Seeing Lu Qiuchen about to open her mouth to refuse, the Archmage raised a finger and continued, “I have two rewards here. After sparring with me, you can choose one. If you satisfy me, I’ll give you both.”
“You don’t need to rush to decline. Of course, I won’t let you lose out. I know your goal. The first reward is information about the Celestial Shard. How about that?”
Seeing the shock on the faces of both the human and the silver dragon before him, the Archmage nodded with satisfaction and raised another finger. “The second reward is an opportunity for this little fellow on you to enter the Sacred Spring.”
Seeing the confused expressions on both their faces, the Archmage sighed and explained again, “For a half-elf like him, the Elven Sacred Spring is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to change one’s own aptitude. Even for me, entering the Sacred Spring is usually a very difficult task.”
This idea had suddenly come to the Archmage after seeing the half-elf. A silver dragon willing to let a human ride on its back must be very close to them. Judging by the half-elf’s attire and strength, he might soon become the next Dragon Knight of the Eternal World thousands of years from now.
For ordinary elves, entering the Sacred Spring is indeed very hard, but for him, it was a mere matter of a word. The other party didn’t know this. These two so-called rewards were trivial for him, so he wouldn’t mind giving them away.
To gain two friendships for the Elven race at such a small cost, this was definitely worth trying. Besides, he had already decided that as long as the other party agreed, regardless of the outcome, he would give them both in the end.
“How about it? Interested in sparring with me now?” Seeing Lu Qiuchen show some interest, the Archmage eagerly invited.
“What do you mean by ‘satisfy you’? And how do you know we’re searching for the Celestial Shard?” Lu Qiuchen was intrigued. Putting the Elven Sacred Spring aside for the moment, the information about the Celestial Shard had to be obtained! But out of caution, she wanted to clarify first.
“I want you to attack me with the magic you used years ago in Druid to change the weather. A forbidden spell that lasted so long and contains a power that reaches the soul! I want to personally experience it!” The Archmage was full of excitement.
“That I can confirm your whereabouts and goals is naturally due to my special channels, but you won’t get any clues about my sources. However, I’m certain that the shard information I mentioned is something you don’t know. If you agree, follow me!”
The Archmage looked confident as if he had known all along that Lu Qiuchen would agree. Regardless of her potential refusal, he flipped his body and dived straight downward.
“A power that reaches the soul? I don’t really feel anything special about that…” Lu Qiuchen had already made up her mind, but recalling their pact that both had to cooperate to complete the mission, she turned to exchange a glance with Zhang Cheng on her back, symbolically asking his opinion.
Even if Zhang Cheng disagreed, she would be the one to fight. It had nothing to do with him.
Besides, how could he possibly stop her? For Zhang Cheng, this was a great opportunity. Entering the Elven Sacred Spring might be like his Bloodline Transmutation Ritual—a life-changing advancement.
Thinking that it might be better for him to gain some advantage while her own position could become more disadvantaged… Should she throw the fight to try it out?
No, Zhang Cheng’s strength increasing would also benefit her. If he had more ability to defend himself, she would worry less during future battles. At critical moments, strength differences could be decisive.
“Maybe don’t go? The other party’s identity is unknown, suddenly appearing here to stop us, and the conditions just now were unclear. I feel like it might be dangerous…” Zhang Cheng didn’t know Lu Qiuchen had met the other party before. His gaze was full of concern and worry. Though the Archmage appeared as a neutral entity in the system, who knew if that was a disguise?
“Let’s run away while he’s leaving early!” Zhang Cheng said this, but inside he was struggling. That was the Elven Sacred Spring! On Earth, he had asked his mother about it. When she transmigrated here, the last Elven Sacred Spring had already dried up, and the Sacred Tree withered. The young elves then never saw their faith or totem in their lifetime, a perpetual regret in their hearts.
These young elves had often heard the elders’ stories about the Sacred Tree and Sacred Spring, and the stories of the Sacred Spring healing souls and wounds were enchanting to their generation.
That was because when the apocalypse came, almost all living beings were infected with the virus and many died painfully. The Elven Sacred Spring’s effect was a lifesaving remedy for the injured infected… but alas…
So when Zhang Cheng realized he might have the chance to access the Sacred Spring, he was extremely excited. This was not just because of what the Archmage said but also because he wanted to record these scenes with projection magic.
If he could bring these images back to Earth and show them to his mother, it might ease her regrets somewhat.
