High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2938: Chapter 1156: Unorthodox Paths

”Only forty-nine Legends?”

Zheng Qing instinctively furrowed his brow and began calculating: ”—There have been six or seven newly acclaimed Legends in the past two years, but we haven’t heard of any old Legends falling, have we? Could it be they met their end in the new world? Is there a war outside?”

The thoughts of young wizards are always jumping and divergent.

The elder wizards wouldn’t easily jump to such conclusions.

The gentleman casually caught a stream of light from outside the leaf-like boat, squinted at it carefully, and then threw it back into the endless flow of light before speaking again: ”—Legends don’t fall so easily. Just like your ’Taiyi’ or Montelio’s ’Primordial,’ behind every Legend lies countless legendary stories, and the fall of each Legend would cause a tremendous stir in the entire Wizard World... let alone the simultaneous fall of six or seven Legends.”

”Then...” Zheng Qing grew even more puzzled.

”That’s because I have advanced.”

The gentleman casually provided the final answer: ”The reason this world can only accommodate forty-nine Legends is because it has its limits. But with my advancement, the world’s limits have been raised, naturally creating more possibilities to accommodate more Legends... precisely how many more it can accommodate, you can slowly observe in the future.”

Zheng Qing resisted the urge to applaud the gentleman.

He felt he too should be a bit more reserved like the gentleman.

”Does everyone like going to the new world because it can give rise to more Legends?” Zheng Qing thought about the current trend in the Wizard World and made a new speculation.

The gentleman glanced at him.

”I expected that after you opted for ’Magic Universe Study,’ your understanding of this world would be deeper.”

He shook his head as he spoke, clearly somewhat disappointed: ”—The world I just mentioned is the sum of all that you can perceive and cannot perceive objectively existing. Whereas the ’new world’ you mentioned is just a smaller subset within the objectively perceivable existence. As an inappropriate example, if the world I speak of is a boundless ocean, then the world you understand is merely a bubble, a reef, or a small island in that ocean. The ’small island’ where the First University is located has limited resources to support more wizards, hence the young people of the Alliance rush into the sea, hoping to find their own island and use its resources to build themselves a boat that can reach the other shore.”

”What is on the other shore?”

”For most wizards, the other shore is a continent.”

”So, the ancients are equivalent to a continent?” Zheng Qing gradually grasped the level the gentleman was expressing and simultaneously, more confusion surfaced in his heart: ”—If the ancients are a continent, then what are Legends?”

”Legends are individual small islands.”

”Are there only forty-nine small islands in the world?”

”Of course not... When I talk about Legends, I mean true Legends. In any corner of the ocean, they can be considered Legends. And in this ocean, every small island has its own Legend. This type of Legend is what we call ’Pseudo-Legendary,’ for its legendary might can only be sustained in its own world. Do you remember that witch named ’Eris’ from the Battle of the Black Prison? She used to be a Legend in a new world, but due to the failed expansion war, she was captured by the Alliance’s hunting team and thrown into the Black Prison, her cultivation quickly fell to the Big Wizard stage.”

Upon hearing this example, Zheng Qing immediately thought of the giant Firebird hovering over Buji Island.

”Is Professor Emma such a Legend as well?” He asked softly.

The gentleman nodded very slightly: ”—To the ’ocean,’ the First University is indeed a real small island. Emma hasn’t fully advanced successfully, but by leveraging her position as the Vice President of the First University, she can exert the power of a Legend.”

”That’s why you don’t recommend I venture into the new world.” Zheng Qing sighed dejectedly.

”With Taiyi and Order by your side, you can grow stably on this island at school. But if you venture to other ’islands’ and encounter unknown Legends, the consequences will be unpredictable.” Saying this, the gentleman paused and looked very seriously at the young wizard, reminding him: ”With your personality, don’t ever believe in ’the edge of the blade is honed’. The best way to use a sword like yours is to ’show it off,’ deterring others. Winning without fighting is the peak of strategy. Once the sword sees blood, the edge will curl, and if you grind it again, the blade will thin. Over time, it’s impossible to ever reach the other shore.”

Zheng Qing nodded obediently.

”Then, are ’Taiyi’ or ’Primordial’ such Legends considered ’Pseudo-Legendary’?”

”Similar identity, different paths.”

The gentleman swept his hand downward, revealing the main vein composed of forty-nine slender lines on the leaf, densely interwoven with numerous crooked branches outside the main vein: ”—Regardless of ’Primordial,’ ’Eris,’ or ’Behemoth,’ possessing Legendary Combat Power yet not truly a Legend in rank, there is an official term in the wizard world, ’Paths and Derivations.’ So-called ’eight hundred paths, three thousand derivations,’ every path leads to a Legend, but beyond Legend, it’s the end of the road. To advance further, one needs to walk the right way.”

”Then my Taiyi...”

”As long as you don’t become one with Taiyi, you’ll remain on the right path. In this aspect, Montelio is different from you. His physical body has completely collapsed, forced to merge with Primordial. The way forward is cut off, without hope of further advancement. In contrast, you have ’Taiyi’s’ assistance, which helps you advance faster on the right path, even without my help, your future is bright.”

Zheng Qing finally felt a bit of relief.

But the relief lasted only a short time before he thought of another threat.

”You mentioned earlier that this world has seven ancient entities, who are they?” He remembered the strands of silver-white starlight descending on Buji Island at that moment and instantly wore a worried expression: ”—After you leave, how do we deal with those ancient entities if they trouble the school?”

”Naturally, other ancient entities will handle them.”

The gentleman tapped a few times in the void, leaving seven small numbered stars and simply explained: ”Originally, the seven ancients of the world are myself, Abraham, Panda, Demon Ancestor, Bubble, Nya’s Child, and Nicolas... Now after I leave, R’lyeh has filled that spot, so there are still seven. Among them, Bubble, um, its true name is Yog, Yog and Nicolas, you have met them face to face, these two and Nya’s Child walk the Starry Sky Path, representing knowledge, darkness, and chaos respectively. Whereas walking the orthodox wizard path, Abraham likes to preach, Panda enjoys fighting, I usually mediate between the two... Those two will look after the First University.”