Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"It seems that Mr. Plague Doctor had made preparations long ago, limiting the flesh corruption of Dorothy, the God of Delusion and the Machine God, to a rather subtle level. The flesh corruption devoured most of Dorothy's body, forcing her core to enter a power-saving hibernation state, while Mr. Delusion simply replaced his mechanical body. After that, Mr. Delusion adjusted Dorothy's emotional circuits during the hibernation period."

"It was discovered that her malice toward the evil god and the world had disappeared, and the Supreme Crisis Protocol was also in an untriggered state."

"In other words, the God of Machines was previously corrupted by the Sleeper Triton..."

"I think so."

The dean leaned back in his chair and habitually touched his non-existent beard.

"The doctor who treats the epidemic did a good job."

Scarlet smiled.

Is the dean worried about them?

“No, I’m just glad I’m spared a racial abuse lawsuit. After all, the mechanics can’t expand the lich population after they die.” The Dean picked up his cane and stood up from his seat.

"So, where has our plague doctor gone? I will give him the saved legal fees as a bonus."

He just happened to be away from the college.

"Oh, did the Plague Doctor return to Naslan?"

“No, Mr. Dragon took him away.” Scarlet shrugged. “Because I participated in the Mechanical City incident under the guise of extracurricular activities, Mr. Dragon probably thought I was going to compete with him for his precious apprentice, so…”

"He took the plague doctor out under the pretext of a séance of bones extracurricular activity."

Chapter 538 Mr. Zhiyan

The setting sun casts long shadows of the trees, and birds and beasts return to their nests. The dampness and cold winds of night sweep in, and the flower buds on the bushes vanish without a trace. Night is a breeding ground for danger and intrigue; nocturnal beasts and true monsters lurk in the invisible darkness.

Two figures, one tall and one short, strode through the woods. The taller one wore a simple puppet costume; his headdress, constantly brushed against by branches, was covered in tangled leaves, and his scaly eyes looked like two will-o'-the-wisps gathered within the straw helmet. The shorter one was relatively clean and tidy; his white bird-beak mask was the only contrasting color against his black attire, appearing to float in mid-air against the darkness, creating an eerie effect.

The howls of jackals and wild beasts echoed from afar, drowning out the rustling sound of leather boots scraping against the grass.

Lyle didn't pause; he pulled his foot out and took another step through the knee-high grass. He had gradually adapted to the darkness and categorized himself as one of the native inhabitants of the darkness.

"Dragon Master, how much longer must we continue to travel on foot?" The Dragon Master, citing the need to avoid disturbing wild animals, had sealed away the Spinal Wheel, a means of transportation. As compensation, he offered Lyle a seat on his shoulders, but Lyle refused.

"Soon, my student, just go around that crooked tree where the thrush once roosted, and you'll reach it after passing through two brown bear territories."

Lyle followed the dragon's finger and looked into the darkness, secretly agreeing to help Nia with transportation, as there was still a long way to go.

Where are we now?

"Go to the place where my friend last appeared."

Lyle paused for a moment, suppressing the unpleasant feeling in his heart.

"Dragon Mentor, your friend... surely it doesn't refer to a certain animal or beast?"

“I understand what you mean, Plague Doctor. But my animal friends won’t be of much help to you. The friend we’re looking for is also a lich, a lich who’s been away from the academy for years and rarely returns, so his memories of the academy are from about thirty years ago. You don’t know him, just as he doesn’t know you.”

"Can I learn a lot from that gentleman? Is that the purpose of our trip?"

"No, in terms of pure strength, my friend might not be able to beat you. He is indeed very knowledgeable, but he is severely unbalanced in his studies. The reason I brought you here to find him is to let you meet your future partner. I have a very important experiment that requires the two of you to work together to complete. This experiment will serve as your graduation exam in Bone Spirit Conjuring, my best student." The dragon patted the crooked tree branch, the swaying branch sweeping away the stray leaves above his head.

"In addition, my friend, Mr. Zhiyan, is an ancient linguist. If you are interested in ancient tribal languages ​​such as Aemo, Merf, or Somo, you can consult him. He is a kind scholar, provided that he thinks you are worthy of an exchange of knowledge."

Mr. Zhiyan, Lyle noted down the name.

"But how can I persuade a scholar who is engrossed in his research and has been away from home for a long time?"

"I'm not sure about that. Perhaps you could use your knowledge of evil gods. If that doesn't work, you could use force to pry his mouth open. Remember what I said? He's weak. Don't tell him that I taught you to do this."

