Chapter 95: Chapter 67: Holy Sanctuary’s 4th Floor
But he couldn’t say anything.
Often, the more you said, the more mistakes you made.
He could only hope that Sean wasn’t truly angry; otherwise, he feared he wouldn’t live to see tonight’s moon.
Sopea actually wanted to tell Sean that he had once been one of Sean’s most trusted Holy Hall Tutors. They had even soaked their feet in the Holy Water together. But on second thought—’Sean had trusted him so much, yet he hadn’t recognized him and had even planned to unleash Reversed Celestial Spirits after Entering the Dream. Wouldn’t that just make his crime even worse?’
Sopea sank into a gloomy mood.
Sean observed his expression. ’This Dream Builder is pretty sharp,’ he thought. ’He admitted his mistake and then clammed up, not even giving me a chance to nitpick. I was hoping to tease Sopea a bit more.’
"How boring."
Sean waved his hand dismissively and said, "I’ll let it slide this time. I hope you’ll do it again next time."
Sopea: "???"
’As if he would dare do it again!’
"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Blake," Sopea said in terror.
Sean looked him up and down critically. "Actually, I preferred your old rebellious and untamed look. Why don’t you go back to that?"
Hearing this, Sopea’s legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees to beg for forgiveness.
During the Era of Polymath, it was common knowledge that Lord Blake hated two things most in his life. One was people putting on airs in front of him. That was why, after learning that Sean was Blake, Sopea’s airs had vanished faster than an old umbrella in a Category 18 hurricane.
"Alright, alright, get up." Sean had had his fun and stopped giving Sopea a hard time. He cheerfully helped him up and said, "And don’t call me Lord Blake anymore. From now on, I’m Sean, understand?"
Sopea nodded quickly. "Understood!"
Sean’s gaze then drifted to the trembling girl at the side.
Seeing that he had finally noticed her, Koni was both excited and afraid. She said weakly, "I-I can drink the Forgetfulness Potion."
According to the rules of the Dream Builder profession, she and her teacher were supposed to drink the Forgetfulness Potion to forget everything that happened in Sean’s dream.
"That won’t be necessary." Sean grinned. "I trust you both."
The implication was clear: he needed two minions.
Sopea was an old man, and a Reshaper at that; how could he not understand the subtext? If it had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have even given them the time of day. ’What sort of person thinks they can order me around?’
But this was Lord Blake.
Forget ordering him around, he’d let the man take a dump on his head!
Especially since he had been so insolent to Lord Blake earlier. Not only had Lord Blake not blamed him, but he was even willing to let him serve the Holy Sanctuary as he had in the past. Lord Blake... he was truly...
"Thank you for your trust, Lord Sean," Sopea said gratefully.
First, he was grateful that Sean hadn’t punished him.
Second, he was grateful that Sean hadn’t erased his memory.
For a Reshaper, every memory of their past life was incredibly precious. It wasn’t just about knowing their past experiences; these memories often came with insights into cultivation and life itself. They were an indispensable part of their rapid advancement through the Tiers.
Sopea didn’t just thank Sean himself; he also kept shooting glances at Koni.
He had raised Koni since she was a child, so he knew without a doubt that the girl must be thinking of how to "politely decline"—saying things like, "I’m afraid I’m not up to the task," or, "The Dream Builder rules state..." It wasn’t that Koni was unwilling to work for Sean; she was simply too nervous and afraid of messing things up.
Across her two lives, this was likely Koni’s first time meeting Carl Black in person. It was normal for her to be panic-stricken.
But as Koni’s teacher, he had to remind the girl that not everyone was worthy of Lord Blake’s favor. It didn’t matter if she didn’t know how to do things; she could learn slowly. Otherwise, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would be gone for good. If Koni really drank the Forgetfulness Potion and forgot what happened in the dream, he could never tell her about it again, even if he treated her like his own daughter.
It was a matter of principle.
Fortunately, although Koni was so nervous her reactions were a bit slow, she wasn’t dumb. She quickly understood the meaning in her teacher’s eyes and also hurriedly gave Sean a deep bow. "Thank you, Lord Sean!"
The bow was so forceful that her head nearly touched the tops of her feet, and her ponytail swung forward. The sight made Sean want to laugh. He gestured for the girl to rise and said, "Drop the ’Lord’ part, too. Just call me what you called me before."
