The problem of lifespan was finally resolved, and the capture of the deity was successful; it seemed like a happy ending for all.
However, the old man was also very aware of how much trouble awaited him after doing all this.
Just the Goddess of Youth, Hebe, could very likely attract the attention of the God King; and the God of Stars's experiment, his exploration of flesh and blood, Memory, and even the essence of the soul, compared to which, his connection with the lower realms was nothing.
He had not considered finding a backer for himself, but this idea was quickly dismissed.
Because he knew that no force would trust his loyalty once they knew what he had done.
Even with Hell, which most trusted contracts, the old man had only made a deal with some of them, exchanging it for a contract that 'sold his soul' in an alternative way.
If he failed today, he would decisively end his Life, giving no one the chance to judge him, but instead letting the devils fulfill the contract and actively take his soul.
Although dealing with devils was indeed mentally taxing, and even the chaos of demons was incompatible with wizards, he would have no choice then.
Fortunately, he ultimately succeeded, and that contract became his opportunity to explore the Abyss in the future, rather than a one-way ticket of no return.
As for going in himself now? That was out of the question.
The chaos of Tartarus might serve as a reference, but it could never pave a proper path to godhood for him, unless he intended to abandon Wisdom and walk the path of an Abyssal Demon God.
On this basis, even if the old man wanted to hold a sacrificial ritual pointing to Hell or the Abyss to push all this onto them, it would be useless.
Because unless the Lord of Hell or the abyss will personally responded to him, ordinary devils and demons, even if they could block the divine spells of a Church Archbishop from prying, would absolutely not be able to block the projected divine artifacts summoned by angels themselves, nor the God King of Mount Olympus.
So, after much deliberation, if he wanted to erase the traces he left here and the methods for later comers to track him, he had only one solution left.
To sacrifice to an existence powerful enough, and that existence must also deem his pitiful sacrifices worthy, and be willing to spare some time from their busy schedule to meet...
"Such an existence can be found, but the problem is, finding them is one thing, but I don't want to meet such an existence..."
Sighing lightly, the old man, no longer aged, waved his hand, signaling his apprentice to come closer.
"Teacher? Did you succeed?"
With a hint of joy and longing, Erwin stepped forward.
The old man had once promised that after him, he would be the second wizard to have the opportunity to embark on this path.
After all, even among his several fellow disciples, only he was loyal to his teacher and never disobeyed him.
Although this included the reason for his own lack of ability to be independent, in all matters, actions speak louder than words; judging by intentions, no one in the world is perfect.
He did every task his teacher assigned him very well, and that was enough.
And it seemed just as he thought, the old man slowly nodded.
"That's right, Erwin. I succeeded, and as I once promised you, as long as you can handle what I assign you, then you will be the next me."
"—Thank you, Teacher!"
Unable to hide his excitement, as the actual conductor of the ritual, no one understood the old man's current state better than Erwin.
A perfect demigod, whether in body or otherwise, as long as he could find his true and feasible 'path', then the purest divinity and the door to godhood would open to him.
Strictly speaking, the reason the old man could not truly generate his own divinity at this time was simply because he was a wizard.
After all, spellcasters and combat professions inherently had fundamental differences.
Combat professions who wanted to generate their own divinity did not need to directly find their path to godhood.
If they wanted their divinity to become similar to that of a true god, possessing an unerasable will and influence, there was a natural shortcut: directly fusing it with their own will, which had condensed and sublimated to its extreme.
This fusion was not limited by time or place; whether it was intense combat, deep-seated hatred, or grand ideals and visions, all could serve as tools to stimulate the sublimation of will.
Because the path of combat professions sought from within themselves, no matter what their future path to godhood would be, as the core supporting them to reach demigod status, it would inevitably involve their own will and belief, which was an indispensable part of them.
In this situation, no matter how the future path was taken, the divinity sublimated from one's own will would not conflict with it... so at this step, combat professions had an undeniable advantage.
But in contrast, spellcasters were different.
The will and belief that condensed and sublimated to their extreme could be regarded as the first step of a combat profession's path to godhood, one of their indispensable prerequisites.
But for wizards who focused on seeking truth from the outside world, even psychic magic was built upon the analysis of rules and order.
No wizard would suddenly become stronger by 'bursting out' because their will condensed during battle or their fighting spirit burned; this was the most fundamental difference in paths, somewhat akin to the debate between idealism and materialism in later generations.
Therefore, spellcasters had to find a feasible path and outline a general framework, using the feedback of laws to prove that the direction of their path was correct, and only then could this crystallization of their own Wisdom and inspiration merge with divinity, completing the final transformation of sublimation.
