She Was Merely an Accident

"Is he Lord Dendall, the Magic God? He looks so young. Isn't he rumored to be over two hundred years old?"

"I never thought I'd get to see Lord Dendall today. If Jadson finds out, he'll regret it so much he'll beat his chest in despair!"

"Tsk tsk, this kid is done for!"

"Serves him right! He dared insult a Magic Apprentice, and Lord Dendall's student at that. Even hanging him would be too good for him!"

Whispers rose from the corner of the tavern.

Some were thrilled to have seen Dendall, the Magic God.

Others mocked Yu Sheng'an for overestimating himself. As a lowly commoner, daring to provoke a Magic Apprentice was simply courting death. He had no one to blame but himself! "Outrageous! Have you mastered Wind Blast yet? You haven't, and you still dare come to a tavern for drinks? Get out. This isn't a place you can stay!"

Faced with his grandniece's complaint, Dendall, the Magic God, frowned and began to reprimand her.

The tavern patrons were stunned.

The next moment, blazing light erupted in countless eyes. As expected of one of the Four Pillars of the Empire—truly fair and upright! "Grandpa Dendall..." Dorothy stared in disbelief. Her little mouth puckered, and tears seemed ready to fall as she put on a pitiful expression.

"Enough. Stop pretending!" The mocking voice made everyone's expressions change dramatically.

Behind the gradually fading Rock Barrier, Yu Sheng'an looked at Dendall with a sneer.

"Look! Look! Grandpa Dendall, look how arrogant he is..."

Delighted, Dorothy pointed at Yu Sheng'an and hurriedly cried out.

"Shut up!"

Dendall's furious rebuke pierced the soul like a Banshee's Wail, making countless faces turn pale. Those with frail constitutions even bled from the corners of their mouths.

Dorothy shuddered, all color draining from her face.

Dendall looked at Yu Sheng'an, his expression somewhat unsightly as he placed his right hand over his chest. "My deepest apologies. Felix's student has made a fool of herself before you."

Dendall's hand-over-heart salute threw the tavern into an uproar! What sort of person could make a Magic God offer a respectful salute?

Desova froze!

He stared blankly at Yu Sheng'an, unable to imagine that this freeloader could actually make a Magic God greet him with such courtesy! Dorothy's eyes widened, her delicate face filled with disbelief and terror.

She simply could not believe that the person she had used as a punching bag was actually a great figure she could never afford to offend! The Magic Apprentices who had come with her were even more dumbfounded.

They looked at Dendall, the Magic God, then at Desova, while countless speculations raced through their minds.

"Made a fool of herself?"

Yu Sheng'an smiled and said meaningfully:

"I find one thing strange. Since you knew the time and place, why didn't you seal this place off? Even if you chose not to, shouldn't you at least have kept a close watch on everything happening here?"

Yu Sheng'an was not some lower-class native of this world who would make the ridiculous assumption that an emperor used golden hoes.

Though poverty had limited his imagination, Blue Star's advanced Internet had still given him a glimpse into the lives of the upper class.

By that logic, before meeting him, shouldn't the Kevil Empire have torn Mage's Hat apart to inspect it, closely monitored everyone entering and leaving, or even directly sent people in to act out the whole scene? Yet at Mage's Hat, he had found almost no signs of human interference.

Only now did Yu Sheng'an finally realize something. He pointed it out. "Are you trying to show me the confidence of a great power?"

The confidence of a great power?

What an accurate phrase! Dendall inwardly praised him, but his mood sank slightly. Seeing one spot revealed the whole leopard—the God of the Internet was even more troublesome than he had imagined! "No, it is a gesture of goodwill," Dendall said.

Negotiation was an art. Naturally, he knew what sort of stance would better serve the negotiations.

Not interfering with Mage's Hat in any way was a gesture of goodwill. On a deeper level, it was also a form of confidence! He knew well that the more insecure a person was, the more they liked to use cumbersome formalities to flaunt themselves.

"Including this Magic Apprentice?" Yu Sheng'an looked at Dorothy.

Dorothy's face went deathly pale. No matter how foolish she was, she could tell from their conversation that Yu Sheng'an's identity was anything but ordinary.

