Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 234 The Hanged Man

Time and space lose their meaning here, like a jigsaw puzzle twisted, crushed, and then reassembled by an invisible hand, both complete and fragmented.

The Court of Truth is not a specific location, but a special place that transcends dimensions.

It is not in the Black Mist Jungle, not in the Central Lands, and not even entirely present anywhere in the Ring Abyss Continental Group.

The closest analogy to describe its appearance is an endless crystal palace suspended in the void.

Composed of pure, almost transparent starry crystals, countless rays of light refract within, creating a dazzling spectacle that dazzles mortals.

However, this "palace" also has countless overlapping yet independent entrances.

Each one leads to a different plane of existence, and only those who have reached the level of a Grand Wizard can find the correct path.

For a formal wizard, even a powerful Dark Sun-level expert standing before the entrance to the Court of Truth would only feel emptiness and gain nothing.

The core area of ​​the Court of Truth is known as the "Hall of Eternity".

There is no ceiling or floor in the conventional sense, but instead countless spiral crystal passageways that twist and turn.

In the ceaseless, gentle flow of light, it extends into what seems to be an infinite space.

The light here appears exceptionally warm and textured, as if it were the breath of some living thing.

On the surface, this is the highest hall of the wizarding world, a symbol of knowledge, wisdom, and power.

However, upon venturing deeper into this seemingly sacred temple, a completely different scene unfolds before your eyes…

Above the Hall of Eternity, thousands of enormous crystal pouches floated in the void.

Each one resembled a transparent coffin, varying in size and shape.

Even more chilling is that these crystal pouches contain countless upside-down figures.

Men and women, young and old, humans or non-humans, and even some biological forms that are completely beyond conventional understanding.

They were all hanging upside down in a bizarre posture, their bodies suspended in a pale golden liquid, their eyes closed, yet faintly exuding a living aura.

The entire space was completely silent, with only the occasional faint heartbeat emanating from some of the crystal pouches, indicating that the interior was not entirely devoid of vitality.

This is the most core secret of the Court of Truth—the "Specimen Library," a special area that stores the remains and souls of the most outstanding great wizards from several eras ago.

Every great wizard whose works are kept here stirred up waves in the ocean of knowledge in the wizarding world during their lifetime.

Their research findings and their own wisdom are considered valuable enough to warrant being preserved in this special way.

As history has recorded, the great wizard has already transcended the realm of ordinary life forms.

They are no longer confined to a single physical body, but through countless self-transformations and metamorphoses, they have acquired a special form of existence known as "empty skeletons".

The Void is a highly concentrated crystallization of the Grand Wizard's lifelong academic achievements and magic, a reinterpretation of his own essence.

In this state, the great wizard can break free from the limitations of the physical body and exist in a purer form, even briefly touching the boundaries of dimensions.

In the specimen repository, the remains of these great wizards are deliberately suppressed into a semi-dormant state.

It retains its self-awareness without interfering with the normal operation of the Court of Truth.

In this mysterious and terrifying ocean of upside-down creatures, a faint golden light suddenly flickered in a corner.

The light originated from a special information transmission device—the "Wizard's Record Projector".

This is a special device that can receive and display the registration information of wizards across the entire Abyss Continent in real time.

No matter how far away, as long as a wizard signs the wizard register to confirm their identity, the information will be transmitted here immediately.

Above the projection table, a line of golden text slowly appeared:

Ron Ralph

Advance to become a full-fledged wizard (Primal) through the authentic path.

Time: Year 3721 of the Fourth Age

Confirmed inclusion.

This seemingly ordinary information fluctuation was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, stirring up subtle ripples in this deathly still space.

Several crystal sacs near the projection table suddenly lit up with a faint light, and the liquid inside began to flow slowly, as if the dormant entities within them had been awakened by some force.

"Another authentic path."

A hoarse and ancient voice echoed in the void, its tone, like the friction of sand, carrying a profound sense of time.

The voice contained a special magical fluctuation, enough to terrify ordinary wizards and even cause them to suffer a mental breakdown.

"The Authentic Path: Downstream of the Crystal Spire, the Black Mist School of Ron Ralph"

Another voice followed, this one sounding younger, with an indescribable metallic quality, like a wonderful blend of crystal and steel.

"The meditation method associated with the Star Eater and the Devourer is quite interesting."

The third sound sounded like the flow of liquid, with each syllable accompanied by a moist echo.

The crystal pouch that had initially spoken now shone brighter, revealing an ordinary-looking old man hanging upside down inside.

That is, if we ignore his scaly skin and unusually pale complexion.

That was not an ordinary modification, but rather the result of his ultimate research on the "Dragon Scale Theory" during his lifetime.

Each scale is an independent magical core, containing a complex energy conversion formula.

"Another lucky one," the scaly old man sneered, his voice filled with disdain and contempt for the younger generation.
"Back then, the mortality rate for the Authentic Path was as high as 90%. These young people today are just enjoying the benefits of their predecessors. In my time, the slightest mistake could lead to the collapse of one's soul. Where could one find ready-made guidance and auxiliary potions?"

The old man's name was Varian, a great wizard in the middle of the Third Age, specializing in spatial magic.

His achievements in the theory of planar boundaries are still considered classics, and even after nearly 10,000 years, few have been able to surpass them.

However, he still had one regret—he advanced through the "Key Potion." Although he had surpassed many primordial wizards who had advanced through the true path through his own efforts, this matter still bothered him.

"Varian, you're still as sharp-tongued as ever."

The owner of the second voice revealed his true identity—a young man.

From the outside, he looks almost no different from an ordinary person, except that his eyes are pure silver-white, without any pupils or irises.

