I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Richard looked at it for a while and was about to close the notebook.

My eyes swept over the last few lines of the translation and I realized that I had missed a section.

When he copied the original materials from the Imperial University Library, he moved them page by page in the order of the pages.

Due to time constraints, some paragraphs were squeezed near the binding seam, and some characters were partially pressed down by the spine.

He could only pry the spine of the book open to its maximum angle and huddle close to identify each character as he copied it into the notebook.

This last section was cut out from the deepest part of the binding seam.

He wasn't even sure if he had missed any characters while copying, and he marked three questionable locations in parentheses in his notebook.

Looking back now, two of the three questionable passages can be reconstructed from the context.

There is also a missing declension suffix, but it does not affect the overall meaning.

He copied the coded message onto a new sheet of white paper and went through the deciphering process again.

The first line of text that was restored made him sit up straight.

"There is one more thing that I did not mention in the main text, because it belongs to the kind of knowledge that is kept secret within the major traditions."

The encryption method used in this coded message is completely different from the previous ones.

The preceding paragraphs use standard single-layer substitution and word order inversion, a straightforward beginner-level encryption.

This section suddenly raises the encryption level to a whole new level.

The person who wrote this clearly didn't want all readers who could understand the main text to read this far.

The threshold for the main text is the basic code words plus a reference table, and the threshold for this last section is an additional layer on top of the main text.

Then further filtering is done within the filtering process.

Richard lowered his head again, the pencil tip touching the white paper, and painstakingly reproduced the words.

"A second signature is not just about accessing the lineage system."

"When you engrave your signature into the core of a tradition, you establish a channel between yourself and the founder of that tradition."

"The channel is bidirectional."

When he was copying the original material, he once marked this position with a small question mark.

Because there was a clear sign of alteration in the original text.

This text is more illegible than the preceding and following lines, with inconsistent spacing between characters, as if it was written in one go after much hesitation:

"To establish a tradition is to plant a tree in the world behind the curtain."

"Every practitioner who connects to this tree becomes a branch of it."

"The more branches a tree has, the stronger it grows; the deeper its roots go, the more nutrients it draws from behind the curtain."

"The trunk holder enjoys all the nutrients supplied by the branches and also has the right to prune any branch."

Most of the time, the holder will not exercise this power.

Allowing branches to grow freely is most beneficial for the entire tree; frequent pruning can damage the roots.

"But the existence of power itself does not disappear just because it is not exercised."

"It hangs above the head of every branch."

Richard put down his pencil, stretched his aching fingers, and picked it up again to continue writing.

You might say, "I'll just choose a trustworthy tradition."

The tradition of observing the sun is ancient and profound, the tradition of hunting the moon is upright and honorable, and the tradition of hearth fire is strictly regulated. How could anyone abuse such power?

"This idea is reasonable, but also naive, because you are giving the choice to someone else."

"When the founders of a traditional company die or change, the core ownership will change hands."

"The person you trust when you sign your name second may not be the same person who sits in the central position a hundred years from now."

"Even for the same person, a hundred years is enough time for many ideas to change."

"And once your signature is engraved, it cannot be erased."

The lamp wick swayed slightly, casting claw-like shadows on the words in the notebook.

It was completely quiet upstairs and downstairs; the parents and Evelyn were all fast asleep.

He put down his pencil and prepared to close his notebook.

The pencil rolled half a circle on the table before stopping at the base of the gargoyle.

He didn't pick up the pen; his mind was too heavy.

Although those who can decipher encrypted codes usually possess the foundation to understand the content.

But being able to bear it and bearing it easily are two different things.

Tonight he devoured the rest of "On Ascending Behind a Curtain" in one go.

The five traditional classification frameworks, the specific conditions for advancement to the ranks of minor and major proficiency, the basic procedures of the two rituals, the essential nature of existence beyond major proficiency, and the most crucial admonition...

My temples are throbbing faster and faster, the back of my head is throbbing, and something is pushing outwards from the inside.

A very slight blur appeared at the edge of the field of vision, and the light was bent and distorted.

Richard immediately put down his notebook, placed his hands flat on his knees, and closed his eyes.

He then completed three more full cycles of the breathing exercise until his breathing returned to the steady rhythm he had during his practice.

The swelling sensation hasn't completely disappeared, but it's been reduced to a tolerable level.

He opened his eyes and looked down at the notebook and translation manuscript spread out on the table.

That's enough for today; I can't touch any more materials.

