Elite Mages' Academy

“I’m certain you’re the one we’re looking for!” Ibeiya’s bright and charming eyes stared at Xiao Lin, speaking with deep emotion. Anyone who did not know the situation would find it hard to withstand her persuasion.

However, Xiao Lin knew Ibeiya. He deliberately avoided her alluring eyes, ensuring his thoughts were not disturbed as he said, “Did you not want to show me something earlier? What is it?”

Ibeiya pouted in disappointment. “Ivan had left something behind as proof of our mutual trust. Back then, we did not know what it was and did not care too much about it. When we finally understood what it was, we no longer dared take it out.”

Pausing, Ibeiya smiled bitterly. “Basically, we’re afraid it will cause trouble.”

“I see.”

“Basically, the thing we have is very scary. Even though we know it has incomprehensible power, we don’t know how to use it. Even if we did, we wouldn’t dare it. However, you might be familiar with it.”

Ibeiya led the way with the old man as they left the basement. However, after finding out there was still a long way to go, he returned to the embassy to let Liang Taibai and Cheng Ming’s group know he had something to do. The rest of them assumed he was investigating and did not question it.

Ivan’s ‘thing’ was situated somewhere far in the outskirts of the royal city. Even with the three of them increasing their speed, it took them three hours to get there. Planet Norma’s outskirts were not as brightly lit as on Earth. After leaving the city, it was just deserted and pitch-black wilderness.

If not for his trust toward Ibeiya, Xiao Lin would not have taken the risk in following them. Thinking about it, he was definitely very much on high alert. After all, Ibeiya and the old man’s identities had not been mentioned until now.

The night sky was not bad, and the wilderness did not look too dark. The old man was not a talkative person, and his sullen face looked a bit scary under the veil of the night. Thankfully, Ibeiya would start up conversations here and there, so the journey was not too boring.

When they reached their destination, Xiao Lin noticed it was a cave a few meters tall. At the entrance to the cave was a large golden door engraved with various patterns. Xiao Lin saw Ibeiya walk forward, bite her lip and smear that blood on the patterns. After a rumbling sound, the large door started to open.

Xiao Lin remained cautious, and chose to walk behind the two of them, subtly activating his Miracle state. The journey had allowed him to recover quite a bit, and with his strengthened perception, he was more aware of his surroundings.

However, there was no ambush like he had feared. The cave was not that large, and they followed a winding path before stopping at a narrow stone room. To be precise, it was a grave, because at the center of the room was a golden coffin that was covered in dust.

“This is my father’s final resting place,” Ibeiya said in a low voice before raising her hands in prayer. After that, she exchanged a look with the old man and they worked together to open the coffin.

Xiao Lin was astonished and could not help but cast a few glances at Ibeiya. Even though he was not very familiar with the history of the dark races, his research in the library had given him some common knowledge, such as the fact that vampires had strict rules regarding their coffins. It was given based on their status, and those who had golden coffins had very high statuses, at the least on par with patriarchs of large families, or even leaders of certain areas.

As the coffin slowly opened, the old man snapped his fingers, and the inside of the room was lit up with magical fire. The green flames were a bit frightening, but the inside of the coffin was empty, with only a few clothes and armor inside. There was no body, but Xiao Lin did not ask about it. After all, it was Ibeiya’s father’s resting place. He merely waited and observed quietly by the side.

The coffin did not only have one layer. The old man and Ibeiya carefully moved away all the objects on the first layer before exposing the second layer within. The second layer had a mechanism similar to the entrance, and used the blood from her wound that had yet to be healed. Once her blood covered the whole second layer, the mechanism started to slowly move.

Ibeiya’s face was a bit pale after losing so much blood, and she even started to stagger as she stood. Xiao Lin lightly supported her shoulders, earning a brilliant smile from her.

Of course, as a vampire, the blood loss would only weaken her, not threaten her life, but her pitiful state still tugged at his heartstrings.

The third layer of the coffin was a very small entrance. Xiao Lin was speechless, but the elaborate mechanisms had led him to be curious as to what it was hiding.

Entering the place, the few of them carefully walked down a flight of seemingly ninety degree stairs. After about a hundred meters in, they finally saw a miniature castle. The castle was adorned with jewels and pearls, and the natural glow lit up the underground. The palace was only as big as half a room, and other than a strangely narrow entrance on the top, there did not seem to be any way inside. That was why the air in that area was not great, causing Xiao Lin to almost start gasping when he entered.

The place was bathed in a mysterious and warm light. Xiao Lin had thought that it was from the jewels around him, but when the light touched him, it caused a strange feeling which led Xiao Lin to start to understand what their goal was.

The inside of the castle was empty. Ibeiya and the old man had fallen silent, casting their gazes onto Xiao Lin, as if they were testing him. Xiao Lin did not speak. He looked around for a while before his sights fell on a transparent wall to the right.

He slowly walked over, using his hand to wipe away some of the dust on the wall. He saw that the transparent wall had a shard the size of a thumb in the middle, causing him some shock. It was just as he was starting to suspect. He turned around and said, “A Shard of Creation? Ivanovich actually gave a Shard of Creation to you!”

The old man had a look of praise as he said, “You really are God’s Chosen. You saw through the history of this thing immediately. Ivan had said that only God’s Chosen could really use the shard, which was why we kept it here after what happened to him. And no one has dared to take it out for countless years.”

Xiao Lin rolled his eyes internally. He did not know of the shard because he was chosen by some god. He only knew of it because of his promise to Ivan.