Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

After a long while, Gregor withdrew his probing aura.

He took a step back, looked at Lynn with an extremely complicated expression, and remained silent for several seconds.

"Lynn," his voice was deep and serious, more solemn than ever before.

"Listen, I'm about to tell you something that you must etch into the depths of your soul!"

Lynn felt a chill run down his spine; he had never seen his mentor so serious before, and he instinctively straightened up.

"Mentor, please speak."

"Your current body," Gregor said, enunciating each word clearly.

"The superiority of its life form, the compatibility of its energy carrying capacity, and the potential for affinity with rules have surpassed most of the top bloodlines and extraordinary talents known in the wizarding world."

"It is like a perfect work of art sculpted by the five supreme laws of death, stars, earth, soul, and space."

He took a deep breath, a sharp glint in his eyes: "This means that if the true nature of your body is exposed to other wizards..."

"Especially those old monsters who have been stuck at a bottleneck for many years, have no hope of advancement but are extremely eager for power and immortality... they will definitely not just be envious."

Gregor's voice was even lower, carrying a chilling undertone: "They'll go mad!"

"They will do anything to get you... kidnapping, controlling, even starting a war to get you! And then..."

He paused, then uttered two words that made Lynn's heart skip a beat:

"Possession".

Possession was something Lynn was no stranger to.

In his previous life, he had read many novels where old monsters who were seriously injured, near death, or nearing the end of their lifespan would choose to possess those promising geniuses.

Moreover, the skeletal archives of the Bone Spire contain a wealth of taboo knowledge about soul transfer and consciousness possession.

But being so solemnly warned by a senior third-circle wizard that you would become the prime target for possession felt completely different.

"Your body is the 'supreme holy body' that any body-stealer would dream of," Gregor continued, his tone filled with undisguised worry.

"Your body is full of vitality and has excellent compatibility, perfectly capable of accommodating the vast majority of souls."

"It's even possible that because of the existence of the Star Heart, it has extremely high resistance to the backlash of rules during the soul transfer process... not to mention its extremely high talent and unlimited potential."

"Any wizard who still retains his reason but has no way forward will go mad for you."

He stared intently into Lynn's eyes: "So, remember this!"

"Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely do not expose your body's special features to anyone you don't trust!"

"Especially the details regarding the Star Heart, one's own talents, and the leap in life energy level!"

"To the outside world, you're just an outstanding third-class apprentice who miraculously survived the war and made some breakthroughs, or... someone who managed to become a full-fledged wizard in the laboratory!"

"Once you reach the level of a formal wizard, it will be very difficult for others to possess you unless a great true spirit wizard intervenes."

A True Spirit Wizard? Beings of that level have long since merged with the rules, becoming immortal and eternal. How could they choose to possess another body simply because of his talent...?

It's too dangerous outside. Let's stay in the lab and work our way up to become a full-fledged wizard before venturing out.

Lynn nodded emphatically, taking her mentor's advice to heart: "I understand, mentor. I will be careful."

"Hmm." Gregor's expression softened slightly, but then a complex sense of regret surfaced.

"What a pity... the success of 'Death Blossom' this time is almost impossible to replicate."

"It is the result of countless coincidences and miracles... your special state of near death, that perfectly placed heart, the symbiote deeply bound to you, the precise adjustment of the ritual... none of them can be missing."

"I was originally thinking that if I could figure out a method to reproduce it reliably..." He shook his head and gave a wry smile.

"It seems that this kind of miracle of regeneration that touches the very essence of life is ultimately not something that can be easily controlled."

He changed the subject, his gaze falling on Lynn's chest, where a steady, powerful pulse was emanating.

"Speaking of this... Lynn, what's the deal with that dark golden heart?"

"I have never seen anything like it in any classic texts or illustrated guides. The level of rules it contains is too high, abnormally high."

Lynn didn't hide anything and frankly said, "It was given to me by an old apprentice who claimed to be from the 'Starry Sky Observatory' that I met in 'Starry Valley' during a war reconnaissance mission."

He said it was an ancient covenant, being carried out through his hands, and that it was both a key and a shackle, giving me a choice at the crossroads between death and a slim chance of survival.

He recalled the despair he felt as he faced death, and the resolute determination he displayed when clutching his heart:

"My heart was destroyed, and I was on the verge of death. I instinctively pressed it into the wound... and then it took the place of my heart, forcibly sustaining my last glimmer of life."

"As for its origin, the old apprentice only mentioned 'Starry Sky Beast'."

Lynn told a small lie, not mentioning that he had deciphered the name himself, but instead passing it on to the old apprentice.

The reason for bringing up this name was to see if the mentor knew about the Starry Sky Beast.

"A star behemoth?!" Upon hearing this, Gregor's pupils contracted sharply, and for the first time, a clear look of astonishment appeared on his face.

"Are you sure he meant 'cosmic behemoth'?"

"That terrifying being from legends, who roams the endless sea of ​​stars, feeds on the stars, and can even devour small planes? Its heart?!"

He looked Lynn up and down in disbelief, then at his chest, as if trying to see through flesh and blood to see the true face of his heart.

"But...this size is completely wrong!" Gregor frowned, lost in thought.

"According to ancient records, the size of a celestial behemoth is comparable to an entire world. Even a fragment of its core organ should be as large as a mountain, containing enough energy to instantly destroy a formal wizard!"

"How is it possible... to be so small? And yet to merge so gently with your body?"

Lynn was also puzzled:

"The student didn't understand either, but the old apprentice's demeanor at the time didn't seem fake, and this heart really did save my life and bring about... these changes."

He opened his hand, and starlight shone faintly in his palm.

"Star Observatory..." Gregor repeated the name softly, his eyes deep.

"Those beings who peer into fate are always mysterious and unpredictable, defying common sense. They can see 'trajectories' we cannot see and make arrangements we cannot comprehend..."

He looked at Lynn, his tone complex: "Then you may have been drawn into a game of fate involving something older and grander."

"They foresaw your 'dead end' and gave you a 'lifeline' in advance... Otherwise, I would probably be facing a soul waiting to be reincarnated, or a dead body."

Lynn remained silent.

Indeed, without that heart, the mentor's choice would likely have been to turn him into an undead.

Is this what the old apprentice meant by "the choice between life and death"?

Although he gained tremendous benefits,

Where does that "key" lead? And what is that "shackle"?

And... such an awesome thing was given away just like that, without any hesitation.

What picture?