But Zhang Cheng also thought that there would be many future chances to see the Elven Sacred Spring and Sacred Tree. If anything happened to Lu Qiuchen now, it wouldn’t be worth it. After internal struggle, Zhang Cheng decided to give up this opportunity.
Lu Qiuchen felt a warmth in her heart and shook her head slowly at Zhang Cheng. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”
Like Zhang Cheng, she didn’t fully trust the Archmage’s words, but knowing more and having a different identity, she made a different choice.
These big shots in the Eternal World were all very devious. A bunch of hundreds or thousands of years old old-timers trying to cheat or ambush her little silver dragon who was less than three years old — was that reasonable?
After so many experiences of being tricked, she would no longer be careless! Who knew if the other party was hiding somewhere watching them right now? So it was better to obediently go to the appointment to avoid offending them and risking their chance to survive.
After finishing her thoughts, Lu Qiuchen reminded Zhang Cheng to hold tightly onto her scales, and she dived down rapidly following the Archmage’s descending path.
The Archmage below slowed his descent, allowing Lu Qiuchen to catch up. Under his lead, they avoided the village below and flew toward a distant mountain peak, where they finally landed.
After placing Zhang Cheng on a nearby hill, Lu Qiuchen headed toward the battlefield. The Archmage stood atop the mountain, already surrounded by shields of various types and colors, with flowing light flickering constantly around him.
“I’m ready. Come on! These magic tools have limited time; better be quick.” Archmage Viktor looked eager as he invited Lu Qiuchen.
Seeing the other party ready, Lu Qiuchen recalled the situation but realized she couldn’t remember how to cast that forbidden spell back then.
‘How did I cast the spell the Archmage mentioned?’
Lu Qiuchen had learned only a few ice-type forbidden spells, and she knew none of them matched the spell used back then.
“What’s wrong?” The Archmage waited a moment, then asked confusedly when he saw Lu Qiuchen remain still without mobilizing any mana.
Lu Qiuchen snapped out of her thoughts and gave an awkward smile. “I forgot how to cast that spell…”
“★★ *!” An elven curse slipped out of the Archmage’s mouth.
Now the Archmage looked even more panicked than Lu Qiuchen and hurriedly asked, “How could you forget? Isn’t there a record of such a spell in your memory inheritance?”
Seeing Lu Qiuchen shake her head in the distance, the Archmage forced himself to calm down and think.
‘She actually forgot because of a berserk state… No other way, I guess I have to recreate the situation again.’
His eyes lit up with a somewhat sinister gleam as he looked at Lu Qiuchen.
“You went berserk back then, right? It’s okay if you don’t remember. I just need to make you go berserk again! The process might be painful, but I’ll compensate you afterward!”
*****
“I was really stupid. I only knew that little silver dragon just went through her coming-of-age ceremony, and even with her dragon body, she shouldn’t be as strong as me.
“But I didn’t know her growth speed would be this rapid.”
Archmage Viktor sat in a sealed chamber, complaining to the person before him.
“It’s really embarrassing for a few-hundred-year-old old man to be no match for a silver dragon less than a decade old. But what are you doing here with me?” The person before him spoke softly but not kindly.
Hearing this “comfort,” Viktor sighed, recalling how just a few years ago he could easily beat this person. Now the situation was completely reversed. Feeling depressed, he grabbed the wine glass and downed it in one gulp.
“Ugh! Disgusting! Under your control, the Church is getting more and more radical! Bartolomew, are you seriously adding holy water to the wine now?”
Opposite the “Archmage” sat the current Pope Bartolomew! The two were in an underground chamber of the Church State.
Pope Bartolomew smiled kindly. “Your body is full of hidden injuries. I prepared this especially for you.”
“Ugh, I just want the Sacred Spring, not your holy water.” Viktor knew his friend was trying to heal his injuries.
Muttering, he still forced himself to drink the cup mixed with holy water.
But holy water really tastes awful, so far from the sweet taste of the Sacred Spring! Human taste buds were really strange.
“I tried using my legendary peak strength to forcibly suppress her, but her power is almost on par with mine; I tried using the spiritual power I obtained from the Celestial Shard over hundreds of years to suppress her, but found her spiritual power even stronger.
“In the end, I could only use the small part of the rules I grasped from the Celestial Shard to hold her back, but unexpectedly, she carries a blessing from the Spirit Realm.
“There’s no way to win anymore!”