After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 21

The receptionist blinked and looked curiously at the cat in Xiu Si’s arms. The gray cat raised its head, exuding an extraordinary aura, looking both proud and inexplicably mature.

The receptionist couldn’t help but laugh and said, “You have a very cute cat.”

Xiu Si nodded, also thinking his child was cute. He briefly introduced himself.

The receptionist was surprised by his identity. It was rare for someone to return from the Abyss, and with Xiu Si’s relatively low level, it was even more unlikely to survive the Abyss creatures.

Upon checking the information, the receptionist found out that Priest Xilin was the guarantor.

Priest Xilin was well-known in the Imperial City, and many people knew him, the receptionist included. Since Xiu Si was guaranteed by Priest Xilin, there would definitely be no issues.

The receptionist quickly completed the registration and gave Xiu Si a novice magician’s gift pack. It included a staff, a “Beginner’s Guide to Magic,” an “Advanced Magical Research Theory,” two magic stones, and a robe exclusive to the Aust Empire magicians.

Since his level was low, the robe was the most basic gray color.

All these items combined were equivalent to about five or six thousand yuan worth of supplies on Earth. This was the Aust Empire’s investment in magicians, sparing no effort to attract talent.

After receiving the supplies, there was a dedicated person to guide him and help him understand the Aust Empire’s magic community.

Xiu Si took a magic number card and sat in the hall to wait. When his number was called, someone would be responsible for one-on-one guidance.

The gray cat looked around, thinking that these people weren’t as skilled as it was. It blamed itself for reporting a lower level earlier, otherwise, it could have shown off more with its father.

Many people were walking around the hall because the task reception area was next door. Every day, the Empire or civilians would post tasks here, and magicians would look at the task details and rewards to decide whether to accept them.

Task levels ranged from S-level to F-level, from dealing with nation-destroying disasters to simply helping someone find their lost cat.

The task scrolls were hung too high and far for Xiu Si to see the details clearly. However, it was obvious that low-level tasks were in high demand, while high-level tasks were almost untouched.

It wasn’t a lack of desire but a lack of capability. Except for lunatics and perverts, no one liked to risk their lives to take on arduous tasks.

The hall was a bit noisy, with magicians seemingly discussing the fall of the Divine Kingdom of Light yesterday.

The gray cat scanned the room and thought to itself, ‘Smart of you not to dare mention our names casually. Otherwise, let my father hear them everywhere and see what happens? Even the most Buddha-like person would notice a problem’.

While they were waiting, a dispute seemed to have broken out between a noble magician and a commoner magician. They almost started fighting, but since they were in the Magicians’ Association, full of experts, they were forced to stop before any real fight began.

The one who stepped in to mediate was a tall, slender young man with blond hair and black eyes. He had an elegant demeanor and a handsome appearance. His pointed ears were adorned with exquisite gold ornaments and dazzling pendants.

He was clearly not human but an angel, not from the Divine Kingdom of Light, but from the Dark Divine Kingdom, as indicated by the emblem of the Dark Divine Kingdom on his robe.

Angels were not prohibited from entering human nations. After all, not all divine kingdoms were hostile or threatening to humans. For instance, the Dark Divine Kingdom was considered neutral towards humans. Although their pursuit of eternal night would inevitably endanger most living beings on the continent, it hadn’t been realized yet.

It seemed he had come to oppose the Divine Kingdom of Light, a common enemy to the Aust Empire. They had plenty of reasons to help the Aust Empire, though it wasn’t of much use, as he was the only one who came, appearing to be just an ordinary angel.

The magicians present were wary of the angel visitor and naturally showed him respect. Despite how angels from the Divine Kingdom of Light were slaughtered like cabbages yesterday, angels were inherently beings of level 50 or above with over 50 innate attribute points, far surpassing ordinary humans.

However, this angel seemed quite worldly, not displaying a haughty, indifferent poker face. He could actually speak kindly to lower-ranked humans.

Seeing his smile was like feeling a gentle spring breeze. The visible increase in goodwill was evident.

“Everyone, calm down, no fighting, haha.”

He smiled to the left and to the right. His beautiful face put people at ease, and his gentle tone made people happy. His voice had a captivating magnetism. Some young magicians couldn’t help but feel a flutter in their hearts, thinking, “This is what an angel should be like.”

Speaking of which, angels had no gender. Or rather, most species here had no gender. Their methods of reproduction were varied. Bimodal reproduction was even considered a primitive and inferior form of civilization, a division of labor evolved out of necessity by weaker beings.

If angels had a gender, it would be divine. Divinity was not just a nature but also a gender, signifying immense power.

Xiu Si blinked, having no particular thoughts. He had no strong opinions about angels, only thinking that if this was a disguise, it would be quite frightening. It wasn’t the haughty and arrogant enemy that was worrisome but the enemy who lowered themselves to understand you.

As he was thinking this, perhaps coincidentally, the angel suddenly glanced at him and gave an incredibly bright smile.

Xiu Si was stunned, almost not reacting, but the cat in his arms reacted strongly, glaring back fiercely.

The angel’s smile froze, seeming frightened.

Xiu Si was confused. At this moment, a female voice sounded beside him.

“Hello, we meet again.”

Xiu Si turned to look and was taken aback.

It was Xili, the magician he had met once before at the Hero Memorial Hall.

