Shinji's horizons had broadened significantly, and he had visited quite a few worlds. Yet, aside from the Hegemons, he had never encountered a force that triggered his instinctive dread—not even this incomparably dazzling magic ring before him.
"It seems this Six Rings World is inferior to the Ninja World..."
Just as the thought arose, Shinji realized it was incorrect.
Using himself to represent the standard level of the Ninja World was obviously inappropriate.
Having already obtained the "Six Tomoe Rinnegan" and successfully becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, there was nothing in the Ninja World that could threaten his existence either.
Rather than saying the Ninja World was strong, it was more accurate to say that he personally was strong, for he already stood at the absolute pinnacle of the Ninja World, far surpassing the vast majority of ninjas.
Not long after, Shinji and Alice arrived at the pure white Tower of Wisdom.
Receiving them was a noble and elegant female mage in white robes. Shinji initially thought she was the "Arcane" Alice had mentioned, but after some conversation, he learned she wasn't the Lampbearer guarding this realm, but one of the six Supreme Sorcerers of the Six Rings World—"Twilight Star."
As for "Arcane," the Lampbearer guarding the Six Rings World, he was merely her apprentice.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Alice said, "Lady Twilight Star, on our way here, we discovered that the pollution level in another area has reached the critical point!"
Twilight Star sighed slightly: "I know. The pollution is spreading."
Alice looked up subconsciously: "How much longer can the magic ring hold out?"
Twilight Star shook her head: "My mana is weakening, so any conclusion reached now will be inaccurate by tomorrow!"
Alice said helplessly: "This is the Plague Hegemon's ability. It can spread plague and make the entire world 'sick,' thereby weakening the target world's ability to resist."
Twilight Star nodded gently, then said: "So, whatever your plan is, please make haste!"
Alice nodded with utmost solemnity: "Please rest assured, My Lady, we will do our best!"
It was clear that although Mage Twilight Star was not a 'Lampbearer,' Alice was still very respectful towards her.
After leaving the terrace, Alice took the initiative to warn Shinji: "Although Lady Twilight Star is different from us, her strength is very, very formidable. She is a figure worthy of respect. When you interact with her in the future, you must maintain sufficient respect."
Shinji asked casually, "How strong?"
Alice said, "Supreme Sorcerer—a strength beyond your imagination! If the Lampbearer of the Six Rings World were Lady Twilight Star, or any other Supreme Sorcerer, the situation here would certainly be much better than it is now."
Shinji looked thoughtful.
Through his close-range perception just now, he discovered that this Supreme Sorcerer known as "Twilight Star" indeed contained immense energy within her body. She gave him a feeling roughly equivalent to seventy or eighty percent of Shion after fusing with Mōryō to gain the full power of the priestess.
However, considering she was likely already polluted by the Plague Hegemon and her power partially weakened, the Supreme Sorcerer's strength at her peak should be close to Shion's, though still some distance from "Six Paths Level."
Alice continued, "I even suspect that it is precisely because Lady Twilight Star is too powerful that she cannot become a Lampbearer."
Shinji frowned: "Why?"
"Because such a powerhouse is enough to break the balance! Anyway, I've never seen a Lampbearer powerful to this extent." Saying this, Alice glanced at Shinji, "Perhaps you are very confident in your own strength, but believe me, if Lady Twilight Star wished, she could kill you very easily! Of course, that includes me as well!"
Shinji chuckled lightly: "Oh? That makes me interested in magic!"
Alice said: "The library of the Wisdom Tower is open to us. If you're interested, you can go take a look."
"Really?"
Shinji was stunned.
The title "Supreme Sorcerer" sounded anything but simple; it likely represented the pinnacle of power in this world.
But being close to "Six Paths Level," even if at the very peak, meant that the power level of the Six Rings World wasn't weak, at least not much worse than the Ninja World.
Alice said: "Of course it's true. However, learning magic in the Wisdom Tower requires mana. We outsider Lampbearers don't possess a magical bloodline, so we need magic crystals matching our mental fluctuations to cast spells. If we need a crystal every time, the efficiency is too low for us. So you can use it for reference to broaden your horizons. As for deep study, I'm afraid there isn't enough time."
Shinji and Alice still needed to stay at the Wisdom Tower to await the return of "Arcane," who was out investigating the pollution. Taking advantage of the wait, Shinji went to the Grand Library inside the Wisdom Tower.
The mages receiving Shinji had noticeably weaker mana fluctuations within their bodies compared to Mage Twilight Star just now.
Knowing that Shinji's group were esteemed guests of the Supreme Sorcerer, the mages, upon learning of Shinji's intent, guided him into the Grand Library while introducing various magic books collected within.
Shinji skipped all ordinary elemental offensive magic like wind, fire, thunder, and lightning.
His focus was on space-time magic, prophecy magic, and magic involving ocular techniques.
Yet, even in the Supreme Sorcerer's Grand Library, space-time and prophecy magic were very rare. Shinji only found a magic called "Prophecy" that could interfere with fate, and one called "Portal" that allowed travel between two pre-arranged magic arrays.
"'Prophecy' isn't as useful as 'Izanagi' at all, and the casting threshold is ridiculously high. As for 'Portal,' it's not as good as the 'Flying Thunder God Technique.' It seems that in terms of application, mages haven't developed magic perfectly yet..."
Shinji lamented inwardly.
But this was normal. The reason the Ninja World could develop all sorts of strange ninjutsu, secret arts, and forbidden techniques was that all ninjas could trace their lineage back to Kaguya Otsutsuki, the "Chakra Progenitor."
Many supernatural powers were rooted in the bloodline itself, like "Kekkei Genkai." Therefore, some ninjas possessed extremely strong abilities from birth. On this basis, they could step onto the battlefield at a few years old and become top-tier ninjas in their teens or twenties.
Thus, many ninjas already possessed the ability to develop various secret arts and forbidden techniques while in the prime of their lives.
In contrast, although bloodlines existed for mages in the Six Rings World, the power of the bloodline was far less terrifying than in the Ninja World. No matter how excellent a mage was, they needed years of study and cultivation to improve their strength. Therefore, just learning occupied more than half of a mage's life.
Suddenly, Shinji's gaze fell upon a magic book on the shelf titled "Analytical Eye."