One's promotion meant already being on the correct path, while the other could skip class first and then catch up—this was the difference between spellcasters and combat professions.
Perhaps in the future, spellcasters would find a way to bypass this condition, but certainly not now.
A correct direction, one that could be initially recognized by the rules... this was what the old man currently lacked, but it was also something Erwin had never even considered.
He only hoped that he could reach his teacher's step, and that would be enough.
Full of joy, the middle-aged wizard felt that his previous efforts were indeed worthwhile... but at this moment, looking at his student, whose joy was evident on his face, the old man suddenly asked:
"Erwin."
"Teacher?"
"You have always followed my commands, listening to me implicitly, which is precisely why I was willing to give you my promise, you remember, right?"
"I remember." The middle-aged wizard nodded.
"Yes... it's good that you remember."
"But so many years have passed... have you done everything I asked you to do?"
"Of course."
Without hesitation, the powerful soul recalled his past, and the middle-aged man was certain that until today, he had never done anything to displease his teacher.
"Is that so...?"
Nodding slightly, the old man remained noncommittal; he just suddenly brought up an unrelated matter.
"Erwin, you know, as a wizard, it's not just Medea who likes to use a crystal ball for Prophecy like a goddess."
"I also like Prophecy, but I rarely use tools; instead, I directly observe the changes in the Celestial Bodies in the Sky."
"The countless stars contain countless secrets; their trajectories reveal the rules of how the world operates... Until that day, not long after discovering that deity who had strayed into the maze, a mortal named Heracles came to Silvermoon City."
"The Church gave him the star shuttle I had refined in my early years, and because of that, I also noticed this exceptionally talented young man. But it was precisely that meeting that suddenly filled me with unease."
Speaking slowly, the old man's voice was very calm.
"...But Teacher, you once said that a spellcaster's omens are not necessarily good; they could also be the source of disaster."
Hesitating for a moment, not knowing why his teacher suddenly brought this up, the middle-aged man could only say cautiously.
"Some dangers might not have existed originally, but it is precisely because of inexplicable omens that people develop unnecessary vigilance, ultimately bringing great misfortune upon themselves. This is something we should learn from..."
"Yes, that's what I taught you, Erwin. This is the terrifying aspect of fate; naturally, I am well aware of it."
"So after that day, I did nothing but observe the stars night after night."
The old man's voice was faint as he recalled that night.
"I tried to find answers from the Celestial Bodies, or perhaps, comfort."
"But as you know, not long after, one night, the Sky became bright, stars appeared in broad daylight, and there was a wondrous sight of a red star piercing the Sun God in the Sky."
"A large fiery star, originally wandering in the depths of the starry Sky, shattered into pieces near the Sun God, its remnants transforming from a red star to a brown star, accompanied by falling meteors… This was an ominous Prophecy, a disaster of heavenly revelation. And even more unfortunately, the God we imprisoned happened to be the God of Stars, Astraeus."
"Teacher, I…"
"Let me finish!"
His voice suddenly rose, and the old man abruptly interrupted.
Pacing in the air above the city ruins, his breathing fluctuated violently.
"I don't know what such a celestial phenomenon means. Is it a Prophecy of my demise, or is it a warning from him, telling me that disaster is about to strike?"
"No one can clearly explain this point; even the Goddess of the Magic Web herself has said that fate never explains to the observer; it only inadvertently reveals a corner to you, then mocks and plays with you when you can't help but pursue it!"
"So, with no answer, I had no choice but to find it myself, to search for it myself… Ultimately, I arrived at the beginning of everything, that underground palace where the God was imprisoned."
"So many years… Erwin, tell me," turning to look at the middle-aged man, the old man asked word by word, "Why did I take such a great risk to imprison a God beneath Silvermoon City, right under the nose of the church and the Gods? Is it because I enjoy dancing on the edge of a blade?"
"No… it's not."
Unsure what went wrong, the middle-aged wizard was somewhat flustered. He racked his brain, thinking, "During the Typhon Disaster back then, Teacher, you weren't a Demigod yet, and your mind couldn't observe the complete twelve-layer Magic Net structure… Without the help of the Enigma Lock, the Artificial Magic Net at that time couldn't trap a true God… And the Sun Godpatrolled the Sky daily, we couldn't guarantee that we could hide from his gaze every time…"
As if he had found a reason, the middle-aged wizard's mood finally stabilized a bit.
