Looking at the three question marks in the diary, Lex could feel the diarist's confusion, even fear.
No one would remain composed if they woke up the next day to find themselves in a locked room.
He continued to flip through the pages. The next few pages contained 'uninteresting' records.
At this time, Hardy's father must have been in his youth.
In his diary, he expressed his admiration for a certain girl, but he didn't dare to act on it, and as a result, that girl was snatched up by some 'scoundrel'.
Lex turned to another page.
'June 11th, perhaps, perhaps I am a special person, I possess a unique talent.
Just today, on the eve of summer, I made the water in my cup freeze.
Yes, the cup is still beside me, and I can still see the white frost appearing on its rim.
Haha, maybe I can become a Magician.'
'June 20th, today I made that damned Tony fall.
I don't know how I did it, I just wanted to make that hateful fellow look foolish, and he slipped instantly.
His brand-new, expensive clothes were covered in mud and feces, it was so satisfying!'
Lex frowned slightly.
Freezing and making people fall?
It seemed Hardy's father had mastered some mysterious abilities.
Could he be an Beyonder?
But from the diary, he didn't seem like he became an Beyonder by consuming a potion.
Could he be Ms. Mania's child, inheriting certain traits from his mother, thus becoming a natural-born Beyonder, just like Harribel?
With these questions in mind, Lex continued to read.
But the subsequent diary entries were just ordinary records, nothing special.
It wasn't until Lex had read through most of the diary that a noteworthy passage caught his eye.
Judging by the date, four years had passed since the first diary entry.
'July 11th, today I heard my father and mother arguing.
I heard something heartbreaking: I am not their child; I was adopted.
Father also accused Mother, suspecting that I was the love child of Mother and her former lover, with the evidence being that Mother had been raising me alone before they got married.
So, who are my biological parents?'
Lex looked up in surprise, gazing at the elderly Hardy.
The old man was reading the newspaper, and noticing Lex's unusual behavior, he casually asked, 'What's wrong? Are you scared by my father's fantasies? He actually thought he had magic. Well, I also had such fantasies when I was young.'
Lex cleared his throat and said, 'Did you read the entire diary?'
'No, I only read a small part of the beginning.' The old man took off his glasses, which were perched on his nose.
'Did you find anything?'
'No, nothing.' Lex felt it was better not to tell the old man.
It was better not to tell the old man that his father was very likely an Beyonder.
He was not the child of the old man's grandparents, but was adopted, and was adopted by his mother before his parents were married.
Ms. Britney was Mania's maid, and the answer seemed obvious: Mania's child was taken off the ship by this lady and raised as her own.
Therefore, Hardy's father possessed mysterious abilities.
In the subsequent diary entries, Hardy's father secretly investigated his own background.
After learning that his parents were from Intis, he became a sailor and went to Intis, but he never found any information about his biological parents.
He only gave up this endeavor after his adoptive parents passed away.
In later diary entries, he realized his Beyonder nature and befriended some wild Beyonder, but until the very end, he never found the potion to advance to the next Sequence.
He was naturally born with, and remained at, the Sequence of 'Trickmaster'.
'Apprentice.'
Lex closed the diary. By the end, he finally knew that Hardy's father was an Beyonder of the 'Apprentice' pathway.
In other words, Ms. Mania was also on this pathway.
It seemed that the owner of the 'black star', even if not a demigod, must be a Sequence 5 Beyonder, which is why her child would be a natural-born Sequence 8.
Looking at the old man sitting in the armchair, Lex pondered how to get Hardy to give him some of his blood.
Evening.
At the Violet Hotel.
Lex summoned the spirit world treasure chest and took out two items: ''Devil May Cry'' and 'Bugade's blood'.
And on the table, a test tube lay quietly, containing Hardy's blood.
In addition, there was the diary with the worn cover.
This was the result of Kardashian 'persuading' the old man.
Lex decided to go to Skye Island tonight to tell Mania that he had found her child.
However, judging by Mania's state last time, she might be a malevolent spirit and potentially very dangerous, so Lex brought ''Devil May Cry'', a demigod item from the Sun pathway, just in case.
After preparing, Lex took out the 'traveler's almanacs', turned to the page for 'Skye Island', then placed his hand on the page and poured his spirituality into the book.
A light blue, illusory Light bloomed from the book, enveloping Lex and Levto's figures, making them first blurry, then invisible.
They vanished from the inn room.
In the Spirit Realm, Lex saw countless, indescribable transparent shadows.
Above their heads, streaks of pure, luminous light, containing infinite knowledge, flashed by from time to time.
A peculiar force dragged Lex and Levto forward, moving swiftly.
Before long, Lex felt a chill and heard the howling sea wind and the sound of waves crashing against the shore.
When he came to his senses, he found himself on a shallow beach, with a staircase without a handrail leading upwards from a nearby rock face.
He had arrived at Skye Island, near 'Devil's Throat' where the black star was located.
'Kardashian, I need help, just as we agreed before.'
Lex's clothes wriggled, turning into a black, viscous liquid that fell to the ground.
Immediately, this liquid, like a black carpet, flowed along the rocky beach into 'Devil's Throat'.
Lex waited outside for a moment, combating the cold by shaking his hands and feet.
When a translucent figure appeared in front and pointed into the cave, Lex and Levto entered 'Devil's Throat' together.
Upon reaching the depths of the cave, they saw the 'black star' still anchored in the lake, and the Navy Soldiers with vacant, unfocused eyes.
Beside them, Kardashian, wearing a court gown transformed from flesh and blood, was looking up at the mysterious, pitch-black sailing ship before her.
'A powerful malevolent spirit resides on it.
If I can subdue it, my strength will be enhanced.' Kardashian said, then walked towards the sailing ship and boarded the gangway.
Lex and Levto followed her onto the deck.
Just then, the flames in the braziers below the ship suddenly changed from reddish-yellow to dark green.
Immediately after, the Captain's Cabin door opened, and a green light emerged from the room.
Within that dark green light, a figure silently appeared.