Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2231: Chapter 2232: Encountering the Path of Light Again

——On the curtain of darkness, there were specks of white light.

When Angel first saw this painting, he didn’t pay much attention and only thought it was a midnight starry sky. In all the oil paintings, there were not a few featuring starry nights, so a starry sky painting wasn’t uncommon.

However, when he walked up to the painting and focused on appreciating it, Angel immediately noticed something unusual.

In other paintings of the starry sky, although the background is dim, one can still see some deeper colors rendered by the starlight, such as dark gray, deep blue, and misty yellow.

But this painting is different. Its background is pure black, a black that can swallow all bright and dark colors.

This black doesn’t resemble the night sky; it looks more like the deep, unseen void.

However, the pure darkness isn’t the main reason Angel ruled it out as a ”starry sky.” The reason Angel distinguished it from other starry sky paintings is because the ”stars” on it are very peculiar.

To ordinary people who don’t have knowledge of astrology, the stars in the sky seem random. In the eyes of astrologers and Prophet Wizards, the starry sky is chaotic yet orderly.

But the ”starry sky” on this painting isn’t chaotic, nor is it chaotic yet orderly; it is simply orderly.

On the dark curtain, a strip of light like the Milky Way extends from a distant depth to the very center of the painting. Although the ”light points” appear to be smaller at a distance and larger up close, this is merely the artistic vision presented by the painting.

In fact, if you imagine the scene in the painting, it’s like a glowing road in the void, stretching from an unknown faraway place straight to your feet.

This painting is definitely not of stars, but a glowing road in the void.

The so-called glowing stars are merely the orderly ”lights” on both sides of this road, or perhaps ”street lamps?”

Upon understanding the truth of the painting, Angel was momentarily stunned.

This painting, simply from the presentation of its content, did not reveal any information. However, combined with some information he knew from the past, it gave Angel a huge shock.

”You walk in darkness, and beneath your feet is a glowing path.” This is a prophecy Hua Que saw concerning Angel a long time ago.

Angel wasn’t sure if the ”glowing path” on this oil painting was the same one from the prophecy, but the key clues were almost entirely the same.

He recalled that Dororo had also solemnly expressed not long ago that he saw a glowing path in the prophecy.

Therefore, Angel believed that the path of light in the painting was most likely the path from the prophecy.

Where is this road, where does it lead, and what is at its end? Angel didn’t know, but since the two major prophecy seeds of the Baiyuan clan both saw the same road, it must not be ignored.

Perhaps, this road is the ultimate goal of Angel’s journey to the Tidal World this time.

And this painting could be a crucial clue left by Feng.

After all, in Angel’s eyes, Feng is a ”charlatan” who lays out plans all over the world. As a charlatan, he might have the power to transcend the flow of time and affect the prophecies of Hua Que and Dororo.

Through Hua Que and Dororo, he left clues for him to find the so-called ”treasure.”

The more Angel thought about it, the more he felt it was exactly like this. There may be coincidences in the world, but seeing this glowing road three times in different places absolutely isn’t a coincidence.

It must be Feng’s intentional doing.

”No wonder he’s called the Magic Painter Wizard, to hide the clues so deeply.” Angel sighed inwardly. Perhaps only a master of prophecy like Feng has the qualification to hide clues in the gaps of time and the corners of fate, almost impossible for anyone other than those favored by fate to unravel the true face.

And fortunately, Angel knew the Baiyuan clan, otherwise, he would never have found such hidden clues.

While Angel was feeling emotional, in the distant time and space.

Feng, the painter, who was mentally envisioned as a master of prophecy, suddenly sneezed several times for no reason. Rubbing his inexplicably itchy nose, Feng murmured in confusion, ”Why did I suddenly sneeze? It’s cold above my head. I always feel like someone is flattering me...”

At this moment, Angel, convinced that his insights were absolutely correct, had no idea about the scene happening in distant time and space. He continued to carefully analyze the various details of the path of light, striving to find deeper hidden clues.

However, the painting was so obvious that even with his full effort and the use of the green pattern in his right eye, Angel couldn’t find any additional information on the painting.

He could only sigh quietly in the end, intending to ask Dororo when he got the chance. Perhaps Dororo could see something peculiar.

