After revealing the logos on the gloves and the pendant, Angel’s entire story was more or less complete.
However, for the sake of rigor, Angel added: "All of the above are deductions I’ve made based on the clues I’ve found, and whether or not this is the case still requires the Wood Spirit to explain itself."
After speaking, Angel knocked on the vine on his staff again, indicating it should say a few words.
However, the Wood Spirit remained in a state of pretending to be dead.
Angel said: "Think about it, clearly it’s your own little crown, clearly it’s a beautiful pendant worn on your body, yet it was snatched by the Ghosteye Witch. Doesn’t it bother you?"
The Wood Spirit trembled slightly, but then cald down.
Angel continued: "Do you know, when I saw that Ghosteye Witch, it placed the pendant in the most conspicuous position on its body, making it the most eye-catching existence among all Ghosteye Witches? It was a sight at first glance, and at the sa ti, that beautiful pendant could be seen at first glance. Though a Ghosteye Witch, it was unusually beautiful; with the pendant, it was beyond compare..."
The more Angel praised the Ghosteye Witch, the more violently the vine trembled, though the Wood Spirit still remained silent.
But the Wood Spirit expressed its weak protest in another way.
It extended a slender vine, spelling out a word on the table—"Mine."
Perhaps to strengthen its tone, the Wood Spirit let three buds with a faint glow sprout at the end of the vine, like three exclamation marks.
The expression of words was full of mystery. If viewed simply from the word on the table, "Mine!!!", one might feel how domineering the Wood Spirit was.
But in reality, it still left everyone at a loss for words.
However, the Wood Spirit dared to respond in writing, which was already considered a kind of progress.
Taking advantage of the situation, Angel said: "I know this pendant is yours, the crown is also yours, everything is yours. But now I want you to answer: is there a discrepancy between the story I just told and the facts?"
In Angel’s view, any life form actually faces so degree of dilemma. This dilemma could be survival, inferiority, environnt, social interaction... etc. So of these dilemmas are inherent to the species and are insurmountable; but more are spiritual, and they can be overco.
Once the first breakthrough is made, the second one becos relatively easy.
This is also what Angel expected from the Wood Spirit.
Since the Wood Spirit had expressed itself in writing for the first ti, the second ti should follow naturally, right?
Angel looked at the Wood Spirit enthusiastically, but he still underestimated its character flaw. Ti passed second by second... two minutes later, the Wood Spirit still gave no feedback.
Instead, the "Mine!!!" on the table slowly retracted.
Just as the vine was about to coil back around the staff, Angel seized the end of the vine: "Don’t forget our agreent."
The so-called agreent, of course, was for the Wood Spirit to et its "master," Sanders.
Although Angel ntioned the agreent, he said nothing, it seed like a simple, emotionless statent, but the Wood Spirit heard the threat within.
After hesitating for a long ti, the Wood Spirit reluctantly extended the vine again, spelling out a word on the table: "Discrepancy."
"Discrepancy? Where’s the difference?" Angel continued to ask.
Perhaps the threat was still effective; the Wood Spirit hesitated for a mont but still continued to answer. However, the Wood Spirit seed very dissatisfied with Angel’s threat, and its answers always ca out word by word.
After a long ti, Angel finally pieced together where the so-called "discrepancy" was.
Actually, the story Angel recounted was already almost complete. However, there were so differences in detail: the crown and the engraved pendant had indeed been snatched by the beauty-seeking Ghosteye Witch. But the Ghosteye Witch looked down on the remaining two rings, so it didn’t take them. It wasn’t as Angel described, taking them and then discarding them.
To the Wood Spirit at the ti, the remaining two rings were naturally treasured. For this reason, the Wood Spirit gathered the courage to shift to a hiding place.
But unfortunately, there were too many Ghosteye Witches in that area. Later, the Wood Spirit encountered another Ghosteye Witch, and perhaps that Ghosteye Witch wanted to please the beauty-loving Ghosteye Witch, so it took another ring from it.
Now, the Wood Spirit had only one ring left.
Treasured possessions were snatched away, but upon reflection, the Wood Spirit finally resolved to leave. As a result, it encountered Cicia...
The whole story was summarized like this. To others, it sounded almost identical to Angel’s speculation. However, to the Wood Spirit, the difference was huge, after all, it was the one involved, and the four lost ornants were its heart’s treasures.
The Wood Spirit recounted its experience word by word using the vine, and seeing that Angel had no further inquiries, it imdiately shrank back onto the staff, once again serving as the entwined vine decoration.
Angel lifted his head and looked at the wise sovereign opposite him: "Now the story is clear, I don’t have foresight. I collected these ornants only because of my ntor; initially, I didn’t even think they were related to the Wood Spirit. But later, when I got the last silver ring from Miss Cicia and compared it with the other silver rings, only then did I make the connection. I guessed that they all belonged to the Wood Spirit."
