From Wizard Apprentice to Conqueror of Myriad Worlds

「In the Lecture Hall.」

Stone Soul’s voice was devoid of any emotion. "A normal person’s body is too fragile to withstand the direct implantation of Spiritual Materials."

"Necromancers usually first modify the physical body with potions, then create organs from Spiritual Materials to gradually replace the original ones."

"The modified Living Corpses become monsters that are difficult to kill. They feel no pain and no fatigue. As long as their drive core is not destroyed, they can fight forever."

"But because the modification methods are barbaric and primitive, out of every one hundred test subjects who undergo the process, typically only one or two succeed."

As he said this, the screams from the image on the screen gradually subsided.

Two Living Corpses slowly stood up from the experimental tables.

Their faces were unrecognizable, their skin bearing a deathly gray, metallic sheen. Their eye sockets were empty, yet they were still "staring" ahead.

The remaining test subjects were left on the tables forever, turned into mangled corpses.

The image froze at that moment.

The Lecture Hall fell deathly silent.

Stone Soul suddenly changed the subject. "What you just saw is still being researched by many Dark Wizards today, though their methods are far more advanced than those of the Ancient Wizards."

"In the future, after you become Apprentices, some of you will inevitably have to deal with Dark Wizards. When that time comes, you will see scenes far bloodier than this."

Mo Ning repeated the words ’Dark Wizards’ in his mind and glanced at Kanda using his [Insightful Secret Eye].

’I have a feeling that guy might have some connection to a Dark Wizard Organization.’

After a couple of seconds, once the newcomers had a moment to process the shock, Stone Soul spoke again.

"In a distant age, these Living Corpses, known as ’Brutal Corpse Monsters,’ not only possessed immense strength but could also cast simple Level Zero Witchcraft, becoming a cornerstone of the Ancient Wizards’ rule over the land."

"In the wars between Divination Wizards and Ancient Wizards, many pioneers died at the hands of these Brutal Corpse Monsters."

Stone Soul immediately introduced a turning point. "However, history took a turn in year 103 of the New Era."

"The pioneer, Lord Sajia, began to study a problem: how to efficiently kill these troublesome Brutal Corpse Monsters."

"Lord Sajia chanced upon a manuscript from an Ancient Wizard. The manuscript recorded that the beating of the human heart is controlled by a unique neural rhythm."

"This neural rhythm is not controlled by consciousness. It continues to function even if a person falls into a coma. This inspired Lord Sajia."

"He conducted in-depth research on this rhythm and eventually, in a groundbreaking discovery, created one of the foundational Spirit Seals of the Life Faction—the Heart Silence Spirit Seal."

Mo Ning’s eyes lit up slightly.

Knowledge from his past life was activated in that instant.

The "special neural rhythm" Stone Soul described was what another time and place would call the autonomic nervous system.

Simply put, it’s the nervous system that governs heartbeat, respiration, digestion, and glandular secretion. It operates independently of consciousness and doesn’t stop even when the body is in a deep coma.

It wasn’t surprising that the Ancient Wizards, who conducted human experiments for years, would discover this.

What surprised Mo Ning was something else—that Secret Divination and Divination could actually transform this physiological rhythm into a Spirit Seal.

What did this mean?

It meant that the subjects of the Wizards’ research were not just Magic Power and Law, but extended to the fundamental operating mechanisms of life itself.

The beating of the heart, the flow of blood, the transmission of nerve impulses—all the knowledge that belonged to physiology and medicine on Blue Star could be quantified, deconstructed, and reconstructed into Spirit Seals in the Wizard World, becoming a part of Witchcraft.

Mo Ning’s heart couldn’t help but beat a little faster.

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning: ’Could I also transform the biological and medical knowledge from my past life into corresponding Spirit Seals?’

Although he wasn’t a medical expert in his past life, as an ordinary person who enjoyed browsing popular science, that scattered knowledge suddenly became incredibly enticing.

If all of it could be converted into Spirit Seals, how many would there be?

Dozens?

