Chapter 96: Chapter 68: The Secret of the Statue
Following Carl Black’s decision, the old man’s family’s Dual Meditation Technique was ultimately placed in the display case on the fourth floor of the Holy Sanctuary.
Sean didn’t know if this was the Dual Cultivation he was thinking of, and he was very curious to see it—it wasn’t that he had any ulterior motives; it was mainly for the sake of learning. As the founder of the Era of Polymath, he felt it necessary to fully embody the saying, "Knowledge is Power."
But he couldn’t look at it directly. It would take time for the old man to return to his family and bring back the book, and adapting it would also take time. He couldn’t just wait around in this dream forever; he needed to speed things up for the old man.
This was a dreamscape, and he remembered that its creator could control the timeline. All he had to do was ask Sopea to help nudge it forward a bit.
But before that, Sean floated off to the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors.
Although the Books of Ancient Language on the fourth floor had just been put in place, the upper floors were most likely empty. ’But what if?’
In any case, it was just a quick glance and wouldn’t take any effort.
As it turned out, there were no surprises.
Not only were there no treasures on the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors, there weren’t even any display cases. The number of books on the shelves was pitifully small, and there were hardly any people. It looked like it was still under construction.
Sean wasn’t discouraged. He turned and went to find Sopea and Koni.
The master and apprentice must have been discussing something, because Koni’s cheeks turned bright red when she stole a glance at Sean.
Sean didn’t notice the young girl’s subtle action. He went straight to Sopea and explained what he wanted.
Adjusting the timeline was certainly possible.
But there was one problem.
"After the timeline shifts, we might not still be in Kovri," Sopea said.
Kovri was the name of this city, one of the largest capitals of the Era of Polymath, and also the only city in the entire Empire not under the jurisdiction of the Church Court.
Many people who had never been to, or knew anything about, the city of Kovri initially assumed its location was very remote. But in reality, this was just a stereotype about autonomous regions. Kovri’s location wasn’t remote at all; on the contrary, it was situated in the most central region of the continent. Just a stone’s throw away, so to speak, was the Holy City of the Church Court.
In the past, whenever Blake went to see the Saintess, even without using Magic, he could get there by carriage within two days.
Sopea knew that Sean didn’t understand the Era of Polymath, or rather, had forgotten many things, and he patiently explained it all to him.
But as Sean listened, something felt off. He asked suspiciously, "How would you know how many days it took me to see the Saintess?"
"Were you following me?"
Sopea: "???"
’As if I would dare!’
Sopea quickly explained, "There was one time when I had to go to the Holy City to buy something, and you said it was on your way, so you gave me a ride."
"We were originally going to use a Teleportation Array, but you wouldn’t allow it. You insisted on taking a carriage to see more of the scenery along the way, saying that it would feel more like a real outing."
Sean praised himself, "So I was that romantic, huh?"
Sopea immediately agreed. "Of course! Mr. Blake... no, Mr. Sean has always been the epitome of romanticism."
As he spoke, he tugged on Koni’s sleeve.
Koni hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes!"
But then Sean adopted the look of someone sincerely seeking knowledge. "Before you praise me, can you first tell me what ’romanticism’ means?"
Sopea: "..."
Koni: "..."
She didn’t know either.
’Whatever Master says is romantic, is romantic.’
At Koni’s age, she was like a flower bud about to bloom. Even as a Reshaper, she was still influenced by her physical body before her memories had fully returned. The Wizarding World generally called this condition "three-hundred-year-old puberty." For Koni, the first thing the word "romantic" brought to mind was love.
Sopea’s understanding was different.
"Romanticism is the ultimate expression," he said.
"It’s casting aside what others desperately covet as if it were worthless, while spending your life pursuing what others deem meaningless."
In Sopea’s eyes, "romantic" wasn’t an adjective but a name. It represented a state of being, one that had transcended worldly views—acting not to please others, but only to please oneself.
Take academia, for example.
Sopea vaguely remembered that when Blake and Daeli, the eldest daughter of the Blazing Angel Family, had just gotten together and were in the passionate throes of new love, they behaved completely differently from other lovers.
Most couples at that stage wanted to be stuck to each other every moment of every day, never letting the other out of their sight.
That is one kind of romanticism.
But Blake was the same as ever, burying himself in his academic research lab every day. Visiting Daeli once a month was considered diligent for him.
That, in its own way, was another kind of romanticism.
It was just that Blake gave his romanticism to Mysticism.
Sean listened in silence, suddenly understanding a little why his "sister-in-law" would hate him.
He put himself in her shoes. If his own brother were married to someone like that, he would feel indignant on his brother’s behalf, too.
"What a real asshole," Sean couldn’t help but sigh, covering his face.
Sopea nodded. "Indeed."
Sean’s eyes widened. "Hm?"
’You’re agreeing with that?’
Sopea cleared his throat and said with a serious expression, "I meant that Mysticism is the asshole. It’s a seductive homewrecker, stealing all of Mr. Sean’s attention."
Sean: "Heh."
He couldn’t be bothered to argue with Sopea.
’Enough personal talk, we’re getting off-topic.’
"Let’s do it," Sean said.
Regardless of whether nudging the timeline would change their current location, they had to give it a try.
"Alright." Sopea no longer hesitated. He raised his hand, and myriad threads of light emerged from his palm. The scene was identical to when Koni had controlled the timeline, as if he were unraveling the entire world thread by thread.
In reality, he didn’t need to make such a grand gesture.
He hadn’t before.
It was just that back then, Sopea hadn’t known Sean’s true identity. Now that he knew, whether it was necessary or not, he had to display a serious and diligent attitude.
