Dream Spirit Void Ninth Lord

Void. Silence. Boundlessness. Depth.

In the eternally silent space like a vast black curtain, a few specks of light dotted its center. Countless firefly-like glimmers gathered into six galaxy-like vortices.

The points of light continually magnified, and the view became clear. They were round bubbles encased in transparent crystal walls. Like tiny planets floating in space, they and the countless identical crystal-walled bubbles around them formed a vast, boundless universe of stars.

"Where—was this?"

Inside the bubble!

Yin Ming stood upon the void-like ground.

Through the crystal wall, he watched the resplendent river of stars in the distance, where stars endlessly rose, perished, and transformed.

One moment ago, he had still been in the underground city's meditation chamber. The next, he had appeared within a vast stellar expanse.

Could a mere Zero-Ring Wizardry rune truly have the effect of shifting space?

"Croak! Little wizard, this is your dream. Welcome to the Dream Realm."

Outside the bubble's crystal wall sprawled a huge red-and-black-skinned toad. Its back was densely covered in disgusting pus-filled lumps. It split open its mouth and extended its tongue, leaving a streak of saliva across the crystal wall.

"A dream?" Yin Ming froze. Ignoring what the toad had said, he secretly used his mental power to trace wizardry runes and remain on guard.

"Correct, though this is not the illusory dream you understand. This is also a Wizard Hunting Ground."

"Every crystal-walled bubble is a wizard's spiritual dream. As long as you smash through the crystal wall and devour the other party's spirit body, you can obtain their memories and knowledge." The toad had four fingers on each of its limbs, with countless tiny suckers on their terminal joints, anchoring it firmly to the crystal bubble.

"Devouring others means I can be devoured too." Yin Ming showed not the slightest excitement. Staring into the toad's eyes, he asked, "Then what happens to those who are devoured?"

"Their bodies in reality will fall into eternal slumber. For knowledge, one must always pay a price."

After saying this lightly, the great toad withdrew its long tongue and grinned savagely. "It's all because you wizards are so stingy with knowledge! Countless wizards are still researching ancient knowledge from before the Age of Law. What a waste! With that time, they could be researching new things."

"Devour them! Only by using others' knowledge as stepping stones can you rise to a higher realm."

Yin Ming: "..."

Yin Ming greatly agreed with that theory.

He especially missed the End of Dharma era, when cultivation methods could be downloaded with data and more than half of the non-secret cultivation methods could be found online.

But the solution was definitely not a Wizard Hunting Ground. Mutual devouring benefited individuals, yet looking at the whole group, it was an even greater waste.

Through devouring, the Wizard Hunting Ground concentrated knowledge and data, but it also directly erased the redundant portions of computational power.

Furthermore, this shortcut to knowledge would make wizards no longer keen on acquiring knowledge through research. It was simply digging at the roots of wizardkind.

"Who are you? A wizard here to devour me?"

The crystal wall was being corroded by the toad's saliva, leaving only a thin layer to block it.

Yin Ming assessed the toad's strength in his heart. At the same time, through the inscription rune between his brows, he sensed his body in reality and tried to break through the dream and awaken.

"No! You're very lucky! Slurp..."

The toad licked the crystal wall again, splitting open its hideous mouth. "I am a nightmare spirit. You may call me Void Ninth Lord. Compared to devouring, Ninth Lord prefers accepting tribute. One book containing extraordinary knowledge can be exchanged for one month of protection."

Tribute?

Wasn't that just harvesting leeks?

The knowledge wielded by Wizard Apprentices overlapped by more than ninety percent. Only continuous squeezing could ensure the highest yield.

There was nothing within the bubble. Yin Ming spread his hands. "Books? I entered this dream in a hurry this time. It seems I didn't bring any!"

"You needn't worry about that. Close your eyes and recall the extraordinary knowledge in your mind. Imagine it turning into a book and appearing in your hands," the toad said.

Hearing this, Yin Ming focused his thoughts for a moment. As though 3D-printed, a black-covered book truly appeared in his hands. The contents inside seemed copied straight from his mind.

