Chapter 173: Divine Energy Carrier

Chapter 173: Divine Energy Carrier

Swish!

The wind blew through the forest, stirring a green wave of leaves.

A few leaves drifted down gently.

Evans sat under a tree, his face pale and his entire demeanor listless and dispirited.

After an unknown amount of time, his expression suddenly changed, and he turned his head to look at the empty space to his left.

There, an additional figure had appeared.

It was the Hunter, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Didn't you leave the Southeastern Domain? Why are you back?"

The Hunter's voice was low and somber.

"What about that Kessler family boy who was with you?"

"I left him in the Northwestern Domain," Evans said, his gaze complex as he looked at the Hunter. "I came back specifically to find you."

"What for?" The Hunter's tone was indifferent.

"Do you still have the key to the Tower of the Many Stars?"

"What do you need that for?" The Hunter's voice finally showed a hint of fluctuation. "You want to take back the key to the Tower of the Many Stars?"

Evans shook his head. "Not me."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Hunter realized something was amiss and quickly retreated.

But in the next instant, several crimson beams shot from all directions, striking him simultaneously.

Pop! The Hunter vanished like a burst bubble.

"Mirror Image, huh? Quite cautious."

A man in a gray robe appeared out of thin air.

"It's fine," another man in a green robe slowly emerged from a tree trunk about ten meters away.

His skin was the same brown as the tree trunk, covered in deep, crack-like grooves, making him look as if he were wrapped in a layer of dry, cracked bark.

"Mirror Images can't be too far apart. He's still in this forest. The moment he stepped in, his fate was sealed."

As if to confirm the green-robed man's words, a dense rustling sound came from about five hundred meters away, as if countless leaves were falling.

Looking up, countless branches seemed to come to life, rising into the sky and wildly thrashing about.

In the midst of the flying branches, the Hunter was dodging left and right, trying to break free from the encirclement.

Like a switch had been flipped, over a dozen figures suddenly emerged from the surrounding forest, surrounding the Hunter.

Evans, sitting under the tree, sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

A moment later, a distant, indignant roar echoed through the air, quickly fading away.

The wizard apprentices who had participated in the ambush flew back, the leader of which was a man with ordinary features and scales covering his cheeks, a smile he couldn't hide on his face.

"That guy really had the key to the Tower of the Many Stars, and he had four of them, more than we expected."

"Now we only need one more to complete our set."

The green-robed man nodded in satisfaction, then turned to a sullen, thin man and asked, "Fabio, what did you extract from the Hunter's soul?"

Fabio weighed the soul crystal in his hand and said in a raspy voice, "This guy put up a bit of a fight. I had to use some means, and his soul is quite damaged, so I didn't get much information, but it's what we needed."

"It's as you guessed. The Immortal Society has been destroyed, and the ones who killed them were the Cottage in the Woods."

"But now, the Cottage in the Woods is down to six members. Oh, remove this unlucky one, and now there are only five."

"They all have keys to the Tower of the Many Stars, especially a wizard apprentice named Su Nan, who likely has more than one."

The scaled man licked his lips and said, "Then let's just target Su Nan."

"I think we should choose a different target," Fabio said.

The green-robed man raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"From the Hunter's memories, that wizard apprentice named Su Nan is very powerful. Saurol died at his hands, and he also commands a powerful force called the Star Alliance. Even if we manage to take him down, we'll likely suffer casualties."

Hearing this, the others shook their heads.

"A wizard apprentice who can take down Saurol is not to be underestimated. Let's pass."

"Anyway, we only need one more key. It doesn't matter who we target."

"Let's choose a different target."

They had no desire to become the "casualties" Fabio mentioned.

The green-robed man agreed, "Then let's choose a different target."

Evans, standing nearby, felt a twinge of regret.

If this group had targeted Su Nan, they might have fought to a stalemate, giving him a chance to escape.

But they were too cunning and cautious.

At this moment, the green-robed man turned to Evans and asked, "Evans, where is the Tower of the Many Stars?"

