Chapter 496: The Secret of the Holy Soul Wizard

Lei En finished speaking and looked at the teacher's reaction.

Anxiwodasi's previously very eager expression froze, becoming a bit dazed; a few seconds later he shook his head and said, "That's impossible."

Lei En could understand the teacher's thinking.

Augulevi Master, as the first Holy Soul Wizard in human history, personally witnessed the Empire's birth and decline, invented the Iola Core under the guidance of the God of Magic, and founded the Supreme Council to revitalize the Empire; it can be said he single‑handedly forged today's imperial landscape.

A figure so great can be called unprecedented, and perhaps there will be no successors.

The Oriense Empire has been without an emperor for over a thousand years; Augulevi Master controls the Supreme Council, indirectly governing the Empire, essentially acting as the de facto emperor, only lacking the crown.

How could the Empire's supreme ruler betray the Supreme Council he himself established?

It is like the saying: "Your Majesty, why plot rebellion?"

Such a shocking secret, no one would dare believe if spoken aloud.

Lei En himself is reluctant to believe it; if the matter were proven and exposed, the tremors and impact on the Empire would be so severe he can hardly imagine, possibly overturning the entire Empire!

Anxiwodasi clearly also realized this, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

He stared at Lei En and asked, "What evidence do you have?"

"I don't have concrete evidence for now; this is merely my conjecture," Lei En said, shaking his head lightly. "Ma Erke, before his death, revealed to me the origins of those two legendary Wizards; they are from Naise Fu Kong Cheng."

"How could Ma Erke know their identities?" Anxiwodasi furrowed his brows.

Those two legendary Wizards intentionally concealed themselves with spells; Kai De Jia and Kelaoaosi had fought them but could not discern their origins. Clearly they could not tell Ma Erke, being extremely cautious and almost never revealing a clue.

"It's a coincidence," Lei En recalled Ma Erke's words.

Probably on the night of the tenth day after the Dragon‑born army landed on Kangjiatuo, the two legendary Wizards approached Ma Erke, hinting at their willingness to aid him against his foes, but demanded five million golden dragons as payment.

Ma Erke had neglected state affairs for years, focusing on his own cultivation and pleasure, causing the treasury to run a chronic deficit; the compensation previously given by the Dans family merely erased the recorded debt.

He could not possibly produce that sum.

Yet the two legendary Wizards stayed, offering to help Ma Erke gratis without explanation. From the start they used spells to mask their identities, altering their shape and scent, even modifying their voices; their bodies were cloaked in hazy light and shadow, rendering Ma Erke unable to see through them.

However, on one occasion, while Ma Erke and the two legendary Wizards were discussing strategy, the spell that altered their voices expired and briefly failed for a few seconds.

The Wizard did not notice in time; only after speaking did he realize, and he immediately re‑cast the voice‑changing spell.

He uttered only half a word, extremely brief.

Logically, Ma Erke could not have discerned the other's identity from that half‑word, yet it happened just so; whether it was Ma Erke's luck or the Wizard's misfortune, in any case the identity was exposed.

When Ma Erke was young, before becoming Duke Laobodi Er, he disguised himself as a mercenary and roamed, once visiting the Empire's capital Nuosiruier and touring Naise Fu Kong Cheng for several days. During that time, at a certain pleasure house, he quarreled with a young Wizard over a woman, and the two ended up fighting.

Ma Erke's strength far surpassed his opponent, but fighting a Wizard inside Fu Kong Cheng was essentially unwinnable.

As soon as they engaged, a legendary Wizard appeared; this great figure scolded the young Wizard and casually tossed Ma Erke out of Fu Kong Cheng, where he crashed onto the ground outside Nuosiruier, half‑dead.

From start to finish, that legendary Wizard never gave Ma Erke a proper look.

Ma Erke never forgot that humiliation, yet he knew he could never regain face and could only suffer in silence.

It wasn't until over a hundred years later, that night, that Ma Erke saw that legendary Wizard again.

With only half a word, Ma Erke recalled it.

He had awakened in his youth a rare Elemental ability within the Wind‑Rage Giant‑Stag bloodline called "Listening Wind Technique"; his hearing was extremely acute, able to discern even the slightest breeze and easily differentiate vocal characteristics, and he retained those memories for years.

Even after a hundred years, Ma Erke's memory of that legendary Wizard's voice remained fresh, as if it were yesterday.

Not even a half‑word; even a light hum would let Ma Erke be certain that this was the person who threw him out of Fu Kong Cheng years ago.

Master Kuitu of Naise Fu Kong Cheng!

When Ma Erke identified Master Kuitu, a smug smile spread across his face; the century‑long grudge was finally avenged.

Later, Lei En searched the mobile library and found information on Master Kuitu.

This legendary Wizard is Augulevi Master's disciple, famous for over four hundred years; half a century ago he was already a Nineteenth‑rank Elementalist, yet he never managed to challenge a Holy Soul Wizard, which aligns perfectly with what Lei En's Soul‑Eye has seen.

"Kuitu… it was him."

Anxiwodasi, after hearing, exclaimed in surprise, "I've met Kuitu several times; his temper is indeed a bit fiery, but his magical talent is rare. He also excels in the fire Element domain as a Wizard and has consulted me on casting techniques…"

He remained somewhat incredulous, "Could it be a trap set by Ma Erke before his death, aiming to sow discord between Weizelan and Naise?"

