In Sumeru, pretend to be a scholar!

Jingshan Palace - Tree King Meditation Room.

After sending Wang Yan back to his own dream, Naxida slowly opened her eyes.

A glint of light flashed in his emerald green pupils, which quickly returned to calm.

"Yet another visitor from beyond the world..."

"However, compared to the Traveler and Paimon, this King Yan has a great respect for knowledge..."

"It seems there are no problems for now, let's observe further later."

Nasida was not entirely at ease with Wang Yan's existence, but she also had no intention of monitoring him.

He is indeed a gentle god.

Even though Nasida had some doubts about a foreign student, she was still willing to show goodwill first.

As for how to deal with this outsider, we'll have to see how Wang Yan behaves afterward.

...

the other side.

Wang Yan was suddenly awakened from his dream and sat up abruptly in bed.

The room remained dimly lit, with only the hands of the bedside clock gleaming faintly.

He looked around. The familiar little house was furnished as usual, and the book "Analysis of Common Ancient Characters" that he hadn't closed the night before was still open on the table.

Outside, the city of Sumeru was silent in the dead of night, with only the orderly and low footsteps of the thirty-man patrol team approaching from afar and then gradually fading away.

A few short, sharp cries from unidentified night birds pierced the air, further emphasizing the stillness of the night.

Everything seemed unreal, like a dream.

嗏

He raised his hand and pressed his temples; the childlike and clear voice of the Little Lucky Grass King from his dream seemed to still echo in his ears.

"It wasn't a dream, it was real. I was pulled into Nasita's dream."

Wang Yan's lips twitched, a bitter smile playing on his lips.

The footsteps of the patrol team and the cries of night birds sounded exceptionally clear outside, but they did nothing to dispel the sudden unease that gripped his heart.

"When did she..." Wang Yan murmured to himself, his voice sounding dry in the quiet room.

It's not about "how it was done", but "when".

He was completely unaware of it from beginning to end.

There was no warning, no resistance, and not even a hint of feeling 'invaded'.

By the time he realized what was happening, Wang Yan was already in Naxi Da's dream.

This silent and subtle control instantly wiped out all the pride and confidence Wang Yan had accumulated in the field of translation because of his "language proficiency," which allowed him to easily "discourage" and provoke scholars.

He recalled his "dissatisfaction" and "testing" in the dream just now. Although Nasita appeared tolerant and even self-reflective, looking back now, Wang Yan felt a chill of fear.

Before that deity, all my little schemes would probably be exposed from the very beginning.

When she said she "couldn't read minds," she might only mean she couldn't directly access specific thoughts, but emotions, reactions, and even ideas were probably crystal clear to her.

"I'm just an ordinary person with a cheat code..." Wang Yan clenched his fist, his nails digging slightly into his palm. The real pain made him even more awake. "An ordinary person who can't even realize when he was pulled into a dream."

In Khalid's shop, he handled the linguistic challenges posed by scholars with ease, and even began to get used to being looked at with admiration by his customers.

At the Lambad Tavern, being able to communicate on equal footing with a genius like Elhesen made him unconsciously place himself in the position of a 'scholar' and 'capable person'.

The convenience and rapid success brought by his cheat system almost made him forget the true nature of this world—a world where gods, elemental forces, abysses, and various extraordinary powers exist.

Language and writing are indeed powerful carriers of power, but mastering the key to deciphering them does not mean mastering the power itself, much less that one has the right to stand on equal footing with those who truly hold the reins of the rules.

Nasita's meeting was like a bucket of cold, piercing sobering medicine, suddenly waking him up.

The gap is too big.

That's a gap that can't be bridged by knowledge, skills, or the strength of one's "golden touch" ability; it's an insurmountable chasm in terms of life level and existential status.

"...Knowledge, I need more knowledge, enough knowledge to gain power."

Wang Yan took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, glanced at the "Demon Sealing Scroll" on the desk, and finally forced himself to hold back.

The corrupting power brought by the language of the abyss allows Wang Yan to forcibly drive elemental power.

But what would be the price? Wang Yan still couldn't tell.

Although the shock Nasita had just brought made Wang Yan crave power, he did not lose his mind.

"Keep a low profile, take the entrance exam, then join the Order Academy and acquire enough knowledge from it." Wang Que suppressed the excitement in his heart. "Even if the sky falls, the Traveler will hold it up. I need to develop steadily."

He lay back down on the bed, but could no longer fall asleep.

Looking up at the ceiling, it's as if you can see through the wooden structure and into the Pure Good Palace, which hangs high atop the sacred tree.

……

The next day.

As usual, Wang Yan went to work at the Menakali shop, and she also had a translation job scheduled for today.

"Good morning, Wang Yan," Khalid greeted.

He arrived early and had already finished his work. He was now behind the counter teaching Ferretti how to identify antique jewelry.

Wang Yan smiled and nodded: "It's getting late, it'll be lunchtime soon."

"Haha, you look... a bit more energetic today," Khalid said with a smile, unconcerned.

Khalid and Wang Yan had become quite familiar with each other over this period of time, but today Khalid noticed that Wang Yan seemed to be acting differently.

Khalid couldn't quite put his finger on what was different, but he felt that the person seemed a bit more energetic.

Wang Yan smiled and said, "I just felt a bit restless these past few days. Khalid, could you please reduce my workload a bit more? I need more time to read."

Upon hearing this, Khalid's expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal: "Alright, since you've become quite famous lately, I can raise your price and reduce the order volume, that's perfectly fine."

He does not make money by taking a cut from Wang Yan's translations.

However, if Wang Yan continues to reduce her workload, it will definitely affect the store's popularity.

However, Khalid would not refuse Wang Yan's request because of this.

The reason is simple: the one with the technology is Wang Yan, not himself.

Wang Yan has already made a name for himself, and even if he no longer works for him, there will be other people willing to hire him.

Therefore, Khalid was willing to go along with the king's wishes.

"But do you still need to read books?" Khalid joked with a smile. "I feel like you know more than the books in the Church of Christ."

Wang Que had already reached his seat. He first brewed himself a pot of tea, then took out a book and opened it: "I only know a lot about writing and language. Besides, how can I alone compare to the thousands of years of accumulation of the Order of the Teachings? People... still need to keep learning."

The little boy, Feretus, nodded in agreement: "That's right, Father. Why don't you go to the Order of the Church and get certified too?"

Khalid glared at his son: "I should have sent you to tutoring classes."

Ferretes' face turned pale: "No, no!"

With that, he dashed out of the shop.

Khalid shook his head and didn't chase after them, but looked at Wang Yan and asked, "So, what about today's work..."

Wang Yan smiled and said, "It's the same as usual today."

"Alright." Khalid immediately smiled.