Chapter 243: Someone Spoke Its Divine Name

Ang spat out the Fire of Many Believers and stared at it curiously.

"You've been staring at it all day long—still looking? What's so interesting?" Nagelis grumbled.

In its heart, the flame of envy burned fiercely, like a farmer who had labored for half a year, barely harvested a little grain, then saw his neighbor sitting at home, crushed by a mountain of grain.

"Its soul-flame is abundant," Ang said.

"Abundant? How abundant?" Nagelis perked up. A soul-flame that's still in its infancy doesn't even qualify as a divine core—how could it have any believers?

"More than the Undying Divine Core," Ang said.

…

The Republic of Stars, Republic of Stars Mage Tower.

Though called a mage tower, it was in fact a vast magical academy, covering several hundred square kilometers, with a dozen scattered high towers interspersed among clusters of buildings extending into the sea, some even built directly upon the water.

The Earth Magic Tower was also a sprawling complex, arranged in terraces around the central tower.

On the plaza before it, a spatial ripple flickered, and a figure appeared.

A few students meditating or reading looked up, then returned to their tasks.

In the Republic of Stars Mage Tower, only a few dozen mages could use spatial teleportation—they were long used to it.

The newcomer must be certified; if not, the defense arrays surrounding the plaza would have already activated, reducing them to charred ash.

Shiludi hurried toward the tower, pulling up her skirt, when a male mage in flowing robes, elegant and poised, wearing a tall pointed hat, stepped out toward her.

Shiludi's eyes lit up the moment she saw him; she ran over and called out: "Senior Jac!"

"Oh? Little Ludi, hello! Long time no see," Jac, who looked barely thirty, greeted her with a term of endearment clearly meant for someone much younger.

"Long time no see, Senior Jac—take off your hat so I can see," Shiludi said.

Jac's expression changed instantly; his smile vanished. "What do you mean?"

"Don't be angry, Senior Jac—I've got something great to show you. Just let me see your head, come on, come on," Shiludi grabbed his arm and shook it vigorously.

Who could resist such a display? Jac sighed helplessly, yanked off his hat, flashed his gleaming bald scalp for a second, then snapped the hat back on.

Shiludi grew even more excited, eyes shining: "Senior Jac, your scalp is so shiny—this will make the effect even clearer!"

Jac snapped: "What's your point? I'm over fifty, stay up all night—baldness is normal! Don't get cocky—you'll be bald too someday."

"Never," Shiludi grinned smugly. "Look, la-la-la, la-la-la~~"

She hummed a tune while parting her hair to reveal her scalp to Jac.

Jac stared, puzzled. Shiludi's hair had never fully fallen out—just thinned. Now that new stubble had grown, the contrast wasn't obvious.

To a man, whether his wife wore makeup or not was invisible—how would he notice a junior's thinning hair?

But after careful inspection, it was clear: her scalp wasn't thin at all. It didn't look like the head of a proper thirty-year-old female mage—it had to be some unorthodox trick.

Jac's expression turned serious. "What dark art have you used? Tell me now—I'll denounce it."

Shiludi immediately shoved a small card into his hand. "Senior Jac, mention my name for a 99% discount."

…

They were supposed to have set out to find the Place of Slumber, but the extradimensional beast flopped onto the ground, wailing that it was still injured and couldn't do anything—it needed rest.

In the extradimensional realm, extradimensional beasts and space mages were the stars. If Big Cat wasn't healed, they couldn't go—but Shiludi, having opened a new world, could no longer sit still. She took up sales and returned to the tower; such a great benefit must be shared with her seniors.

Mostly because sales came with commissions—five percent rebates. At these service prices, if she could find just five senior mages, her material costs for the year would be covered.

But she misjudged one thing: she could sell to seniors, but seniors could sell to other seniors—and they did it better.

A few days later, Jac tossed aside his tall hat and wandered around with thick, lush hair, casually tossing his head to let everyone catch a glimpse.

The effect was indeed strong. Everyone had seen Jac's bald head before; now with hair, they assumed he wore a wig and asked where he bought it—only to be handed a small card: "Mention my name for a 99% discount."