"No," Lei En replied confidently.

At that time his Soul‑Eye was continuously active, confirming that Ma Erke was not lying.

Anxiwodasi was somewhat puzzled how Lei En could be so certain of Ma Erke's truthfulness, but seeing Lei En's resolute demeanor, he guessed Lei En possessed some method for that judgment and thus did not press further.

He then considered another possibility, "Could that Kuitu be someone in disguise?"

Lei En had also weighed that hypothesis, shaking his head: "Kuitu's exposure was accidental; he doesn't recall events from over a hundred years ago, didn't recognize Ma Erke, and could never have imagined Ma Erke would remember vocal traits from so long ago."

Multiple factors would be required to produce such exposure.

Even Kuitu himself is unclear about the whole story; outsiders are even less able to know, and who could exploit such a trivial matter to set a trap? It's almost impossible to achieve.

Anxiwodasi nodded, stroked his beard, and fell silent.

If that legendary Wizard truly were Kuitu, it would mean Naise Fu Kong Cheng is covertly acting against Weizelan—first obstructing Weizelan's aid to the Dragon‑born restoration, then interfering with the two Council chairmen's hunt for the Spirit‑Wind Stag, which is clearly enemy behavior.

Why does Naise Fu Kong Cheng seek to prevent the Dragon‑born restoration?

What are their motives?

How did Kuitu and his companions learn that Weizelan's Holy Soul Wizard was ill? Were they merely testing the waters, or did they know the truth and prevent Weizelan from obtaining the "Endless Spring Breeze"?

Most importantly, why does Naise Fu Kong Cheng harbor such hostility toward Weizelan?

Is this under Augulevi Master's directive?

A cascade of questions churned in Anxiwodasi's mind, and for a long time he could not reach a conclusion. In fact, he had vaguely guessed a certain reason, but the speculation was so shocking that even he could not bring himself to believe it, clinging to a sliver of hope that another possibility existed, or that he was simply wrong.

Anxiwodasi looked at his student.

Lei En was the first to grasp this information, and in the past few days he had certainly mulled it over many times; he asked softly, "Where do you think Kuitu learned about my condition?"

"It couldn't possibly be a guess on my part," Lei En replied calmly. "In the past, the teacher stayed in Weizelan for decades conducting magical experiments, which is normal. You have only been away for two years now; that wouldn't raise any suspicion."

"The Council chairmen are also unlikely to leak the information."

"Only Sazastan is most likely to know the teacher's physical condition from the outside." Lei En said the name of this chief Lich without hesitation, "Sazastan might not be certain either, but it can tell the news to others, letting them probe."

"This other…"

Lei En did not continue, and he was referring to Augulevi Master.

If not for last year's incident, the teacher told himself that activating the Iola Core to raise Fu Kong Cheng requires the energy of another Iola Core; from this he inferred that Korstted and Sazastan must have received help from a Holy Soul Wizard of the Empire who possessed a Fu Kong Cheng, and that a traitor had emerged in the Supreme Council, which would not be suspected to be Augulevi Master.

One must know that the Iola Core was invented by Augulevi Master; apart from the God of Magic, who could understand the Iola Core better than he?

What seemed impossible, after eliminating other wrong options, yielded the final answer:

Augulevi Master is the traitor!

This great being, who calls himself the "First Wizard", not only betrayed the Empire, but also secretly colluded with the Lich of the "Dead Knot Seal", seized the Fu Kong Cheng painstakingly built by Mo Du nobles and Weizelan Wizards, and brought an undead calamity to the Empire!

However, Lei En could not fathom why Augulevi Master did this.

He already stands at the pinnacle of the Empire's power; his seniority and reputation are unmatched, and even the other two great heads of the Supreme Council must address him as Master before him.

All Wizards of the Empire are his juniors.

His fame spreads across the Ai Lun E Si world and many planes; even the angels of the Celestial Realm and the demons of the Abyss have heard his great name and revere his power and magical knowledge.

Aside from Ascension, Augulevi Master seems to have no other pursuits.

But Ascension requires opportunity and difficult choices.

Holy Soul Wizards pursue truth and magic, inherently rejecting the power of faith; most Wizards trust themselves rather than deities, even their devotion to the God of Magic is not devout enough. Fanatical believers are rare among Wizards, and even Divine Chosen of the God of Magic are not fervently faithful.

Some extreme Wizards even think that deities are merely stronger casters.

The Prime Material Plane of Ai Lun E Si is actually a world controlled by casters.

The true form of deities has not descended to the mortal realm; Augulevi Master is one of the strongest beings in the world, even a deity incarnation can scarcely match him.

Therefore, in the eyes of Holy Soul Wizards, the lure of Ascension is not that great; it is something that can be encountered but not sought.

It is not a goal that can be achieved by personal effort alone.

Lei En thought for ten days and ten nights, yet could not understand Augulevi Master's motive; his actions do not seem related to Ascension.

Anxiwodasi saw his doubt, sighed, "It's normal that you can't think of it; this is a secret known only to Holy Soul Wizards."

Lei En's spirit lifted, and he asked curiously, "What secret?"

"Lifespan."

Anxiwodasi said only one word, and Lei En's mind instantly flashed with a flood of information, as if layers of fog were lifted before his eyes, revealing the whole truth.

(End of Chapter)