The Vanishing Memory

"Oh wow, five 'Talent Runes,' haha, I really am a genius."

When Xuan Ye woke up, because he had branded five 'Bright Eyes' runes at once, even in the pitch-black stone cave, opening his eyes felt like he was going blind. The faint slivers of light that occasionally seeped through the cracks were as blinding as flash grenades.

It seemed he'd need some time to adjust. He appeared completely oblivious to the fact that his own meddlesome, foolish actions had led to this forced outcome. And even stranger...

He seemed to have entirely lost the memory of that peculiar experience after the rune carving!

Though he himself had completely forgotten the relevant events, as he leaned on his Soul Database to review the process of carving the runes, intending to use it as a reference for the future, an unfamiliar scene began to surface before his eyes.

It left him utterly bewildered.

"Wha—what's going on? The perspective in the scene is mine, right? A memory fragment from the original owner? No way! I clearly dug that stone with my own hands!"

Staring at the completely unfamiliar scene, with not a single shred of recollection about it, Xuan Ye was truly stunned for a moment.

A memory-erasing spell?

Not quite. And he had some understanding of the quirky nature of that bizarre database inside him—it wouldn't record random, fragmented data unless he actively stuffed it in. The only things it logged on its own were the vast, natural forces from that time he crossed over.

Yet this scene before him was recorded in full, without a single detail missing!

It was like how he had no memory of drifting through the cosmos during that crossing—his soul and memory couldn't handle that massive data stream, only able to pull bits from the Soul Database when needed.

For a database that had witnessed the birth and death of stars and the truths of the universe to actively record such an ordinary-looking conversation in its entirety, while he himself had forgotten it all...

Did this mean that the experience and memories of that encounter were also beyond what his current soul could bear?

The scene looked so mundane, though. Maybe there was some reason he couldn't grasp yet.

Was something targeting him now? And it had left a mark on him.

Dragon Envoy?

What the hell?

Raising his hand, he looked at the back of it. The clean, simple rune, like a tattoo, lacked the intricate complexity of magical runes. It looked ordinary, with no special feeling to it. He had no idea if this was a blessing or a curse.

Letting out a sigh of mixed feelings, Xuan Ye decided to put these thoughts aside for now. Given the power the other party had displayed in that scene, if they wanted to harm him, they could probably do it with a mere thought. Since he couldn't fight back, he might as well just enjoy—cough, accept it.

He was probably being treated as a pet or a lab rat for amusement. What a mess. Dragon Clan, huh.

With that thought, he pulled out Dean's Dragon Language Primer. Even though reading a book alone wouldn't teach him proper pronunciation, at least he could start learning to recognize and write the characters.

For now, his physical body had already condensed its first Professional Core, and because the breakthrough had been too rushed, he needed to stabilize it properly. He could slow down a bit on that front. Now that things had settled, it was time to prioritize his spiritual cultivation.

And so, having holed up in the cave, he fully embraced his hermit nature. Aside from coming out to eat, drink, and relieve himself, he buried himself in the ocean of knowledge, channeling all his obsessive research spirit.

During the day, he absorbed knowledge relentlessly. When he got tired, he meditated. From time to time, he extracted parameters from the Soul Database to verify and compare.

It was as if he'd transformed from a slacker into a top student. With the massive data support from the Soul Database, Xuan Ye's entry into magical learning was remarkably fast. For many magical runes, formations, and circuit calculations, he could simulate rough outlines using the vast data, skipping many experimental steps.

Of course, since he hadn't actually used any of it, precise results would only come with practice. For now, he was just filling in the broad strokes, sketching the contours of various systems and routines.

But even with such an unparalleled advantage, digesting the books Dean had left behind—those suitable for a magic apprentice—still took him a full two and a half months!

During those two and a half months, on the physical side, he only used breathing techniques to stabilize his foundation and make up for the hidden dangers of the forced breakthrough. With the stabilizing aid of the five Talent Runes on his Professional Core, he smoothed the energy within him as still as dead water, achieving an astonishing level of control.

On the spiritual side, two months of constantly draining his mind by absorbing knowledge, then recovering through improved Basic Meditation, had pushed him from the level of a third-level magic apprentice all the way to a seventh-level apprentice!

