Chapter 362: Sanctuary

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“This mageweath is impressive…” Lin Li lit up as he spoke about this All-Kill Array and his lies came pouring in too. “This is the work of Master Moke of the Supreme Council, I had to spend thousands of gold coins to bribe him and send him rare magical ingredients before he agreed to…”

“Nonsense!” Apophis was on the verge of tears. This kid was really as shameless as they said he was; nothing he said was true. What did you mean Master Moke? How could he not know what Moke was capable of? He was at most as good as Aldwin! Sure, the common mageweaths would not be an issue for him, but for him to come up with one so powerful that even Apophis was taken aback? What a joke…

“Why don’t you ask Master Moke yourself…?” Lin Li couldn’t care less; since it had already come to this, worsening it made no real difference. It was not like Apophis was going to question him on the real origin of the All-Kill Array anyway given his status.

“Scram!” Apophis nearly blew his nose off in anger. Moke had left a couple of days ago; where was he going to look for him now?

The pair of young and old left the study, and followed the stairs up to the fifth floor. There was supposed to be a library here, but because the books on magic had yet to arrive, the room remained empty. Still, it was just nice for the two mages to have a friendly fight in.

“What about here?” Lin Li uttered a spell, and opened the doors to the room while he used his mental strength to control the All-Kill Array in the basement, allowing the energy from the Elemental Power and Mana Liquefaction mageweaths to circulate in the library.

“Not bad.” Apophis nodded his head as praise was evident in his gaze. Of course, he was not talking about the library, but the All-Kill Array in the basement. At his level, he had become acquainted with everything, and did not even need knowledge of Inscription to know the flow of mana in the All-Kill Array, which was also why he knew better than anybody else how powerful this unusual mageweath was…

“You really fought Geresco?” Lin Li asked with a look of curiosity as he entered the door.

“Of course…” That was the most glorious period of Apophis’s life, and he still looked proud and reminiscent even when people brought it up 1,300 years later. “Actually, I’ve known him since I was young, we learned magic together, and— damn it, you despicable bastard…”

Apophis never thought that a huge fireball would come hurling at him just as he was lost in his memories…

This was a level-16 fireball, and even a Sanctuary Master panicked seeing as he was not under any protection. He only cursed loudly before conjuring an Elemental Shield; the fireball crashed into the Elemental Shield with a booming noise, and sparks flew everywhere, lighting up the empty library and a messy beard…

“Damn it, how dare you sneak an attack on me?” The fireball came too suddenly, and even with Apophis’s abilities, he was barely able to conjure an Elemental Shield to protect his torso, not having the time to care about his beard and hair, leaving the dignified Sanctuary Master somewhat disheveled in front of an Archmage.

“Why, is it against the rules?” Lin Li retorted haughtily as he smiled shamelessly while chanting away, making another fireball appear…

“Kid, you’ve got guts!” Apophis nearly exploded from anger. This kid was shameless indeed, making him recall the past with a sentence and using that opportunity to send a fireball in sneakily. Thankfully, he was a Sanctuary Master, and could use any magic below level-20 in an instant. It would have been embarrassing for any Legendary-mage…

However, Apophis was a Sanctuary Master, after all, and after doing away with the fireball with an Elemental Shield, he started taking control of the situation. He did not chant nor use any magic, but strong mana started spreading throughout the room and made Lin Li feel as though a heavy weight was resting on him, taking away his ability to move or breathe.

“Right, Arbitrator Apophis, when the allies attacked the Sky Castle, did you fight the Queen of the High Elves?”

“Of course, I used to be the— damn it, why am I even talking to you about the past? I’m going to beat you up, you little bastard…” Apophis lost focus and nearly fell into another trap. In a fit, he kept his mouth shut and refused to speak.

When the old man shut his mouth, Lin Li suddenly found himself suffering from tremendous torture…

In a second, Lin Li felt the surrounding mana contract and coil tightly around him like a huge python. No, not just his body, but his mental strength as well—it was coiled into a tight ball under this terrifying strength, and even his shockingly powerful mental strength seemed to melt like snow in the sun and disappear without a trace in front of this Sanctuary Master…

The door of the library was shut tightly, but the terrifying magical wave made every guest outside pale. Even though Apophis was barely using any strength, and the All-Kill Array was doing all it could to suppress his strength as well, the power of the Sanctuary Master was clearly felt by everybody.

Everyone present for the ceremony was at the very least a President of a Guild of Magic, or at least an Archmage, so they were well-aware how terribly powerful the magical wave coming from the library was.

“Damn it, the demons from the Supreme Council are such sadists…” Having felt the strength that made them tremble, even Englos, Sendros, and Hoffman silently cursed. The three old demons from the Supreme Council had not fought for 1,300 years, and only today did everybody realize that their capabilities were well beyond what anybody could imagine…

Of course, everybody was thinking of something else—which idiot dared to fight this old demon?

Englos scanned his surroundings before looking at the tightly shut doors on the fifth floor, a look of disbelief appeared on his face. “Could it be Felic?”

The terrifying magical wave only settled down after half an hour…

“Well, are we continuing?” Apophis dusted his robes as he smiled satisfactorily.

Lin Li slumped on the floor as he retorted weakly, “Only an idiot would…”

Damn it, this old man was a sadist indeed—he did not use anything besides a simple Elemental Shield, merely using his mana to crush him easily. If he had used any other magic, Lin Li probably would not have the energy to even lie here on the floor.

“Do you know where your mistakes lie now?”

Lin Li retrieved a bottle of Recovery Potion from his pocket as he muttered, “I was wrong in sneaking in an attack too late. If I had done so earlier, maybe I’d have got your hair too…” Damn it, the Sanctuary Master was no human; how could he injure him like that even with the All-Kill Array’s protection…

“Nonsense, what good would attacking earlier do? Once you’ve reached a Sanctuary-realm, magic becomes part of you, and even the slightest change in magical wave would cause a reaction in your magic. It will conjure a protection naturally… You think I made the Elemental Shield? I’m already so old, how can I possibly have such quick reflexes? Can’t you use your brain…”

“Then why didn’t it protect your beard?” Lin Li glanced cheekily at the old man. He was looking at his half-burnt beard…

“Damn it…” Apophis jumped with anger as Lin Li pointed out his weakness. That was indeed a moment of error. He’d never thought that this rascal would be able to conjure up a fireball instantaneously at level-17, and allowed him to burn his beard.

“But then again, you’re amazing indeed, Sanctuary Master. With only an Elemental Shield, you managed to withstand 10 fireballs from me, how did you do it?”

“That’s nothing…” Apophis’ spirits lifted again after Lin Li’s praise. Stroking his messy beard, he said, “If I want to, I can take 100 fireballs from you with just an Elemental Shield. This is because I am well-versed in the Rules of magic. That is the true essence of magic. I’m telling you, no matter how powerful you are or how fast you can recite spells, it is nothing compared to a Wind Blade that truly reflects the spirit of magic.”

“Isn’t that exaggerating too much? I’m well-versed in many magical Rules too, and many of them are core magical mantras. How come I cannot take 100 fireballs with an Elemental Shield like you did?”

“Pfft, how dare you say you are well-versed with Rules with your abilities, even core ones too! From what I see, you’re nowhere near the edge of it. Yes, you have a rare talent for magic, but you don’t know how to use it. You’re just a smart kid with a sharp weapon and absolutely no idea how to use it. One day, you’re going to hurt yourself…”