Hundreds?

Or even more?

But a moment later, Mo Ning threw cold water on his own excitement.

’Secret Divination and Divination has existed for tens of thousands of years. Generation after generation of Wizards have come and gone. With their intelligence and mad obsession, they’ve probably already converted any related knowledge that could be turned into Spirit Seals. There might be some omissions, but they would be few and far between.’

Mo Ning took a deep breath, his mind calming down a bit. ’I should still have a chance to find things they missed using knowledge from my past life, but it’ll require patience and a much deeper foundation of knowledge.’

His Scale Pattern Pen moved quickly as he jotted down another sentence:

"A lot of the content from this class is very interesting. Perhaps I should make the Life Faction my primary learning objective."

This was laying the groundwork for the "future."

Majoring in one faction of Witchcraft while minoring in another was the choice of the vast majority of Wizards.

Stone Soul’s lecture continued:

"In year 112 of the New Era, Lord Sajia used Secret Divination and Divination to create a brand new First Level Witchcraft—the [Sage Heart Death Skill]."

"In year 114 of the New Era, Lord Sajia improved upon the [Sage Heart Death Skill], greatly simplifying its structure to create a Level Zero Witchcraft—the [Sage’s Heart Stopping Skill]."

"Extensive combat results proved that these two new types of Witchcraft were definitive weapons against Brutal Corpse Monsters."

The scene on the Light Curtain shifted once more.

Several shadowy figures, who looked like Apprentices, surrounded a roaring Brutal Corpse Monster.

They chanted Spells, and green rays of light shot from their fingertips, instantly striking the Brutal Corpse Monster.

Stone Soul’s voice echoed throughout the hall:

"Even an Apprentice, as long as they have mastered the [Sage’s Heart Stopping Skill], can cast it a few times on a Brutal Corpse Monster to make its spiritual heart stop beating permanently."

"The spiritual heart is the source of a Corpse Monster’s power. Once it stops beating, they become true corpses."

On the screen, the Brutal Corpse Monster’s body was bathed in green light. The green then quickly faded, and the monster fell completely still.

The light from the Light Curtain fell upon the faces of the newcomers, illuminating pairs of thoughtful eyes.

Mo Ning’s Ink Tube Pen moved quickly, leaving behind many terms related to "human body research."

Stone Soul’s lecture, though his tone was the furthest thing from passionate, this "illustrated" method was far more captivating than a dry lecture.

Furthermore, it was packed with so much substance that the information density was astonishing. The newcomers were unknowingly engrossed, almost completely losing track of time.

Three hours passed in what felt like an instant.

"Alright, that’s all for today’s lesson. In three days, there will be the second class on the *Epic of Witchcraft*. I will see you then."

Stone Soul’s closing words were like an invisible hand that "yanked" the newcomers out of the deep sea of knowledge.

A slight commotion broke out in the Lecture Hall.

Just like the Second Level Apprentice Lai Te, Stone Soul was so decisive and efficient he was almost cold.

His farewell was still hanging in the air.

"WHOOSH!"

Pale flames erupted, instantly engulfing his figure. In the blink of an eye, he had "burned" to ash.

At the same time, the flames in the braziers atop the surrounding stone pillars, which had been burning for a full three hours, dimmed visibly.

The newcomers’ chatter, like the buzzing of a swarm of bees, instantly filled the gradually dimming space.

"That was so hard!"

"I feel like the Knowledge of Divination taught in this class was even harder than the last one."

"I haven’t even fully understood the Knowledge of Divination from the Meditation Class, and now there are so many more new things I don’t get today."

"I feel like an idiot. This feeling is awful!"

Complaints became the dominant sentiment.

Young faces were etched with frustration and confusion.

The newcomers had assumed that since Stone Soul was just an Apprentice, the Knowledge of Divination he taught would be simpler.

But the reality was the exact opposite.

In the three-hour lesson, Stone Soul used a "cramming" method to explain over a hundred important Divination Formulas, along with their derivations and applications.

One after another, giving no one a chance to breathe.

