I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

Clearly, the anchor that holds this crack together is collapsing.

He had already sensed that the rift was unstable when he flew past it from the airship.

Lu Yuan had no idea who was the anchor point maintaining this rift.

The so-called "sea of ​​knowledge fishing" plan of the erudite Tana, despite its boastful preparations, actually performed terribly:

On his first fishing trip, if he hadn't been so rational, he probably would have crashed on the spot.

The second time he wasn't there, the plan completely fell apart, even leading to the leak of the Sea of ​​Knowledge, but fortunately it was intercepted relatively quickly; the third time wasn't much better. Now, who knows what they've pulled out this time.

With Lu Yuan's arrival and the fall of his authority, everything in the Sea of ​​Knowledge changed.

The churning and shrinking sea suddenly stopped, the collapse ceased, and even the faded fragments of text lit up again at that moment.

The edges of the rift ceased to tremble, and the entire sea of ​​knowledge was completely stabilized under his authority.

The golden light emanating from the phantom of the Crown of Kings above fell on the sea surface, without even causing a ripple.

Lu Yuan stepped into this sea of ​​knowledge.

Unlike last time, the sea was empty this time. There was no floating corpse like last time, nor any of the chaotic afterimages.

Before my eyes were only endless words, suspended above the sea, stretching in all directions to the horizon.

And in the far distance, stood a figure.

The figure was somewhat blurry, its entire body translucent, and its outline and face were not clearly visible.

Fragments of text flowed through him and faded away. The colors of any text that passed through his writing would dim, as if something had been taken away from it.

He was in extremely poor condition at the moment, his body was covered with numerous cracks, some of which were so deep that they were about to split his entire body apart. He looked as if he would shatter at any moment.

The figure seemed to sense Lu Yuan's arrival and slowly turned his head.

He was taken aback at first, seemingly thinking it was Hilde who had arrived.

But the next moment he realized. He himself was a white phantom in the form of a soul, while Lu Yuan walked in almost as a physical being, fully clothed, with a faint light shining deep in his left eye.

Arthur was a little confused about how Lu Yuan had gotten in.

Wasn't he only at level two? Arthur was a little confused.

Two lines of gray text floated before Lu Yuan's eyes.

[Target detected: Arthur Heinz (Exceptional Knowledge) (Near Death)]

[The Imperial Erudite Tower's special envoy, willing to sacrifice everything for his plan, is now on the verge of shattering his soul, merging with the sea.]

After reading the two lines of text, Lu Yuan walked over to Arthur.

He finally understood why the Sea of ​​Knowledge had been able to withstand the fourth fishing expedition for so long.

It turns out that Arthur chose to use himself as the anchor point.

Arthur stared at Lu Yuan walking towards him for a long while, then smiled.

The smile was faint, and a crack ran from the corner of his mouth all the way to behind his ear. With that smile, the crack deepened even further.

"It seems my mission is complete." Arthur's voice was soft, tinged with relief. "The Sea of ​​Knowledge should never be shattered again, nor should it be closed again."

He scrutinized Lu Yuan, his gaze lingering on the faintly glowing object deep within his left eye. He couldn't make out what it was, but he could sense that it contained some kind of immense power.

"I didn't expect you to be hiding something like this. That's great, Bronze City should be saved."

He paused, his voice tinged with a hint of bitterness and apology.

"But I'm afraid I can't go back."

Lu Yuan stood in front of him, looking at the increasingly deep cracks on his body.

He realized he couldn't help Arthur much.

Although he wielded a tiny bit of power over the Sea of ​​Knowledge, he was unable to rebuild Arthur's soul, which was on the verge of collapse, or even protect it.

Lu Yuan stopped observing and instead asked a question.

"Was it worth it?" Lu Yuan looked at the dying Arthur before him, and after a brief silence, asked, "You sacrificed so many people for this fishing plan. The Empire sent batches of students from the Tower of Learning, and not a single one returned. In the end, you yourself died here."

Arthur remained silent for a moment upon hearing this.

"I'm not reconciled." His voice was devoid of any emotion. "Of course I'm not reconciled."

The cracks on his body deepened, and his body, or rather his soul, was disintegrating at a visible speed, with the edges beginning to blur.

"But what's the use of being unwilling? If we want this withered city to live, if we want to get what the empire wants, this is the only way."

His voice grew softer and softer, as if the conversation had exhausted all his remaining strength.

"The anchor points and cracks are tied together, and the cost is extremely high! If possible, I hope you can protect them..."

As he spoke, cracks had already spread all over Arthur's body, which was glowing with a white light.

Arthur glanced at Lu Yuan one last time.

All the strange and enigmatic things about him that he usually possessed were gone at this moment, leaving only an utterly exhausted man standing on this dreamlike sea.

"Lu Yuan," Arthur murmured, "I'm a little tired, I want to sleep for a while."

As soon as he finished speaking, his body began to disintegrate, peeling away piece by piece and turning into specks of white light that merged into the sea of ​​knowledge beneath his feet.