"At the sa ti, I had another guess."
Angel didn’t state his other guess, but the wise sovereign spoke up: "The Wood Spirit erged from the staff, and the staff belonged to your ntor."
Angel nodded: "That’s right."
The wise sovereign fell into thought, as this matter, in his view, was just too coincidental. But after the Wood Spirit’s account and Angel’s review, the logic within indeed held up.
Most importantly, if it really wasn’t a coincidence, then this would be at least a hundred-year-long arrangent, even considering the birth spirit, the beauty-seeking Ghosteye Witch... and so on.
A hundred-year arrangent isn’t a difficult feat. But accomplishing such a thing certainly requires support from a powerful Prophet Wizard. Among today’s Southern Domain Wizards, probably only "Immortal Coronastar" Lapuye and "The Judge of Olden Days" Hastar could manage it.
But what reason would such high-level Prophet Wizards have to arrange this here?
As the wise sovereign’s thoughts grew ever deeper, Angel spoke: "Does the wise sovereign find it very coincidental? I do too. Who would have thought that hundreds of years ago, my then-apprentice ntor, on his first visit to the underground aqueduct ruins, would face the pursuit of Ghosteye Witches and lose his staff."
Angel intentionally ntioned that when his ntor lost the staff, he was an "apprentice."
What kind of arrangent could an apprentice make, what kind of energy could he harness to affect developnts hundreds of years later?
Moreover, Angel also ntioned the loss of the staff was due to the pursuit by Ghosteye Witches.
And who nurtured those Ghosteye Witches there? ... The wise sovereign himself.
So, if it were to be called a coincidence, the wise sovereign should be counted in too.
"Even more coincidental, the staff actually birthed a spiritual body." Angel sighed: "All of this is indeed very coincidental, but it really is just coincidence."
The wise sovereign understood Angel’s aning. He looked up at Angel: "All the coincidences you ntioned, I can believe they are coincidences. However, your appearance here, I find it hard to believe is a coincidence."
Angel paused for a mont, then chuckled lightly: "Has the wise sovereign forgotten the first sentence I wrote in the True Words To? I am rely a guest, not a returning one."
Yet the wise sovereign simply stared quietly at Angel. Indeed, that sentence was in the True Words To, but Angel’s writing was ambiguous, leaving room for manipulation.
"I can provide a complete explanation for this question, but it doesn’t belong to these two questions." Angel said: "Shall we return to the two questions the wise sovereign initially inquired about?"
The wise sovereign did not refuse and nodded.
"Regarding the second question, how did I get the Wood Spirit to co with ? Now, I believe the Wise Sovereign should have the answer."
"The true form of the Wood Spirit is the staff my ntor lost. I promised to take it to see my ntor, and that’s why the Wood Spirit ca with ."
The facts are laid out, and the Wise Sovereign had no objections. This is the logical truth.
"Now, let answer the first question: How did I find the Wood Spirit?"
Angel: "I suppose I don’t need to answer that, right? I’m wearing the gloves my ntor gave , holding the staff exactly the sa as my ntor’s, and the staff body was crafted from the Wood Spirit’s derivatives. Naturally, the Wood Spirit would wonder upon seeing ."
"What I said before on the Void Road was not false. The Wood Spirit was indeed talking to then. It reached out to , and all I needed to do was explain the situation roughly."
From the entire process, things seem to be just as Angel described.
But there’s still a question that Angel hasn’t explained: "How did you know about the crossroads?"
Faced with the Wise Sovereign’s inquiry, Angel appeared helpless: "The crossroads being fishy was sothing the Sovereign only reminded of; I had no idea at the ti."
Under the Wise Sovereign’s suspicious gaze, Angel recounted how, upon entering the second level, the staff sensed two coordinate points.
And how he deduced from these two coordinate points that the Wood Spirit was at the crossroads.
"After the Wood Spirit contacted , it suddenly fell silent. I guessed it had chickened out again, so I went to the place where the Wood Spirit most frequently appeared: the crossroads, and called for the Wood Spirit there."
"As for the trickery at the crossroads you ntioned, I was completely unaware."
After Angel finished speaking, to prove he wasn’t lying, he wrote directly in the True Words To: The trickery at the crossroads was sothing the Wise Sovereign reminded of; I was completely unaware before that.
The words didn’t disappear, indicating that Angel was speaking the truth.
By deliberately writing this sentence, he clearly had an underlying intention...
The Wise Sovereign understood this, realizing that Angel was not only self-validating but also hinting at him not to overthink things. Many tis, the answer is just that simple, and overcomplicating it is one’s own problem.
The Wise Sovereign looked at the words in the True Words To, remaining silent.