Subsequently, Angel looked at the remaining paintings in the palace and didn’t find any other useful information. However, he saw some architectural scenes in the remaining oil paintings, including cityscapes of the Central Empire on the Revelation Continent.

At that time, the architectural style of the Central Empire was already faintly matching that of the current Silver Heron royal family.

It seems that when Gentle Breeze Uranus was building the palace, it was modeled after the architecture presented in these oil paintings.

Although these clues weren’t useful to Angel, they could evidence the past historical development of Wind Island, a surprising detail discovered during the journey.

Having finished viewing the oil paintings, Angel also inspected the palace and the surrounding hundreds of meters but didn’t find any other traces left by Feng, so he had to give up.

”Are you leaving here, sir?” Cubic, who had been secretly observing Angel, was the first to sense Angel’s intention to leave.

Angel looked at Cubic and nodded: ”Yes, I’m planning to take a look at White Sea Bay.”

Cubic flew swiftly into the air: ”Then, let me lead the way.”

Angel didn’t refuse Cubic’s kindness, having Cubic lead the way is undoubtedly better than having the whimpering Arnott give directions with vague words.

Speaking of Arnott, Angel suddenly noticed that Arnott hadn’t cried in a long time. As a peculiar Wind Spirit who would cry both when happy and sad, Arnott hadn’t made a peep while he was observing the oil paintings. This gave him a quite pleasant viewing experience, but it also made Angel curious if Arnott had changed its nature.

Angel turned back to see that Arnott hadn’t noticed the conversation here at all; all its attention was absorbed by the surrounding oil paintings.

If not for the cage of yellow sand holding it back, Arnott would probably have pressed its eyes against the oil paintings.

”It’s time to go, why are you still looking?” Dangross’s shout woke Arnott from its enchantment.

Arnott was momentarily dazed before snapping out of the beautiful scenery in the paintings. It looked at Dangross with some embarrassment: ”This is my first time at the Forbidden Peak; I didn’t expect there to be so many beautiful paintings here.”

”What’s so good about these paintings? They don’t move at all, and they’re not lively,” said Dangross, who had no artistic sense, truthfully.

”They’re very lively. When I look closely, I even feel like the trees in the pictures seem to be swaying, and I can smell the fragrance in the air.” Arnott was still entranced by the imaginings in the paintings.

”You’re bewitched, aren’t you?” Dangross deliberately walked to a painting, looking left and right: ”Why don’t I feel anything?”

”Maybe you didn’t take it seriously, you need to look carefully.” Arnott was eager to express his feelings about the painting, trying to let Dangross feel the beauty brought by the artwork.

But Dangross completely didn’t understand, nor could he comprehend Arnott’s words.

”In terms of art appreciation, Dangross hasn’t awakened at all, don’t bother with him.” At this moment, Angel interrupted Arnott’s words.

With the astonishing painting skills of the Magic Painter Wizard, in Dangross’s eyes, these were all lifeless rigid paintings. So don’t expect Dangross to have artistic aesthetics.

Under Angel’s forceful intervention, the futile conversation between Arnott and Dangross finally came to a halt.

At this time, Cubic also stepped forward, leading the way to White Sea Bay.

On the way to White Sea Bay, Arnott still occasionally looked back towards the palace on Forbidden Peak, with regret in his eyes.

”You seem to really like those paintings? Why?” Cubic also noticed Arnott’s gaze and asked curiously.

For this newly made friend, Arnott still liked him, so after a moment’s hesitation, he answered truthfully: ”More than the paintings themselves, I actually prefer the scenery in the paintings.”

”The scenery in the paintings?”

Arnott nodded: ”The scenery I like, you can only see it in faraway places...”

Arnott’s tone was emotional, and Angel glanced at him, understanding that Arnott was probably thinking of his sister Salmado. Salmado’s dream was to see distant landscapes, and under her influence, Arnott had ingrained the obsession with the distant into his consciousness. So when he saw Feng’s paintings, he naturally thought of them as distant landscapes.

No wonder Arnott hadn’t cried before, it was because of the impact of the scenery in the paintings.

