Nephret Continent had mostly mountainous terrain, but the tallest structure on the entire continent wasn’t the highest peak of these mountain ranges, but the Stargate Council’s Observatory.

Stargate Council Chairman Alick almost always sat in the high-backed chair at the head of the Observatory.

From this angle, with just a slight lift of his head, he could see the infinite starry sky, and with a slight lowering of his eyes, he could gaze at the surging ocean.

In the hearts of Stargate Council members, Alick had already become the incarnation of lightning, and therefore, the sky above the council’s Observatory was always clear.

This allowed for constant observation of changes in the starry sky.

A young assistant named Meurich, not yet a hundred years old, walked over carrying a file.

He had once been a second-rank wizard specializing in wood attribute magic, but since coming to the Stargate Council and becoming Alick’s assistant, he hadn’t touched wood attribute magic books for over ten years.

Now just over a hundred years old, he was quite young by Stargate Council standards and was also recognized as one of the geniuses here.

However, the once high-spirited youth now had a full head of white hair, with only his face still looking young.

After being rescued, he didn’t mind and even said this made it more convenient for him to observe the starry sky and see more clearly.

“Chairman, Miss Lucy has sent back news from the Borderland. Wind Sprite Pei’er has proposed Gorsa’s apprentice Saul as a candidate for the next third-rank wizard. Councilor Norton has also agreed. But Councilor Norton simultaneously nominated another Glare Family member, Corey, as one of the candidates.”

Alick, who had been gazing at the starry sky, turned his golden eyes toward Meurich, “Saul?”

“This is the first time I’ve heard this name too.”

“It seems Gorsa has protected him well.”

“Do you think Gorsa has been planning this for a long time?” Meurich’s eyes retracted a bit as he looked down at the materials in his hands, “Indeed, a young boy specializing in dark attributes, age… 17 years old. He’s clearly a puppet cultivated from the ground up.”

Meurich tapped his finger on the book, making a dull sound.

“Such a person, even with our help, cannot push open that door within his body. This is a waste of resources!”

Meurich looked at Saul’s name on the paper, wanting to mark a big X on it like he was conducting an experiment.

“Perhaps.” Alick wasn’t as angry as Meurich. He remained composed and calm, like the eternally unchanging starry sky above.

“However, for us, pushing open that door to the starry sky is also extremely difficult. We still don’t have a thirty percent chance of success.”

Meurich stiffened, then said unwillingly, “How can he be compared to the Stargate’s research?”

Alick seemed not to hear, still saying quietly, “Pushing open the door within the body opens the connection channel between internal and external magical power; pushing open the door to the starry sky opens the passage between this world and other worlds… If third-ranks fail to push open their door, they will become monsters under the stirring of internal and external magical power. If we fail to push open our door…”

Meurich also knew how difficult their research was, but he had long passed the stage of being defeated by difficulty.

“That would just be falling on the path of pursuing truth.”

Alick smiled.

This was exactly why he chose such a young person as Meurich to be his assistant.

Perhaps Meurich’s personality and abilities weren’t the best among all assistants, but he never gave up.

Through Meurich, Alick thought of Gorsa again.

That young man was also someone who never gave up.

It’s just that his unwavering research path was too shocking. Even Alick had once thought he had gone mad.

But thinking about it now, being able to continue on a path that everyone else believed would definitely lead to pollution and madness was also a kind of incomparable courage.

“Then let Saul also become a candidate.” Seeing Chairman Alick once again looking toward the starry sky in thought, Meurich knew he had lost interest in the third-rank candidate for the Borderland.

As long as the Chairman didn’t object, Meurich himself had no authority to reject a third-rank wizard’s proposal.

However, since the Wind Sprite and Glare Family had both put forward their favored candidates, as another major force within the Stargate Council, they naturally had the right to nominate a candidate as well.

Several names rotated in Meurich’s mind. Finally, his eyes extended and he spoke a name.

“Chairman, how about letting Luke also participate in the selection?”

Chairman Alick nodded slightly. He didn’t care much about such matters.

Meurich smiled, “It just so happens that Saul and Luke are both wizards specializing in dark attributes. Let them compete fairly.”

After Meurich left, Alick continued looking up at the starry sky.

“The Stargate has already appeared…”

…

After seeing off Brando, Saul welcomed Jiajia Gu, who hadn’t visited for a long time.

Jiajia Gu was very enthusiastic this time and gave Saul even lower prices, leaving Saul somewhat puzzled.

He let Jiajia Gu stay overnight and checked the pollution on his body.

Saul was delighted to find that Jiajia Gu himself had almost no pollution left.

After Saul cleaned the puppet on his back that filtered pollution, he let Jiajia Gu leave.

But recently, the Purity Wizard Tower seemed particularly popular. Not long after Jiajia Gu left, the white mushrooms once again released spores as a warning.

However, this time, even after all the spores in the air had dispersed, Saul still didn’t see any guests appear by Rhine Lake.

“Tower Master, shall I go take a look?” Marsh was still holding a kitchen knife, having been cooking.

“I’ll go take a look instead.”

There was no choice. There were only a few people in the entire wizard tower who could cross Rhine Lake, and Marsh, aside from having explosive luck, wasn’t strong in other areas.

Saul also didn’t want to order Senior Byron around, even though the other party didn’t mind Saul’s commands.

So, even though the wizard tower had been established for over a year, Saul still had to personally greet guests.

He whistled softly.

The pale yellow giant bird that was grooming its feathers on the tower top immediately flew down, extending four long tentacle-like appendages.

Saul grabbed one of the long tentacles and was suddenly lifted into the air by the giant bird.

The giant bird flew very fast, crossing Rhine Lake in almost the blink of an eye and landing beside the mushroom forest that had just issued the warning.

While landing, Saul didn’t forget to equip himself with a layer of armor and released Herman from within his body.

Herman’s silver figure immediately transformed into silver lightning, shuttling through the mushroom forest.

Soon, Herman rushed out of the mushroom forest, looking both shocked and unable to help gloating as he said to Saul, “It’s Kismet! Master, he’s severely injured and unconscious in the mushroom forest!”

Hearing this news, Saul wasn’t as happy as Herman.

His expression was serious, causing Herman to also restrain his smile.

Saul rushed into the mushroom forest and indeed found a man so thin he was almost skeletal leaning against a giant mushroom on the outer edge.

His breathing was weak, his mental power fluctuations minimal.

If not for that head of slightly curly silver-colored medium-length hair, it would have been very difficult to recognize him as Kismet from his appearance alone.

Saul landed in front of Kismet, and the previously unconscious Kismet suddenly opened his eyes, showing Saul a weak smile.

“Still alive?”

“Came to find my master to save my life.”

“Who injured you?”

“Sky City Lord Ophelia.” Kismet pouted, showing a completely aggrieved expression, “To completely kill Clark and help clear the stumbling blocks on your advancement path, master, your brother really risked his life!”

(End of Chapter)