Xili was still in her magician’s robe with professional makeup. She smiled, “What a magical coincidence. I didn’t expect to see you here. When we met the day before yesterday, you seemed just to be learning about magic.”

Xiu Si nodded, “Yes.”

Most magicians start their training from a young age. It’s rare for someone to begin learning magic in their twenties or thirties, and even if they do, their accomplishments usually weren’t very high.

Of course, a desire to learn was beneficial at any age.

Xili said, “Let’s go, I’ll show you around.”

“Okay.”

Xiu Si stood up and followed Xili.

He didn’t notice that the gray cat in his arms was still staring at the angel. Its dark green eyes were even glowing with a magical light, making the disguised God of Darkness doubt his own existence.

But the God of Darkness was even more curious.

Who exactly was that person? Why did he carry the scent of his mortal enemy?

Elsewhere, in a dark alley, a confrontation was taking place.

Beelzebub stood in the shadows, unnoticed by any surveillance systems.

“Aelioge, it’s rare to see you all gathered together.”

Aelioge responded as if hearing something disgusting, “What are you thinking? How could I be gathered with them?”

Beelzebub stared at him, “I can tell.”

Aelioge retorted, “You can’t tell.”

Beelzebub’s eyes darkened, “Speak, what are you plotting?”

Aelioge remained silent, his surging magical power revealing his agitation.

Beelzebub said coldly, “You haven’t caught the human ruling disease, have you? Gathering together, planning to use the Aust Empire as a base to rule humanity, dominate the continent?”

Aelioge paused and unexpectedly said, “So what if we are?”

Beelzebub’s face darkened, “Have you forgotten what you are?”

Aelioge countered, “You’re the one who’s forgotten what you are. Devouring an entire race? Have you thought about Father? What would he think if he knew?”

Beelzebub’s composed expression changed drastically, his magical power nearly exploding. He said in an icy tone, “What do you know? I can’t communicate with you at all.”

With that, black mist surged, and he disappeared.

Aelioge thought, ‘As expected of Beelzebub, always inclined to think in the most complex and darkest ways.’

The goal was to drive him away. The farther he went, the better.

Meanwhile.

In the hallway of the Magicians’ Association, Xiu Si and Xili were walking and chatting.

Xili said, “Your textbooks say that the essence of magic is imagination, right?”

Xiu Si nodded, “Yes.”

Xili smiled, “That’s correct, but it’s not complete.”

Xiu Si became more interested, “It’s not?”

Xili shared her hypothesis, “I believe that before imagination, there is a worldview. A worldview is the foundation of imagination. All imagination is based on an individual’s worldview. At least that’s what I think. The broader and richer a magician’s worldview, the broader and richer their imagination, which ultimately influences their magical achievements.”

This was a concept Xiu Si had never heard before.

Xili continued, “The magic of angels is powerful because they possess divine knowledge and have a clearer understanding of the world. We humans are limited by the earth and our inherent cognitive boundaries, making our worldview relatively narrow and causing us to lag behind the god-created species.”

Xiu Si somewhat understood, “That seems to be the case.”

Xili added, “This is just my hypothesis and my research topic in magic. It hasn’t been verified yet, so just take it as something to think about. For learning, you should still follow the textbooks.”

Xiu Si nodded, but he kept it in mind, and some ideas started forming in his head.

Then, Xili pushed open a door.

Inside, there were already dozens of people, all young noble magicians. Just by looking at their clothes and demeanor, you could tell. Half of them were children under ten years old.

Xiu Si, as a commoner, felt somewhat out of place among them. Thousands of years had passed, and the world had changed countless times, but some things remained unchanged, like social class.

This session was to test magic attributes. Most people had already been tested and stayed around for socializing. Everyone wanted to befriend those with high talent and strong attributes.

The gray cat glanced at these people, feeling so bored it almost yawned.

“Don’t mind them. I was once a commoner too,” Xili said, guiding him to a testing station.

On the table at the window was a large crystal ball with a radius of about ten centimeters.

“Just place your hands on the surface of the ball,” Xili instructed, demonstrating by placing her hands on the crystal ball. The ball immediately displayed three colors of magic: one of fire, one of water, and one of wood. The purity of these colors indicated a very high magical talent, marking her as an exceptional genius, which she indeed was.

The other magicians looked on with admiration. “As expected of Lady Xili, she’s incredibly strong!”

“Okay.”

Xiu Si stepped up to the table, his eyes on the crystal ball. He didn’t feel much, but the gray cat leaned closer, its big eyes staring at the reflection of its round cat face in the ball, pondering something.

The others watched Xiu Si, assuming he was a talentless commoner. Awakening magical talent so late in life, how could he possibly learn magic, and why did he have a cat with him and so on.

Xiu Si placed the cat aside and put his hands on the crystal ball.

At first, the crystal ball didn’t react at all.

Everyone shook their heads.

Then suddenly, the crystal ball vibrated and released an incredibly dazzling light, accompanied by an immense and terrifying magical power.

Everyone present turned pale with fear. What was happening?

At the same time, the black angel in the association hall trembled all over, turned his head in disbelief, and looked astonished.

What was this magical power?!

Meanwhile, on the city wall, Beelzebub turned around, his gaze fixed on the Magicians’ Association building.

Understanding something, he suddenly cursed, “Aelioge, you did hide something!”

Aelioge also turned and cursed, “Inpos, what are you doing!”

At that moment, the crystal ball cracked open with a loud bang!