"Since this is my dream, I can create things from nothing! Why should I offer tribute to you?" Yin Ming asked.

"Little wizard, this is not your dream. It is the dream of all wizards."

"Creation must follow the rules. Things that run wild like heavenly horses, things that do not exist, and things you do not truly understand cannot be created."

The toad sneered.

Its long tongue, covered in transparent slime, shot through a hole in the crystal wall like a spring and stuck to the black-covered book in Yin Ming's hands.

It pulled the book back and swallowed it in one gulp, its movements smooth as flowing clouds and flowing water, completed in a single breath.

Then, as though rinsing its mouth, it repeatedly savored the book inside its maw.

"Peh!"

Suddenly, the toad's expression changed drastically. It spat out the broken book, covered in transparent slime.

With a face full of bad luck, it cursed angrily, "Little wizard, I forgot to tell you the rules for tribute!"

"First, the extraordinary book offered as tribute cannot be a meditation method. The core of every region records all kinds of meditation methods for the current rank. The Dream Realm lacks nothing less than meditation methods."

"Second, the extraordinary book offered as tribute cannot overlap by more than ten percent with the knowledge Ninth Lord possesses."

Yin Ming: "..."

Truly, all roads led to the same destination. Even wizards could not escape plagiarism checks.

"Th—no! You actually altered the meditation method's runes?"

The toad suddenly discovered that among the ten mental power runes of the Vast Sea Meditation Method Yin Ming had offered, the energy circuits of nine had been subtly altered.

It was Yin Ming's first time entering a dream and creating something.

Yet he had actually taught himself how to forge a fake. How could a void spirit unable to leave the dream verify the knowledge he would offer in the future?

Crack, crack...

The toad flew into a rage from humiliation and slapped apart the thin layer of crystal wall.

It squeezed half its head inside. "I cannot leave you alive! A hen that cannot lay eggs can only be slaughtered for meat."

[Zero-Ring: Crimson Flame Ring.]

Yin Ming condensed the crimson flames into a single point, turning them into a scorching firebolt that shot forth.

Within the dream, his body had become an illusory spirit form, unable to exert even a trace of physical strength. He could only use wizardry to attack and defend.

"Eh..."

Yin Ming made a surprising discovery.

Using wizardry consumed nothing at all. His mental power and magic power seemed inexhaustible.

Before the toad could squeeze inside, he began trying to create things from nothing!

Sure enough, just as the toad had said, he could not create items outside the rules of the dream, such as the Scavenger Gourd.

Likewise, he could not create items beyond his understanding, such as Alchemical Bombs.

Other than material base ingredients, everything he could manifest was something that met certain conditions in reality and that he could manufacture independently.

"Croak... That hurt. Once your Ninth Lord squeezes in, I'll let you see who the true ultimate powerhouse of the Zero-Ring Apprentice region is."

The toad swallowed the flame in one gulp.

Flames capable of melting gold and refining iron turned into a wisp of blue smoke that drifted from the toad's nostrils.

Other than its tongue being slightly charred, it suffered no real damage. Its enormous body, like an inflated balloon, squeezed through the narrow opening.

"Croak..."

The toad leaped into the bubble's space.

Without the toad's saliva continually corroding it, the crystal wall rapidly squirmed back together, forming an enclosed space.

Within the cramped space, one man and one toad faced each other. There was not even room to dodge or maneuver; they could only clash head-on with their strength.

[Zero-Ring Wizardry: Shadow Touch.]

A terrifying black shadow enveloped the toad's entire body. Countless black tentacles spread outward in a wheel-like formation as it grinned with its split mouth. "Ninth Lord has a premonition. If I devour you, I'll gain unimaginable benefits."

"No consumption! Creating things from nothing based on one's knowledge—doesn't that mean comparing realms rather than attainments? The knowledge one possesses determines the upper limit of combat power!"

Three metal spheres floated in midair.

Yin Ming extended a fingertip and lightly tapped one of them. The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a warm, gentle smile like a spring breeze. He spoke again, confirming with the toad, "You said... you possessed the ultimate strength of Zero-Ring, right?"