Evens sighed bitterly, "I've said it many times, I can only roughly sense the general area where the Tower of Stars will appear. I can't be more specific than that."

The scaled man snorted coldly, "A three to four hundred kilometer area is far too broad!"

"I can't help it. My sensing ability is tied to my power level. If you could help me break through to the Fourth Circle Legendary realm, I could sense it more clearly."

The scaled man narrowed his eyes, his gaze icy as he stared at Evens.

Evens met his gaze without fear.

The man in the green robe interrupted the tense atmosphere, his tone slightly softer.

"Evens, we have a sworn contract. As long as you help us enter the Tower of Stars, we won’t cause you any trouble afterward, and we’ll even help you break through to the Fourth Circle Legendary Knight. So, you’d better not have any other ideas. It’s for the best for both of us."

Evens secretly sneered but put on a pained and helpless expression.

"I understand."

Year 1266 of the Starlight Calendar, in the month of Thunder.

The talent crystal model was completed much faster than Su Nan had anticipated.

In the meditation room, Su Nan let out a long breath as he ‘saw’ the intricate, three-dimensional crystal in his mind.

Finally, it’s done!

Now comes the moment to test my hypothesis.

Su Nan took a deep breath, opened the magic cube, and silently commanded the talent crystal model to be placed inside. To his great disappointment, the magic cube remained completely still.

"It won’t work, huh."

Su Nan furrowed his brow.

"Of course, it’s missing a rare metal as a carrier. The talent crystal model can’t be synthesized like the magic core without one."

Though disappointed, Su Nan had been mentally prepared for this and had a plan in mind.

"If the issue is the lack of a carrier, then if I find a suitable carrier for the talent crystal model, could I use the magic cube to enhance it?"

Su Nan decided to give it a try.

However, choosing the right carrier was crucial.

First, the carrier must perfectly match the talent crystal model without damaging its structure.

Second, the carrier must be absorbable by Su Nan.

After all, he would need to reabsorb the carrier along with the talent crystal model into his mind and then separate the two, ensuring the talent crystal model remained intact.

To achieve this, the carrier must be able to be assimilated by his mental energy.

Only then could he perfectly separate the talent crystal model.

"The magic core is the original model and can perfectly match the talent crystal model, but it can’t be absorbed into the mind."

"Gems won’t work, as they can’t perfectly match."

"Soul crystals are pure energy and can perfectly match, and they can be absorbed into the body, but they can’t be assimilated by mental energy."

After much consideration, a flash of inspiration struck Su Nan.

What if I use divine energy? It might just work!

First, divine energy can be absorbed into the mind and perfectly assimilated by mental energy.

Second, divine energy is a pure form of energy with no impurities or contaminants, ensuring it won’t damage the talent crystal model’s structure.

The more Su Nan thought about it, the more he believed it was feasible.

Especially since his mental energy had reached a bottleneck at 60 points and could no longer grow, he no longer needed to absorb divine energy. Over the past two years, he had accumulated a significant amount of divine energy, which he could now use for this experiment.

With his mind made up, Su Nan immediately went to the laboratory and extracted one standard unit of divine energy, crystallizing it.

Soon, a beautiful golden rhombic crystal appeared in his palm.

The next step was crucial.

Su Nan focused his mind and carefully separated the talent crystal model from his body.

The model looked like a silver multifaceted crystal, with a perfect symmetrical beauty.

If observed under a magnifying glass, it would reveal that it was composed of countless tiny runes.

Su Nan carefully fused the model with the divine energy crystal, watching intently as the two gradually overlapped and finally merged into a single, copper-colored crystal.

After a thorough inspection to ensure the fusion was perfect, a smile crept onto Su Nan’s face.

But the smile quickly faded as he hurriedly placed the crystal into the magic cube.

No matter how perfect the fusion, if it couldn’t be placed in the magic cube, it would be useless.

Fortunately, the crystal appeared within the magic cube without issue.

