Absorption

"...I understand. I'll send it over right away."

After closing the communication, Jane's expression turned somewhat serious. She first took two Earth Magic Cores from her Spatial Bag to complete the transaction with Xuan Ye, then tied the scroll to a small Puppet Bird and released it out the window.

Fiddling with the Magic Cores in his hand while watching the departing Puppet Bird, Xuan Ye's eyes brimmed with a desire to probe deeper.

Puppetry is truly practical. Not to mention Ian's skeletal frame with its formidable combat ability, even this tiny bird sufficed for communication. If he could master spells like 'Soul Link' or 'Mage's Eye,' he could even use it for reconnaissance and early warning.

Unfortunately, most of the materials he had were only basic apprentice-level knowledge. His specialization was limited to introductory alchemy and herbal identification—puppetry was nowhere to be found.

"Sigh, we can only do this much. The rest needs to be handled by the teachers."

Jane sat back down on the sofa, her face still carrying a hint of gravity.

"Haha, why dwell on it? It's rare we have a new Advanced Apprentice here, and there are already four of us present. Why not hold a Discussion Meeting? Since he's also interested in Dragon Language Magic, I think we'll have plenty in common."

Compared to Jane's worry, Blade, whose voice seemed capable of shaking the small wooden cabin, appeared rather carefree. Hadn't Jane already said this wasn't something apprentices should concern themselves with? So why overthink it?

Having already completed the main purpose of entering the city, Xuan Ye had been planning to find a place to break through to Ninth Grade Apprentice. But upon hearing the burly man's words, his mind stirred.

Magic wasn't something one could perfect by working in isolation. Right now, aside from some basic knowledge, he knew nothing. With such an environment available, he might as well linger for a while. After all, he had provided such a crucial scroll—surely they wouldn't object.

"A Discussion Meeting? I'm in favor. Lit is still here, right? Call him over too, and the other apprentices can sit in and listen..."

On the other side, Ian had already begun discussing the details of the exchange meeting with Blade.

Over the next half hour, several apprentices filed into Jane's small cabin one after another. Aside from the handsome young man named Lit, who was an Advanced Apprentice, the rest were Intermediate Apprentices ranging from Fourth to Sixth Grade.

Having listened on the sidelines, Xuan Ye understood that these Intermediate Apprentices were only there to broaden their horizons and observe. They generally wouldn't participate in discussions or ask questions unless they raised their hands to gain permission first.

Even such a minor rule revealed a clear internal hierarchy, where everything was determined by one's own strength. Not even the older Intermediate Apprentices were exceptions.

"Everyone here is familiar with each other except for the one beside me. Let me introduce this magical genius, Night. He's already an Advanced Apprentice before the age of twenty and is preparing materials for the ritual to become a full-fledged Mage—it's only a matter of time. With a newcomer among us, it's a good chance to gather. We can share recent discoveries and insights. How about it, Night? Want to say a few words first?"

Ian was relatively lively, lacking Jane's rigidity and Blade's booming voice. He was the perfect host. After a brief introduction, he turned the conversation to Xuan Ye.

Acknowledging the courtesy, Xuan Ye nodded and said with sincerity, "I've been exposed to magic for a shorter time than all of you. While my meditation talent is decent, my knowledge reserve is far inferior to everyone here. I hope you won't hesitate to offer guidance. 'When three walk together, there is always a teacher.' I believe this discussion will bring gains to us all."

"'When three walk together, there is always a teacher'? Hmm, well said! Simple and easy to understand, yet containing profound truth. This single phrase alone shows your limitless potential. It's the very foundation of a mage's thirst for knowledge. Haha, with just this line, this exchange meeting has already been worthwhile."

Lit, the last Advanced Apprentice to join, spoke up in strong agreement after Xuan Ye finished. The more he pondered it, the deeper the meaning seemed. He couldn't fathom how such a life-experience summary could come from someone younger than himself.

Xuan Ye felt greatly pleased, but also a rare twinge of embarrassment. He had casually borrowed Confucius's words. Even though Earth lacked magic and martial arts, this was still a sage's saying that encapsulated life's truths.

With such an impressive opening, Xuan Ye successfully crafted an image of profound depth in everyone's eyes. Even when he spoke little during the subsequent exchange, no one attributed it to a lack of ability.

