King's Campus, Underground Ruins.
After deeming the intruders dealt with, Claudius left the depths of the ruins. The swarm of bats he transformed into flew from the fifth floor of the ruins, through layers of corridors and stairs, to the second floor of the ruins, which was the level where the spider altar was located.
On the second floor, the black bat swarm quickly condensed, forming Claudius's figure within the shadows. Beside him, Ci Rong, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly approached.
"Captain, how is the situation below? What happened to those intruders?"
Facing the returning Claudius, Ci Rong asked respectfully, while Claudius slowly replied with his hands behind his back.
"Those guys have been killed by me on the sixth floor. Although they had some ability, they couldn't defeat me."
"They've all been killed? As expected of the Captain… Were those guys Black Dogs?"
"They were trapped and poisoned to death by me in the innermost layer… I couldn't check the specifics… It's unclear if they were Black Dogs, but it's more likely they weren't. Their abilities and conduct are quite different from Black Dogs."
Claudius said this. He had dealt with Tivian's Hunters quite a bit and knew their style of operation to some extent. They didn't have Extraordinary individuals who specialized in using flesh puppets. After a successful raid on a stronghold, they would immediately begin sampling and investigating the site, interrogating prisoners on the spot, rather than everyone venturing deep into such ruins alone without anyone left behind.
Furthermore, logically, the An Yin Bureau knew about the existence of these ruins under the school and was also aware that it was an empty ruin with almost no value. Being able to penetrate this ruin only indicated that these intruders were not very familiar with it and were fools looking for treasure.
"Not Black Dogs? So, the Black Dogs who ambushed us before might have just been used by them. Then who could they possibly be…" Ci Rong said thoughtfully. Suddenly, he thought of the name Rose Cross. Before, he thought this name was just a cover concocted by those Black Dogs to take the blame, but now it seemed things were not that simple.
"Who they are is not important for now. The primary task now is to rebuild the stronghold. I will immediately contact the other strongholds under my responsibility and have them allocate personnel. The stronghold on Liujin Street in the North District is very close, and it won't take much time for their people to get here…" Claudius said in a deep voice. Listening to Claudius, Ci Rong spoke with concern.
"Captain, we just exchanged fire with the Black Dogs at North Pine Forest Farm, and now a large number of penal slaves have been released. This has already made the risk of exposure very high. If we continue like this, will we…"
"No matter how high the risk of exposure, we cannot give up for now. There is only one last 'ritual' left, and we must complete all of them before leaving. Otherwise, we would need to find other mirror moon statues, and the society's overall progress would be significantly delayed.
"I will find a way to deal with the Black Dogs. The immediate priority is to restore the stronghold and then immediately abandon this place after the last ritual is completed."
Claudius arranged things this way. Listening to Claudius, Ci Rong also nodded. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly paused, having thought of something.
'Right… This failed operation of ours was based on the incorrect information I gathered last time, the conversation between those two men who claimed to be Rose Cross members. It seems now that they already knew I was eavesdropping on them, and their conversation was deliberately leaked to me. Their purpose was to lead me and my people into the Black Dog's ambush so they could attack the stronghold themselves.
'In that case, not a single word those two men said can be trusted, and this includes when they were talking about that woman at the beginning…'
Ci Rong thought this. He remembered his subordinate reporting to him a few days ago about seeing a dark-skinned woman with a good figure enter Green Shade Town No. 23. And when he first went to investigate the scene where those two Rose Cross members were meeting, they also talked about that woman, confirming that she was a member of theirs, only in their words, the dark skin and figure were said to be disguises.
At that time, because he believed that information, he didn't have his subordinates follow that lead. But now, it seems that if all the information he obtained at that time was false, then the original information about that woman was actually true!
Suddenly realizing this, Ci Rong paused, then immediately spoke to Claudius.
"Right, Captain, regarding those intruders… there's actually a very crucial piece of information."
…
King's Campus, Depths of the Underground Ruins.
In the Hall of Ascension of the Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society) ruins, Dorothy looked at the stone tablet covered in text before her. Seeing the detailed inscriptions about the various ranks of the 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) Extraordinary individuals at the Black Earth Stage and their advancement methods, her heart couldn't help but fill with joy.
'I found it! It's really here! This ruin really contains the advancement methods for the Black Earth Stage, and there are actually five branch paths!'
Dorothy thought excitedly to herself. This exploration finally yielded results. Her biggest goal in coming to this school had finally been achieved.