"She was merely an accident." From beginning to end, Dendall never mentioned Yu Sheng'an's identity as the God of the Internet.

This was the Capital City of the Kevil Empire, a nation of magic. Letting the public know they were in contact with the God of the Internet would not be good.

Yu Sheng'an glanced at Dorothy, then turned and walked toward the bar.

Dendall immediately followed close behind. As he brushed past Dorothy, the look in his eyes sent a chill through her body, and sweat poured from her like rain.

She realized... she had caused trouble! Enormous trouble!

At the bar, Yu Sheng'an held half a glass of unfinished Warrior's Blood.

Like an Old Mercenary weathered by countless hardships, Dendall ordered a Bloody Mary. The two sat side by side, looking toward the inside of the bar as they casually picked a topic and began chatting.

After serving the Bloody Mary, the bartender, who claimed to be a Magic Apprentice, stood trembling off to the side. He did not know where to put his hands and could only wipe the same glass over and over.

"You are not a god of the Aizeya Continent, are you?"

"That's right."

"May I ask where you come from? In my younger years, I enjoyed traveling and sightseeing. I have visited quite a few planes. Perhaps I have even been to your homeland."

"Azure Star. Seventy percent of it is blue ocean. Have you ever been there?"

Yu Sheng'an looked at Dendall with a trace of expectation.

"No. The multiverse truly is boundless!" Dendall shook his head, inwardly exclaiming that Yu Sheng'an truly was an Outer God!

"May I ask what your purpose is in spreading Internet Divine Art?"

Yu Sheng'an drained the Warrior's Blood in his glass. "If you have something to say, say it directly!"

After a brief silence, Dendall said, "The Kevil Empire was founded upon magic. Your Internet has already touched the foundation of our Empire. I hope you can shut down the Online Course. In compensation, we can allow you to spread Divine Art throughout the Empire."

"I don't need your permission. If you have the ability, then ban it across the whole country!"

"Crack—"

A faint sound of glass cracking came from Dendall's wineglass.

That tiny sound was so piercing in the tavern! By now, the tavern had long since fallen silent.

No one spoke, and no one left. Everyone pretended to drink casually while straining their ears to hear a conversation they could not possibly make out. The bolder ones occasionally stole a glance before hurriedly lowering their heads again, their hearts pounding with the nervous feeling that they were witnessing history!

In truth, they were witnessing history.

"Shut down the Magic Section of the Online Course. That is the Empire's final bottom line!" Dendall's voice was calm, his magic as deep as an abyss.

Yu Sheng'an turned to look at Dendall, then suddenly smiled. "What is the origin of magic?"

Dendall was taken aback, only to hear Yu Sheng'an continue on his own. "The books say that when heaven and earth were first born, humans were as frail as insects, barely surviving in forgotten corners while death's shadow hung over them at every moment. Then great figures emerged. They studied Beast Runes and tested magic upon their own bodies. In the end, they learned the Myriad Beast Magic Rune and forged the path of magic."

Yu Sheng'an paused. "I don't understand. Where has that spirit of learning gone among you mages? Because you have never seen the Internet before, you instinctively reject it? Aren't you afraid it is a new magical beast—that if you do not study it, it will devour you instead?"

Dendall's entire body shook. After a long while, he said, "I think God of Cunning would be a more fitting title for you!"

Yu Sheng'an did not care about Dendall's mockery. He sighed. "I don't understand what you are worried about. You think I've touched the foundation of your magic? In fact, it is precisely the opposite. I believe I am helping you."

"Look at the Kevil Empire. It claims to be founded upon magic, but how many people can actually practice magic? Yet with the Internet, things will be different. Then, everyone will be able to practice magic. Do you know what that means?"

Just as Yu Sheng'an was about to answer his own question, Dendall's expression changed drastically. He snapped, "It means chaos and war!"

"Everyone wants power, but magical resources are limited. To seize those limited resources, they will only fight one another. They will also refuse to obey authority, challenge the Empire's rule, and perhaps even establish an Internet Cult under your instigation!"

Yu Sheng'an stared at Dendall in astonishment, utterly baffled. Then he could not help but burst into laughter.

He finally understood what the Kevil Empire was worried about.