Sage of Humanity

Atop Bright Heart Peak, within the library room, Lu Ye knelt before Madam Yun, spreading his palm open. Under the slight surge of spirit force in his palm, a Yin Origin smaller than a grain of rice swiftly formed, then transformed into a Yang Origin before reverting to Yin Origin again.

In just a few breaths' time, it changed more than a dozen times, transitioning smoothly with the basic element stable.

Madam Yun was inspecting his progress in front of him.

"That will do," Madam Yun spoke.

Only then did Lu Ye dispel the spirit force.

"I must say, there is a reason you received the inheritance of that spirit runes master. You possess a high degree of talent in this path," Madam Yun remarked appreciatively as she looked at him.

When the sect master first brought Lu Ye here, Madam Yun simply didn't want the predecessor's inheritance to be wasted in Lu Ye's hands, thus she decided to guide him, encouraging him to visit Bright Heart Peak whenever he could, hoping to maximize the use of that inheritance.

However, following these couple of visits, she was surprised to find that although their ancestor had perished, his discernment in choosing a successor was still evident.

Lu Ye, a beginner, had only taken one incense stick's time to achieve what had taken her two days in her own early years, and this time was even more outrageous—managing to switch between Yin Origin and Yang Origin to meet her standards within just five days.

It had taken her a full month to reach this level, and compared to him, she realized Lu Ye's talent in the Path of Spirit Runes far surpassed her own by no small measure.

The youth before her was worth the effort to carefully cultivate. For a moment, the gaze she cast upon Lu Ye softened considerably.

Perhaps... maybe... she could consider snatching this youth from that old thing to become her own successor? She imagined that the old fellow wouldn't dare to complain much.

This matter should not be rushed, best to proceed slowly.

Setting aside her thoughts, she flipped her wrist and a transparent crystal the size of an egg appeared in her palm. The crystal was flat, clearly carved intentionally in that shape, and its surface had many openwork areas. From those hollows, the pattern resembled a combination of Yin and Yang Origins.

Madam Yun tossed the transparent crystal to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye caught it and examined it: "Is this spirit runes?"

"This is spirit runes," Madam Yun nodded sluggishly, "Anything that can be constructed and stabilized with Yin and Yang Origins qualifies as spirit runes."

Lu Ye immediately recalled this statement; he had read it in a book two days earlier, authored by someone named Muh Xiaoyao.

This Muh Xiaoyao must surely be a remarkable spirit runes master.

According to what Muh Xiaoyao wrote, whether something could be called a spirit rune depended on if it could remain stable once constructed.

Yin and Yang Origins could not be arranged arbitrarily, they required adherence to a mysterious principle. Randomly arranged basic elements were nearly always unstable for formation, and if they somehow managed to form, element conflicts could happen, potentially causing a violent burst of spirit force in severe cases.

Thus, creating new spirit runes was not an easy task, and could end disastrously if not careful.

"However, spirit runes are divided into two categories, useful spirit runes and useless spirit runes."

"There are useless spirit runes?"

"This spirit rune in your hand is one of them," Madam Yun explained, "Useful spirit runes produce various miraculous effects, while useless spirit runes do not perform any function; they simply exist once formed. Try to deconstruct this spirit rune, then tell me how many basic elements it contains, and how many of those are Yin Origins and how many are Yang Origins."

"Yes," Lu Ye responded and examined the transparent crystal in his hand seriously, mentally simulating the construction of this spirit rune.

To him, this was not an easy task, as the patterns of spirit runes looked incredibly similar, and the combinations of Yin and Yang Origins seemed to blend seamlessly—making some patterns look like they're made of two basic elements when they are actually made of three or even four elements intertwined.

This not only tested his eyesight but also his intellect.

However, for Madam Yun to start his education by deconstructing spirit runes undoubtedly made it easier for him to grasp this spirit rune; only by accurate deconstruction could the complete structure of the entire spirit rune be clearly understood.

In Lu Ye's memory, many prestigious people rose from merely deconstructing. Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire

One incense stick's time later, after Lu Ye's repeated confirmations, he looked up and said, "Madam, this spirit rune consists of thirty basic elements, including twelve Yin Origins and eighteen Yang Origins."

Madam Yun smiled and nodded, "Good, this is one of the simplest spirit runes in the Path of Spirit Runes. The first step in a spirit runes master's training of a disciple is to construct this Spirit Rune Thirty."

"Spirit Rune Thirty?"

"Useless spirit runes are only named with numbers," she explained.

"I see, the predecessor who created this Spirit Rune Thirty must indeed have been a prodigy."

It's not that having more basic elements is better in spirit runes; though more elements bring more variations, perhaps allowing the construction of extremely powerful spirit runes, creating a stable rune with just thirty basic elements truly tests one's skill.

This is much like the ultimate test of a cook's skill in stir-fried shredded potatoes—as complicated and time-consuming as Buddha Jumps Over the Wall may be delightful, a chef who can make it might not necessarily be able to stir-fry a dish of shredded potatoes that everyone unequivocally praises.

