Chapter 126

"Indeed, the candidates have been confirmed."

Lord Lord Kuku was never good at hiding, especially when facing "himself."

This time, Li En actually hoped to know the answer in advance, even though he knew there were only a few days left.

"In my view, none of these guys are qualified."

Li En sighed slightly, but not because he was dissatisfied with the young candidates themselves.

It was just that, compared to Lord Lord Kuku, these young people were truly unworthy.

This unworthiness wasn't about ability, but about mindset—and even personality.

"They seem a bit mediocre, which isn't inherently a problem—they're still young. But as heroes' candidates, inheriting a hero's honor, they simply aren't up to it."

Dimon may be weak, may come from humble origins, but Li En always felt that in a few decades, Dimon would never tarnish Su Er's reputation.

In fact, Dimon's future achievements might even cause the ancient name of Su Er to be remembered once more.

This was more intuition, but Li En judged that if Dimon didn't perish or corrupt midway, the likelihood was very high.

"But these candidates? None of them seem capable. Even if they grow successfully, their limits are already set." Li En vaguely sensed that these candidates showed no extraordinary talent, nor any overwhelming will or personality.

He also knew this wasn't the young people's fault—Lord Lord Kuku himself had been a waste at their age; his ability, mindset, and personality were all forged by time.

How can someone who's never been rained on think of holding an umbrella for others?

How can someone who's never been crushed to the point of suffocation hold up the sky for others?

But that kind of imitation-based kindness, that goodwill born of being protected, always falls short. And if Li En hadn't misjudged, these candidates were at best neutral—kindness was likely absent, and responsibility nearly zero.

Raw ore that's never been hammered can never reveal its true quality—isn't it a bit too hasty to pass on this legacy so urgently?

Perhaps they'll manage it someday, but right now, Li En truly didn't think they were up to it.

"Forget it. Trust Lord Lord Kuku." It seemed there was nothing else to do but take it one step at a time.

Now, the spirit's deadline was only four days away; according to Li En's estimate, Lord Lord Kuku wouldn't drag it to the final day—he'd likely decide in two or three days.

Considering Lord Lord Kuku's initiative, he might even decide tonight—there was no need to rush the revelation.

But Li En silently resolved: no matter who the final candidate was, if they truly proved unworthy—or even disgraceful—

"Then I'll reclaim this legacy."

Could a legacy be reclaimed? Li En wasn't sure, but his own life could certainly be taken back.

As the one entrusted with the right (outside of Lord Lord Kuku's spirit) to choose the heir to the spirit, Li En felt it his duty to ensure the bearer of this legacy didn't shame the spirit!

Just as Dimon himself knew—and had sworn—that if he ever corrupted, Li En would surely act to take his life.

The spirit's legacy was never merely wealth—it was a heavy inheritance.

At this moment, Li En understood why he felt displeased by this second batch of heirs: some of them were genuinely seeking this legacy with the mindset of "unexpected fortune."

"Magic Missile! Any other questions?!"

Early that morning, Lord Lord Kuku came over to give Li En a lesson.

Last night, he'd planned to use a clone for instruction, but something unexpected happened.

"Shaliman taught me. Well, let me ask again."

Li En repeated several questions, and Lord Lord Kuku's responses were on an entirely different level from Shaliman's.

It wasn't that Shaliman was wrong—she simply gave the "standard answers."

With his rich teaching experience, Lord Lord Kuku didn't fixate on these facts; instead, he guided Li En to understand the underlying principles of the spell, and shared more "anecdotes" and "possibilities" about it.

Some things truly weren't comparable to complete ignorance; having enjoyed Lord Lord Kuku's top-tier instruction, Li En now realized just how exceptional his private tutor was.

Perhaps Lord Lord Kuku's learning pace was slower, but the spell principles and magical methodology he imparted formed the foundation for higher-level study.

Lord Lord Kuku also knew that Li En, lacking formal magical education, was now most lacking in basic theory and an overview of the mage's knowledge system.

Put plainly, Lord Lord Kuku was teaching Li En to "think like a mage."

From another angle, Shaliman's teaching wasn't wrong—teaching should adapt to the student's nature, and standard mage textbooks were indeed designed for geniuses.

But Lord Lord Kuku's current approach allowed Li En to easily understand—and even deliberately filled in the logical gaps in his foundational understanding and spellcasting mindset.

"Interesting."

Li En was startled to discover that the classic Magic Missile spell actually involved a classic problem for spellcasters.

"Ballistic calculation—or rather, the trajectory of the spell model after release."

By now, Li En had long lost that strange confidence that "my spell will always hit."

