The Wise Ruler used his actions to express his "unwelcome" attitude toward Saunders.
He was worried that the wood spirit would be influenced by Sunders' "personality". However, if Sunders had to come to the underground sewer because of this, it would be better to let the wood spirit see Sunders himself.
The Wise Ruler didn't do that because he was afraid of Sunders. He simply didn't want to get involved with Brute Cavern.
Phantom Island was one of the few warmongers in Brute Cavern, and Sunders was the master of Phantom Island. His opinions and decisions could influence the entire Brute Cavern.
Brute Cavern was a giant organization that never tried to interfere with Nether City. If Sunders and Brute Cavern noticed Nether City because of the wood spirit, it would not be good news for the Wise Ruler.
Angor was also from Brute Cavern, and he was just as important as Sunders. However, Angor's influence in Brute Cavern was completely different.
Therefore, the Wise Ruler would rather accept Angor's presence in Nether City than Sunders' presence.
Of course, it would be better if Angor did not show up in Nether City. But since Angor was already here, the Wise Ruler had to accept it.
At least, Angor was not strong enough yet. The Wise Ruler believed he could use his fists and honey to prevent Angor from leaking information about Nether City to Brute Cavern's decision-makers.
That was the Wise Ruler's plan.
What he did not know was that Angor had already sent the information about Nether City to Brute Cavern through the dream wasteland.
Besides, Sunders was not completely ignoring Nether City. He cared more about it than the Wise Ruler thought. After all, Nether City was the place where he first entered the Nightmare Realm. Now that Sunders was going to enter the Nightmare Realm from time to time, how could he not care about the projected location?
Still, the Wise Ruler worried too much.
Even the leaders of Brute Cavern, such as Iron Granny or Rein, would not be interested in Nether City even if they knew about its secrets.
Brute Cavern had enough work to do.
The Land of Heartbreak under the Astral Pond and the disaster in the Evernight Kingdom required Brute Cavern's time and manpower.
Apart from that, there was also the upcoming tea party and the Mahogany Theater that would arrive at an unknown time. The former was a grand event for the southern witches, while the latter was likely to attract the adepts from the four corners of the World of Adepts and even the source worlds. Just these two matters already required a lot of effort. Nether City? Secret? Forget it.
Secondly, if the secret of Nether City was unguarded, then he could take the time to explore it. But now, not only was Nether City's magic array still operating, but the Wise Dominator and even more unknown old monsters were also hibernating. If they really fought, they might be able to win after spending some effort. However, the Wise Sovereign and the other old monsters could also destroy the secrets of Nether City before they were defeated. This was completely not worth it. There was no need to do so.
Thirdly, the geographical location of Nairo City was very "subtle". It happened to be in the Goman Kingdom, which was about to rise. During this period of time, the various factions were setting up arrangements in the Goman Kingdom. Exploring Nether City might instead be discovered by the various factions. It was fine if they only sensed that they were exploring Nether City, but if they misunderstood their involvement in the Goman Kingdom and changed from being in the dark to being in the open, that would be bad.
Also, even if the Goman Kingdom had fallen, Nether City was not a suitable place to be "openly" explored. For a desolated place like this, even a minor problem would be magnified by public opinion. Moreover, Nether City was not an ordinary ruin. There were unknown and powerful supernatural beings inside, which would turn it into a bomb. Once it was detonated, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Clans, organizations, the Goman Kingdom, the Supreme Cult, and the most pitiful of ordinary people would all be involved.
All in all, Brute Cavern would not send their leaders to explore Nether City in the near future.
As for the longer term, Brute Cavern would not show much interest in Nether City either.
There were too many secrets hidden in the wizarding world in the southern region. Many places with obvious secrets would not be explored by anyone.
Secrecy and danger were, to some extent, the same sign was drawn.
They did not know what the secret of Nether City was. However, they already knew about the danger. Even the Wise Sovereign and the other old monsters knew about it.
Even a colossal organization like Brute Cavern would need to use all their power to deal with it, or spend a lot of time to nibble away at it.
