giant cauldron, standing right at the hall's focal point—how could he not stand out?

Li En walked over quietly. Perhaps, unlike other spirits, Kuku needed a little help.

Once the Dream Hall opened, Li En also added himself to the "backdoor candidates," waiting for new spirit applicants to arrive.

But some mechanism seemed triggered—the first arrivals were old acquaintances.

"Finally opened again! This time, it's definitely me!! Definitely!"

The first to leap in was the unhesitating "Dragon Hunter" princess.

She was as confident as ever—just like the dog-headed creature. But the next moment, seeing the real dog-headed creature above, she froze.

She had no memory of any dog-headed spirit in the Hall—let alone one in a sage's robe!

After all, that title and attire weren't casually bestowed. Only those whose wisdom reached the pinnacle of their age could earn it.

Sage wasn't merely a profession—it was an honorific title granted through evaluation, requiring nominations from at least two major races and recognition from at least four.

For example: nominated by beastfolk and dark elves, and recognized by dwarves, giants—imagine the near-impossible difficulty.

These were races, not clans. It required recognition from most nations and kings within a race, and the scholar must have made contributions acknowledged by all, achieving feats that crossed races or even worlds.

Each Sage was rare, and nearly all left their names in history.

"Dog-headed Sage… Grand Sage… Am I dreaming?" Deniya couldn't recall any dog-headed sage—her memory held nothing. And this was a Grand Sage.

White base with gold trim marked a Sage; the star-ring collar, sun-moon bands on sleeves and hem—only a Grand Sage possessed these.

Sage was already the pinnacle of scholarly titles; Grand Sage was typically awarded posthumously—to Sages whose contributions were so absurdly great they deserved an extra honor.

The most recent Sage was the Giant Sage who once predicted the coming of the Magic Tide.

Given his somewhat dubious reputation, a Grand Sage posthumous title was out of the question—it required recognition from most wise races across the continent.

A living Grand Sage belonged only on a divine altar. Now, here was one—a dog-headed creature—stirring a pot? Deniya felt she must still be dreaming. Perhaps the Spirit Hall hadn't opened at all—this was just a dream.

"This is Grand Sage Kudraken," Li En explained.

"I'm Kuku! Kuku!" The dog-headed creature instantly exploded.

He clearly still disliked his Draconic name—Kuku still clung to his true name.

He turned, revealing beneath his hood a comically shaped red triangular dog head, dwarfed by the oversized Grand Sage robe—like a child in adult clothes, making one want to laugh.

"Pfft, what's that!" Someone actually laughed.

Saliman, who had just entered and hadn't yet grasped what was happening, burst out laughing.

"Slap!" Then she was struck by her own superior.

"This is the Grand Sage! Show respect!" Deniya had no memory of either name, but she had to respect the Grand Sage.

"Uh… Your Highness… Am I not in the Underworld?" Saliman remained dazed.

Then the princess dragged her aside and taught her some "common sense," plus how to activate her beginner protection.

Li En had deliberately withheld Saliman's beginner protection mist, to skip the probing phase and get them to meet faster.

Next to enter were the old acquaintances—the knight squad.

Dimon, Larry, Talia—upon entering, they were pulled together by the princess. Of course, this girl still formed cliques.

As they chatted, they pointed upward at Li En—they'd clearly guessed already.

Li En didn't care about her, because the real show was about to begin.

But the first true candidate to enter triggered Li En's elimination mode immediately.

"Ah, delicious brain, delicious thoughts—I can feel how tasty your minds are!" A mind flayer with an octopus-like face walked right in!

And was instantly kicked out by Li En.

The next one was even more horrifying—the mind flayer's elder brain, a monstrous heap of countless mind flayer brains, actually appeared!

"Eliminate!" Li En feared he might be too slow.

This damned underground world actually had something like this?! Li En only hoped the memory purge would be clean and cause less trouble.

The third to enter was an orc. Li En breathed a sigh of relief—it seemed they were steadily reaching the upper city zone.

But after that, each newcomer was stranger than the last.

A robot covered in rust slowly walked in.

It—or she—had only one arm and one leg, yet still advanced slowly, supported by cables.

"This is a machine folk. Are there machine folk ruins here?" Kuku was curious, seemingly very interested in the mechanical humanoid.

Two dark elves entered one after the other, highly alert. This was a dark elf city—it made sense.

A mushroom person walked in. Li En had heard of a mushroom person tribe here; he'd just accept it as plausible.

Then, a skull and a lich entered!

Li En's paladin radar blared alarms, and he kicked them out instantly.

Kuku, who accepted all without discrimination, really didn't care at all.

And this underground world truly had everything.

Finally, when everything stabilized, there were seven—record-breaking, even after Li En eliminated several absurd candidates.

Yet among them, only two were beastfolk.

"Hehe, perfect, perfect!" Kuku himself was very satisfied.

(End of Chapter)