At Cyntia's signal, Chen Xu followed the Balance of Knowledge as she waved her hand and vanished from the spot.
"So, Mr. Chen Xu, which school of magic are you proficient in? Aside from basic mental strength training, I need to consider your magical direction as well," the Balance of Knowledge said, floating in the air. From time to time, books would fly from the surrounding shelves onto the right pan of the scale.
"I am a Necromancer. I am not skilled in elemental magic."
Back at the Enlightenment Temple, Chen Xu had attempted to learn several basic elemental spells, such as Fireball, Ice Bolt, and Lightning Arc. However, perhaps due to the influence of his Lord of the Undead class, he could not even gather elemental mana, let alone construct a complete spell formation.
Once, refusing to give up, he had tried to forcibly condense mana to construct a Fireball formation. The result was a grey-white ghost fire that struck a training dummy. It only managed to form a thin layer of frost. Since then, Chen Xu had abandoned all thoughts regarding the elemental schools.
Consequently, he could only learn non-attribute mental spells and lifestyle utility spells.
"A Necromancer? That explains the impure, cold aura about you." The Balance of Knowledge circled Chen Xu a few more times, seemingly confirming its earlier suspicion, and nodded with satisfaction. "The Balance Library has a few books on necromancy and death, though they are not part of a cohesive system. You may look through them all."
Several more books flew through the air, but this time they landed on the left pan, temporarily bringing the scale into balance.
As the two continued forward, more books flew into the right pan, breaking the equilibrium once more.
"Well, that should be enough for now. It is a pity the school's collection on necromancy and death is small, so I could not achieve a perfect balance." The Balance of Knowledge stopped and began to fly upward instead of forward.
"You should have learned mental flight by now. You do not need to hang onto my scale, do you?" Seeing Chen Xu remain on the ground, the Balance of Knowledge spoke up to remind him.
"Oh, right. I can do that." Chen Xu wrapped his body in mental strength and flew into the air, keeping pace with the Balance of Knowledge.
As they ascended, Chen Xu noticed many carved portraits on the walls. Beside each carving was a small area engraved with a book cover.
Suddenly, Chen Xu saw a familiar face—Zhang Jingping! He subconsciously flew toward it. The Balance of Knowledge noticed his target but did not stop him, simply following silently.
At close range, the Zhang Jingping on this bust looked much younger than in reality, with a sharper gaze that belonged to a high-spirited young man. The engraving beside it bore only the title of a book: 《Soul Particle Evolution Theory》.
"Archmage Zhang Jingping is a remarkable man. Of course, all Archmages are remarkable," the Balance of Knowledge said, coming to rest near Chen Xu's shoulder. "Archmage is the highest title, representing the recognition of all mages."
"Recognition? For their strength? Then why is there a book placed next to him?"
"Strength? No, no, no. How could a mage be measured by something so crude? The title of Archmage is a praise for knowledge. This library contains the portraits and works of over four hundred Archmages. Their research represents the discovery of their own paths, the perfection of knowledge systems, and the essential insights that drove the development of those systems."
"You must understand that the Akhan Dynasty has nearly ten thousand years of history. Including the dynasties before it, we have tens of thousands of years of recorded history. Yet, only these four hundred or so individuals have ever received the title of Archmage."
"Only a few hundred people in tens of thousands of years? Teacher Zhang is truly that incredible!" Chen Xu was even more shocked after hearing the explanation. He had not expected a senior researcher from the Institute of Mental Strength and Soul to hold such a prestigious status.
"Ah..." The Balance of Knowledge suddenly sighed. "In truth, you people from the other world have very high learning talent, yet Archmage Zhang Jingping is the only one willing to delve deep into this path."
Chen Xu understood. After all, most people on Blue Star relied on the class system for development. Mental strength was merely a secondary pursuit, meant to help them handle complex and ever-changing dungeons more effectively.
"Let us go. I hope you will be the next one." The Balance of Knowledge still held onto some hope, as he was recommended by an Archmage.
However, Chen Xu was likely to disappoint them. For a Lord of the Undead like himself, the mental system was also just a secondary focus.
After flying up dozens of meters, the two left the library and arrived at the seventh floor of the Tower of Balance.
"The seventh floor of the Tower of Balance connects to the Balance Library Hall. If you wish to read other books in the future, you can return to the library through here."
The Balance of Knowledge then floated the books from its scale into the air one by one, introducing them: "This is 《Runes Advanced: Runic Words》. Runes are the language of all things. Even if you do not practice elemental magic, understanding them will benefit you."
"《Artificial Soul Prosthetics》 and 《Art of Soul Carving》. These are theories from two Archmages of the ancient era. They involve constructing a false soul outside the true soul through artificial means and using soul carving techniques to engrave runes or other designs."
"《Anchoring Method》, a mandatory work for every mage. Once mastered, it allows the soul to enter the Soul Sea to be washed by the Soul Fluid."
The Balance of Knowledge introduced them in rapid succession, tossing each book into Chen Xu's arms as it finished.
One, two... ten books.
"Please wait a moment, let me put these in my storage space first." His vision obscured by the pile of books, Chen Xu quickly called for a halt and stored the books in the Undead Kingdom.