There are still several original materials I brought back from the Imperial Capital University Library that I haven't touched.

The encrypted text lay quietly in the back half of the notebook, waiting to be pried open little by little.

But picking locks also depends on whether you can still use your wrists to exert force.

He closed his notebook, folded the translated manuscript, locked it in the drawer, and placed the gargoyle back on the corner of the table.

The table lamp was turned off.

Richard took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair, then lay down on the bed without immediately closing his eyes.

In the darkness, a bright strip on the ceiling was trembling slightly, probably because the wind outside the window was blowing the lampshade.

There was too much in his mind to process in a short time, so he chose to start by sorting out the parts that were most relevant to him.

The first priority is to promote practitioners.

The conditions are clear: the microcirculation must operate stably for at least one year, a career direction and a unique object must be selected, and an empirical study must be completed.

Of the three conditions, the first one is a hard time threshold, which cannot be rushed; there are still more than half a year to go.

The second item was a foregone conclusion for him.

The third empirical task, if you choose the academic route, is to independently decipher a previously undeciphered encrypted text.

He has already done quite a few things to decipher encrypted text.

But those all have reference tables to help with the translation, and the original texts have all been reproduced by others; this is just his first time doing it.

The condition "not previously restored" is very strict.

It demands original breakthroughs; you have to tackle a tough challenge that no one has ever tackled before.

The documents in the Imperial University Library are not encrypted at a high level; they are obviously introductory textbooks that have been deciphered by countless people. They certainly wouldn't be qualified to be submitted as empirical evidence.

The only real empirical evidence can be obtained by asking Mr. Hutton later, or by obtaining unknown texts from more obscure sources.

However, it's best to ask experienced people for advice rather than trying to collect texts on your own.

Reading random books in this world could actually kill you.

Secondly, there are five traditional choices.

The Sun Tradition and the Golden Way share the same origin, and the introductory breathing techniques he practices come from this system.

If one follows the traditional scholarly path of the Sun, there is a natural interface between breathing exercises and academic research, and there are no compatibility issues.

The literature mentions that the choice of a second author should only be made at the stage of mastery.

There are two complete levels between a true expert and a junior expert, each requiring several or even more than a decade of accumulation.

As for the author's repeated advice in the book to stop at the practitioner stage, he had never considered it.

Richard rolled over and pulled the blanket up a little higher.

He doesn't plan to make a decision now.

There are still several ranks to go before reaching the second signature required to break through to the Great Mastery level, so worrying about it now is both a waste of energy and pointless.

But there was one sentence in that passage that he planned to etch into the deepest part of his mind, to look at every time he made a choice in the future:

"Once your signature is engraved, it can never be erased."

An irreversible choice made without sufficient information is a gamble.

He will wait until he has enough information, clear enough options, and strong enough power before he starts writing.

Until then, just be a sapling that grows freely.

Finally, let's master the above content:

"Those above the line have begun to deviate from the realm of humanity and have begun to become part of the ether."

This sentence kept going around in my head, and with each turn, it felt heavier.

The metaphor of the candle is very straightforward.

The brighter the flame, the shorter the wax.

At a certain stage, the wax burns out, but the fire remains. That fire is no longer the flame on the candle; it transforms into something else entirely.

How far do I want to go in the future?

Asking this question now is too early; it's so early that even asking it feels like a luxury.

He wasn't even considered a veteran among the newcomers; his microcirculation had only been established for two months, and he wasn't even qualified to have his name signed on a rare item.

The skill levels on the panel are still in their early stages.

It takes at least a year to become a practitioner, several years to become a minor expert, and more than ten years or even longer to become a major expert.

What happened after that is not something we should be thinking about now.

The Latin word at the end of the document comes to mind—Cave, beware.

What should you be careful of?

Beware of the corrosive effects that the power itself can bring;

Beware of the cumulative costs during the ascent;

Be careful that one day you look down and find that there isn't enough wax under your feet.

Beware of those eyes watching from the depths of the curtain.

The brighter the candle, the more eyes can see it.

His current flame is so small as to be negligible, which is a good thing.

Small means safe, and small means there's still plenty of wax to burn.

As long as every bit of wax is used in the right place, and the flame grows steadily rather than suddenly flares up, those eyes in the distance will not notice him for the time being.

The wind blew outside the window again, and the bright strip on the ceiling swayed for a moment before stopping.

The night in Briston is so quiet that only the occasional whistling of the wind can be heard.

Richard closed his eyes.

The rest is up to time.