"And later, although with your breakthrough to Demigod, the Artificial Magic Net technology also made groundbreaking progress, nothing went wrong for so many years, and a hasty transfer would instead be a risk. Plus, the power of the Enigma Lock could help us detect many uninvited outsiders, and the existence of that Centaur could make the church less wary of us, so—"
"So, Erwin, tell me." At some point, the old man's voice had turned cold, "Did you really do as I asked, as you said you would?
"For every sacrifice brought before the God of Stars, did you meticulously review it with the power of the Enigma Lock, ensuring there were no errors?
"Now, Erwin, tell me—did you do as you were told?"
"I—"
"—You didn't!"
His words were sharp, but the old man's expression was calm.
Muttering, unsure what was happening, the middle-aged man looked up into his teacher's eyes. However, gazing at that calm, unruffled gaze, an ominous premonition arose in his heart.
That kind of gaze… He dared not look again. Erwin was startled, and then a flash of silver light passed over his body.
"Eight-Ring Spell: Teleportation Beyond Sight"!
In just one breath, this spell could get him out of here.
Even if a Demigod wizard personally made a move, it would be impossible to crush the various triggered spell items he had accumulated over hundreds of years in a single breath.
And at the same time, the "Nine-Ring Spell: Spirit World Wander" hidden beneath the spatial fluctuation had already begun to prepare. If the old man chose to seal the space immediately, his teleportation would certainly be blocked, but his soul could instantly jump to a pre-set mental anchor point in the second layer of the Spirit World.
Although he had done so many major things, entering the Spirit World might be escaping one danger only to fall into another, but Erwin couldn't care less now.
He understood his teacher, and he knew what kind of person he was.
In the past, no matter how serious a mistake he made, as long as he was still useful to him, he would always be kind to him, at most with a few strict teacher-like reprimands, but now it was different.
Looking at his teacher, whose attitude had changed drastically, Erwin now only wanted to save his Life.
Standing opposite him, the old man was expressionless. Watching his student's resistance, he silently triggered that secret art that had existed for a long time.
"Ah—"
With a scream, piercing pain immediately spread from the depths of the middle-aged wizard's soul.
The half-built spell structure instantly collapsed, and the strong backlash further intensified the mental shock.
Watching this scene, the old man slowly moved forward. He ignored his student's painful struggles and began to remove the spell protections from his body.
He removed them very carefully, as if he did not want to destroy their structure.
"Erwin, my student, by today, you should remember… You know, in this era, how many wizards who can become a Legend are mediocre?"
"Mediocre talent? Are you an exception yourself?
"No."
"There is no rushing the growth of a wizard; you have come this far entirely because you possess this talent."
"And the reason you haven't progressed since becoming the Tower Master of Clock Tower… is not because of your talent, it's because of me."
Erwin's struggling movements suddenly paused, then became even more violent.
However, the old man remained unmoved, because he knew that at this moment, if the other party was truly calm and composed, that might be the only possibility for him to turn things around.
But clearly, he would not give him that chance.
"Erwin, listen carefully to your teacher… Do you still remember your senior brothers?"
"I guess you must remember—but certainly not completely."
"You only remember their achievements, but you don't remember that you too were once like them, extraordinarily talented and exceptional, only I was different…"
"When they became my disciples back then, they sought my guidance on the mysteries of sorcery, and I, being young, taught them everything without reservation."
"It wasn't until they one by one ascended to Legend, even gaining power close to mine, and eventually drifted away from me for their own ideas, that I gradually understood."
"Truly excellent wizards are independent; it's impossible for them to be content with always being subordinate."
"So when you also came before me, it was as if I remembered them… And so I taught you, letting you unleash your potential, and then on the day you advanced to Legend, I forever turned you into my most loyal student."
Woo woo—
The words were not finished, but at this moment, although unable to make a sound, Erwinseemed to have already understood something.
So that was it: the study of the mind, the alteration of Memory, a hundred years of no progress.
Over two thousand years, the White Tower had produced far more than twelve Legends. And even with the teacher's help, if it weren't for his own exceptional talent, how could he have succeeded his senior brother as Tower Master?
After all, his senior brother was so excellent; his research into Celestial Bodies was unmatched… Wait—senior brother?
Yes… Erwin was a bit dazed.
He seemed to have several senior brothers, and two of them had even assisted the teacher in his research of the God of Stars before him… But for some reason, he seemed to have never met them, yet he knew them very well…
"Yes, it seems you have realized."
Smiling and nodding, the old man slowly said:
"Your earliest senior brothers had long established their own factions, but the later ones had all presided over experiments on the God of Stars for me."
"So, to prevent accidents… before they left me, I had to make them have an accident first."