Koni hastily agreed, "Y-Yes, Mr. Sean."
"Alright, let’s put this matter to rest." Sean brought the "misunderstanding" to a close. After a pause, he added, "Now, both of you stay quiet. If you have anything to say, say it with your eyes. Don’t make a sound."
He wanted to hear what his past self at this point in time was discussing with the others.
Sopea very tactfully asked Sean with his eyes: ’May I go and read?’
It seemed his book addiction was kicking in.
But it was more a desire to withdraw.
Up ahead, Blake and the others were gathered around a display case, most likely discussing matters concerning the Book of Ancient Language. In his previous life, he would have naturally been qualified to know, and even participate in the discussion, but in this life... not yet.
He was already quite content with being able to browse the other books in the fourth-floor library of the Holy Sanctuary.
Sean nodded, gesturing for him to go.
He had originally intended to let Sopea and his apprentice look at the "treasures" on the fourth floor as payment for Entering the Dream, but since Sopea was so reserved, he wouldn’t insist.
To be honest, that choice earned him some points in Sean’s book.
’It seems my past self had good reason to trust Sopea.’
After watching the master and apprentice pair withdraw, Sean walked up behind "himself" and listened quietly to their discussion.
Sopea had guessed correctly. Blake was indeed discussing with several tutors what book to place on this floor.
And there was an unexpected discovery.
An old man was heard shaking his head, "The one you just mentioned is too profound. No, those young ones won’t be able to understand it."
That person said, "But we can’t display the one you suggested either. It can’t even be called a Secret Technique. What makes it different from the other books?"
Someone else chimed in, "I think it should at least be on par with the book displayed on the third floor."
"You’re asking for the impossible. The Beginning of Forbidden Curse is one of the core Secret Techniques of the Blazing Angel Family. They only sent it over for us to adapt and place in the library out of respect for Mr. Blake. Where are we supposed to find another great family like that?"
Sean was slightly surprised to hear this.
’So Forbidden Meditation was originally a Secret Technique from Elvire’s family?’
He couldn’t help but recall the night of the attack on Florist Hospital. No wonder the girl had been able to achieve a temporary Breakthrough.
The old man continued, "What about the Church Court?"
"Don’t they control the Faith Secret Technique?"
"That’s widely recognized as the strongest of the twelve major Magic pathways. Surely that’s worthy of the display case on the fourth floor of our Holy Sanctuary?"
"Get real. ’Widely recognized as the strongest’?" A young tutor sneered. "Can it hold a candle to Mr. Blake’s Truth Technique?"
He seemed to be a Blake fanatic.
Blake, who hadn’t spoken for a while, finally spoke up, shaking his head in refusal. "No faith."
"Exactly. Don’t forget the rules of our Holy Sanctuary," the young tutor chimed in. "We don’t do that whole faith thing."
"Then what do you suggest?" The group of old Scholars was at a loss.
It couldn’t be too profound, but it couldn’t be too simple, either. It also had to be rare and high-class. Why didn’t they just combine the best of all existing Magic and write a new book themselves?
"Wait a minute, I remember your family has a very efficient Meditation Technique, what’s it called..."
the young tutor suddenly said to the old man, but he couldn’t recall the name of the Meditation Technique. After thinking for a long while, he said uncertainly, "It Takes Two?"
"Takes two my ass," the old man grumbled, clearly unhappy that the young tutor had gotten the name wrong. He corrected him, "It’s called Dual Netherworld Meditation."
"Oh, right! The Netherworld Technique!"
The young tutor slapped his palm. "There we have it, then!"
The old man’s beard bristled and his eyes widened. "Why don’t you offer up your family’s Secret Technique?"
The young tutor chuckled. "My family’s not up to snuff. Not as great as yours, and can’t compare to yours or the Blazing Angels."
Everyone else: "Then the Netherworld Technique it is!"
They quickly made the decision before the fire could spread to them.
The old man was furious and could only turn to Blake for help. "What’s the damn rush? In the end, Mr. Blake has the final say. What if Mr. Blake doesn’t agree?"
Blake tilted his head. "I think it’s fine."
The old man: "???"
Sean, who was eavesdropping on the side, also became interested.
The Netherworld Technique...
’Sounds like Dual Cultivation?’
...
