Eno the Scholar

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 had still been a Corpse-Liberation Immortal, he had learned the complete Wizard Script from Professor Romandy.

From Red Nose 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, did that still count?

Yin Ming decided to pass off Celestial Seal Script as an ancient language from a Lost Civilization.

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

Simple. They did not meet the requirements.

The writing of transcendent civilizations, whether Wizard Script or Demon Tongue, was all twisted and winding.

Writing carried the Dao. Scripts that originated from the Dao were mostly incapable of using straight lines.

Among heaven and earth, all things and all living beings, naturally formed straight line segments were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

"I should explain beforehand: four scholars must be present for the certification."

"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-unit Element Crystals. Do you have any questions?" The bearded old man gave him a look, pushed up his glasses with his middle finger, and covered the stone slab with a white cloth.

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

"Ding ding..."

The Scholar Building's crisp wind chimes swayed softly.

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

"Hurry and watch the show! Someone actually dared charge past Chairman Robert Kava, who was guarding the gate. Which warrior is this?"

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

"..."

The Scholar 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 Celestial Seal Script—the writing carved onto 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?"

The white-bearded old man, Robert Kava, examined every character. They twisted and curled, bearing the distinctive charm of writing evolved by transcendent 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 similar type had ever been excavated, either.

"Young man! Our Scholar Building has collected the scripts of seventeen Lost Civilizations, with as many as 128 variant languages. There is no Celestial Seal Script among them." A middle-aged scholar snorted coldly, mocking him with disdain.

"Life has its limits, yet knowledge has none. There is no need to feel inferior because of your own ignorance." Yin Ming lowered his eyes halfway, as though a Buddha looking down in pity, and offered gentle consolation.

"Pah! I'm saying I suspect the Lost Civilization called 'Immortal Path' that you mentioned does not exist at all."

"Young man, focus on learning one Lost Civilization's language. Stop always thinking about crooked paths and shortcuts."

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

The four old scholars said nothing as they studied it, but the scholar disciples watching from all around could not resist stepping forward to berate him.

"Me? Proof? Isn't certification the work of the four scholars present? Their knowledge is insufficient? They cannot verify it? Why should I provide evidence and pay the price for them?" Yin Ming sneered.

The moment those words fell, everyone flushed red to the ears, yet could not find any grounds to refute him.

"Well said! Though we have no way to prove it true, as long as we can prove it false, that will do!"

Unable to find any flaw in the script itself, Robert Kava took a black leather-bound book from the shelf and pushed up his glasses. "Please use your so-called Celestial Seal Script to translate everything on this page."

A single piece of evidence could not stand alone. Writing could not exist independently either; it was born from civilization and continually refined through it. A script invented from thin air by one person could never cover every aspect. As long as they found a flaw, they could disprove it.

"What does this character mean?" Robert Kava wrote a Celestial Seal character and asked.

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

As times changed and generations shifted, Celestial Seal Script clearly did not come from recent ancient ruins, so there would be no identical animals. If Yin Ming could translate according to the facts, it would prove it had not been fabricated from thin air.

"And what does this character mean?"

Beside him, Stephen Simon, a sharp old man with scattered gray hair, also wrote out a seal character and asked.

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

Though its shape and style resembled Celestial Seal Script, it was a character fabricated out of nowhere.

"Since it is a ruin civilization, surely it has something else unique besides its writing?" Robert Kava paused before continuing his question.

"Of course! Seals and incantations are both features of the Celestial Seal Script civilization. It is just that without cultivation methods, their power cannot be invoked through seals or incantations." Yin Ming's fingers moved with incomparable agility as he formed a Divine Official Seal with one hand and aimed it at Robert Kava.

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

Inside the building, a brown-haired scholar with a grimy face arrived after hearing the news and directly joined the debate.

Yin Ming answered every question one by one, without a single flaw.

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

"..."

The sun set, and dusk fell.

The Underground City's light dimmed with it, while the Scholar Building was unusually ablaze with lights.

Celestial Seal Script could not be disproven. In the end, Robert Kava and the other three scholars unanimously approved it, acknowledging Celestial Seal Script as a rare ancient language of a Lost Civilization that had not yet been excavated or recorded.

"I 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 will enjoy treatment equivalent to that of a first-ring wizard within the organization."

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?? Why the hell are we even learning Alchemical Hook Script? Wouldn't making up a new language do the trick?!" An apprentice said indignantly.

"No artifacts with inscriptions have ever been excavated, and there are no related documents. Even if it really is an ancient lost script, how is it any different from a fake?" Another apprentice muttered softly.

"..."

Yin Ming did not care, nor did he mind those disgruntled scholar disciples.

As he walked out of the Scholar Building, a scholar's medal was pinned to his chest. In his hand were an identification plaque and the key to a villa in the eastern outskirts of the Underground City.

These were all benefits that came with the identity of a scholar within the Flame-Burners Association.

The issue of his origins, which had worried him most, had not even been asked about. Only a bucket would care if a hole suddenly appeared in its body; a sieve would not care about such things.

"Finally, I've become an official member of the Flame-Burners Association. I can enjoy the benefits of an internal member and exchange for relic-produced goods!"

Yin Ming took a deep breath and immediately headed toward the nearby Exchange Building.

Compared to the Scholar Building, which resembled a library, the Logistics Department was brightly lit by crystal lamps. The floor was paved with a layer of pristine white stone, and only a few samples were displayed on the exquisite shelves, lending the place an air of luxurious refinement.

"This... newly promoted scholar, may I ask how to address you? I am Anthony Silvercoin. Is there anything I can help you with?"

The moment he stepped inside, a round-bodied middle-aged man with two small mustaches and a silver fur coat enthusiastically 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 would like to exchange for the items produced from the last wizard ruin?"

As he spoke, Yin Ming surveyed the goods on the shelves: flintlock muskets, Alchemical Bombs, Bloodline Potions, life potions, Meditation Methods, witchcraft...