Chapter 1 The Central Energy Chamber

In the central energy chamber deep beneath the Purgatory Corridor Academy, Lan Qi turned around, facing the dark, ink-like purplish-black mirror.

The center of the mirror rippled with swirling patterns, and the magical dance that had bloomed across its tranquil surface slowly faded.

"Tiberius, thank you for the magic device you left behind."

Lan Qi expressed his gratitude to the six-sided cubic mirror in the energy chamber.

"It's a pity this mirror can't be brought back to the present world. Tens of thousands of years from now, the Mirror of Tiberius will have long been buried somewhere."

Talia estimated that even if the Mirror of Tiberius had survived, it would be even more damaged.

"Even if we brought it back to the present, we wouldn't be able to use it,"

Lan Qi chatted with Talia in his mind.

Together, they could barely scrape together a nine-seal demon, but not a ninth-order one.

Firstly, the activation condition required a ninth-order great demon to expend a soul seal to gamble, and secondly, they had to win the gamble with their lives. Each destroyed soul seal would inflict irreversible damage on the caster's soul, potentially plunging even a ninth-order great demon into a prolonged state of weakness, permanently reducing their strength thereafter.

Unless it was a desperate situation, it was almost impossible to use the Mirror of Tiberius.

After all, the price of glimpsing the future was to gamble with fate, using one's own soul as collateral.

"Thanks to Kaliella."

Talia sighed with emotion.

Having to leave this mirror, where she had effectively spent a day but felt like a long time, she felt a bit reluctant.

The only unresolved mystery was what Kaliella herself saw in the one divination she used.

"Kaliella foresaw the future, knew what would happen if the Black Sun Duke used the Mirror of Tiberius... that's why she wrote in the letter, giving the Black Sun Duke the choice, and left him three opportunities to ensure that he would win as long as he used the Mirror of Tiberius."

Having relived the old path of Lanclos three times, Lan Qi finally understood the cause and effect, as well as Kaliella's consistent thinking.

If he chose not to use it, then he would be living in a gentle, fallen paradise, able to grow old and die in peace, falsely but happily.

But if he used it, he would inevitably experience torment, breaking the false peace of the Crimson Moon Ruined World, and then suffer endless punishment, truthfully but cruelly.

Kaliella left all these choices to Lanclos, at the cost of everything she had.

"It can be said that Kaliella was the strongest teammate Lanclos ever encountered in his life. Without her, Lanclos really couldn't have won."

Lan Qi and Talia recapped.

"But..."

Talia spoke with regret and reluctance,

"Kaliella gave her life souls to Lanclos and Tamisha respectively, and used all her soul seals to help Lanclos pay the price. The remaining soul and magic were transformed into the trial of the great demon for future generations of demons to inherit. Even according to the legends of the Church of the Goddess of Fate, she cannot be reincarnated."

She had never met Kaliella in person, but as the inheritor of Kaliella's abilities, she now had a deep affection for Kaliella, as if her own body contained a part of Kaliella.

"I don't believe in reincarnation anyway, but if there really is reincarnation, Kaliella may not have disappeared."

Lan Qi muttered, gazing at the silver-white light and shadows on the dreamlike spiral of the Mirror of Tiberius.

To some extent, Tamisha was a life that sprouted because of Kaliella's life soul, and after Lanclos merged with a part of Kaliella's original life soul, he was inextricably linked to Kaliella.

If Tamisha could be reincarnated, then her reincarnation would also be an alternative reincarnation of Kaliella.

Fate might guide those with connected life souls back together again.

"Let's go, don't be addicted to the power of the Upside-Down Duke. Don't always think about gambling, a stable life is the real thing."

Talia knew that her disciple had a gambler's mindset and was very compatible with the high-risk, high-return treasures of the Upside-Down Duke.

The Upside-Down Duke never favored the weak and timid. On the contrary, he admired those who dared to gamble with their lives, such as Lan Qi.

Lan Qi had been really stable so far, but gambling in the long run would eventually lead to a crash.

Her advice was to quit while he was ahead.

She didn't want to become a refugee with Lan Qi in the future.

"Hiss, but when I reach ninth-order, I can use Lanfu's soul seal. Her life can be gambled at will."

Lan Qi seemed to discover something as he thought about it.

Sure enough, Lanfu was the Upside-Down Duke's pass.

"Be a human being, Lan Qi. Lanfu's life is also a life, and she will hold grudges."

Talia suspected that the last time the Great Poet of Love shouted in the Cat Boss Restaurant, it affected her mind, causing her and Lan Qi to explode upstairs and recite the script. It was because Lan Qi had done something outrageous in the Northern Continent, so Lanfu held a grudge.

"I only took her through the Upside-Down Duke's great demon trial once. It didn't hurt at all. Oh, right, I also poured her a few bottles of Snowfield Spirits. That was a bit like fire burning, and it hurt terribly from the throat to the stomach."

