Sorcerer’s Handbook

Ashe and the others immediately turned their backs to the empty passage, avoiding the scene inside the place of worship.

They had already experienced the power of worship at the hospital camp. Even if one wasn’t inside, merely observing from afar could draw them in.

Only Tamashi dared to occasionally steal a glance. The burning ideal in his heart not only allowed him to resist the Choking Green cold wind of the night but also to confront other lights without diminishing his own brilliance.

“What is the Transcendent Cult’s worship like?” Igor, not hearing any commotion, wondered, “Why is there no sound at all?”

Tamashi replied, “It’s hard to say.”

“So what are they doing?”

“Various strange patterns appeared in the air, and everyone just stared at them in a daze.”

“What exactly do these patterns look like?”

“They’re indescribable; they seem simple yet mysterious.”

Tamashi didn’t refuse and traced the patterns he saw on the palms of Ashe and Igor. As he did, their expressions grew increasingly bewildered. Finally, the two exchanged a glance and fell into contemplation.

Igor then asked, “How are these patterns laid out?”

Tamashi explained, “They divide grids with straight and horizontal lines; some are in groups of sixteen, some twenty-five, some thirty-six. Most grids have patterns, but some are blank…”

“Sudoku!” Ashe blurted out. He remembered being fascinated by this mental game back in middle school when he was bored.

“What is Sudoku?”

With Tamashi’s question, Harvey also understood why Ashe and the others had fallen silent. However, he and Tamashi weren’t close enough for Harvey to spare his feelings, so he calmly explained, “It’s a puzzle game using numbers. You have to deduce the missing numbers based on the patterns and rules.”

“Oh,” Tamashi paused, then chuckled, “I see, it’s my least favorite kind of game.”

“Strange, is the Transcendent Cult’s worship really just a group of people playing Sudoku?” Ashe quickly moved to the next topic, pondering, “This is far from the worship I imagined…”

“Every cult’s form of worship seems incomprehensible to outsiders,” Tamashi said. “I once saw a cult whose worship involved everyone sleeping together because they followed the Floating Cloud Demi-God, with the ideal of everyone living a leisurely life.”

“Worship isn’t just about venerating the Demi-God; it’s about venerating ideals. Every cult’s worship is related to their ideals.”

Igor had an epiphany: “Worship is when followers fantasize about the future after realizing their ideals, thus resonating with the Demi-God!”

Ashe understood as well-a cult pursuing a leisurely lifestyle has worship in the form of a long nap; a cult aiming to eradicate evildoers worships by gathering together for leisure; the Four Pillars Cult indulges endlessly in their pleasures during worship…

“What does transcendental consciousness have to do with playing Sudoku?” Harvey was puzzled. “Is playing Sudoku the future of transcendental consciousness?”

“It’s because they don’t even know what the future after achieving transcendental consciousness looks like, nor can they imagine it. However, worship requires the participation of all followers, so they use intellectual games as a substitute,” Igor analyzed. “Sudoku is just one of them; there might be other worship options.”

“But this situation is very advantageous for us,” the Con Artist said. “All the Transcendence followers are seated, so any unusual movement will be evident. If the Silver Lantern attempts to seize the Demi-God, the followers will immediately intervene.”

“Now we only need to worry if the Silver Lantern will abandon tonight’s action, but since the Transcendent Cult’s worship likely involves immobile activities each night, waiting won’t help her. If we leave, she might not even have a scapegoat.”

The reason Ashe and the others believed the Silver Lantern would act soon was due to the location of the Transcendent Demi-Gods-they were all on the lower level. Escaping with a Demi-God would be a herculean task for the Silver Lantern, akin to breaking through from the 100th floor to the ground floor, but a scapegoat distracting the eyes would ease the endeavor significantly.

Undoubtedly, Ashe and his companions were the perfect scapegoat.

So, why didn’t Ashe and the others leave the Transcendence Building and lie in wait outside?

Since the worship takes place at night, Ashe and his group wouldn’t dare camp outside if they didn’t stay within the Transcendence Building. If the Silver Lantern indeed managed to escape with the Transcendent Demi-God, they would have to wait until daylight at a nearby town to resume their pursuit, essentially skipping this crucial battle.

Tamashi asked, “What if the Silver Lantern frames us for stealing the Demi-God by disguising as us? Have you thought about an escape route?”

