Chapter 143: Darnell's Request

Chapter 143: Darnell's Request

The question was asked by a female student.

Not only Yu Sheng'an, but many mages present were surprised that she would waste such a precious opportunity to speak directly to a figure of his stature on such a trivial matter.

Perhaps that’s just how women are!

Under the curious gazes of the crowd, Yu Sheng'an smiled and replied, "A magic apprentice."

"What?" The magic apprentices in the stands exchanged bewildered glances, their faces filled with disbelief.

How could Lord Ajef possibly be a magic apprentice?

That was absolutely impossible!

"I understand! Lord Ajef is teaching us that magic is boundless, and we must always maintain the mindset of a magic apprentice in our pursuit of knowledge!"

Someone quick-witted immediately grasped the deeper meaning behind his words.

"This is clearly Lord Ajef’s humility!"

"What a profound answer—'a magic apprentice'!"

"No wonder Lord Ajef wears the White Robe!"

At that moment, not just the magic apprentices in the stands, but even the Magic Mentors and nobles wore expressions of astonishment and admiration.

What an ingenious response!

Yu Sheng'an watched the crowd’s self-indulgent interpretations with an amused smile.

His actual level of magic really was that of a magic apprentice, wasn’t it?

The Light abilities he displayed came from his Divine Spark authority, not Light Magic!

It had to be said—once power and status were attained, even nonsense could be revered.

"Alright, next!"

Having answered this pointless question, Yu Sheng'an casually pointed to a male student.

The chosen young man stood up excitedly, steadying his breath before asking, "Lord Ajef, which of the three—Soul Power, mana, or magic runes—is the most important?"

As soon as the question left his lips, the Magic Mentors in the front rows frowned in unison.

The Magic Academy’s expansion in enrollment really did have its downsides—how could such a basic question even be asked?

After a brief pause, Yu Sheng'an replied, "Traditionally, I’d tell you they’re equally important. But since you asked, I assume you’re not looking for that answer."

"I can’t give you a definitive response, but I can share a story. Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a warrior who was invincible—no one had ever seen him use a second move. When someone once begged him to demonstrate his skills, the warrior replied, 'I only know one technique: the draw of my sword.'"

Silence fell over the hall.

The frowning mages now raised their eyebrows.

The questioning student wore a thoughtful expression before bowing sincerely. "Thank you, Lord Ajef. I understand."

What exactly the young man understood, Yu Sheng'an didn’t know.

But he did know the brilliance of answering questions with stories—everyone would interpret them differently.

Such answers were like a versatile asset—their meaning depended entirely on the listener.

"Alright, next!"

Yu Sheng'an continued the Q&A session.

The following questions were much more conventional, mostly concerning magic.

Some leaned toward metaphysical philosophy;

Others were rooted in physical principles.

For the former, Yu Sheng'an—having lived through an era of information explosion—could easily provide answers.

Even if he didn't know the answer himself, he could still vaguely gloss over it and muddle through the entire Q&A session.

As for the latter, it was even simpler. With the virtual Prophecy Godhood in his grasp, there were truly few concrete logical questions that could stump him.

The only difference was that some problems consumed too much Source Essence, and Yu Sheng'an simply wasn't willing to expend the effort to deduce them.

Thus, after a round of questioning, the atmosphere in the venue grew increasingly fervent.

Because even Yu Sheng'an himself didn’t realize that, quite unintentionally, he had resolved many controversial magic-related issues.

"Alright, let’s stop here for today. I wish you all smooth sailing and success in your future studies!"

Just as the excitement peaked, Yu Sheng'an proactively ended the Q&A session.

Truth be told, this segment was downright exhausting.

It consumed far too much Source Essence.

He was already stretching every bit of his Source Essence to its limit—wasting it here was nothing short of agonizing.

So, once he felt it was about time, he decided to call it quits.

"Don’t go yet!"

"Lord Ajef, please answer one more question! Just one last one!"