Lan Qi counted and replied, lowering his head to take Tamisha's hand, preparing to leave the central energy chamber.

It really was the Upside-Down Duke Tiberius's trial.

"Stop it, A-Lan. You're lucky that most of the time my summoned creature is your *bennu*, otherwise you would have died for no reason sooner or later."

Talia said to Lan Qi in her heart.

She was really a little scared.

As a fellow demon, she knew too well that Lanfu was definitely not a good person.

"Don't worry, Lanfu doesn't mind."

Lan Qi replied without any panic, and led Tamisha out of the central chamber room surrounded by the eternal starry sky.

Silence enveloped the streamlined passage leading to the Inverted Mirror Gallery, and Lan Qi and Tamisha seemed to be walking in a corridor of illusions.

The heavy mechanical roar intertwined with the buzzing of the magic energy lines, gradually fading away with the central chamber behind them.

Lan Qi and Talia also chatted in their hearts all the way.

After walking for a long time, passing through the automatically opened black illusion door, they saw the light of the Inverted Mirror Gallery again.

The overwhelming light refracted by the prisms, the walls, the ground, and the ceiling were densely inlaid with various shapes and sizes of crystal clear prisms, refracting dazzling colorful rays, and the ethereal and illusory rainbow mist filled the air, making Lan Qi feel like he had strayed into another dimension.

"Tamisha, from here on, I'll have to trouble you to lead me."

Lan Qi lowered his head and said to the little figure he was holding hands with.

The Inverted Mirror Gallery required Tamisha, the true authorized person, to pass through.

If she went to the Purgatory Corridor Academy in the future, she could easily reach this place that even the principal could not reach.

She was truly the academy's crown prince.

"Follow me."

Tamisha grabbed Lan Qi's hand and took the initiative to walk forward.

"Tamisha, are you hungry?"

Lan Qi had left Tamisha three boxes of snacks.

But this time, leaving the Mirror of Tiberius, it was almost nine o'clock in the evening.

"I'm okay."

Tamisha's eyes were a little sleepy,

"But if you're going to take me to eat something, I can still eat."

She had been waiting for the Illusion Demon to take her to the promised Demon King's Imperial Restaurant for dinner.

"Of course, I will take you."

Lan Qi added, confirming that his previous promise was true.

Tamisha didn't speak, but the pace of her feet quickened slightly.

"Ah, I'm so sleepy and hungry, I've finally waited for the end of work."

Talia heard Lan Qi mention the Demon King's Imperial Restaurant, and the fatigue and anticipation of the day were all stimulated,

"Then I'll have to return Lanfu to you sooner or later, it's always a bit inconvenient for the two of us to live together like this."

She continued the topic she had been talking about with Lan Qi.

At this moment, Lan Qi was led by Tamisha to step into the magnificent transition corridor, with inverted statues several meters high standing on both sides, and a forest of glass trees exuding a cold silver light.

The prisms refracted soft and misty light and shadows under the illumination of the lights, shining brightly on the smooth stone ground, as if walking in the vast Milky Way.

Talia also followed along with Lan Qi's perspective.

She felt that she could temporarily merge with him when traveling abroad, away from Ikritte.

When they really returned to the royal capital of Ikritte, they could no longer live together every day, reading each other's minds.

Otherwise, just thinking about having to dress up as the Great Poet of Love every day for the week before leaving for the Poson Kingdom made Talia's scalp tingle.

"That's right, thinking on the bright side, we don't have to act in any dramas during this time in Brilda, the capital of the Kretia Empire. There are no acquaintances or friends from Ikritte around."

Lan Qi said thankfully.

The birth of the Frenzied Love Demon was an accident in itself.

He and Talia didn't expect Talia and the Great Poet of Love to be so strong after merging that day, and they didn't expect it to be so difficult to separate after merging.

"Alas, when you return to the Hutton Kingdom, your most beautiful and powerful *bennu* will be gone."

Talia sighed sadly, without any intention of praising herself.

"The Frenzied Love Demon is still easy to use. When I reach seventh-order, it can become a permanent ultimate move."

Lan Qi did not deny this.

But he really couldn't rely on her power all the time.

"Well, but if you encounter trouble in the future, her power will still be used for you. Who told you to be her good disciple?"

Talia seemed happy to hear Lan Qi's true thoughts, and lightly replied with an "uh-huh."

"The Frenzied Love Demon, who can fight continuously, is too strong. She's simply a god."

Lan Qi exclaimed.

After having a god, his fighting style had changed.

Summoning one more summon was a distrust of God.

"Don't say that... you sound like a heretic..."

Talia said a little shyly.

"This is the humility of God."

Lan Qi continued to praise.

"Enough..."

Talia's voice became smaller and smaller, suppressing her laughter.

"Soon, I will be able to master the power of God."

After a long period of training, his mental strength had already transformed.