Well, the truth was that he indeed lacked the ability, which was why he spoke little. He was fully engaged, absorbing the knowledge from the exchange with an open mind, only speaking when he was absolutely certain his understanding aligned with the basics he had learned earlier.

Thus, every time he spoke, it was accurate and thought-provoking. As someone from Earth's internet-explosion era, his divergent thinking and creativity far exceeded the locals'.

With the support of the Soul Database, though Xuan Ye's foundational level was still lacking, his perspective was one of an overarching overview. Whenever he identified a problem, his insights and viewpoints inevitably amazed the apprentices present.

He was both frantically organizing his knowledge and dazzling everyone. Seeing the convinced and admiring gazes, even Xuan Ye felt a rare blush of embarrassment.

Thanks to the strong first impression and his stellar performance at the first exchange meeting, when Xuan Ye later proposed staying for a while, all the apprentices readily agreed and welcomed him.

Given the prior agreement and the crucial scroll he had provided, no one objected to his request to browse some non-core collections.

Roland's insights and research on puppetry and barriers were certainly off-limits to outsiders, or would require equivalent items or knowledge in exchange. But as a Six-Star Mage at the peak of the Professional Rank, Roland had plenty of other materials and books.

Many less important ones had copied versions among the apprentices, and Xuan Ye unceremoniously dove into them.

The following days were exceptionally fulfilling. By day, he immersed himself in the sea of books, absorbing and storing everything—whether he understood it or not—into the Soul Database. By night, he meditated, and every few days, he attended exchange meetings to digest and organize new knowledge.

Privately, he also secretly practiced Elvish and Dragon language pronunciation with Ian, his roommate, using the excuse that he had only planned to accumulate knowledge at the apprentice level without casting corresponding spells, but now couldn't return to his mentor and wanted to learn a bit.

Given his impressive performance at the exchange meetings, Ian suspected nothing and taught him earnestly...

In Blade's 'big' wooden cabin, Xuan Ye leaned against the wall, holding a thick, yellowed book with a cracked cover. Running his finger along a line of text on the middle page, he murmured to himself, "...The Bronze Dragon Race, the most mysterious of the five dragon lineages, never participated in the wars of gods or races, and never appeared during the calamity invasion. Known only by name with no historical records, rumored to possess the power to grasp the past and future, but bound by limitations..."

Grasp the past and future, huh. Bronze Dragon. Muttering to himself, Xuan Ye unconsciously put down the book and touched the strange mark on the back of his left hand.

Dragon Envoy! A high-ranking dragon grants this to a mortal to walk the mortal world on their behalf. Since the High Elves revitalized the ancient world and nurtured the races, Dragon Envoys have become rare. The last recorded human Dragon Envoy was in New Era 4841, over twelve hundred years ago. Back then, a young Red Dragon accidentally left the Dragon Domain and arrived in Reizel, mistaken for an exiled juvenile who had committed a grave sin, drawing the covetous eyes of many powerful beings across Reizel's races.

That Dragon Envoy stepped in to save it and signed a contract, becoming the legendary human Dragon Knight, Harman. Kenze. For rescuing the young dragon, he was granted the status of Dragon Envoy.

According to legend, Dragon Envoys hold a status equivalent to Divine Envoys, possessing some unknown rights and qualifications.

"Tch, doesn't seem like a bad thing, but it's not exactly good either. 'Unknown rights and qualifications'—what the hell is that? Give me something practical. So now I have an unknown boss, and that boss is some high-ranking Bronze Dragon?"

Tapping the book cover with his fingers, Xuan Ye felt a strange sense of unease. Whether Dragon Envoys were truly as rare as the book claimed was anyone's guess. Wasn't he himself an unrecorded Dragon Envoy? The one recorded was just too famous. Well, he'd take it one step at a time.

And why did 'Dragon Envoy' sound so awkward? Even though the pronunciation in Reizel's common tongue was different, Xuan Ye's internal thoughts were still in his native language. The word 'envoy' really...

What gave him a glimmer of hope was that the Bronze Dragons, whose mastery over time and space surpassed even the gods, might hold the key to finding a way home...

Thanks to Nightglow Spreading, Jidao Wuyu, Feng yu Hua, lhh857, Moduan zhi Qiu, and other readers for their tips~

Uh, only one chapter today again.