"It is rare for you to think this way," Madam Yun said.

In the subsequent time, Madam Yun inquired about the contents of the books Lu Ye had read previously. Lu Ye also took the opportunity to ask some questions he found perplexing, and then Madam Yun went on to explain some basic knowledge of the Path of Spirit Runes.

As time passed, the library witnessed one earnestly teaching and the other earnestly learning, their joy blending harmoniously.

Unwittingly, it had grown dark outside.

Madam Yun stood up and said, "Let's stop here for today. Given that your cultivation is still low, you should prioritize enhancing your own cultivation. The Path of Spirit Runes is profound and cannot be learned in just a day or two. Go back and thoroughly study the Spirit Rune Thirty, and come back to me once you can construct it smoothly."

With those words, she waved her hand again, bringing over a dozen books for Lu Ye to take with him.

A moment later, Lu Ye walked out under the escort of the maid.

He turned around, thanked her, and then asked, "May I know how to address the young lady?"

Every visit, he saw this maid, yet Lu Ye still did not know her name. Expecting to interact with her in the future, Lu Ye wanted to ask her name.

Unexpectedly, the maid just smiled at Lu Ye without responding.

Lu Ye looked at her for a while and then bowed with his hands clasped, "I take my leave!"

A fine young girl, yet deaf, quite pitiful indeed.

Riding Amber back to Righteous Peak, the sect master was standing in the plaza, looking up at the flag with golden flames on a blood background, symbolic of the Righteous Blood Sect.

"Sect Master," Lu Ye approached and saluted.

The sect master seemed to notice him then, turning around, "Coming from Bright Heart Peak?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, studying the Path of Spirit Runes isn't a bad idea," the sect master nodded, looked around, and lowered his voice, "Did Madam Yun ever mention me in front of you?"

Lu Ye was immediately in a dilemma, not knowing how to answer, but ultimately responded honestly, "Not at all."

The sect master's face showed a clear sense of disappointment.

After exchanging a few more words with the sect master, Lu Ye finally departed.

Upon entering his quarters and secluding himself in the training room, Lu Ye first constructed a small funnel in his spiritual orifice, switched his Cultivation Technique, and swallowed an elixir pill.

Only then did he begin constructing the thirty spirit runes.

Spirit runes surged in his palm, forming the first Yin Origin, then merging with a Yang Origin...

Constructing spirit runes demanded completion in one go without interruption, else it was bound to fail, and it required extremely precise control over one's spirit force or it wouldn't be successful.

Although Lu Ye had previously switched between Yin-Yang Dual Origins with ease, that was only with single basic elements. Now that he began constructing these thirty spirit runes, he immediately felt the difficulty.

It was different from the spirit runes he had constructed before; those he obtained from the Talent Tree formed instantly at the thought, because all the mysteries of those spirit runes had been imprinted in his mind through the leaves.

This was also the reason he could quickly accomplish the tasks set by Madam Yun. He had an advantage that other spirit runes masters did not have; he had successfully constructed many spirit runes and had a very unique foundation in the Path of Spirit Runes.

In his first attempt, he only managed to construct three basic elements before failing due to unstable spirit force.

He then attempted a second time.

A third time...

...

One hour later, Lu Ye exploded.

Even though he kept comforting himself to stay calm and not to rush, he still felt an urge to strike someone amidst those repeated failures.

He reluctantly persisted for another hour, but his mentality completely collapsed.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out two items from his storage sack, one being a Breath Fruit Core and the other, a Boulder Mountain Saber.

Little bugs, daddy's coming to see you!

Spending fifty merits to enter the Mirage Realm, he began a slaughter!

These days, Lu Ye entered almost daily, refining his combat skills through relentless battles, and he noticed that the monsters in the Mirage Realm weren't limited to just mantises; there were humanoid ants, locusts half the height of a man, spiders, and other strangely shaped creatures whose names he couldn't pronounce.

Every entry brought different monsters, and each initial contact came with setbacks because each monster had its unique abilities. For instance, the ant-like creatures bled a highly corrosive acid upon death, and the wounds inflicted by the locusts were even more troublesome as parasitic eggs would deposit there and soon hatch into small locusts.

There was also a creature that could spray venom and another covered in bone spikes like a porcupine, which, when provoked, had deadly offensive capabilities.

This typically resulted in Lu Ye dying surrounded by nine monsters. In his best attempt, he killed five, only to be mercilessly slaughtered by the remaining four, dying a gruesome death.

This time, he faced the porcupine-like bugs. At the end, with nine monsters attacking all at once, a sky full of bone spikes flew at him, and even with his active Defense Spirit Runes, he couldn't block them.

Nevertheless, he managed to kill six monsters before his death.

He was improving bit by bit. Lu Ye felt that if he gave it a couple more tries, he should be able to get past this challenge.

Upon exiting the Mirage Realm, though his head ached, his depressive mood had significantly improved.

The best way to vent frustration, to hit someone, or to be hit.