”Scenery that can only be seen in the distance?” Cubic’s eyes sparkled with curiosity: ”What’s the difference between distant scenery and nearby scenery?”

”I... don’t know.” Arnott lowered his head and said with a face full of disappointment.

”You don’t know and yet you are so expectant?” Cubic continued to ask.

”It’s precisely because I don’t know that I’m even more expectant.” At this point, Arnott raised his head, his eyes glowing: ”My sister once told me, the distant is not the destination, it is the unknown process of chasing the distant that is a journey worth anticipating.”

”If the destination is not worth expecting, then why chase the distant?”

”The destination can always be changed; when you reach one destination and find it isn’t as good as expected, change to another until you find a destination that matches your heart... If you don’t chase the distant, you’ll never know if the destination is worth expecting.” At this point, Arnott glanced at the cage that confined him and sighed helplessly, ”I really want to pursue the distant too, but when can I leave?”

Arnott seemed to be answering Cubic, but in fact, he was conversing with himself.

Cubic was silent for a while before saying: ”When you mature, then you can.”

Arnott glanced sneakily at Dangross, wishing to say: Dangross isn’t mature either.

But in the end, Arnott didn’t say it out loud. He knew that the reason Dangross could travel far was not because of himself, but because Angel was beside him.

Cubic also noticed Arnott’s gaze. He glanced at Dangross, then finally focused on Angel, remaining silent.

...

White Sea Bay, despite its name, is actually just a cloud sea near Wind Island, unaffected by the strong winds.

The group of wind element creatures captured by Angel was now quietly staying at White Sea Bay.

Angel came to White Sea Bay naturally to meet with them.

Angel didn’t meet the rank-and-file soldiers, but directly conversed with their current leaders—the three major Wind Generals.

The conversation mainly covered two points: understanding the personal information of the three major Wind Generals, and arranging for them to conduct an investigation and summary of the information capabilities of other wind element creatures, to facilitate Angel’s future staffing arrangements.

Regarding the content of the next twenty years and the life they would soon face, Angel did not mention it at this time. Because much of the content would only be arranged after the people from the Barbarian Cave settled in. In the initial stages, they could even live and let live.

Angel could see that the three major Wind Generals were outwardly respectful to him, but deep down in their eyes, there remained a hint of hostility.

Being captured was one reason, Aimer being killed by Toby was also a cause of hostility.

Angel didn’t pay too much attention to it. He didn’t plan to cultivate them into element partners, just use them as tools, not caring what they thought.

No matter how great their hostility, due to the constraints of the oath, they couldn’t possibly do anything harmful to Angel. They could only think in their hearts; showing it outwardly would be punished by the oath, let alone actually taking action.

Moreover, under the influence of the oath, they would also exhaust all efforts to complete Angel’s orders, making them the most qualified tools.

After learning the personal information of the three major Wind Generals, Angel left. As for the information of other wind element creatures, it would be reported at the next meeting.

After leaving White Sea Bay, Angel returned to Wind Island.

As Fuyi descended, he felt the ground slightly tremble. He paused, and moments later, a slender bean vine burst out from the ground before him, growing in the wind.

”Jack!” Arnott immediately called out the name of the bean vine.

A pair of familiar eyes grew from the leaves at both ends of the bean vine, which squinted happily at Arnott, also calling out his name.

The visitor was none other than Jack, the bean vine who had joined them on their journey.

”What brings you here?” Arnott was quite excited to see Jack. Though leaving Wind Island, he hadn’t successfully followed in his sister’s footsteps, he did not return empty-handed. Knowing Jack and becoming friends, despite Jack’s indifference to his crying tendencies, was one of his gains.

Jack: ”I came to check on you guys, and by the way, His Highness asked me to bring greetings to Mr. Pat.”

”His Highness, you mean Crown Prince Phraon?”

Although Jack also referred to the gentle Uranus as His Highness, a prefix was always added rather than directly addressing His Highness; in his previous words, not only was no prefix added, but his eyes became subconsciously more solemn when mentioning His Highness, so Angel guessed that the His Highness he referred to was Phraon Glinn, not the gentle Uranus.

Jack nodded: ”Yes, His Highness’s Avatar Seed has already arrived at Wind Island, and he hopes to meet with Mr. Pat.”