After silently mourning for Mr. Zhiyan for two seconds, Lyle began to weigh the risks of offending a linguistics master.

"Dragon Mentor, Mr. Zhiyan... does he participate in any clubs at Andre Academy... or does he have any backing?"

"A powerful backer? Mr. Zhiyan's greatest backer... is probably me, his friend."

The hazard assessment confirmed that there was no threat.

Lyle couldn't help but wonder how Andre could have such an oddball.

The dragon seemed to have thought of something else.

"By the way, I saw Zhiyan's club list before. I think he was in the Andre Literature Club. He applied to the president, Mr. Darkness, for a long-term leave."

A remnant of the literary society? An outsider to the literary society? Lyle felt that Mr. Zhiyan had suddenly become much closer to him.

"Unlike the small group that gentleman belongs to. Mr. Zhiyan is a lich who can truly be called a literary worker. Perhaps it is this passion for ancient texts and his rigorous attitude that makes him incompatible with his society, so he is away from home all year round."

Are you a normal person who gets rejected by a bunch of idiots?

"Because we share some similar interests, Zhiyan and I became good friends."

"Hobbies? Animal lovers?"

"Mr. Zhiyan is obsessed with rocks. He is particularly passionate about ancient fossils, and some of these fossils happen to be the same kind of fossils that I like. In order to study these ancient artifacts that carry history, Mr. Zhiyan usually refreshes the tombs."

Lyle imagined a scholar sitting in a chair, examining a fossil in his hand.

"A tomb? Ah, a gentleman who loves his home."

"No, he usually appears in other people's tombs, examining their burial objects, murals, and even their skeletons."

"..." I must say, it's truly worthy of being called a literary society.

"Therefore, the word 'tomb raider' is a taboo for Mr. Zhiyan. Every time it is mentioned, he will jump up and argue, saying things like, 'How can a scholar's borrowing of books be called tomb raiding! I am engaged in a sacred and glorious cause!'"

Some expectations settled in Lyle's heart, others sprouted from within, and still others vanished forever.

Interesting topics can always make the journey more enjoyable.

"So no one complains about Mr. Zhiyan's behavior? Disturbing the peace of the deceased so frequently."

"No one will complain. Either the tomb's owner has long since turned to ashes, or the tomb's owner will climb out of the coffin to personally 'welcome' this sacred researcher. I forgot to mention, Mr. Zhiyan is also Andrei's recruitment ambassador for a hundred consecutive years. About 30% of Andrei's existing liches were awakened by him, and most of them are powerful liches, so he may be the lich with the highest personal hatred value after Raymond. If you've ever seen the mountain of trophies piled up in the corner of Andrei's executive committee hall, those are his recruitment ambassador trophies. Many honors that necromancers dream of are discarded there like trash by him. It's a truly lamentable fate."

Lyle was wrong; even the outside members of the literary society were just as fierce.

During their conversation, the two arrived at someone else's grave. There were no wild animals disturbing them along the way, probably because their animal instincts allowed them to distinguish which monster was the real danger.

A semi-subterranean tomb in human style, with its stone door wide open, exudes deathly aura amidst a field of night-blooming jasmine.

Mr. Dragon did not enter the tomb, but went straight to the stone tablet to read it.

Lyle saw what the dragon was looking at; it was written in Emorian script with magic, and the handwriting was strangely familiar.

"An Derui's Record of Investigating Unnamed Tombs":

The front chamber contained two victims, both with small skeletons. The burial goods included a small amount of gold coins and gems, but no additional artifacts. In conclusion, these were likely servants buried alive with the deceased or wives and concubines of little power; my expectations for this tomb have been lowered.

In the main burial chamber, a huge surprise awaited: a lich leaped up and broke my left thighbone. I temporarily used Andrei's name to subdue this nascent lich. Before he could react, I slipped away.

Make a mark before you leave.

"I, Mr. Zhiyan, will definitely come back!"

Chapter 539 First Meeting with Zhiyan

"I will definitely come back!"

Mr. Dragon reached out a finger and touched the Emor rune that meant "return." The black characters were stirred by the pale death power emanating from the dragon's fingertip, and thread-like magical tentacles sprouted from the edges of the characters, swaying in the air before collectively pointing in one direction.

"Mr. Zhiyan's only specialty is runic magic. He likes to set up little mechanisms in inconspicuous places. Just like a clever person likes to nitpick and show off his literary talent. Want to try this guiding rune, Plague Doctor? It's quite simple, requiring only a tiny bit of magic manipulation skill."