Arthur's soul shattered slowly and quietly.

Lu Yuan just watched quietly; there was nothing he could do.

This time, Lu Yuan unusually refrained from consuming Arthur's soul fragments, and this wasn't solely because the Worm of Knowledge wasn't around.

As the last ray of white light merged into the sea of ​​knowledge, a very shallow ripple appeared on the surface before the sea returned to calm.

Arthur Heinz, an Imperial Inspector appointed by the Erudite Tower, possessed extraordinary third-order knowledge and vanished into the sea of ​​knowledge he had built with half his life.

Lu Yuan stood there, watching the sea gradually return to calm. After a few breaths, he sighed softly.

"Rest in peace, Arthur."

Lu Yuan did not comment on whether Arthur's death was right or wrong.

To push this fishing project forward, Arthur sacrificed hundreds of students at the Tower of Learning.

Those talented students who came from some unknown corner of the empire, before they could graduate and change their own destiny, were sent one by one by the empire and Arthur into the Sea of ​​Knowledge, where they all died.

Now, even Arthur himself has fallen into this trap; fate is truly a strange thing.

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze and did not look at the sea again.

The next moment, the sea of ​​knowledge stirred within my heart.

The countless fragments of text, each a different color, all turned toward Lu Yuan, converging on him from all directions and surrounding him in layers.

The key deep within Lu Yuan's left eye had completely floated out, its light several times brighter than before.

Because this sea of ​​knowledge is now completely under Lu Yuan's control.

The authority over the sea of ​​knowledge, as if granted some kind of promise, began to be restored continuously.

A vast amount of knowledge from the sea flowed into the authority, replenishing what he had previously consumed.

Lu Yuan's body slowly rose above the vast ocean, with powerful characters swirling around him. In an instant, the ocean began to obey his commands.

However, the price was paid immediately.

[Rationality: -1...-1...-1...-1...]

The gray and white text jumped wildly in his vision, and a series of -1s made Lu Yuan a little dizzy. His rationality plummeted, dropping by nearly twenty points in the blink of an eye.

[Rationality: 121/140]

Meanwhile, two other sets of numbers are rising rapidly.

[Forbidden Studies - Seeker of Knowledge: +1...+1...+1...]

[Rationality IV: +1...+1...+1...]

[Rationality: +1...+1..]

Between the rise and fall, Lu Yuan could clearly feel his spirit being pulled back and forth by several forces.

Reason was both sinking and inexplicably rising;

His levels of taboo studies and rational authority were skyrocketing, a jumbled mess in his mind.

Lu Yuan didn't know how he had regained his sanity, but he didn't care to know now.

He needs to act quickly; he can't linger in this vast ocean for too long, or he fears he won't be able to hold on.

After all, he was only a second-tier knowledge transcendent. Even if he held some power over this sea, how much strength could he actually exert?

Above their heads, in the real world above the Tower of Learning, the will of the Crown of Kings was still desperately pressing down on the rift, trying to close it completely.

Standing within the rift in the Sea of ​​Knowledge, Lu Yuan gazed at the enormous crown of flesh and blood outside. With a thought, countless fragments of knowledge surged forth, forcefully widening the rift in the Sea of ​​Knowledge even further.

The Crown of Kings phantom reacted extremely violently, with its six turbid eyes simultaneously turning towards the depths of the Sea of ​​Knowledge. That will surged towards the rift almost frantically, trying to completely close it.

Clearly, the Crown of Kings had discovered Lu Yuan, hidden deep within the rift of the Sea of ​​Knowledge, who was the very same wisp of consciousness that had previously entered its consciousness space and touched that pure gem.

Lu Yuan's heart stirred slightly, and the next moment, a massive amount of text surged out, forcefully holding back the rift.

The Crown of Kings seemed to be enraged, and a forbidden power emanated from it. It was an ancient and worn aura, carrying a supreme meaning that Lu Yuan had never felt before.

But times have changed. Lu Yuan, now immersed in a sea of ​​knowledge, is not afraid at all.

"If you're so capable, tear apart the Sea of ​​Knowledge and come in to fight me! Let's see if the Sea of ​​Knowledge can hold its own or not."

A struggle ensued over the opening and closing of the rift, and the entire sea of ​​knowledge trembled violently in this powerful atmosphere.

Just then, Lu Yuan felt a strange sensation in his left leg.

He is a drowning person.

That face, which had been deathly pale and lifeless, actually twitched slightly.

A trace of color appeared on the pale skin.

The person who was hanging had no eyelids, and the empty eye sockets that were originally empty now revealed a hint of expression.

Lu Yuan noticed the movement of the person who was hanging, but he was not surprised.

The drowning man had already shown signs of regaining consciousness, and now that he is in this sea of ​​knowledge and under the protection of authority, it is only natural that he could regain something or accelerate something.

But Lu Yuan ignored him.

At this moment, in this sea of ​​knowledge, he is invincible.

What he needs to do now is to hold up the gap as much as possible, while trying to drag the crown in to buy time for Klaus and the others.