Speculation (Part 1)

If Fran were here, she would be astonished, for even Tristan, the Proxy of the Deity, bowed and addressed this mage as 'mentor'.

It's one thing for the other mages here to call this red-robed man their mentor, but why does he, the Proxy of the Deity, who is clearly not a mage, also address him that way...?

Charles pulled back his hood, his gentle gaze sweeping over the crowd. His gaze lingered on Ophelia for a moment, but ultimately settled on Tristan.

"I want to apologize to you..."

Charles's words startled everyone present, but they quickly calmed down.

"I'm sorry, at the beginning, I didn't believe you at all. I didn't believe you could actually find an Proxy who wasn't afraid of those three Deity, and that the Deity behind her even agreed..."

"You have solved a problem that has plagued our School for over a century: what we want is right in front of us, but we just can't cross that boundary."

Charles paused, then tapped the table and said slowly:

"Tristan, you've contributed the most to this, and you were the one who spearheaded it."

"As a reward, although you are now the Proxy of the Star-Engraved Turtle, there is almost no room for advancement on your Profession path..."

"However, the Alliance will not fail those who have made contributions. Your family can ascend to the central area of Floating City and become a Mage Family that can live there for generations..."

Tristan's body trembled twice, but he regained his composure under his powerful control.

"Thank you, mentor..."

Then, Tristan added:

"But mentor, now is not the time to celebrate. We haven't signed the contract yet, and we haven't confirmed who's behind her..."

Charles chuckled softly.

"No need, Tristan. You may not have noticed, but I clearly saw it. Within that Proxy, there resides the consciousness of that Deity."

"Although I don't know the content of their conversation, I do know that she communicates with the consciousness of the Deity every time she encounters a problem..."

"We can look forward to that moment in three days..."

After Charles uttered those words, all the monks present smiled, knowing what they were doing.

If this matter can be successfully accomplished, not only them, but also the Mage Family behind them will reap benefits far beyond their expectations.

In their excitement, they couldn't help but turn their attention to Tristan, the Proxy of the Star-Engraved Turtle.

Even now, they admire each other's courage, because the other dared to give up his future as a mage to become a divine agent.

Tristan showed a strong Talent for Astrology School even as an apprentice, and was taken under Charles's wing.

For these Astrology School sorcerers, it was almost easy to get a fairly accurate answer regarding the Talent of their apprentices.

Therefore, if they want to take on disciples, they will begin the apprenticeship process directly, and some will even accept commoners who have not yet received any formal training as Dharma masters...

After Tristan became Charles's student, he learned that the Astrology School had been trying to conquer a certain realm of the Spirit Realm for nearly a century...

He sensed an opportunity and made a decision that shocked even Charles: to go to the Spirit Realm and become Proxy of a certain Deity.

Tristan concealed his mage abilities, only revealing his astrological Talent during an apprentice-level Trial.

Ultimately, he was successfully chosen by the Star-Engraved Turtle and became its Proxy.

After that, he revealed his true purpose: to request the Star-Engraved Turtle to participate in the Alliance's cooperation...

He even proposed using three provinces of the Alliance as missionary sites for the Star-Engraved Turtle, a tempting offer even greater than the conditions he had offered to win over Fran.

However, the situation was somewhat different from what he had imagined. After hearing his words, the Star-Engraved Turtle simply uttered a nonsensical remark and then ignored him.

"Damn the Stars, you've deceived me..."

After that, no matter how Tristan called out to him, the Star-Engraved Turtle no longer responded.

Tristan was dealt an unprecedented blow at that moment, because he could no longer return to the path of a mage.

However, he was unable to pursue the path of Proxy of the Deity because the Star-Engraved Turtle ignored him...

During this period, many of the Mage Family he had won over dispersed and no longer had faith in him.

Because of his outrageous behavior, some monks admired his boldness, but after his failure, most of them left him.

When news of the Lord of Radiance's attack on the Emerald Market spread throughout the Spirit Realm, Tristan realized this was an opportunity and began searching for Fran again.

