Scholar Eno

[...]

The requirement to become a scholar was mastery of three languages.

Wizard Script, Demon Tongue, and an ancient language from a lost civilization.

Back when Yin Ming was still a Corpse-Liberation Immortal, he had learned complete Wizard Script from Professor Romandy.

From Rednose the Quasit's inherited memories, he had learned the most orthodox Demon Tongue.

"As for—an ancient language from a lost civilization."

Since it was lost, that meant very few people knew it.

Few? How few could there be?—If only one person knew it, would that count?

Yin Ming decided to pass off Immortal Seal Script as an ancient language from a lost civilization.

As for why he did not use square, simplified Chinese characters?

Simple. They did not fit the requirements.

The scripts of supernatural civilizations, whether Wizard Script or Demon Tongue, were all crooked and twisting.

Writing carried the Dao. Scripts that originated from the Dao were, for the most part, unlikely to use straight lines.

Among heaven and earth, amid all creatures and phenomena, naturally formed straight line segments were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

"Let me make this clear beforehand. Certification requires four scholars to be present at the same time."

"If you succeed, you will become an official member of the Flame-Burners Association and receive 3,000 merit points every month."

"If you fail, you must pay 400 merit points, or four standard units of elemental crystals. Do you have any questions?" The old man with the bushy beard gave him a look, pushed up his glasses with his middle finger, and covered the slate with a white cloth.

"No questions!" Yin Ming nodded, indicating that he had no objections and they could begin.

"Ding ding..."

Within the Scholars' Building, the crisp chime of wind bells rippled through the air.

"Who? Which fools with a death wish dared apply for scholar certification at a time like this?" On the second floor, a student reading a book widened his eyes.

"Go watch the show! Someone actually dared barge in while Chairman Robert was guarding the gate. Which brave warrior is this?"

Very soon, three little old men about his age arrived, along with a large crowd of somewhat younger disciples, middle-aged and young alike, who gathered around to watch.

"..."

The Scholars' Building was closed for half a day.

Yin Ming was fairly proficient in both Wizard Script and Demon Tongue, passing the tests with ease.

Afterward, Yin Ming wrote out a passage in Immortal Seal Script—the writing inscribed on bronze vessels before Great Qin unified the realm, also known as Greater Seal Script or Bronze Script.

"Th-this... what script is this? Why have I never seen it before?"

Robert Kava, the old man with the white bushy beard, studied every character. They wound and curved, carrying the distinctive flavor of scripts evolved by supernatural civilizations.

Yet not a single scholar in the entire building had ever heard of or recognized the script Yin Ming had written. No inscriptions of a related type had ever been unearthed, either.

"Young man! Our Scholars' Building has collected the scripts of seventeen lost civilizations, with as many as 128 variant languages. Yet there is no Immortal Seal Script like the one you have written." A middle-aged scholar snorted coldly, mocking him with disdain.

"Life has limits, while knowledge has none. There is no need to feel inferior because of your own ignorance." Yin Ming lowered his eyes halfway, like a Buddha gazing down in pity, and comforted him softly.

"Pah! I mean I suspect that the lost civilization of 'Immortal Dao' you speak of does not exist at all."

"Young man, focus on studying one lost civilization's language. Stop always thinking about crooked paths and shortcuts."

"That's right. Not a single person here recognizes it. If you claim it exists, then show us proof that it exists."

The four old scholars remained silent as they studied it, but the scholar disciples watching nearby could not help stepping out to berate him.

"Me? Proof? Isn't certification the job of the four scholars present? Their learning is insufficient, they cannot verify it—so why should I provide proof and pay the bill for them?" Yin Ming sneered.

The moment those words came out, everyone flushed red, yet could not find any grounds to refute him.

"Well said! Even if we cannot prove it true, as long as we can prove it false, that will do!"

Robert Kava found no flaw in the script itself. He took a black leather book from the shelf, pushed up his glasses, and said, "Please use your so-called Immortal Seal Script to translate everything on this page."