Even if Angel hadn’t written it down, he would have believed it. Because it matched Angel’s various strange behaviors after reaching the second floor, such as heading into the void riddled with spatial rifts and only pursuing two points, all orchestrated by the Wood Spirit behind the scenes.
Understanding this, the Wise Sovereign felt a rare embarrassnt.
The area he was most concerned about turned out to be a complete misunderstanding. He had even imagined various secret dealings between Angel and the Goddess.
Now, with the truth laid bare in the True Words To, visible to all, the Wise Sovereign felt even more embarrassed.
He regretted using the True Words To; there were other thods he could have employed.
After a long silence, the Wise Sovereign finally composed himself to face Angel again: "I accept the answers to both questions. However, it seems you’ve left sothing out."
Angel sighed inwardly: Here it cos, here it cos, the mont of unmasking.
As expected, the next words from the Wise Sovereign were indeed about having Angel reveal the true identity, specifically his ntor’s true identity.
"As the Wood Spirit’s teacher, I can respect its decision to see its forr master. However, I need to know about him, assess the situation, before I can make a decision."
Angel wanted to say: The choice should be the Wood Spirit’s freedom.
However, considering the reality, this was impossible. In the Southern Domain Wizard World, achieving absolute freedom of choice was challenging; moreover, the Wood Spirit had significant personality flaws. In a sense, treating it like a patient in need of care and companionship was justified.
And the Wise Sovereign, having cared for and guided the Wood Spirit for centuries, indeed had the right to make decisions for it.
Understanding this, Angel chose not to argue with the Wise Sovereign on this point. However, the thought of being unmasked made him feel slightly complicated.
Under the Wise Sovereign’s gaze, Angel finally revealed his ntor’s na.
– "Sanders Iguro."
The Wise Sovereign contemplated: "So it’s him..."
Angel: "Wise Sovereign, do you know my ntor?"
Wise Sovereign: "Though it’s been so ti since I went out, I still have channels for outside information. The Illusion Master and Southern Domain’s War God, as he’s called, has gained considerable fa in recent years. I’ve heard his techniques are uniquely his own; seeing your illusion techniques, they are indeed intriguing."
After a pause, the Wise Sovereign looked at Angel again: "However, in the information I’ve received, among Sanders’s students, the one inheriting his illusion techniques is an Official Wizard nad Sumishe."
Since he’d already been exposed, Angel didn’t bother to hide anymore and said bluntly, "Sumishe is now a True Knowledge Wizard and can be considered my senior. I beca my ntor’s disciple only a few years ago."
"Do I need to formally introduce myself? I’m Angel Pat, from the Barbarian Cave."
Dox muttered nearby, "Rumor has it he was snatched up by His Excellency the Illusion Master."
Angel smiled without refuting. Everyone knew that anyway; explanations were unnecessary.
The Wise Sovereign’s focus wasn’t on Sanders snatching up Angel but rather that Angel had indeed only beco a Transcendent in recent years... This kind of supernova was extrely rare, even millennia ago.
Leaving aside Angel’s uniqueness, speaking of his background in Barbarian Cave alone.
Now the Wise Sovereign understood why Angel had such a deep foundation, supported by such a massive entity. The Barbarian Cave, even millennia ago, was a super large Witcher Organization; even Naraku City’s foundation couldn’t compare. Because, Legendary Wizards birthed by Barbarian Cave were widespread across the Pan-Dinsional Plane; millennia ago, if you ca from Barbarian Cave, you’d inevitably find a place in so Wizard-gathered world.
Even in today’s era where legends are fading, the Barbarian Cave remains a super large Witcher Organization.
Moreover, the spirit known millennia ago by countless people—the Book Elder—still exists, guarding the knowledge inheritance of the Barbarian Cave.
Hence, cultivating soone like Angel wasn’t surprising.
However, since Angel is from the Barbarian Cave, so previous speculations might indeed be incorrect.
Things like a century-long plot would be utterly impossible.
He was well aware of the Barbarian Cave’s situation centuries ago—a comprehensive Witcher Organization with strong representatives in three major structures, yet lacking two types: Gourt Sorcerers and Prophet Wizards.
Without the strong backing of a Prophet Wizard to dispel mist and reduce variables, plotting for a century would be impossible.
Besides, the Barbarian Cave was far from here, and no core figures had traveled to the Underground Aqueduct for many years. If they harbored any covetous intentions toward Naraku City, the Wise Sovereign wouldn’t believe it.
The Barbarian Cave’s foundation far exceeded the underground aqueduct; having their own palatial hall, who would crave a shabby leaky hut?
The Wise Sovereign had resolved his confusion regarding the Wood Spirit, Sanders’s staff, and other questions.
But there remained one doubt, still persistent: Was Angel’s arrival truly, as he claid, a coincidence?
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