However, it must be said that the protection of the Radiance Domain Radiance Domain was extremely strong. He searched for an unknown amount of time but couldn't even get a glimpse of it.

Then, the Star-Engraved Turtle suddenly sent a message, asking him to participate in the Trial of the Sun, to stop the Trial from taking place, in an attempt to ease the tension between them...

"I trust the Stars one more time. They believe sending you in is the best option. If you do well, we can communicate."

That's what the Turtle of the Stars said to him at that time.

It has to be said that at that time, he was already at a low point, and no matter which way he went, it would be upward. The message from the Turtle of the Stars was a good path for him.

At the time, he had only intended to become Proxy of the Turtle of the Stars; given the family's strength, they could surely push him to the second tier...

However, when he learned that the Proxy of the Lord of Radiance would also participate in this Trial, he couldn't sit still anymore, and that feeling of resentment welled up in his heart again.

He received the news three days before the Trial began, and after careful consideration, he ultimately decided to take the gamble.

So he immediately began spreading his theory to other Mage Family: if another Deity conquered that place, they could obtain...

However, due to his previous failure and the fact that this time the time was relatively short, in the end, he only managed to fool a few First Order Mage colleagues with family backgrounds.

Before this, the things promised to Fran were provided jointly by the Mage Family behind him and the Mage Family behind other mages.

To be honest, when he finally tallied up the conditions he had promised Fran, he felt they were somewhat meager.

After all, he knew that what these Deity needed most were believers, especially those Deity who didn't have much power in the Material Realm.

This time, because the support he secured wasn't as strong as before, he couldn't even conquer a single province...

In the end, if it weren't for his quick thinking and contacting a project in the Alliance that required a large amount of Spirit Crystal, he wouldn't have been able to secure an exchange of one million Gold Coin.

Otherwise, in the end, he might only be able to offer some unrealistic conditions.

But things went so smoothly afterward that he began to wonder if it was all an illusion.

Charles believed him and took the time to verify the story.

The other party showed no sign of giving up during the negotiations; he even planned to tell some little lies and promise some land within the Alliance for missionary work...

Tristan didn't know was that if he promised Fran the land in the Fran the Alliance for missionary work, Fran would doubt his motives and might even refuse the cooperation...

But in the end, it succeeded, or rather, it came very close to success.

Ophelia nodded, then asked, as if with some curiosity:

"Mentor, since you were there just now, were you able to discern the other party's origin and location in the Material Realm?"

Everyone present looked at her in surprise, forcing Ophelia to explain:

"I know we can't afford to cause any trouble at this time, I'm just curious whether the Deity's Proxy could use Astrology School magic to..."

Ophelia asked out of curiosity at that moment. Unlike Tristan, she was, after all, a mage and was curious about everything.

Her question was more like an apprentice asking their mentor; they were discussing magical techniques, not actually trying to do anything to Fran.

From the moment she met Fran, or rather, from the moment she met any other Proxy besides Tristan, she had been curious.

These Proxy seemed shrouded in mist in her vision.

If a normal person is like a Stone Tablet waiting to be revealed in front of Ophelia, then as long as Ophelia can find out the relevant information, she can understand everything about the other person.

But with these Proxy, she felt a strange sense of powerlessness, a feeling that she couldn't fully utilize.

As for Tristan, she knew him far too well. Ophelia had his information on her desk for six months, and she could even find out that he graduated from the Basic Education Academy.

Charles smiled slightly. If Tristan was one of his more appreciated disciples, then Ophelia was his most promising one.

The other person has a truly exceptional Talent in Astrology School, and given their background, Ophelia is very likely to become a member of the Astrology School in the future.

"It's normal for you to encounter this, because the Deity come from the Stars, and their Proxy naturally inherit some of their characteristics."

"Typical Proxy may present some obstacles when we seek information, but only some."

"In this situation, if your Order is higher than the other party's, there's a high probability you can discover their information..."

"So, mentor, did you find out anything?" Ophelia asked curiously.

Charles did not answer immediately, but paused for a moment and gave a meaningful smile.

"I could do it, but I wouldn't choose to do it."