A lone piece of evidence could not stand on its own, but writing could not exist alone either. It was born from civilization and continually refined alongside it. A script created from thin air by one person could not possibly cover every aspect; as long as they found a flaw, they could disprove it.

"What does this character mean?" Robert Kava wrote an Immortal Seal character and asked.

"'Sparrow.' It refers to a small bird and is used to translate the flower-kite bird in the text."

Times had changed. Immortal Seal Script clearly did not belong to any recent ancient ruin, so there could not possibly be identical animals. If Yin Ming could translate according to the facts, it would prove he had not fabricated it out of thin air.

"What does this character mean, then?"

Beside him, Stephen Simon, a capable old man with scattered gray-white hair, also wrote a seal character and asked.

"It is not a character! At least, not Immortal Seal Script."

Though its shape and style resembled Immortal Seal Script, it was a character fabricated out of thin air.

"Since it is the civilization of a ruin, there must be other unique things besides its distinctive writing, mustn't there?" Robert Kava paused before continuing his question.

"Of course! Seals and incantations are both characteristics of Immortal Seal civilization. It is simply that there are no cultivation methods, so one cannot use seals or incantations to invoke power." Yin Ming's fingers moved with extraordinary agility as he formed a Divine Official Seal one-handed and aimed it at Robert Kava.

"May I ask why these two Immortal Seal characters are half identical? Is there some inevitable connection between them?"

A brown-haired, grimy-faced scholar who had heard the news and rushed over stepped directly into the debate.

Yin Ming answered every question one by one, without the slightest flaw.

It had been genuine Immortal Seal Script from the start. It simply did not belong to this world, so in a sense, it did not count as fraud.

"..."

The sun set, and dusk fell.

In the underground city, the light dimmed along with it, while the Scholars' Building was rarely ablaze with lights.

Immortal Seal Script could not be disproven. In the end, Robert Kava and the other three scholars unanimously approved it, recognizing Immortal Seal Script as a rare ancient language of a lost civilization that had yet to be excavated or recorded.

"I hereby announce that Eno has officially become the 3,642nd scholar of the Ember school, as well as the thirty-fourth scholar currently remaining in the Ember Building. He shall enjoy treatment equivalent to that of an organization's First Circle wizard."

Only then did Yin Ming learn that Robert Kava was the chairman of the scholar faction. Both the scholar branch and this cylindrical building were called Ember.

"This works too?? Then why the hell study Alchemical Hook Script? Wouldn't it be enough to make up a new language!" an apprentice said indignantly.

"No artifacts bearing inscriptions have ever been unearthed, and there are no related documents. Even if it truly is an ancient lost script, how is it any different from a fake?" another apprentice muttered quietly.

"..."

Yin Ming did not care, nor did he mind those scholar disciples who were seething with resentment.

He walked out through the Scholars' Building's main entrance, a scholar's medal pinned to his chest, an identity nameplate in his hand, along with the key to a villa in the eastern outskirts of the underground city.

These were all the benefits and privileges he could enjoy within the Flame-Burners Association with the status of "scholar."

The issue of his identity and origins, which he had worried about most, had not even been asked about. Only a bucket would care about suddenly gaining a hole; a sieve would not care about such things.

"Finally, I have become an official member of the Flame-Burners Association. I can enjoy internal member benefits and exchange for products from ruins!"

Yin Ming took a deep breath and headed at once toward the exchange building not far away.

Compared to the library-like Scholars' Building, the logistics department was brightly lit by crystal lamps. The floor was paved with a layer of pristine white stone, while only a small number of samples were displayed on exquisite shelves, giving the place an extravagant, high-end air.

"This... newly promoted scholar, may I ask how I should address you? I am Anthony Silvercoin. How may I assist you?"

The instant he stepped through the door, a round-bodied middle-aged man with two small mustaches and a silver fur coat warmly came forward. With an attitude that treated customers like gods, it was no wonder the place was decorated far better than the Ember Building.

"Eno. I want to exchange for items produced from the last wizard ruin?"

As Yin Ming spoke, he surveyed the goods on the shelves: flintlock muskets, Alchemical Bombs, Bloodline Potions, Life Potions, meditation methods, wizardry...