Twelve stone pillars stood in a circle, each so thick that it would take three people to hug them. The pillars were covered in deep green vines, their layered leaves shimmering with an emerald-green luster in the sunlight.
Pale gold light orbs hovered at the top of the stone pillars. All twelve orbs glowed simultaneously, weaving a massive web of light directly above the array.
Two Treants stood outside the teleportation array.
They were much smaller than the ones in the War Fortress, standing at about the height of an average human.
Their wooden trunks bore no runic patterns, with only a thumb-sized emerald-green crystal embedded in their chests.
“Cross-world teleportation. Confirming identity.”
The Treant on the left raised its arm, and a pale gold rune emerged from the palm of its hand.
The rune hovered above its palm, spinning slowly.
The Energy-Eating Insect poked half its body out from the top of Ethan's head, and a dark purple light shot from the cracks in its carapace, sinking into the rune.
The rune's color shifted from pale gold to dark purple, then back to pale gold.
“Identity confirmed. Energy-Eating Insect, Second-Tier enslaved beast, subordinate to Jade Shadow Star. Ethan Leo, Third-Tier Apprentice, subordinate to Blood Bone Tower Academy. Transit authorized.”
The Treant withdrew its arm and stepped aside.
As Ethan stepped out of the teleportation array, a dense wave of wood-element energy particles rushed over him.
It felt like stepping into a primeval forest. The air was filled with the fresh scent of vegetation, and the sunlight spilling from above felt warm and cozy.
With every breath, those energy particles slipped down his windpipe and into his lungs, seeping into his blood and flowing through his entire body.
The thirty-six runes in his mental sea lit up simultaneously, their emerald-green glow flickering in the gray mist, as if responding to the dense wood-element energy around them.
“So this is Jade Shadow Forest Academy?” Ethan took a deep breath.
“No duh.” The Energy-Eating Insect flew up from his head, hovering in midair with its six wings vibrating at high speed. “My master's academy is a Four-Ring Wizard Academy, spanning two million square kilometers. The entire academy is a forest.”
It flew forward, its voice drifting back.
“Don't just stand there daydreaming. Follow me. That old guy lives pretty far from here.”
Ethan picked up his pace and followed.
The path beneath his feet was paved with grayish-white stone slabs worn smooth by time, their cracks filled with moss.
Towering trees lined both sides of the path, their trunks so thick they would require over a dozen people to encircle them. Their canopies spread out in dense layers high above, blocking out most of the sunlight.
A few beams of light filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground.
Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination.
Ahead was a wide, open clearing. In the center stood a wooden tower built of deep teal timber. Its surface bore no runic patterns, only natural wood grain.
The tower's spire reached high into the sky, with a fist-sized emerald-green orb of light hovering at the peak. The orb rotated slowly, sending out a faint halo of light with every rotation.
The Energy-Eating Insect flew up from Ethan's head, its six wings buzzing rapidly as it landed on the threshold. “Old geezer, I'm here.”
There was no response from inside the tower.
The vibration of the Energy-Eating Insect's wings sped up slightly.
It shifted its position, crawling from the left side of the threshold to the right, and scratched at the door twice.
“Old geezer! I'm here!”
Still, there was no response.
The Energy-Eating Insect froze.
Its six legs stopped flat against the door, the light in its compound eyes flickering. Then, it turned its head, catching Ethan's gaze out of the corner of one eye.
The meaning behind that look was glaringly obvious.
It had lost face.
It had brought a Third-Tier Apprentice to visit someone on its own master's turf, only to end up locked outside.
With the apprentice watching from behind, this Second-Tier enslaved beast was left stranded on the threshold, ignored even after calling out twice.
Wasn't this a slap to the face of the great Lord Energy-Eating Insect?
Actually, it wasn't just a slap to its own face—it was a slap to its master's...
Cough, better not say it, better not say it.
The silver runes on the surface of the Energy-Eating Insect's carapace began to flicker erratically.
It turned around to face the tightly shut tower door and scratched at the threshold with its six legs, leaving a few shallow grooves.
“Old geezer! Stop playing dead! Yours truly is here in person, and you still won't open the door?!”
The surrounding air trembled slightly the moment it spoke, and the moss growing in the cracks of the stone slabs in the clearing shrank back in unison.
Still, there was no response.
The vibration frequency of the Energy-Eating Insect's wings suddenly spiked.
Dark purple light poured from the cracks in its carapace, and its six wings unfurled simultaneously as the surrounding air began to vibrate violently.
The aura of a Second-Tier lifeform erupted from its body, pressing down on the stone ground in front of the tower door, causing fine cracks to spiderweb across the slabs.
“Fine, you won't open it, huh?”
It raised its two forelegs, and dark purple light condensed at their tips into two fist-sized light orbs.
Densely packed silver runes swirled across the surfaces of the orbs, sending visible ripples of energy through the air with every flicker.
Ethan took two steps back.
It wasn't that he was afraid the Energy-Eating Insect would blow up the tower.
It was just that when a Second-Tier lifeform threw a tantrum, a mere Third-Tier Apprentice standing too close was highly likely to get caught in the crossfire.
Just as the Energy-Eating Insect was about to bring its forelegs down, the tower door opened.
Without a sound or any fluctuation of energy, the tightly shut dark teal wooden door slid open to both sides.
The panels slid into recesses in the walls, revealing a wide corridor.
Standing behind the door was a short, plump robot.
The robot was barely over a meter tall, and its trunk was covered in flowing, pale gold runic patterns, giving it a somewhat divine appearance. “Master said if you try to break down the door again, he'll throw you into the energy-dissolving pool for three days.”
The Energy-Eating Insect froze in midair.
With a soft poof, the two dark purple light orbs on its forelegs extinguished simultaneously, leaving behind two thin wisps of white smoke.
The vibration frequency of its six wings dropped instantly. The insect lazily drifted back to the top of Ethan's head, finding a cozy spot to nestle in his hair.
“Hehe, see? I told you so. Since I'm here, there's no way he wouldn't let me in. Let's go, kid.”
At the end of the corridor was a spacious hall.
The hall was circular, spanning over thirty meters in diameter.
The high, vaulted ceiling was made of translucent, pale teal crystal, with countless tiny points of light swirling inside.
The points of light drifted down slowly, trailing pale gold streaks through the air.
Bookshelves as tall as the ceiling lined the walls, packed with all kinds of books, scrolls, wooden slips, and crystal bottles.
Some crystal bottles held liquids of bizarre colors, others contained still-wriggling plant roots, and some held biological specimens whose original forms were no longer recognizable.
Directly opposite the entrance was a wide stone table.
Sitting behind the table was a person.
No, not a person.
It was a three-headed lifeform.
His torso and limbs were human-like, and he wore a deep teal robe embroidered with intricate dark gold runic patterns.
The collar, cuffs, and hem of the robe were trimmed with silk thread of the same color, and every single fold was pressed perfectly flat.
Judging by his appearance, he was undoubtedly a top-tier powerhouse.
But he had three heads growing from his neck.
Rate on N.U.
