The old man you see with your phone is highly suspicious.

Thus, at this moment, the spell called "Summoning Heroic Spirits" was finally completed.

This is currently the highest level of technique that Xue Dinglu can master.

Ultimately, Xue's approach has always been quite unconventional. As a mage, he lacks the unparalleled solid foundation of magic and knowledge of the Great Sage, the skillful use of psionic energy of the Starships, the ability to manipulate power in creative ways like Faust, and the control of authority of the Apostles...

He has always used whatever he has, without considering how to improve any of his abilities. He simply uses what works and replaces what doesn't.

My most proficient magic, besides teleportation, has always been limited to some low-level holy light magic, or activating the wheelchair "Genesis," transforming into the Beast of the End to cast a full-area magic ban, and then engaging in a battle with my Xuanwu Sect within that banished area.

Heroic Spirit Summoning is the only high-level spell that I control.

The air suddenly became viscous, as if it had been squeezed into liquid amber by some invisible force, and the summoning runes formed by the dripping blood peeled off one by one.

At that very moment, his "system" completely vanished, dissolved and analyzed by the blood of hell...

Then, within the dissolving magic circle, a simple staff, resembling a wooden stick, slowly appeared. Following that were the familiar white robe, the familiar robust old man, and the familiar white-bearded old man...

The light finally coalesced into a form, and at that moment, his system disappeared.

The system that had been with him until now had completely disappeared, and Xue Lude no longer needed to rely on that cheat to help him.

So, the next moment, after the light completely disappeared, the old man with white hair, white beard, and white robe reappeared in this consciousness space.

Compared to the last time, the consciousness space back then was still a barren subspace, with nothing at all, not even light.

But now, the vast academy, the towering divine tree, countless other subspaces connected to and dependent on the consciousness space, and the masquerade members who are currently working feverishly here to modify the instance...

Everything seems to have changed, yet everything seems to remain the same.

Looking at the old man, Xue Dinglu smiled, revealing the expression of a disciple who had completed his apprenticeship and was showing off in front of his teacher.

Xue Daolu seemed to have a lot to say, but when he was about to speak, he hesitated. After a long while, he finally looked at the figure that had been summoned and said:

"Long time no see, old Deng."

"Yes, it's been a long time, Xiao Deng."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

……

"I never imagined you could grow to this level..." The great sage's voice rang out. At this moment, old friends met again, bringing joy, emotion, and perhaps a trace of barely perceptible sadness.

"But you should understand that I am not the 'Great Sage' you know now, but merely a heroic spirit who inherited his memories." The Great Sage surveyed the consciousness space that was completely different from his memories, and he probably had many feelings about it as well.

However, he did not speak, but listened to Xue's account and truthfully revealed his identity.

"I am more like a heroic spirit created by you splitting your own memories, a figure that resembles the 'Great Sage' in your memories. I am not the real him, nor am I the real Great Sage..."

"He has long been swallowed up by nothingness."

The old man was talking, but Xue Dinglu didn't dwell on such thoughts, only saying, "Perhaps, but it doesn't matter anymore..."

"Because the old man I know who likes to tell riddles isn't actually Joshua. According to him, he's just a remnant soul that died long ago and is unwilling to accept his fate," Xue Dinglu said with a smile.

Xue's Law hasn't fully understood the concept of Heroic Spirits yet, but that doesn't really matter.

After all, in essence, Xue Lude might have already become an undead and died when he helped the old undead kill the Lich King. What survived was merely a heroic spirit that inherited the memories and consciousness of "Xue Lude".

But Xue's Law never gets bogged down in these fussy questions like "Am I really me?"

"Old man, I'm very strong now, stronger than you," Xue Dinglu said, giving himself a thumbs-up.

The Great Sage simply smiled and said, "Yes, you have become stronger than me. In fact, you have gone further than me. I can no longer see your back from afar."

It seems like helplessness, but more than that, it seems like a sense of relief that the students were able to surpass him.

“Old Deng, I want to ask you a question.” Xue Dinglu took a deep breath. He seemed to have been thinking for a long time. In this silent world and the distant noise, he finally asked the question he wanted to ask most, “Back then, what was the path you initially prepared for me?”

The great sage seemed unsurprised, and it seemed he had prepared this answer long, long ago.

"If I were to say that my initial purpose wasn't as noble and righteous as you think, and that the path 'I' wanted you to take, and the legacy I intended to leave behind, was merely a backup plan to fight against the apostles..."

"I can no longer walk. With my abilities, I will never be able to kill the Apostle, and I may never even find the Apostle's true whereabouts in this lifetime. But future generations will follow in my footsteps, stepping over my corpse, and thus go further..."

"Just one seed left behind for the world, a seed capable of fighting against the Apostles..."

"Or perhaps, it's just a last resort."

Chapter 492 Us Afterwards

The two strolled through the space of consciousness at this moment.

Once upon a time, this place was just a desolate wasteland, but now it has changed a lot, to the point that even the Great Sage could not recognize it.

"Do you remember the first lesson I taught you?" the old man said.

"Which one is the first lesson?" Xue Dinglu asked directly.

In an instant, the white-robed old man in his heroic spirit form clearly showed surprise and a state of bewilderment.

"The first lesson in ancient Greece."

“Oh, I remember that. Don’t despise schemes and tricks. Before achieving your goal, all strategies and methods are necessary,” Xue Dinglu said.

It was from that time on that Xue Law and that scoundrel Odysseus got along better and better, because both of them were the kind of people who would do any dirty trick to achieve their goals.

Poisoning, digging pits, traps, worshipping godfathers, backstabbing—these are all child's play for Xue's Law.

However, Xue's bottom line is still a bit higher than that of the immoral Xiu Si; at least he wouldn't do something like sleeping with someone for information.