After passing the eighth-order Shadow World this time, it was basically a certainty to advance to seventh-order.

After reaching seventh-order and transcending into sainthood, the basic attributes could undergo an essential leap. At that time, he would be fully able to bear the heavy Talia. This was the precipitation and foundation of God.

"..."

Talia's mood, which had not yet become shy after hearing this, turned as black as a pot.

She had caught the key words in Lan Qi's mind, but was too lazy to investigate them in detail.

"Heh, since you're so confident, then I'll just eat your mana at will. I'll keep you in physical high-intensity training for twenty-four hours a day. Don't be the first to be unable to hold on--oh."

Talia sneered.

If Lan Qi said she was heavy, then she would be heavy. She would also show Lan Qi what mana burning training was like.

"No, teacher, if you have free time, why don't you exercise and lose the weight you've gained during this time, instead of training me?"

Lan Qi asked frankly.

"?"

"I, I'm getting heavier, it's not a problem at all! I was too skinny when I was a refugee! The weight I've gained back has actually gone to the right places!!"

Talia shouted at him with an excited and trembling voice.

If she wore Lanfu's short skirt and school uniform, it might make Lan Qi feel it more intuitively. He certainly couldn't feel it in the Kretia Empire wearing winter clothes.

"..."

Lan Qi was also rendered speechless by Talia's sudden self-declaration.

"You, you should think about how to advance to seventh-order first!"

Talia changed the subject.

Lan Qi had another necessary prerequisite for advancing to seventh-order. He needed to obtain an advancement keepsake with a similar attribute.

"Teacher, I can only ask you for help."

Lan Qi said immediately.

Talia had taught him the knowledge about engraving job classes, and Talia also had to help him with the reference for selecting materials.

Currently, he might be able to get a pink divine quality main keepsake in the Kretia Empire after returning to the real world, but he couldn't guarantee that it would be the most suitable sealing attribute for him.

"Hmph, of course I will help you."

Talia replied triumphantly.

Sure enough, her little disciple couldn't live without her now.

She had to rely on her for troublesome things.

As they walked deeper, the light and shadows of the Inverted Mirror Gallery changed accordingly, sometimes focusing, sometimes dispersing, with a different scene at every step. Arches and alcoves appeared from time to time on both sides.

Every prism that Lan Qi and Tamisha passed reflected the large and small figures of the Illusion Demon and the Night Demon.

The prisms on both sides of the corridor never repeated, and the ground became steeper and steeper.

With a subtle sense of rising and falling, sections of stairs inlaid with magic crystals appeared. After climbing all the stairs and passing through the revolving passage, the noise from the outside completely disappeared, and the scene in front of them suddenly opened up.

A prohibition door more than ten meters high stood in front of them.

"We're here."

Tamisha said, pointing to the door.

The door, cast from ancient forbidden magic steel, was covered with ninth-order barrier spells on the surface, and could never be broken by force under normal circumstances.

"Thank you, do you want to turn back into a kitten?"

Lan Qi squatted down and asked Tamisha.

He wasn't sure if Tamisha wanted to show herself in her true form.

He respected each child's own preferences and ideas.

"Do you think I should change?"

Tamisha hesitated for a while, but still asked.

"It's up to you. Anyway, in my eyes, you are Tamisha, and it won't change no matter what you look like."

Lan Qi replied with a smile.

"..."

Tamisha pondered for a few seconds,

"Then I won't turn into a cat."

She made a decision.

Tamisha, who maintained her original appearance, took Lan Qi two more steps forward, and the moment they stepped in front of the door.

The light on the door suddenly became intense.

Countless gear-shaped patterns swirled in the air, and finally turned into gorgeous stardust, dissipating into the thick darkness.

Lan Qi and Tamisha passed through the Inverted Mirror Gallery, a secret passage connecting the central energy chamber and the base of the Purgatory Corridor building, and returned to the familiar interior of the academy. Everything was no longer so dazzling.

"Wow, won't Hyperion and the others see you bring back a very cute child later?"

Talia said in Lan Qi's ear.

Tamisha, who had always been in the form of a gray kitten, only revealed her original appearance in front of Lan Qi today. Even Hyperion, who had been taking her all the way from the Demon King's City of Nicalis to Purgatory City of Pasqua for these days, had never seen her.

"They should be able to tell she's Tamisha soon."

Lan Qi looked at the gray-haired little girl and responded to the thought.

"Not necessarily. It's like if you suddenly turned from a human into a cat one day, your friends wouldn't necessarily be able to recognize you. The same is true for a cat turning into a human. The difference is too big."

If Talia didn't share Lan Qi's vision, she wouldn't have guessed that this little demon cutie was the gray kitten.

"It's okay, this child is like you, not like me, so she won't be misunderstood."

Lan Qi replied frankly.

"No, the way you say that sounds..."

Talia couldn't say what was wrong with Lan Qi's wording.