The Balance of Knowledge slowed its pace but did not stop the explanation: "These books, 《Origin of the Undead》 and 《Destination of the Undead: Land of the Undead》, were recovered from various dungeon space fragments. I hope they prove useful to you."
Another series of books flew over, and Chen Xu performed another storage operation.
"And this is the last one, 《Soul Particle Evolution Theory》. I hope this book brings you inspiration or ignites your desire for knowledge." This time, the Balance of Knowledge did not throw the book. Instead, it waited for Chen Xu to store the others before flying to his side and gesturing for him to take it by hand.
Chen Xu took the 《Soul Particle Evolution Theory》 with both hands, tracing the cover. He noticed that the name Zhang Jingping was written not in the Akhan language, but in Daxia script.
"I hope that one day, I will have the opportunity to personally carve your portrait in the Archmage Gallery of the Balance Library, Mr. Chen Xu." The Balance of Knowledge gave him a meaningful look, spun once in the air, and returned to the library.
Chen Xu opened the 《Evolution Theory》 and looked at the preface on the first page, written by Zhang Jingping in Daxia script.
【From ancient times to the present, in legends and tales, those born with divine anomalies are the majority. Shall those born ordinary remain ordinary forever? In the path of martial arts, there are countless techniques, yet most mimic beasts. Generations of ancestors observed mountain beasts and realized martial arts to strengthen the body; this is the evolution of the physical form. I, Zhang Jingping, borrow this method to imitate and play roles from the perspective of the soul and spirit—mimicking plants, mimicking beasts, mimicking the divine, mimicking all things—using an ordinary soul to evolve into the myriad forms of the world.】
...
After leaving the Tower of Balance, Chen Xu intended to find a place to read. The Balance of Knowledge had given him nearly thirty books, and he had no idea how long it would take to finish them. However, Xuan Chu sent a message at that moment, saying that an unexpected situation had occurred during the cooperation with Nicholas and Elizabeth, and they did not know how to handle it.
Chen Xu returned to the Undead Kingdom and teleported to Xuan Chu's side.
"My Lord!"
Xuan Chu and Bone Guard Two greeted Chen Xu. Chen Xu waved them off and looked at the two people impaled on Bone Guard Two's spear.
Judging by their hair color and clothing style, they were also from England.
"Mr. Nicholas, could you introduce these two to me?" He turned to look at Nicholas, who was standing behind Xuan Chu.
Nicholas nodded and stepped forward: "Thank you for your help, Mr. Chen Xu. The Nicholas and Elizabeth families will not forget this friendship."
He then turned to the two men on the spear: "These two are Balin Walker and Howard Hack. They are from the Balin and Howard families of England. There has been competition between our families recently. This is why we sought your help, Mr. Chen Xu, rather than seeking power from within our own country."
While Nicholas was introducing them, Xuan Chu was using soul communication to inform Chen Xu of what had happened.
The skeleton army had advanced to the blackrock dwarves' territory as agreed and cleared them out. Afterward, they allowed Nicholas and Elizabeth to go in and retrieve what they needed.
Nicholas and his companion had successfully found the location of the items. Just as they were about to take them, these two men had arrived beside them using targeted teleportation scrolls and launched an attack.
Under the sudden assault, Nicholas was quickly overwhelmed. Elizabeth, meanwhile, was someone with no actual combat experience against humans; she was likely a support who usually stayed behind the main force to cast buffs.
Fortunately, Bone Guard Two was present while clearing the blackrock dwarves. Through Soul Hunt, he immediately locked onto these two sudden and unfamiliar souls. With a single Soul-Piercing Throw, he impaled both of them. Considering they were humans from Blue Star, Bone Guard Two did not devour their souls but reported directly to Xuan Chu, which led to Chen Xu's arrival.
After understanding the situation, Chen Xu ignored the two captives for a moment and looked at Nicholas with a smile: "Mr. Nicholas, since you have already obtained the items you needed, does that mean our cooperation is complete?"
Stunned by the sudden shift in topic, Nicholas hesitated for a second before saying, "Yes, Mr. Chen Xu. The strength of the skeleton army is indeed terrifying. I have already retrieved the mission items." He then took three dungeon space fragments from his ring and handed them to Chen Xu.
"Consider the extra one a gift of gratitude for your help."
Originally, Nicholas had prepared three space fragments through the combined power of the two families for Chen Xu to choose from. But now that Chen Xu had just saved his life, he decided to use them to deepen their friendship. Furthermore, the sight of the dense ranks of skeleton soldiers constantly emitting a chilling aura made Nicholas eager to build a connection.
Chen Xu accepted the three fragments readily, chuckling, "Hahaha, you are quite generous, Mr. Nicholas. It would be rude of me not to accept. How about this: if you have any need for cooperation in the future, I will give you a five percent discount."
He patted Nicholas on the shoulder, and Nicholas laughed along. Only Elizabeth, standing in the distance, maintained her cold expression and curled her lips at Nicholas's lack of etiquette.
"Now then, Mr. Balin and Mr. Howard, what price are you two willing to pay for your lives?" Chen Xu's laughter died down as he walked toward the two impaled men.
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