Mr. Dragon entered teaching mode, but Lyle declined to try. His knee was still aching from his last attempt at runic magic, which had resurrected the Blood Angel Galaron. Although this simple rune was unlikely to be as dangerous as the elaborate rune arrays prepared by the Loshutar vampires, the novelty of the first encounter had worn off, and Lyle wasn't interested in this little spell, which was even simpler than a necromancy ritual.

Following the direction indicated by the runes, the two continued forward through the secluded forest. Soon they passed the second, third, and fourth tombs…

"The burial goods included countless gold and silver treasures, and a painting in the style of Ferrer was discovered. It seems to be a portrait of a lover by the tomb's owner. The style is flamboyant and detached from reality. I have seen the skeleton of the person in the painting before, in the tomb of another crown prince. Judging from the pelvis, the person's buttocks were definitely not so rounded, and there was a slight deformity in the right finger bones..."

"More than twenty ancient magical parchments were found among the burial goods, containing voodoo spells written in Latin, along with three documents of demonic trap contracts. The remains were charred and smelled of sulfur..."

"A slumbering lich has been discovered. Due to its overwhelming aura, further investigation is temporarily abandoned. Known burial items include... several ancient large canine skeletons..."

Mr. Dragon wiggled his fingers and bent down to prepare to venture deeper into the half-open tomb chamber.

"Wait for me outside, doctor."

Lyle felt that this was wrong, and in desperation, Nia grabbed the large tail of the dragon costume that was dragging on the ground.

“Dragon Mentor, isn’t this a bit inappropriate? You see, Mr. Zhiyan also hinted that the owner of this tomb might be very powerful…” “Look, let’s not get into a conflict with our future companions. Finding Mr. Zhiyan is the priority,” Lyle subtly expressed his meaning.

“You’re quite right, my student.” The lich dragon stopped before the tomb entrance. Before Lyle could even catch his breath, he pulled a two-meter-long bone scythe from his leather pouch, its blade gleaming coldly. The dragon casually swung it, smoothing a corner of the tomb's stone. The dragon unleashed a ferocious aura, like a bloodthirsty demon, its murderous eyes glaring at Lyle, causing Lyle and Nia to tremble with every hair on their bodies.

“I’m ready, I’m off then. Wait here, my student.”

Lyle sadly discovered that he didn't even have the courage to stop Mr. Dragon in that state.

Lyle stood alone at the doorway, feeling five thunderous roars, like an earthquake, emanating from the depths of the tomb.

A quarter of an hour later, Mr. Dragon, laughing like the rising sun, came out. He patted Nia's head happily, then raised his bone scythe and drew a mark on the character for "Lich" in Mr. Rock's mark. The cold mark split "Lich" in two. Lyle could only imagine the pale and cruel reality that the beautiful character implied.

"We've already made arrangements. Let's go, doctor."

"Ah."

"That kind gentleman even gave me the remains of his beloved dog."

"Ah."

The search for Mr. Zhiyan took two days. Every tomb he visited was recorded in detail, including some interesting stories hidden behind death, some ancient and strange magical traps, some curses or punishments imposed on them by powerful liches, and some treasures that made Mr. Long unable to resist taking action himself.

Finally, Lyle and the dragon arrived at a tomb whose outer walls lacked any Amorian inscriptions. Without saying much, the dragon and Lyle entered one after the other.

On the dimly lit, deep tomb walls, faintly glowing runes were added where there were no murals or paintings. Although liches do not require lighting, some ancient burial objects react to light, making light necessary for research.

Mr. Zhiyan stood in this dimly lit space, the air thick with the smell of dust and mildew. If it weren't for Mr. Dragon's instructions, Lyle would have even included that stiff, dust-covered standing skeleton as part of the burial offerings. Mr. Zhiyan was naked, leaning against the wall, facing the ancient, broken murals.

"Is Mr. Zhiyan also a member of a primitive sect like Mr. Scarlet?"

“No, he just forgot to change his clothes, and his original clothes have weathered away over time.” The dragon said, approaching the stiff skeleton, pulling the skull off the spine and holding it in his hand.

With a whoosh, two faint flames ignited within the skull. The soul fire flickered for a moment before finally settling on the towering dragon.

"Hmm...long time no see, dragon." The lich's jaw seemed to be slightly dislocated from not being used for a long time, but fortunately, the lich's pronunciation did not rely on the skull.

“The exact time is thirty years, my friend.” Zhiyan’s skull was placed back on his skeleton.