With excitement, Dorothy began to carefully examine the stone tablet before her. It not only recorded the names of the five branch paths of 'Qi', but also detailed the requirements and methods for the ritual of each branch path. She just needed to memorize everything, then go back and slowly choose one, prepare, and then she could advance.
The names of the various branch paths recorded on this stone tablet also made Dorothy curious.
'If I use 'Cup' as my auxiliary Spirituality, I can advance to become a Puppeteer? Is it still that set of controlling Corpse Puppets? I'm quite skilled at this now, so I can consider it briefly.
'If I use'Stone' as my auxiliary Spirituality, I can advance to become a Thunder Technique User among the Elementalists. This means that the elemental expression of 'Qi' is actually 'Thunder'? This is quite unexpected. The 'Qi' path seems so gentle, I didn't expect its elemental expression to be so violent…
'If I choose'Shadow', I become a Dream Interpreter, which means I can gain abilities related to the Dream World, right? I wonder what exactly I can do?
'Using 'Lamp' allows one to become a Diviner. This is somewhat expected. I wonder if becoming a professional Diviner provides any bonuses to divination?
'And finally, this 'Erudite'. It doesn't say it requires any auxiliary Spirituality. Does this mean it's a pure 'Qi' path? So there are branch paths where you only choose one Spirituality and follow it all the way? That's quite an eye-opener. I also wonder what kind of abilities this pure 'Qi' path will have if followed.'
Looking at the many branch paths recorded on the stone tablet, Dorothy analyzed them in her mind. She was now thinking about which branch path she should take.
'My main ability composition now is controlling Corpse Puppets. I feel like Puppeteer is quite suitable for me. If I choose Puppeteer, my ability to control Corpse Puppets might reach a higher level, and from then on, my 'Cup' can automatically recover to a certain extent, reducing Spirituality pressure.
'As for Thunder Technique User, it feels like it's one of the branch paths with the strongest direct output ability. Having'Stone' as an auxiliary Spirituality would also significantly strengthen my frontal combat ability, making up for my weakness in direct confrontation.
'The Dream Interpreter's abilities are too unclear, it's hard to judge their value directly from the name…
'Diviner is also good. I wonder if becoming a proper Diviner will improve my divination ability? But just the fact that 'Lamp' can automatically recover is attractive enough.
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'And finally, this Erudite… How should I put it? It's a bit hard to imagine what a pure 'Qi' would use to fight others…'
Dorothy compared the options in her mind. Among these branch paths, she had some interest in Puppeteer, Thunder Technique User, and Diviner, but it was hard to decide immediately.
The key reason Dorothy found it hard to decide was that this stone tablet only recorded the names of the five branch paths and their advancement requirements and methods, but it didn't record what specific abilities would be gained after advancing. This made Dorothy feel like her advancement was a bit like drawing a lottery, and it was hard to say what she would get.
"Whew… Now is not the time to choose a profession. Let's leave here first and talk about it in a safe place."
Dorothy muttered to herself, then, after memorizing all the content on the stone tablet, she left the front of the tablet and began searching the surroundings for a way out.
After learning about the existence of Common Sense Text, Dorothy only needed to find the seemingly messy scratches on the walls. After staring at them for two seconds, she could see them transform into hidden text. So, relying on searching for traces of Common Sense Text, Dorothy soon really found a way out.
It was a carving also etched on the wall. After Dorothy's gaze fell upon it and she stared for a while, she saw the carvings rapidly transform into the Prit text she recognized, converting into a meaning Dorothy could understand.
"Corridor of the Ascendant. Those who successfully ascend to the Black Earth Stage shall proceed from here to the Qingxi River bank to receive the sealing ceremony."
Looking at the characters on the wall before her, Dorothy froze for a moment, then couldn't help but complain.
"Holy crap… This thing requires the Black Earth Stage to open?"
Seeing the words on the wall, Dorothy's heart immediately sank. Clearly, this room was specifically for members of the Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society) to advance. The entrance required one to be an 'Qi' Apprentice, while this other passage exit could only be used by those who had successfully advanced to the Black Rank.
Looking at the words on the wall, this seemed to be a ritual of the society. Those who successfully advanced would go up to the Qingxi River bank through this exclusive passage to receive some kind of sealing ceremony, while those who failed to advance could only return the way they came.
But Dorothy now had no option to return; the way back was sealed by poison gas and rubble.
This meant that if Dorothy couldn't complete the advancement on the spot, she might be trapped and die in this secret room.