Shiludi had planned to wait until Jac returned from treatment, using him as a comparison to convince more people—but Jac returned and became her direct competitor, stealing all her potential customers.

"Damn it, I messed up," Shiludi stormed off to find Jac's wife and showed off her freshly whitened, smooth, wrinkle-free, hairless, glowing skin.

The rebates Jac earned from his customers were immediately spent by his wife.

After that, Shiludi focused on female mages and the wives of male mages, expanding into this market. To make it convenient for them, she even used her own spatial teleportation to go and return the same day…

Jac returned home to find his wife looking twenty or thirty years younger, while his wife stared at her husband's thick, flowing hair and elegant bearing—dry tinder ignited.

The next day, she paid with tears in her eyes.

…

Nagelis watched as more and more magical carriages parked in Meishencheng and asked curiously: "Why are there so many more mages?"

Lisa explained: "We've opened the market of the Republic of Stars—they have the most mages."

"Oh? A nation founded by mages?" Nagelis asked. It knew little of the Republic of Stars—it had been captured before the nation existed.

Lately, more and more mages from the Republic of Stars had arrived, mostly female mages and their relatives. Women, when getting beauty treatments, talked endlessly—gossiping about everything from family matters to weddings and funerals.

Lisa now knew the Republic of Stars inside out. She replied: "Yes. Supposedly founded over seven hundred years ago by mages from the Republic of Stars Mage Tower, on a peninsula across the desert, surrounded by sea on three sides and desert on the fourth, relying mostly on ships for outside contact."

"Its highest authority is the Council of Delegates, each appointed or personally attending from every mage tower, deciding policies. Currently, there are seven delegates—all Truth Mages…"

At this, Nagelis drew a sharp breath: "Seven Truth Mages?"

The elves, with tens of millions, had only three Truth Mages. This Republic of Stars had fewer than half a million people—and seven Truth Mages? Did they mass-produce them?

Lisa nodded: "Seven, maybe more. But according to them, only three are currently active: Blue Star Derni, Death Star Apenli, and Star King Lei Ting."

"Derni I know—he chaired the Dimensional Security Meeting. My great-nephew fought him—he's extremely powerful. But Death Star, Star King? These titles are so strange. Is there really someone called Death Star?" Nagelis was astonished.

Lisa's expression turned strange. "Because Apenli is a lich."

"Pfft—a lich? A lich is a delegate of the Republic of Stars? Impossible! How can the Church of Light tolerate that?" Nagelis was stunned.

Lisa couldn't answer that. Nagelis hurried to find Ang and dragged Anthony in for answers.

"Of course they can't tolerate it—but they can't defeat them, so they have to tolerate it," Anthony said casually.

How could the Church of Light allow a regime with a heretic in its leadership? Since the Republic of Stars' founding, the Church had launched endless expeditions, subversions, and assassinations—none of which worked.

The Republic of Stars was too remote. To launch an expedition, one had to cross thousands of kilometers of desert or attack by sea.

But the Republic of Stars were all mages—expert at long-range harassment, cataclysmic spells, and close combat. Land attacks meant certain death; sea attacks were even worse.

The more troops they sent, the faster they died. Cut off their supply lines, and everyone starved or died of thirst.

The only effective method was blockade—no supplies allowed into the Republic of Stars.

The mages of the Republic of Stars refused to accept this. Nine Truth Mages performed a collective teleportation, launched a long-range strike, burned down over a dozen churches, and forced the Church to the negotiating table.

Since then, no one dared to target the Republic of Stars. Due to its openness to non-human beings, as long as one didn't commit heinous acts, anyone could come to the Republic of Stars. The first article of the Republic of Stars Code: "The Stars must shine brilliantly and diversely…"

"Wait a minute—wasn't it seven? Now it's nine? How many Truth Mages are there really?" Nagelis asked.

Anthony glanced at it and said slowly: "People die, you know."

In its seven-hundred-year history, the number of Truth Mages in the Republic of Stars fluctuated—nine at its peak, one or two at its lowest—most were life races, and when their lifespan ended, they died.