In reality, spellcasting was just like sword combat—only hits dealt damage, and only strikes to vital points were easily lethal.

After a spell model was released, it typically operated autonomously along its pre-designed trajectory and structure: most directly, "spherical," "conical," "wall-shaped (rectangular)," "triangular pyramid (often for jets)," "arrow-shaped (optimized for penetration and speed)," and "ring-shaped (often for self-defense)."

You must first shape the corresponding spell model, maintain its stability, then release it to operate autonomously—requiring not only skill and stability in shaping, but also prediction and calculation of its trajectory and deformation trends.

Thus, incantations often include "planning" for this—for example, Ice Cone includes explicit description of "conical," while Magic Missile's description of "ultra-small missile (spherical) form" is as simple and direct as possible.

Magic Missile is the simplest, purest force magic—that is, pure magical damage (transmuted matter damage) without elemental effects. Its inherent difficulty is low, but "ballistic trajectory" and "model stability (resistance to deformation)" demand is very high (for Li En).

Studying this far, Li En realized that each of these first-tier spells was packed with specialized theory and training, each requiring unique, non-overlapping branches of knowledge.

Compared to combat effectiveness, these low-tier spells seemed more like academic foundations for high-tier spells.

"Hmm, I'm starting to understand."

What triggered Li En wasn't Magic Missile itself, but these foundational theories and magical shaping lessons—causing his bloodline power to pulse.

"SKERVA (sword)" Li En didn't speak the word, but the Dragon Tongue seemed already on his tongue.

It was a pure shaping description—or "sword-form spell model"—yet listed separately as a Dragon Tongue.

In Lord Lord Kuku's words, Dragon Tongue magic was one of the origins of modern magic; this entire theory and technique might have derived from it.

"Right now, I can't use two Dragon Tongue words simultaneously, can I?"

"Absolutely not. But if it's a 'shaping word,' you might try once you're stronger."

These shaping words, specifically modified for a single Dragon Tongue—like Li En now considering "Flame Sword (ELDERSKERVA!)"—consume less than the normal combined cost of two elemental words.

Roughly, if a normal two-character Dragon Tongue counts as Tier 2, this could be considered a Tier 1.5 Dragon Flame spell.

Of course, that is merely the lower limit. The greatest advantage of Dragon Tongue magic has always been its growth potential; the strength of the spell depends entirely on the user.

At this moment, Li En felt a bit more desire for "Sword (SKERVA)," but to complete it, he would probably have to return and practice swordsmanship seriously, first raising his Paladin class level.

"SKERVA (Sword of Tearing)... Tsk, feels like it's not something easy to master."

Dragon Tongues sharing the same "meaning," such as Li En and Dai Niya's "Fire," are actually completely different elemental concepts.

Li En's "Sword" vaguely implies "tearing apart everything" and "unresistible sharpness"; where it comes from needs no further explanation.

In a sense, Li En truly has to thank Brother Su Er; not only did he gift the Paladin class and swordsmanship profundities, but he also included two seemingly quite powerful Dragon Tongues.

But now, although he has gained a certain degree of understanding by analogy, Li En estimates that completely mastering it will still require some time.

"Right, I'm an idiot; isn't there an expert in Dragon Tongue magic right here?"

There are only a few days left; if he doesn't hurry to learn Dragon Tongue, isn't that really a bit stupid?

But while ordinary magic can be taught, Kukku really cannot teach this.

"No! Every dragon's Dragon Tongue is different!"

Every high-ranking dragon race has its own Dragon Tongue system; if you really dig into it, it is indeed impossible to teach.

"I can tell you! My past usage experiences!"

This... is quite interesting. Getting ahead of time on the combat and learning mindset of high-level Dragon Tongue sorcerers would be very helpful to Li En.

Kukku's explanation remained detailed and thorough; combining his past combat experience and development capabilities, Li En quickly felt he had grasped many practical insights that might not even be usable.

Compared to modern magic, Dragon Tongue magic is clearly a privilege for the "talented."

It holds a comprehensive advantage in casting speed, flexibility, power, and consumption; especially the advantage of one caster having one spell system makes it overwhelmingly superior in internal spell battles.

If you really want to talk about shortcomings... the minimum consumption to use it is not low, the power is considerable, and for "weak dragons," it is an unfriendly double-edged sword.

And Kukku also gave him a huge surprise.

"There is one Dragon Tongue that seems you can actually learn in advance! It is strongly bound to my Soul ability! You should awaken it later! No, you will definitely awaken it." With that, Kukku simply took the awakening of this Dragon Tongue as a premise and began explaining how to develop and use it.

(End of Chapter)