Ashe glanced at Igor in surprise, but Igor didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, he said to Raven Annihilation, “There’s no need to escape. Once the Silver Lantern successfully seizes the Demi-God, chaos will ensue. Being able to host a Divine, she’ll certainly use the Demi-God’s power to break through. At that point, the worship will be interrupted and chaos will break out. We’ll focus on blocking the exit, and Ashe will seize the opportunity to host another Transcendent Demi-God. Together, we’ll corner the Silver Lantern and capture that woman.”

It wasn’t until this moment that Igor revealed the plan to Tamashi.

“Aren’t you worried that the Transcendent Cult will also see Ashe as a thief?” Tamashi inquired.

“As long as he doesn’t attempt to take the Demi-God and helps intercept the Silver Lantern, why would the Transcendent Cult be hostile toward him?” Igor smiled. “Moreover, unlike the Silver Lantern, Ashe can host a Divine with 100% certainty. You should understand the significance of this to the Transcendent Cult.”

Tamashi realized the implication. In any cult, a person who can host a Divine flawlessly becomes a ‘spokesperson for the Demi-God,’ an indisputable leader and embodiment of their ideal. If Ashe could demonstrate perfect Divine Hosting without taking the Demi-God away, the Transcendent Cult wouldn’t dislike him, though they wouldn’t necessarily welcome him either-since he doesn’t follow the Transcendent Demi-God, he’s ultimately a heresy.

On this basis, if Ashe helps intercept the Silver Lantern and protects the Demi-God for the Transcendent Cult, even as an outsider, he’d earn immense goodwill from the cult! The law-abiding Transcendent Cult would feel obligated to repay Ashe’s favor.

However…

“Your plan has a significant flaw,” Tamashi pointed out. “After the Silver Lantern seizes the first Transcendent Demi-God, she’ll either immediately grab a second one, or the Transcendent Cult will guard it. Whatever happens, we won’t be able to approach the second Demi-God, let alone when chaos erupts; the Transcendent Cult will certainly watch us closely.”

“First, let’s eliminate the possibility of her immediately seizing two Demi-Gods,” Igor said. “If that were the case, there’s nothing we could do, but the reaction of the Transcendent Cult, which is faster than their awareness, is unlikely to grant her such an opportunity.”

“As for the likelihood of the Transcendent Cult protecting the second Demi-God, it’s indeed significant,” the Con Artist raised three fingers. “But once we understand these three prerequisites, this obstacle is no longer an issue for us.”

“The first prerequisite is that a divine host’s strength far exceeds that of a legend. We were only able to injure the Silver Lantern before because we relied on Tamashi’s gray fox heritage. Otherwise, no matter how cleverly we planned, the Silver Lantern could have broken through every crisis with sheer power.”

“The second prerequisite is that the Silver Lantern needs to escape the building, but the Transcendent Cult, constantly diminishing their self-awareness, will selflessly obstruct her. Within the Transcendent Cult, there are certainly some followers who are divine hosts, and they pose a threat to the Silver Lantern.”

“The third prerequisite is that the Silver Lantern is an Insatiable Greed and reckless individual, and this is an open internal space.”

Tamashi’s distorted voice grew huskier: “Are you suggesting she might-“

“There’s no better battlefield than this,” Igor stated. “The Silver Lantern will likely attempt to seize the second Demi-God with her divine hosting powers, and during this process, she’ll continuously deplete the Transcendent Cult’s advanced combat strength. Even if it becomes impossible, she must eliminate those divine hosts who threaten her, and she’ll smear us to ensure a secure escape from the building.”

“As casualties mount, the Transcendent Cult will eventually overlook us. We simply need to wait for the right opportunity,” the Con Artist smiled. “Even if the Silver Lantern fails to breach the second Demi-God’s defenses, it doesn’t matter. Tamashi, your grey fox blade is enough to pierce through that defense. Then, Ashe can reach in to touch the Demi-God and complete the divine hosting. After that, it’ll be our time to save the day and stop the Silver Lantern.”

Tamashi remarked, “But many people will die this way.”

“Yes, the Silver Lantern will kill many people,” Igor emphasized the name ‘Silver Lantern.’ “But many others will survive because of us. If the Transcendent Cult doesn’t send people to stop us, if we can approach the Demi-God more easily, it would all be much simpler… but there are no ‘ifs’.”

“Just as we told them two days ago, a Divine Hosting criminal capable of disguising themselves is hiding in the building. But compared to trusting us, the heretics, they put more faith in their security system.”

“If they had been willing to trust us and conducted a thorough search of the building, the Silver Lantern would have been caught long ago, and they wouldn’t be facing this disaster.”