However, doing so would not help them find the secret. On the contrary, it would be easier to destroy it. After all, they didn't know how strong the ten thousand year old monster was, but they could roughly guess how deep the ten thousand year old monster's obsession was.
When their stubbornness reached a certain level, they would never give in.
In Jon's words, it was better to die in glory than to live in dishonor.
So, why bother?
The Wise Ruler had been in the underground sewers for far too long. His judgement of the situation wasn't too accurate. If he had been paying attention to the outside world and had planted spies in the various organizations, he wouldn't have had to worry about this and that.
No matter how smart the Wise Sovereign was, without accurate information, he would still fall into a disadvantageous position.
However, this did not affect Angor much. In fact, it might even be beneficial.
At least, the Wise Sovereign would not "touch" Angor in order to keep Nether City a secret. At the same time, the Wise Sovereign would use "honey" to keep Angor's secret. As for the punch that came with the honey? Angor was not an idiot. He would not fight back. If he cooperated, the punch would not come. Only the honey would come.
In any case, Angor was the beneficiary of the Wise Sovereign's imagination and worries.
It was not good to overthink things. Also, people who loved conspiracy theories would often go to the extreme of being persecuted and delusional. Sometimes, such thoughts would become shackles that would shackle oneself.
…
"So, Wise Sovereign, you agree to let me take Wood Spirit to my professor?" Angor asked again.
The Wise Sovereign was about to agree so that Sunders would not come. However, he did not forget that Wood Spirit was his student. Angor's words were only one-sided. He would only agree after getting Wood Spirit's confirmation.
"What do you think? Do you really want to see your master before he gave birth to his spirit?" The Wise Sovereign looked at Wood Spirit.
Perhaps Wood Spirit also knew that this was a "great matter" that would decide whether he could leave or not, so he quickly responded. This time, he did not use his vines anymore. Instead, he spoke.
"Yes … Professor."
Wood Spirit's voice was very small. It did not sound old, nor did it have any gender preference. However, it gave people a feeling of humility, humming, and muffled, as if it came from a pile of dust. It also had a very low presence. If the air was not so quiet right now, they might not even hear Wood Spirit's voice.
"He doesn't know about your existence. He might not recognize you even if he sees you. Have you considered this? "The Wise Sovereign asked again. This time, he went straight to the point.
Wood Spirit's answer was still firm. "I want to go."
The Wise Sovereign suspected that Wood Spirit did not understand his question at all. Perhaps Wood Spirit only wanted to leave the underground sewer filled with monsters. Even if there were evil intentions out there, it was still the world of humans. Spirits were naturally close to humans.
The Wise Sovereign sighed. He already knew the answer, but he still felt a little disappointed. After all, he was also a "monster" in Wood Spirit's world.
Even Angor didn't notice the Wise Ruler's sadness, but the wood spirit did.
For the first time, Wood Spirit spoke.
"I respect you, Professor. I'm afraid of you … but that doesn't stop me from having the same feelings for you."
Wood Spirit's fear of the Wise Sovereign was due to a flaw in its personality. Also, it was born with a physiological drawback. Or rather, a drawback. Uncontrollable fear, uncontrollable cowardice, and uncontrollable fear of non-humans.
However, a drawback was only a "disease". It was difficult to cure, but it did not affect Wood Spirit's ability to think. Wood Spirit could see the Wise Sovereign's concern for it, and it could also feel the Wise Sovereign's love.
After living together for hundreds of years, Wood Spirit understood what the Wise Sovereign meant. The Wise Sovereign treated its flawed self as his successor. How could Wood Spirit not be grateful?
However, the fear of physiological feedback made it difficult for Wood Spirit to control itself.
Wood Spirit did not decide to leave simply because it wanted to "get close to humans". It made a choice to see if it could change itself.
How to change its personality flaw? Wood Spirit did not know. However, the Wise Sovereign once taught it that when it could not solve a problem, it could find a way to trace the source and find a solution.
Wood Spirit did not know if tracing back could solve its problem, but it wanted to try.
Perhaps its former master, Sunders, knew how to solve its problem? Or perhaps Sunders' personality flaw was cured the moment Wood Spirit met Sunders?
It sounded naïve, but there was a reason behind it. Wood Spirit felt this way because it could accept being in Angor's hands.