"Lord Ajef, will you be teaching classes?"

The magic apprentices were utterly reluctant to let him leave.

The hall erupted with pleas for him to stay!

Seeing this, Yu Sheng'an hastily tossed out a couple of polite remarks, pressed a hand to his chest in a courteous bow, and made his exit.

Unexpectedly, no sooner had he stepped off the podium than someone chased after him.

"Mr. Ajef, please wait—might I have a word with you in private?"

The one who caught up was an elderly man draped in a purple robe.

Gaunt and frail, his steps trembled slightly, and the faint ripple of magical fluctuations around him made it clear that he had resorted to magic just to catch up with Yu Sheng'an.

"What is it?" Yu Sheng'an halted.

"I am Darnell, a practitioner of Light Magic. The Light Magic you demonstrated earlier was truly eye-opening!"

After a polite compliment, Darnell cut straight to the chase: "I have an impertinent request. I hope you might agree to share your research materials on Light Magic. Of course, I’m willing to offer an equivalent exchange."

To be honest, this was an extremely abrupt request.

But Darnell couldn’t afford to wait.

He was approaching the end of his lifespan. Though Yu Sheng'an had opened a door for him and pointed the way forward in his research, what he lacked most now was time.

Or perhaps, he was simply shrewd.

For matters like this, aside from negotiating personally, it would be difficult to find a suitable broker.

Given the level of magic Ajef had displayed, Darnell was certain that Ajef’s mastery must have reached the Saint Magus realm—what was now conventionally referred to as the realm of the Gods of Magic.

For a figure of such stature, what broker could possibly catch his eye?

None, save for the Empire’s Three Great Gods of Magic!

But would the Empire’s Three Great Gods of Magic deign to act as brokers for him?

The answer was no.

As someone standing near the pinnacle of the Empire’s hierarchy, he knew all too well how advanced mages viewed their peers—with deep ambivalence.

On one hand, they established Magic Academies to nurture mages, hoping their numbers would grow.

On the other, they were wary—even resentful—of the emergence of new advanced mages, fearing they would encroach upon the resources they themselves controlled.

Even advanced mages are like this, let alone the Gods of Magic?

The birth of any God of Magic has a profound impact on the Empire.

It means that a large number of mages dissatisfied with the Three Great Gods of Magic’s distribution of benefits have found a new patron to turn to.

It also means the Empire’s pie is about to be sliced by a new contender!

Thus, while the Empire’s Three Great Gods of Magic might not stoop to shamelessly suppressing a Grand Archmage, they would never help him ascend to Godhood unless their own vital interests were at stake.

Therefore, rather than exhausting efforts to curry favor with the Gods of Magic, it’s better to go straight to the source and ask.

"Equivalent exchange?" Yu Sheng'an echoed with a strange tone.

As one of his strongholds, Keville might not grant him complete insight into the Empire, but he was undoubtedly well-versed in its high-ranking mages.

Darnell’s situation naturally couldn’t escape his notice.

"Equivalent exchange!" Darnell affirmed through gritted teeth.

"If I’m not mistaken, your current predicament is dire, isn’t it? If you fail to break through to Godhood, only two paths remain before you—either death, or seeking the God of Death’s patronage and transforming into an undead creature. Am I correct?"

Darnell shuddered slightly before nodding.

The first option was terrible.

The second was even worse.

Pledging allegiance to the God of Death not only meant turning from human to monster—

It also meant being shackled forever, stripped of freedom, and becoming a soldier of the God of Death, doomed to perish in endless wars.

To put it bluntly, aside from short-sighted low-level mages, any rational advanced mage would rather gamble with an undead transformation array crafted by necromancers than submit to the God of Death.

Having laid bare Darnell’s plight, Yu Sheng’an refrained from further provocation and cut straight to the chase:

"In that case, I’ll be frank. I can provide you with Light Magic knowledge—even boost your chances of advancement by thirty percent. But you’ll have to pay a sufficient price for it."

"What price?"