"Actually, it's the same as what I taught you. I may not be as upright and honorable as you think. I also have many selfish motives, and many things I wanted to do but couldn't..." The old man seemed to sigh.

As if recalling the past, he said, "I once had a similar thought: since I couldn't kill the apostle myself, would the next generation have a chance? Would I be able to create a student who could kill the apostle?"

"So I taught everything I knew to many people, so many that I've forgotten them all..."

"I wanted to bet this goal on the next generation, but I gradually realized that it was just a pipe dream."

"And making them aim to kill the Apostles is too much of a burden for them." The old man seemed to be reminiscing about the past, or perhaps, as a Heroic Spirit, he could no longer empathize with his past self when he was still a demon.

"You should know that this is the highest level of magic I know."

"The Great Prophecy Technique..." Xue Dinglu continued.

The old man smiled, as if he were quite pleased: "Yes, the Great Prophecy Technique is not actually a technique that can see the future. It is merely a technique that calculates the most likely future based on existing information."

"In my calculations, I foresee the destruction of the Starfleet and the victory of the Apostles..."

"What kind of future is that? The universe is enveloped by the divine tree, the apostles enslave all races, deify themselves, and unleash endless wars throughout the universe..."

"The humans they enslave will become cannon fodder in the war, stepping into this battle between apostles generation after generation, and after death they will all believe that they have returned to the embrace of God..."

"In fact, it's just that their final bodies and souls will be absorbed by the divine tree, thus becoming its nourishment."

"For the sake of the tree's fruit, the apostles will never stop this war between them. They are like chess players, not caring about the pieces under their control. It will be a tragic, chaotic and cruel environment."

“Even in that environment, even apostles with slightly higher moral standards can only lower their bottom line more and more, thus becoming more twisted beings, in order to gain an advantage in the game with other apostles.”

"Even the apostles would kill each other until only the last four apostles, the most inhuman and twisted, remained in the entire universe. They firmly controlled the entire universe and the subspace, becoming the four most notorious evil gods... Such a universe is like..." The old man paused here, as if searching for the most fitting adjective.

“It’s like a cesspool…” Xue Dinglu replied.

The Great Sage: "..."

Although it sounds a bit crude, it is indeed a rather apt description.

"Indeed, this description is disgusting, but this is exactly the future I have calculated. The entire universe will be as stinking and twisted as a battle in a cesspool, with the apostles feeding each other history like you feed me a bite and I feed you a bite, just to see who can feed the most history."

Old Dengtou seemed to find the description interesting and began to continue following Xue's description.

"In such a future, people will only be able to survive and struggle in a dark and cruel cesspool. Perhaps the power you think you have gained and the path you have embarked on may just be another apostle corrupting you."

Xue's Law: "..."

If this calculation is accurate, then it really is a stage in a cesspool—come and get the job!

That feeling is worse than the entire universe being swallowed by nothingness; at least in the face of nothingness, everyone is equal.

"And just when I was feeling utterly pessimistic and desperate, I found a special place, and there, I glimpsed a trace of the true God's deeds." He said, recalling the past, "I wrote that record and the deeds of the true God in my 'Book of Sages,' and prepared to find a final insurance policy to avoid such a future..."

"You should have finished reading my records, right?" Old Deng smiled, looking at Xue Dinglu with satisfaction.

Xue's Law: "?"

What? The Book of Sages? What is that?

At this moment, Xue Daolu looked like a slacker who had just woken up and was called on by the teacher, his eyes showing a clear, stupid and bewildered expression.

Seeing Xue's expression, the Great Sage was also somewhat puzzled and asked in return, "Didn't you see the 'Book of Sages' that I left behind?"

"No, I really didn't see it," Xue Dinglu tried to deny.

“It’s right at the deepest part of the knowledge module I set up. When you reach level 5, it will be completely unlocked for you. I’ve also written all my purposes on it. Didn’t you see it?” The old man suddenly felt like he couldn’t hold back anymore.

Xue's Law: "..."

emm...

After he reached level 5, he started associating with the Mimic King, and then the Order God incident broke out. During this time, he really didn't use the system.

Well, ever since he reached level 4, he's rarely looked at the knowledge modules the old man prepared for him...

After all, compared to the enemies he had to face, the growth rate of knowledge and magic alone was far too slow. The environment forced Xue to use a simpler, more brutal, and powerful force, even if it was the power of nothingness.

So actually, I rarely even open that knowledge module for Xue's Law!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The old man seemed to have lost his composure for the first time, and he struck Xue Luding on the head three times with his staff, making Xue Luding cover his head and say, "Ouch, what are you doing?"

"Ignorant and incompetent!" The old man seemed speechless for the first time. "I remember in my calculations, you should have been a very studious person."

Xue's Law: "..."

The once studious Xue Law is dead; what survived is merely a beast of the end, so engrossed in playing in a wheelchair that it has lost its mind.

The main thing is, with a wheelchair, who would bother to painstakingly study magic books, spending so much time and effort only to gain little in return for combat power... Xue Dinglu thought to himself quietly.

"Alas, perhaps this is the drawback of the Great Prophecy. It can only calculate the future based on existing data, but cannot truly predict the future," the Great Sage sighed.

In fact, the principle of the Great Prophecy is very simple. It is like this: if you know that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and you also know that the war enthusiasm of the United States is infinitely high, and you also know that the United States' industrialization is so efficient that it can launch a Lexington-class aircraft carrier in 3 days.

At this point, it can be calculated that Japan is destined to lose in the future. No matter how much advantage Japan gains in the naval battle in the early stages, it will undoubtedly be defeated.

This is the basic principle of the Great Prophecy: calculating the future based on existing information and selecting the most likely future.