Relieved, Su Nan finally let out a deep breath, his face breaking into a genuine, heartfelt smile.

By continuously creating lower-tier talent crystal models, he could synthesize a superior, unprecedented super talent crystal model!

However, he wasn't sure how many lower-tier talent crystals he would need.

If it was a single-digit number, it would take a few decades to gather enough, which was manageable.

But if it was dozens, it might take two centuries to create them all.

However, Su Nan wasn't too worried about it.

In about half a year, the Tower of the Shining Stars would appear, and it might contain resources that could speed up the creation of talent crystal models. Visiting the tower might yield some valuable materials.

If all else failed, he could just synthesize fewer models.

Having figured out the method to synthesize talent crystal models, Su Nan felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders, and his mood improved significantly.

After converting all the divine energy he had stored into crystals, he left the laboratory.

"Pity there's not enough divine energy; otherwise, I could try improving spell models."

Spell models, like talent crystal models, were constructed using mental energy and could be infused with divine energy.

With enough divine energy crystals, he could enhance all his existing spell models.

So far, Su Nan had mastered over two hundred spells.

Across the entire Starlight Continent, he was confident that no other wizard apprentice knew as many spells as he did.

After all, not everyone had his golden finger.

Additionally, over the past five years, Su Nan had also mastered three metamagic techniques: spell delay, spell range increase, and spell expansion.

Including the four he already knew, he now had a total of seven metamagic techniques.

Even among full-fledged wizards, not everyone could claim such a feat.

In terms of metamagic techniques, Su Nan could already look down on some official wizards.

"My Magic Core has also reached Level 5."

Su Nan touched his chest.

After his mental energy reached 58.65, he immediately synthesized a Level 5 Magic Core.

As expected, a Level 6 Magic Core required over 60 points of mental energy, which he couldn't achieve before becoming a wizard.

In fact, after becoming a wizard, he wouldn't need to fuse with a Magic Core anymore.

If he could successfully synthesize a superior talent crystal, its power would far surpass a Level 6 Magic Core and would likely come with more potent effects.

At that point, the Magic Core would become obsolete.

Thinking about it, Su Nan was already looking forward to the moment when the talent crystal model would be completed.

"Next, I just need to wait for the Tower of the Shining Stars to open."

Time flew by, and soon it was the month of Autumn Veil (October).

Su Nan had expected the Nightingale to convene another Forest Cottage Gathering a couple of months before the Tower of the Shining Stars appeared, but there was no sign of it.

By mid-month, an unexpected guest suddenly arrived.

Upon receiving Carolina's report, Su Nan went to the reception hall. As soon as he entered, he saw Rose sitting on the sofa, looking up at the sound of his footsteps.

"Long time no see, Su Nan."

"Indeed, a rare visitor."

Since the last gathering five years ago, Su Nan hadn't seen Rose again.

Even though the Thornflower Duchy and the Shining Star Duchy on the surface were in a honeymoon phase and were fighting the Azure Empire together, the two had not met.

He hadn't expected Rose to suddenly show up.

Su Nan carefully observed Rose and noticed that her soul aura had become much more stable, indicating that she had made significant progress during her five-year seclusion.

However, Rose was also surprised when she saw Su Nan.

She sensed a vague, indescribable change in him, and just standing there, he gave her a faint, soul-deep pressure.

He seemed to have become even more enigmatic, like a deep, dark pool that was impossible to fathom.

A sudden thought flashed through Rose's mind.

Could Su Nan have already started constructing the talent crystal model?

The idea startled her.

At that moment, Su Nan spoke, breaking her train of thought.

"What brings you here?"

"I was hoping to stay here for a while. Would you welcome me?"

Regaining her composure, Rose tried to joke.

Su Nan remained calm, his gaze fixed on her.

Seeing his expression, Rose reined in her smile and sighed.

"Alright, I'll be honest. Things have been a bit chaotic recently, and I want to stay here for a while to lay low. When the Tower of the Shining Stars appears, I'll leave with you."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end