If the deceased Dean had known this speed, he'd probably have crawled out of the sand in shock. Was this level of soul activity really not that of a pure spirit body? Even High Elves weren't this ridiculous!

And this was achieved after he had already condensed a physical core first!

Because of the conflict between magic and martial arts, condensing one type of core first would greatly slow down cultivation in the other!

But Xuan Ye didn't know all this. That didn't stop him from feeling pretty good about his progress, though.

After tossing the last guide, "Comparative Analysis of Self-Use Guidance Scrolls and Trigger Spell Scroll Characteristics," into his Spatial Bag, Xuan Ye couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.

No wonder so few people truly pursued Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts. Mages required such a massive knowledge base. And this was just the apprentice level! With his cheat, it had still taken him two and a half months to chew through these basics. Who knew how long it would take to apply them flexibly?

No wonder they said the weakest among the same profession was a mage, and the strongest was also a mage!

That referred to those who had the realm but didn't know how to use it, right.

No wonder a talent as monstrous as the deceased Aitiya, who had fully opened the Light Star Palace and condensed her core, was still weaker in spell combat than Dean, who hadn't condensed his core.

She mainly provided blessings and auras, or coordinated with Combat Skills.

But Dean, just an apprentice, had fully mastered the knowledge and power available at the apprentice level. With enough casting materials, he had unleashed that devastating attack spell.

Now that Xuan Ye had reached the spiritual level of a seventh-level apprentice, he still had two-plus portions of the 'Chain Fireball' casting materials left in Dean's old bag. But he had no confidence in using them properly.

The main issue was his lack of mastery over Guidance Scrolls. From the books he'd just read, he learned that Guidance Scrolls were magical items used by mages to cast spells beyond their ability or those they found hard to control. They were quite different from Trigger Scrolls, which any profession could tear and use.

Each type of Guidance Scroll required a unique technique to activate. Unfortunately, his Spatial Bag contained no instructions for these scrolls—probably because they involved his mentor's casting secrets, passed down orally.

Xuan Ye had tried to crack them but found no method.

Out of curiosity, though, he had managed to figure out a few minor spells he could use, like the Flash Spell.

Having reached the seventh-level apprentice stage, now a High-level Magic Apprentice, Xuan Ye had gained a new understanding of magic's essence and nature. He was no longer an outsider just looking at the spectacle.

Because he was now on the path to opening his first Earth Star Palace. The six elemental Star Palaces didn't mean mastering one gave control over one element. From the apprentice level onward, as long as one could grasp the complex spell models, they could cast spells from all six elements. The Star Palaces mainly provided a boost to a single element.

For example, increasing power, reducing or even eliminating the need for casting materials, shortening incantations or enabling instant casting, or having the Star Palace projection automatically outline the spell model for that element.

When Dean used that carpet-bombing spell, he hadn't just used all the materials—he'd also worked with both hands and mouth, chanting while tracing the model in the air with his fingers. If he had reached the level of a formal mage and opened his Fire Star Palace, he could have used the Star Palace projection to speed up the model's construction.

Xuan Ye was quite envious of such flashy spells, but unfortunately, when choosing his first Star Palace, he instinctively followed the path his sorry excuse of a father had hinted at—the Earth Star Palace—to prepare for becoming a 'Barrier Master.'

Thinking of this, Xuan Ye could only swallow his tears. Who told him he had a Bloodline Power that placed such a heavy burden on his body? Still, having inscribed five 'Bright Eyes' Talent Runes, he was a bit curious about how much they would boost his Eyes of Lawbreaking.

For now, he could only take it one step at a time. Hmph, a Barrier Master would never stop him—what difference would there be between being stopped by some mere Barrier Master and being a salted fish?

The book title has been changed from "Eyes of Lawbreaking" to "Eye of Lawbreaking." Saying more would just bring tears. This is the fourth book, and every first title has been shot down. If the collection and recommendation numbers were bad, it might be a quality issue, but poor click-through can only be blamed on the title. I'm hopeless at naming things. ORZ

Also, thanks to Nightglow Spreading, Huo Wan Fang Xin, Ka Ka Geng Jian, and several other readers for their tips. It seems a few readers got buried in the list and I didn't see them—thank you to all readers for any and all forms of support!!