After several seconds, the Tower Spirit spoke again. “Master is already aware. He said we will discuss everything after the World War is over.”
The Energy-Eating Insect's wings slowed their buzzing slightly.
Hovering in midair, it paddled its six legs beneath itself and asked in a muffled voice, “Wh-What about those magic crystals?”
The Tower Spirit's projection flickered.
No matter how one looked at it, the frequency of the flickering made it seem as if she were holding back a laugh.
“A fine performance. Master said he would reward you with ten magic crystals.”
The Energy-Eating Insect's wings suddenly buzzed frantically.
It shot up into the air, its six legs flailing wildly as the light in its compound eyes instantly flared to life.
The silver runes on its dark purple carapace lit up completely, and the entire bug spun three times in midair.
“Hehehe, I knew it! After putting in so much effort, I finally have some income. I want to drink!”
The Tower Spirit did not respond.
The Energy-Eating Insect's wings continued to buzz at high speed.
It spun two more times, its six legs tracing faint trails of dark purple light in the air.
“I want nectar! I want the best nectar! I'm going to the exchange to get the most expensive kind! Seven-hundred-year nectar! No, one-thousand-year—”
Before it could finish, the Tower Spirit's voice finally rang out.
“Hmm?”
Just a single sound.
Cold, with a hint of danger.
The tone was exactly the same as when she had said “Oh” earlier, only with the ending pitch raised slightly.
The Energy-Eating Insect's wings stopped buzzing.
The entire bug froze in midair, keeping its two front legs crossed over its chest, completely motionless.
The light in its compound eyes flickered frantically. The silver runes on its carapace flared brightly before dimming completely.
“Uh, well...”
It slowly turned around, its six legs paddling beneath it as it drifted toward the teleportation array.
“Sister, I still have some things to take care of, so I'll head out first—”
“What! Did! You! Say?!”
The Tower Spirit's voice suddenly exploded.
Pale green light particles erupted from around her, weaving into an airtight web of light in the air.
The Energy-Eating Insect fled even faster.
Its six wings buzzed simultaneously as the entire bug transformed into a streak of dark purple light, rushing out of the teleportation array.
The web of light closed behind it, barely grazing the carapace of its hind legs.
“Sister! I was just talking! Just talking!” The Energy-Eating Insect's shrill voice drifted back from the distance. “I didn't really mean to drink it—ah!”
A miserable shriek.
Then came a series of crackling sounds.
And that was the end of that.
A gust of wind blew across the plaza where the teleportation array was located.
The dark green leaves on the surrounding tree walls swayed gently, and sunlight poured down from above, casting dappled shadows on the stone floor.
Quiet returned to the area. Only the Treant guards remained standing dutifully at the edges of the array, their dark green leaves rustling softly in the wind.
...
As the glow of the teleportation array faded, Ethan stepped onto the stone floor of the Blood Bone Tower Academy.
The familiar grayish-white stone slabs, the familiar eerie green bone pillars, and the familiar scent in the air greeted him.
No one around paid him any attention. The Spirit Bone Guard in the teleportation zone merely glanced at him before withdrawing its gaze.
Ethan walked along the stone path toward the Talent District.
A few scattered apprentices in gray robes hurried past, none of them giving him a second look.
He passed the stone monument of the Talent District, pushed open the gate of Villa 77, crossed the front hall, and walked up the stairs.
Tossing his discarded clothes aside, Ethan collapsed onto his bed.
He closed his eyes.
He forced himself to stop thinking about the knowledge, the cantrip models, the battle scenes, and the roars of the Amons.
Relax.
From head to toe, every single muscle relaxed.
His consciousness sank into darkness.
He slept deeply and soundly.
There were no dreams, no sudden awakenings, and no subconscious vigilance.
When he finally woke up, Ethan lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling for a long time.
Then, he sat up and stretched his neck.
His joints let out a soft popping sound.
“Ah, that felt good.”
The Logistics Hall.
Ethan walked up to the counter of the Knowledge Exchange.
Behind the counter was a different middle-aged woman wearing crystal glasses.
She was looking down, flipping through a thick booklet, and only raised her head when she heard footsteps.
“I want to exchange for knowledge.”
“Identity plaque.”
Ethan took out his identity plaque and handed it over. The woman took it, pressed it into a slot on the desk, and a pale blue light swept over it.
“Ethan Leo. Grade Five Aptitude.” She pushed up her glasses. “What do you want?”
“All primary knowledge publicly sold by the academy. Everything I haven't learned yet.”
The woman's hand paused.
“All of it?”
“All of it.”
She stared at Ethan for a couple of seconds. Without another word, she looked down and tapped quickly on the crystal display. A long catalog appeared on the screen, spanning several densely packed pages.
“All of them.”
“That will be a total of 831 magic stones. With the ten percent discount, it is 747 magic stones.” She pushed up her glasses. “Are you sure you want to buy so much at once? Although primary knowledge is deeper than the basic courses, trying to learn seventy or eighty subjects together is usually too much for a normal brain to handle.”
Ethan didn't answer. He simply piled the magic stones on the other side of the counter.
The woman asked no further questions. She looked down, counted the magic stones, counted the knowledge crystals, and then tapped a few times on the crystal display.
“Transaction complete. The restrictions on the knowledge crystals have been lifted. They can be used normally.”
Ethan swept all the crystals into his storage ring, turned around, and walked out of the Logistics Hall.
Inside the cultivation room of Villa 77 in the Talent District, Ethan sat cross-legged on the floor.
He arranged the seventy-eight knowledge crystals in three rows in front of him, picked up the leftmost one, and pressed it against his forehead.
The moment his mental power penetrated the crystal, a massive amount of information flooded into his consciousness.
《Microscopic Control of Wood-Element Energy Particles》.
The opening chapter detailed the transmission patterns of energy particles inside plant fibers—from the semi-permeability of cell walls to the capillary effect of xylem vessels, and from energy conversion during photosynthesis to the energy residues deposited in growth rings.
Every page was densely packed with formulas and runic structural diagrams.
For any ordinary Third-Tier Apprentice, it would take half a month just to digest the first chapter.
It took Ethan forty minutes.
He brushed away the crystal residue, which had turned into grayish-white powder, and picked up the second one.
《Material Phase Transition and Energy Conversion in Alchemy》.
This book explained the physical and energy changes of different materials during the refining process.
It covered the energy thresholds from solid to liquid to gas, the purity tempering of single materials to the compatibility matrix of multiple materials, and the applicable scenarios from low-temperature slow simmering to high-temperature instant burning.
One hour.
The third crystal: 《Plant Anatomy and Supernatural Properties》.
Thirty-two minutes.
The fourth crystal: 《Stability Analysis of Runic Structures》.
Fifty minutes.
The fifth, sixth, and seventh...
One by one, the knowledge crystals turned to powder in his hands. The network of knowledge in his mind expanded, interwove, and integrated at a visible rate.
Under his ultra-high learning speed, content that would give ordinary apprentices splitting headaches was mastered in a single pass.
The deformation rules of runic structures, the seven major categories and 137 common forms of energy particles, the microstructural charts of supernatural materials, the optimization theory of cantrip models, the synergistic effects of mental power and energy particles, the extraction and enhancement of plant toxins, and the energy transmission characteristics of magical beast bones.
One subject after another.
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