The person behind the raven mask wanted to speak but ultimately couldn’t find the words.

The Raven Annihilation Cult had encountered situations like this many times. Although they simply sought to eliminate evil, the world isn’t so straightforward. Not everyone is willing to trust them.

Moreover, they are not always right.

There are those who didn’t believe them and ended up with their entire families slaughtered; and there are those who did believe, but still suffered great losses.

Naturally, the Transcendent Cult is more inclined to trust their own judgment over that of a few outsiders like us.

When faced with the test of fate, everyone has their own answers, and until the results come out, who would think their answer is wrong?

Tamashi had seen it all before, but back then, he wasn’t facing these challenges alone.

So, just like old times, even though Kalan, Ye Lu, and Tanomoo were no longer by his side, he still expressed his confusion, “We’ve foreseen everything. Isn’t there a better way?”

“The world doesn’t treat us that kindly,” Igor said. “Even this outcome, which leaves you with regrets, is the best we can manage.”

“Indeed.”

Ashe chimed in as well, “When you think about it carefully, we’ve truly done the best we can within our capabilities.”

The Con Artist glanced surprisingly at the Cult Leader. He hadn’t expected Ashe to agree with him, even though this plan originally came from Ashe himself.

“It’s not that we didn’t want to help the Transcendent Cult. It’s that the Transcendent Cult refused to believe us, viewing us as heresy merchants and ignoring the information we provided. If you ask me, this is a consequence of their own actions.”

“If the Silver Lantern doesn’t make a move, we can’t act either. The Transcendent Cult would just see us as outsiders with ulterior motives. It’s only after the Silver Lantern attempts to seize the Transcendent Demi-God, causing significant casualties, that we have the chance to approach the Transcendent Demi-God, perform a perfect Divine Hosting, and emerge as saviors who fight against the evil calamity of the Silver Lantern.”

“In this way, not only can we capture the Silver Lantern, but we can also gain the friendship of the Transcendent Cult and obtain a pass from the Qinyi Alliance…” Ashe looked at Igor. “Isn’t that right?”

Igor met his gaze openly. “Exactly.”

“This truly is the best plan, no doubt about the guidance I got from… the Virtual Realm,” Ashe said. “Even though we foresaw everything, we’re not colluding with the Silver Lantern to harm the Transcendent Cult. It’s just the most helpless choice. The Transcendent Cult isn’t wrong either; it’s understandable they wouldn’t trust us and wouldn’t let outsiders near their Demi-God. And what relationship does the Transcendent Cult have with us anyway? The only person in the wrong here is the Silver Lantern; she is a walking calamity and the source of all evil. We’re all just her victims.”

“But still…”

Ashe furrowed his brows, closed his eyes, and whispered, his voice growing softer. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath, opened his bright eyes, and looked intently at Igor. “But how can the world be like this? How can they be like this? How can we be like this!”

With each of Ashe’s questions, his sanctuary quietly enveloped everyone. Before anyone could express their surprise, Ashe looked to Harvey and said, “Ghost King, help me divert everyone’s attention inside and disrupt their worship.”

Harvey didn’t speak. He simply summoned Alice and entered the ‘Frostfire’ state, proceeding down another passageway.

At that moment, Ashe recalled his earlier conversation with Harvey and felt a touch of self-mockery for being slower to react than a necromancer. But thanks to Harvey’s prompt, he was now able to act without hesitation.

“Raven Annihilation, throw me in with all your might.”

Tamashi clenched his fists, the tightness echoing like bones exploding.

“Rust Crow,” Ashe turned to Igor. “You know how to support me, right?”

“Of course.” Igor lowered his eyebrows. “I’ve always supported you, never the other way around.”

“Next time for sure,” Ashe smiled. “This time, join me in treating this world with a bit of kindness.”

Tamashi picked Ashe up. Ashe was taken aback. “Weren’t you supposed to throw me?”

“My running speed is faster than you being thrown.”

“But I am a sanctuary sorcerer, can’t you carry me differently-“

Just as Harvey, transformed into the Nether Knight, spread despair and drew the attention of all the Transcendence followers, disrupting their worship, Tamashi’s feet thundered with rapid beats, reaching the audience railings in almost a single breath, and hurled Ashe out!

Ashe unfurled his Twin Wings of gold and silver to adjust his trajectory, descending from a height of hundreds of meters, aiming straight for-

The Transcendent Demi-God!

He intended to seize the Demi-God before the Silver Lantern could, to take the path the Silver Lantern sought and leave her with no alternatives!