'How unlucky…'
Covering her forehead, Dorothy sighed and shook her head helplessly. There was nothing she could do now. In order to get out of here, Dorothy could only start reviewing the content of the stone tablet in her mind, to see if there was any possibility of advancing on the spot and if her current state could meet the advancement requirements of any of the branch paths.
And this review made Dorothy's heart sink.
Dorothy discovered that her current Spirituality accumulation already met the advancement requirements for many branch paths, and she could also pray to guide herself. But the key was that advancing to the Black Rank didn't just require Spirituality; the ritual also began to have some additional requirements.
In fact, the advancement rituals for the Black Rank were not complicated. For example, the ritual to advance to Diviner required preparing 6 high-quality crystal balls to aid in peering into the Sea of Consciousness. The Thunder Technique User advancement ritual needed to be performed during a thunderstorm and required a certain 'Qi' Extraordinary item with empty Spirituality as a medium to draw down a natural lightning strike…
In short, these advancement rituals either had additional item requirements or additional environmental requirements. Among them, rituals like the Thunder Technique User's, which needed to be performed outdoors under specific weather conditions, were completely impossible in this secret room.
Dorothy carefully looked at the advancement rituals for these branch paths. After reviewing them, she found that she could hardly meet the requirements for any of those rituals in her current state. Just as Dorothy was feeling despair, she examined the last branch path, and her eyes lit up.
This branch path was the 'Erudite'.
Erudite. Dorothy originally thought this was a pure 'Qi' path that didn't require auxiliary Spirituality, but after carefully looking at the Erudite's advancement ritual, she felt a slight surprise.
The Erudite's advancement ritual did not require support from other additional environments or even items. To advance to Erudite, a Knower who is an Apprentice must study one book from each of the other Spiritualities. Then the main Spirituality, 'Qi', must be full, which is 20 points. Besides the main Spirituality, all other types of Spirituality, including the opposing'Silence' Spirituality, must accumulate a quarter each, which is 5 points.
In other words, to advance to Erudite, one needs to have read the secret transmissions of all Spiritualities, and then accumulate 20 points of 'Qi' and 5 points each of the other five Spiritualities, including the opposing'Silence'.
"Erudite… It seems to be a branch path purely focused on studying 'Qi'. I didn't expect it to require using all types of Spirituality. Does one need to be knowledgeable in all Spiritualities to be called Erudite?
"In any case, Erudite is the easiest branch path for me to advance in right now. I just need to have studied different secret transmissions and accumulated different Spiritualities. Let me check my current Spirituality situation…"
Saying this, Dorothy began to check the Spirituality she had currently accumulated, which were:
9 Cup, 10 Stone, 6 Shadow, 4 Lamp, 3 Silence, 16 Enlightenment.
When she first arrived in Tivian, Dorothy's 'Cup' was 11 points. She used some recently by overloading the Corpse Puppet Ring, so only 9 Cup remained. Dorothy's original'Shadow' was 3 points, and 'Enlightenment' was 15 points, but after seeing the Spirit Sight message at the altar on the second floor earlier, she gained 3 points of'Shadow' and 1 point of 'Enlightenment'.
Based on the current situation, Dorothy's 'Lamp' and'Silence' have not reached 5 points, and 'Enlightenment' has not reached 20 points; none are sufficient. But don't forget, the advancement methods recorded on these stone tablets are essentially secret transmissions, and they also have Spirit Sight. Dorothy can extract another wave of Spirituality based on the content of the stone tablet.
The result of the extraction was that this stone tablet, which recorded all the Black Earth Stage advancement methods for 'Qi', was worth 6 points of 'Enlightenment'! And besides'Silence', the other four types, 'Cup','Stone','Shadow', and 'Lamp', were each worth 2 points.
After this wave of extraction, Dorothy's 'Enlightenment' directly overflowed by 2 points and was wasted, and the final situation was like this.
11 Cup, 12 Stone, 8 Shadow, 6 Lamp, 3 Silence, 20 Enlightenment.
Suddenly, Dorothy had almost completely met all the requirements for advancement, except for'Silence'.
"'Silence'? Hiss… This is a bit tricky… Among the secret transmissions I've encountered before, those involving'Silence' were the fewest… There wasn't even a single one with'Silence' as the theme. Now, not only is the Spirituality insufficient, but the secret transmission requirement is also lacking."
Dorothy thought with some distress. Advancing to Erudite, besides Spirituality, also required having read at least one secret transmission for each of the six Spirituality themes, and Dorothy had never read a secret transmission with'Silence' as the theme.
"Hiss… Looking at this situation, I can only seek some outside help…" Musing, Dorothy muttered to herself.
…