These silver eyes are not mere decoration, but the pinnacle of his research into clairvoyance magic—the "Insightful Eyes," capable of directly discerning all the mysteries of matter, energy, and even the soul.

Legend has it that he once accidentally looked directly into the essence of an ancient being during an experiment, which permanently changed his eyes to their current state, but also gave him this extraordinary insight.

The silver-eyed youth sighed, his voice tinged with regret, but even more so with nostalgia for bygone years:
"In our time, even a failed experiment could be fatal. I remember the first time I tried to build a spiritual bridge, I almost lost my soul forever in the void. If I hadn't accidentally discovered that broken anchor point, I would probably be a wandering soul in the universe by now."

The silver-eyed youth was named Calent, a vision master from the late Third Age. He founded the "School of Vision" and invented seventeen vision spells that are still widely used today.

He had successfully advanced halfway through his authentic path, but he was luckier than Mrs. Allen, and instead, he turned misfortune into blessing.

Karent was much gentler than the scaly old man, but he was equally arrogant about his research.

That's why it's even more ridiculous!

The scaly old man, Varian, scoffed, the body within the crystal pouch trembling slightly with rage.
"These descendants have it too easy. The success rate through the authentic path has gone from one or two out of ten in my time to nearly half now. They simply don't understand that behind every successful person in the past were the corpses of dozens, or even hundreds, of failures serving as stepping stones."

In reality, this number will be far less than estimated.

Because those who have the potential to break through must first withstand the dramatic increase in pollution from gem-level and crown-level meditation methods, and must also possess a sufficient number of special talents.

So it seems that the probability of a breakthrough has increased from one in ten to nearly half, but in the years since the invention of the auxiliary magic potion, the number of original wizards has not increased much.

As Varian spoke, his ethereal form began to subtly appear.

Spatial rifts flickered around the crystal capsule, as if they might tear apart the structure of reality at any moment.

This is a natural reaction when his emotions fluctuate; even in a semi-dormant state, his ethereal power is still not to be underestimated.

The third crystal pouch lit up, revealing a seemingly young woman suspended upside down inside.

But her lower body had completely merged into a mass of writhing, dark blue gelatinous substance, from which dozens of tentacles extended, trembling slightly.

This is not a simple distortion, but rather the pinnacle of her research on the theory of "morphological fluidity".

Those seemingly randomly wriggling tentacles can each precisely manipulate different types of energy flows and execute complex spell formulas.

It is said that she once relied on these tentacles to maintain the operation of seventy-two abyssal behemoths at the same time, creating a record that remains unbroken to this day.

"Gentlemen, stop with the sour talk."

The jellyfish woman's voice carried a hint of mockery, mixed with disdain for the childish behavior of her two colleagues:

"The era of us Hanged Men is over. Besides, no matter how difficult the Authentic Path is, it's beyond the comprehension of you 'Key' wizards. After all, there are no shortcuts in the direct dialogue between the soul and higher beings."

The jellyfish woman, named Mora, is an extremely rare success story of the authentic path.

Her research field is "morphology transcendence," and she has created thirteen different bloodline limit forms, each with distinct characteristics and abilities.

Her achievements aroused deep jealousy and unease among many great wizards who followed the traditional path.

"Shut up, Mora!" The scaly old man, Varian, was enraged. His body within the crystal pouch trembled violently, unleashing a surge of energy.
"You were just lucky. If that monster's mental imprint hadn't happened to resonate with you back then, you would have been reduced to ashes long ago!"

Varian's sarcasm was tinged with deep jealousy and resentment.

As a high priest who followed the traditional path, he always harbored a complex and indescribable feeling towards those who succeeded through the authentic path.

On the one hand, there is admiration for his courage; on the other hand, there is regret and resentment at not being able to try.

The silver-eyed youth, Karent, couldn't help but chuckle softly, his body trembling slightly within his pouch.
"Varian, you're still so sensitive about Mora. You've been in the specimen collection for thousands of years, and you still can't let go of this little bit of resentment?"

Karent’s words were clearly sarcastic, but his eyes revealed admiration.

Although he followed the traditional path like Varian, he had genuine respect for authentic people like Mora.

Especially noteworthy is the achievement of maintaining self-awareness even after accepting the imprint of a high position.

"Callent, you..."

Varian was about to retort, but suddenly stopped, a hint of wariness and awe flashing in his eyes as he turned his gaze to another direction in the distance:
"Master Drake has awakened? That's truly remarkable. How many years have passed since his last awakening? Five hundred years? Or a thousand?"

Deep within the specimen library, a special container, three times larger than the other crystal capsules, slowly lit up.

Inside, hanging upside down, was a gaunt old man, his body unusually thin and his skin clinging tightly to his bones, like a dried corpse.

But what is most striking is his head—the entire skull has become completely transparent, revealing the brain structure inside that constantly shimmers with light.

That wasn't an ordinary brain, but a complex network composed of countless tiny runes and energy circuits.

Each nerve fiber was redefined and modified to process and store far more information than is possible in a normal organism.

It is said that his thinking speed is hundreds of times that of an ordinary great wizard, and he can calculate the complete energy equation of a complex plane in the blink of an eye.

“The authentic approach is quite rare.”

The withered old man's voice was ethereal, carrying an ancient rhythm that did not belong to this era:
"The Star Eater's Talk is an ambitious child."

Drake is one of the oldest beings in the collection, dating back to the middle of the Second Age.

Throughout his long life, he witnessed the rise and fall of countless geniuses and experienced countless major events in the wizarding world.

His very existence is a living history of wizards.

The other three Hanged Men immediately stopped arguing, and even the mean-spirited Varian fell silent.

The body inside the pouch remained almost completely still, as if trying its best to avoid attracting the attention of this ancient being.

(End of this chapter)