"The only constant throughout history is Death Star Apenli. She is a lich—and since the Republic's founding, she has been one of its delegates. When the Republic was at its darkest, she held it together. Many magical lineages went extinct, and she personally rebuilt their students from scratch. If you must define her role, Apenli is the Mother of the Stars."

Nagelis stared, dumbfounded—what an incredible story.

Just as it was about to ask more, a piercing alarm echoed across Meishencheng.

The alarm wasn't triggered by Meishencheng—it was triggered by a Republic of Stars mage. As the alarm sounded, every mage's family member in Meishencheng—whether bathing, soaking feet, sand-bathing, or getting beauty treatments—panicked, screaming and fleeing for the exits.

"Hey! Hey! You haven't paid yet!" Lisa shouted desperately.

"Charge it to Shiludi and Jac!" the fleeing mages yelled without looking back. "Run! The old witch is coming!"

The Republic of Stars mages on the streets each used their own methods—some shattered rings, others tore scrolls, some teamed up to activate teleportation arrays—zooming away in a blur. Within minutes, the streets were empty.

The speed stunned Nagelis. Had they been trained for this? Such rapid evacuation—if turned into a strike force, they could easily capture a city. Even major cities might not close their gates faster than these mages could vanish.

Who was this old witch that could terrify a crowd of Republic of Stars mages into fleeing?

Above the clouds, a black dot plummeted straight toward Meishencheng. If unimpeded, it would land on the palace at the city's center.

Ang's mind stirred—a massive figure surged from outside the city. The bone dragon flew over, picked them up, then spiraled upward to meet it.

The plummeting shadow noticed the bone dragon, seemed surprised, and halted its descent.

As they drew closer, the shadow became clear—it was another bone dragon, twenty-some meters long, with exposed bones, its wings covered only in black cloth stitched into wind-catching surfaces.

This was the true bone dragon—more like an undead creature than Ang's dragon, which had living skin as a hide.

To distinguish them, for now, call the other dragon the Cloth-Winged Dragon. On its back stood a small figure wrapped in a cloak, head bowed, staring curiously at Ang's group—until the bone dragon rose to her height.

She now saw Ang and Nagelis on the dragon's back and said in surprise: "Bone dragon? Skin covering? Undead?"

Then she remembered something and quickly removed her hood, revealing a shriveled, wrinkled little face. "Republic of Stars, Death Star, Apenli. Who are you?"

"You're Apenli?" Nagelis stared at the little lich girl. So the "old witch" was her?

Though her face was full of wrinkles, she clearly retained the features of a child—probably no more than fifteen or sixteen when she died, her skull still undeveloped.

"You've got good eyesight—this one is indeed a bone dragon. I'm Nag, this is Ang. What brings you to our territory?" Nagelis asked.

"Nag? That name sounds familiar… where have I heard it?" Apenli studied Nagelis, puzzled. "Are you undead too? Why are you so… alive? Did you just die?"

Then her gaze turned to Ang. She frowned, studying him for a few moments. Something about this human felt strange—but she couldn't say what.

"I'm here because I've noticed my students are frequently absent, staying out all night, and making large expenditures. Is there some illicit, immoral, unclean activity here luring them? Speak!" Apenli suddenly barked.

Nagelis felt something odd. It scratched its head. "Like what?"

"Do I have to spell it out? Gambling, drinking, paid companionship—any of that? If there's even a whiff of it, I'll tear this place apart!" Apenli declared sternly.

Nagelis now understood why it felt odd—it was a headmaster! She'd come to catch truant students. No wonder the Republic of Stars mages fled without paying when they heard the old witch was coming.

Hahaha! Perfect. Your students skipped out on bills—now the teacher pays. Nagelis's face lit up with a grin, staring at Apenli like a plump lamb.

Apenli saw that expression and felt a familiar sensation rise within her. She couldn't help asking: "Is your true name… Nagelis?"

BOOM! Nagelis was struck as if by lightning—its divine name had been spoken!

PS: Thanks to your advice, my back feels much better.