Sorcerer: I want to be an Academic Prodigy

Upon hearing that it was made by his own hands, Barbaric Hammer's already large eyes widened even more, showing a hint of regret.

The two had dealt with each other three times in total: once in a duel and twice drinking together. They truly embodied the saying "no fight, no acquaintance," having long turned hostility into friendship.

However, Ivan wasn't one to show off, and Barbaric Hammer's understanding of him remained rather superficial.

"You should've said so earlier, I'm not skilled enough to forge the hammer you want." Seeing his expression, Ivan knew exactly what was going through his mind.

Without a doubt, his passion was hammers, nearly above all else.

Ivan was well aware that his current maximum capability was forging some elementary Original Force Treasure, and that he had no chance of crafting anything at the intermediate level.

Given Barbaric Hammer's standing, he was surely after an intermediate Original Force Treasure.

"You're mistaken."

Barbaric Hammer continued, "What I need isn't forging but repair, to fix a flawed long hammer. Once repaired, it definitely won't be inferior to the one you previously used."

"Then you should find Tie Kong Venerable."

"You think I haven't tried? But Iron Sky Venerable isn't skilled in forging, so what can I do?"

"With the battle imminent, let's talk about it later."

Seeing Barbaric Hammer's eager intent to pull him along to repair the treasure, Ivan quickly brushed it off, knowing this wasn't the time to discuss such matters as they were in a hurry to pay respects to Iron Sky Venerable.

This time, the sorcerers were assigned under the command of the Giant Race's Iron Sky Throne.

"It's fine as long as you agree. Come on, I'll introduce you to two people, you might have guessed already."

"We must first pay respects to Iron Sky Venerable."

"You're early, you won't meet him now, hurry and follow me."

While Barbaric Hammer appeared reckless, he was quite astute, but he was also a man of his word.

Ivan did not doubt his words and quickly followed him to the other side of the Giant Divine Palace, where Ivan met several other thrones from the surface.

There was an old neighbor—the Golden Light Throne of the Duomu Clan.

There was another giant—the Mountain Shaker Throne.

The last one was the Liu Feng Throne, whose background was peculiar and unknown, having no racial affiliation, and who had become a throne a long, long time ago.

Regardless, everyone was a throne, with no one above the other.

The other thrones welcomed Ivan's arrival, putting aside past grudges. Currently, they shared a common identity, comrades in the same trench, all representing Danaila.

...

Day turned to night.

The gathering of the army was not affected in the slightest by the dusk of night. While it was called an army, the participants were actually not numerous, barely reaching a thousand, but they were the most elite forces of each race.

For instance, there were a total of thirty-six sorcerers.

Led by the True Witch Throne, with Long Sky Witch King and Wanmu Witch King assisting, the core included Dragon Rock King, King of Green Flood Dragon, and King of Thousand Rocks, with the remaining being Level 4 personnel, among whom were ten Arcane Wizards.

Beside the True Witch Throne was an outsider, Nicole from Trembling Paradise.

Though few in number, such strength was not to be underestimated anywhere.

Compared to the sorcerers, other races had even more elite members participating, nearly drawing two-thirds of a race's foundation, arranged according to this expedition strategy.

"We meet Iron Sky Venerable."

"Depart."

Iron Sky Venerable arrived belatedly, offering no superfluous words and directly issuing the order to depart.

A deep, bottomless passage appeared.

Iron Sky Venerable stepped in first, with the army behind him quickly following. The first segment was a semi-real, semi-virtual spatial passage, followed by a substantial and sealed corridor, where everyone moved without making a sound.

Unknown how long it took, but eventually, they arrived in a pitch-black cavern, with the passage disappearing immediately.

"They've come."

"They've come."

Within the cavern was another team, several times larger, clearly from the Underworld, led by Wuyang Supreme.

The two supreme leaders exchanged simple greetings, standing silently at the forefront, awaiting something.

In the ranks behind Iron Sky Venerable, Ivan quietly observed everything around him, paying particular attention to the Earth Core Vein, realizing that apart from the Dark Night Mother Goddess and Golden Wutong Throne, the higher-ups of the Earth Core Vein were all present.

He couldn't help but secretly click his tongue, realizing how relentless the Earth Core Vein was.

'Could Sea Mother and the others plan to seize the opportunity during the battle to search for traces of the Fang Yu Map in the Ash Plane, or do they wish for vengeance?'

Since the adventure to Fangyu Paradise, Ivan had numerous interactions with the Earth Core Vein people over the following years.

At Sea Mother's repeated invitations, he visited Flower Burial Lake once, located on the fourth underground level, which was Sea Mother Brabu Elsop's residence.

At Flower Burial Lake, Thousand Claw Throne and War Fire apologized to him in person for their past attempt to seize the World Tree seed.

Sea Mother, too, representing the Earth Core Vein, promised him various conditions.

But Ivan understood that Thousand Claw Throne and War Fire weren't genuinely remorseful. They needed his help, and Sea Mother's thoughts were aligned with this, all for the Fang Yu Map.

To the Earth Core Vein, Fang Yu Map was tantamount to the Peak of Truth to the sorcerers, with an even more intimate connection.

Ivan analyzed that it had reached an inseparable point, estimating that not even Mother of Earth Core anticipated Fang Yu Map being jointly exiled by the strongest of the three planes, digging into the Earth Core Vein's roots and poking a large hole.

Fang Yu Map being jointly exiled by the strongest of the three planes, digging into the Earth Core Vein's roots and poking a large hole.

Even Mother of Earth Core had unfortunately fallen, leading to continuous backlash within the Earth Core Vein, resulting in their current predicament.

His operating principle was always clear: have a bowl as big as one can eat. Not to mention whether he could find clues, Fang Yu Map involved something so immense—how headstrong would he have to be to collide with it for the Earth Core Vein's sake?

For this matter, his approach was to verbally assent but continually delay in action. After all, the Earth Core Vein had searched for Fang Yu Map for thousands of years, so looking for another thousand years would be quite normal.

"True Witch Throne, if your sorcerers encounter any issues, feel free to reach out to our Earth Core Vein people." At this point, Sea Mother also took notice of him.

"Thank you very much."

Ivan paused briefly, then expressed his gratitude.

Whether or not he took these words to heart was known only to him, as everyone belonged to two supremely different commanders, and they would likely be separated later.

He continued to observe around him. The place, resembling a dim cavern, was a most peculiar, enigmatic site.

If delving deeper, one would find scattered light points ahead, emanating barely perceptible light. If one stared without moving, his field of vision would brighten increasingly, drawing his mind deeper and deeper.

Quite strange.

Ivan, being not an ordinary person and perhaps protected by something, didn't become truly ensnared. At critical moments, he could always pull himself out.

After some observation, he concluded that those light points were a sort of linked passage, far superior to inter-planar space channels.

Despite the questions swirling in his mind, he didn't seek anyone out for answers.

He surmised that clarity would come shortly.

"Time has come."

"Yes, everyone, move out. I'll bring up the rear."

"Alright."

Time silently elapsed until finally, it was time to embark on a new journey. After a brief discussion, the two supremes finalized the schedule.

Iron Sky Venerable led the way, with Wuyang Supreme trailing behind.

Once they finished speaking, one of the light points swiftly expanded into a long, narrow passage. The passage was brightly lit, dazzlingly colorful, and bewildering to behold.

"Follow me."

Iron Sky Venerable led Ivan and others into it, and Ivan immediately felt a profound, mysterious sensation, as if stepping into a remarkable place, undergoing an inexplicable form of enlightenment.

He quickly discerned that his perception had changed, ascending to a new level.