Looking around the entire class, almost no one could keep up with Stone Soul’s pace.

"Almost" was the operative word, because Mo Ning was the sole exception.

The vast knowledge he had accumulated in the Royal Library was finally proving its worth in this class.

He even felt a little disdainful; when Stone Soul explained some of the Divination Formulas, his explanations were too superficial and lacked the depth of the Tree Spirit Wizard.

’These 3 Black Tower Points weren’t really worth it!’ Mo Ning thought to himself as he joined the crowd and stepped onto the first stair leading down the mountain.

Reina walked ahead of Mo Ning, her delicate brows twisted into knots.

The Dazed Girl, who prided herself on having "a bit of Divination Talent," was still crushed by the class’s difficulty.

Anya followed behind, gazing at Mo Ning’s back, her heart filled with admiration.

Whenever she encountered something in class she didn’t understand, the Noble Lady had secretly observed Mo Ning several times. Each time, all she saw was his calmness.

This was by no means a feigned calmness.

It was a nonchalance that radiated from his very bones, an air of "everything is under control."

More than once, she had also snuck a peek at the notes Mo Ning was writing. The Divination Formulas on his paper were, for the most part, completely different from hers.

Anya even wondered, ’Are we even in the same class?’

It clearly wasn’t that Mo Ning was taking notes incorrectly, but that the depth of his thinking far surpassed her own.

The Noble Lady followed behind Mo Ning. Seeing his figure disappear through the Secret Gate, a cunning smile suddenly appeared on her pretty face.

’I can ask Mo Ning for help again!’

She thought to herself with a bit of excitement, and her steps became a little lighter.

*****

「Deep within the Black Tower, inside the Observation Room.」

She had seen with her own eyes that during the three hours of Stone Soul’s lecture, what flowed from the tip of that boy’s pen was far more than simple "recording."

They were rare sparks of inspiration.

It was also a very rare talent—creativity.

For example, when Stone Soul was talking about the [Sage Heart Death Skill]—

Nasha saw Mo Ning’s pen pause, then quickly scribble a few ideas in the margins of his paper:

"Could I develop a Spirit Seal that forcibly interferes with the heart’s rhythm, causing a rapid increase in heart rate—tachycardia? It could eventually lead to the heart being overloaded, directly killing the enemy."

"The opposite of tachycardia is bradycardia. In this state, cardiac output is insufficient, and the body will become weak. Could another Spirit Seal be created to achieve this effect?"

"The muscle that maintains the heartbeat is called the myocardium. The myocardium is filled with blood vessels to supply energy. Is it possible to derive a Spirit Seal that can block these myocardial blood vessels, causing myocardial ischemia?"

Nasha took a light breath.

She vaguely knew that, historically, Wizards had indeed already developed related Life Element Spirit Seals for these three ideas.

But that wasn’t important. What was important was that the boy could think of these research directions himself, in an instant, just from listening to the lecture.

But what truly impressed her was the next idea:

"The blood pumped by the heart enters a vessel called the ’aorta.’ As far as I know, the vessel wall is divided into multiple layers. Could I create a Spirit Seal that secretly damages the arterial wall, allowing blood to flow into the space between layers—an ’aortic dissection’? It wouldn’t rupture immediately but would become a latent danger."

"When the target engages in strenuous activity or becomes emotionally agitated, the aortic dissection would suddenly rupture. This would be a lethal creation."

Nasha’s pupils contracted slightly.

This... she had never seen this in any ancient text.

She couldn’t help but shift her gaze to the other newcomers, especially the most outstanding "top performers"—Sitt, Phoebe, Vino, and the others.

During the lecture, they were indeed diligently taking notes.

Page after page, line after line, they filled stacks of scale pattern paper with beautiful Secret Spirit Text.

But in their minds, it was as if there was nothing called "Spiritual Light" operating at all.

Nasha watched the figure in the light sphere enter the Mysterious Secret Hall of the Quiet Forest and sighed with emotion. "Now *that* is talent!"