Wood Spirit could not accept being touched in any way, but Angor could.
It was because of the glove.
Angor was wearing the same glove that Sunders used to wear. Also, Wood Spirit could feel that Sunders used the same glove to hold Wood Spirit before it developed its own spirit.
Because of this, Wood Spirit was even more determined to meet Sunders.
It was not that Wood Spirit did not appreciate the Wise Sovereign's kindness. However, Wood Spirit also knew that its excessive fear would hurt the Wise Sovereign. Solving its personality flaw was one of Wood Spirit's beautiful hopes, and also a way to respond to the Wise Sovereign's love.
It was not that Wood Spirit did not care. If it did not care about Sunders, Wood Spirit would not have noticed the Wise Sovereign's change of emotions.
How could it be possible? For this reason, Spirit expressed her first emotional confession in her life.
"Teacher, I have a reason to go, and I'll come back."
The wood spirit's two sentences caused the Sovereign of Wisdom to be stunned for quite a while. Wood Spirit's words were brief, but the Wise Sovereign knew Wood Spirit well enough to guess what Wood Spirit was thinking.
At first, the Wise Sovereign taught Wood Spirit for personal reasons. Wood Spirit was like a blank piece of paper that could be dyed with any color. Even if Wood Spirit betrayed Wood Spirit, the Wise Sovereign would still be able to see through it. This suited the Wise Sovereign's desire for control.
However, after hundreds of years of teaching and interacting with Wood Spirit, Wood Spirit was no longer a secret. The Wise Sovereign truly saw Wood Spirit as his successor.
He knew Wood Spirit's personality flaw, so he never expected Wood Spirit to reciprocate his feelings.
But now, Wood Spirit's words stunned the Wise Sovereign.
He could not help but feel emotional.
Even the onlookers could see the concern in the Wise Ruler's eyes when he looked at the wood spirit.
However, Wood Spirit's words also brought about some side effects.
The Wise Sovereign's unwillingness to part with Wood Spirit grew stronger.
If Angor said "Let Sunders come here to meet Wood Spirit", the Wise Sovereign might just accept it.
In the end, the Wise Sovereign was a rational man. He could see Wood Spirit's desire, and he agreed with Wood Spirit's choice.
Holding it in one's hand and loving it was like throwing food into the mouth of a baby eagle. This kind of feeding might make the baby eagle grow up, but it could not teach the baby eagle how to fly, let alone how to hunt and stand on its own.
Despite his unwillingness, the Wise Sovereign knew that Wood Spirit's willingness to take a step forward was the right thing to do. Even if Wood Spirit suffered a loss outside, it was still a price to pay for growth.
"Alright." The Wise Sovereign put away his unwillingness and spoke softly.
"I'll let you go. You can come back if you want. But it's best if you come back alone. "
The Wise Sovereign's words sounded like a threat, but they were actually encouraging Wood Spirit.
Coming back alone was also a sign of Wood Spirit's growth.
…
With Wood Spirit's departure resolved, the Wise Sovereign sighed and looked at Angor again.
"Wood Spirit chose to follow you, and I agree. But I don't want Wood Spirit to fall down the mountain before it learns how to fly."
Angor knew what the Wise Sovereign was trying to say. The Wise Sovereign was worried that he might harm Wood Spirit or fail to protect it.
However, how to answer the Wise Sovereign's question was still a difficult one.
Promises were always pleasing to the ears. But the Kingfisher's dying cry was also pleasant to the ears.
Angor could not give a definite answer on how to gain the Wise Sovereign's trust.
"Do you have any requests, Wise Sovereign?" Since Angor could not give a satisfactory answer, he decided to let the Wise Sovereign decide for himself.
The Wise Sovereign seemed to have expected Angor's answer. "Use the Tome of Truth as a contract. Agree to my requests."
When the Wise Sovereign finished speaking, he waved his hand and a contract appeared on the pages of the Book of Truth.
Angor looked at the Tome of Truth and raised an eyebrow.
A contract naturally had rewards and punishments. The punishment for violating it was severe, but there was no reward for abiding by it.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
