Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

But he was too old, a full 117 years old. At that age, no one would criticize him for anything he did, and there was no need for him to.

If he doesn't intend to use some special means to change his life form and extend his lifespan, he probably only has seven or eight years left to live. So in recent years, he has taken up his childhood hobby.

He was fishing.

Last month I was deep-sea fishing in the nearshore waters of Poliu Coast. After a month at sea and a complete failure to catch anything, I reflected on my experience and became convinced that it was definitely a problem with the boat at Poliu Coast.

Those steamships scare all the fish away!

This was a way of making up for his lack of income, so Ibn came to Mistmoon City this month and fished outside the city for seven or eight days. After that, he came into the city and fished by the great lake where Hercats Prison is located.

Half an hour's walk from his fishing spot is the pier, and another half hour's walk through the tavern street where nightingales and male prostitutes wave and solicit customers, the dirty and dimly lit slums with rows of red brick buildings, and then you'll reach the Broken Gold River.

The castle area is just across the river.

However, Ibn hadn't crossed the river in a long time, and the slums here gave him a feeling of returning to his hometown, while the villas in the observatory district and the neat streets of the castle district, where he had lived for who knows how many years, felt quite unfamiliar to him.

He had heard that the alchemists in the Fontainebleau district, who considered themselves respectable, had repeatedly proposed to thoroughly treat and remove the "fuss" on the Queen's chest, such as the slums and docks.

Fortunately, the new ruler was a smart woman. She clearly knew that wealth and fairness were mutually exclusive, not to mention that what those sorcerers were talking about was not fairness, but rather their intention to drive out the people they considered inferior so they wouldn't have to see them and bother them.

Prosperity is not something that can be achieved overnight; someone always has to pay the price in the process.

Just like the numerous factories with chimneys emanating from the port of Ansu next door, how many child laborers once cleaned those chimneys?

Ibn is old and has come to terms with these things, but he is still comforted to see that the ruling lady still has compassion.

Then he thought of his good-for-nothing students, one of whom had received a favor from Scarlett.

Ibn slowly closed his eyes, and the fishing rod in his hand moved slightly.

Holly, who was squatting nearby waiting for the fish, reminded them, "The fish has taken the bait."

—Splash!

empty.

Iben raised his fishing rod, surprised, and said, "Little girl, what are you still doing here?"

Holly said earnestly, "I'm teaching you how to fish, don't get distracted, grandpa!"

"Wait a minute, I can go fishing!"

“But I’ve seen you sitting here all day and haven’t caught anything.”

Holly asked very seriously, "Are you hungry?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Impossible! I get hungry after just half a day without eating, but you haven't eaten all day, you must be starving!"

"I'm really not hungry. You should hurry up and leave."

"no!"

Iben was puzzled and carefully examined the little girl in front of him. Why was she showing kindness to a Sequence 6 Unsheathed Blade?

Moreover, there was a spirit creature of similar strength nearby—if he weren't certain that the Assassin's Court didn't have such a strange figure, he would have thought the Assassin's Court had come to assassinate him...

He said speechlessly, "What exactly are you planning to do, kid?"

Holly remembered how miserable she was when she was hungry, and how the witch helped her escape hunger.

She is a knight too—the Red Knight is a knight too! She must carry on the spirit of chivalry and compassion that the Witch possessed, and punish evil and wrongdoing with inhuman cruelty!

The big dog, hiding in Holly's shadow, was getting a little frantic: "Holly! The Red Knight and the Knights have absolutely nothing to do with each other!"

Holly responded in her mind:

I do not believe.

Big Dog: ......

The Red Knight is a mythical figure in church prophecies who brings chaos, war, and violence; he has absolutely nothing to do with knights or silver knights.

But what can it say when faced with this dog-like child?

Holly remained looking at Ibn, and said firmly, "I'll teach you how to fish so you won't go hungry. What's your name, grandpa?"

Ibn, as if possessed, blurted out his real name, "Ibn... wait, child, where are your parents?"

"I don't have a father."

"And what about your mother?"

"I don't have a mother either."

Holly emphasized again, "But I will definitely teach you how to fish. I'm a great teacher!"

Ibn's vision went black.

.......................

.......................

"Has Ibn Musa's itinerary been found?"

"Director Sulph, not yet, but a specialist has found a possible lead. A person resembling Ibn was seen fishing with his granddaughter by Lake Hercats."

In the living room of a suite on the third floor of the grand hotel, a specialist in a blue and white uniform put down some materials.

Tia asked curiously, "Ibn has a granddaughter, what does she look like?"

Annie also came over to take a look.

When the specialist brought over the photos, Tia was shocked.

"How could this be Holly!"

"And who is Holly?"

Anne became a little wary.

Tia said, "The girl I helped in the slums before was from a very poor family and was very pitiful."

"oh oh."

The young lady of the Mercury family felt a little embarrassed, realizing that her thoughts were too vulgar. She was clearly a hereditary noblewoman from a founding family, yet she was not as virtuous as Tia.

I have failed my ancestors! I really should work on improving my moral character.

Anne remembered what book Tia used to like reading a long time ago, what was it called? Spring and Autumn Annals?

She thought she would go and take some further training someday.

Tia waved her hand and said, "It should be Holly's elder or something. Tomorrow is the academic lecture, so let's put Iben's matter aside for now."

The commissioner stopped, saluted with his hand on his chest, and asked, "Shall we proceed as planned?"

Tia said, "We have obtained the city's approval to increase firepower. We are preparing to set up heavy machine guns at key firing points on the street outside the Sparrowtail Theatre."

"Huh? This is way too much of a boost!"

The commissioner looked completely bewildered, and his gaze toward Tia became filled with awe.

This Director Sulph doesn't seem like the stereotypical womanizer and gigolo from a monastery background who rose to power by living off women! She actually managed to obtain this kind of power from the Iris City Council.

Or perhaps Director Sulph has already taken his money abroad?

Horror!

The commissioner's admiration grew even stronger.

Tia said, "This is nothing. All twenty commissioners have been mobilized, and they must be equipped with heavy hunting rifles and submachine guns. They should also be wearing armor and carrying throwing bombs. This time we don't have any Papal Knights to assist us, only ten Sequence 7 priests to support us."

"The priests will be equipped with heavy armor. You will provide cover for them and then proceed with regular tactics once they have the situation under control."

This sounds a bit strange, as priests are usually placed in the rear as support units, but the military forces of the Anzu Holy Church are unique.

The priests were much better fighters than the regular soldiers.

In addition to the church's pastors, Tia also secured support from the Silver Knights, two Sequence 5 Knight Commanders who would be responsible for strengthening the theater's security.

She originally wanted to use her influence to invite the Grand Knight Commander of Sequence 4, but there were only so many Sequence 4s, and the prophets would definitely focus on them, so she had to give up.

However, she still did not know how much power the prophets would mobilize.

Annie eagerly asked, "Should I go help too?"

Tia was also bold, but of course, the prophets' main target was Ibn, and their focus wouldn't be on Anne.

Moreover, she had already made arrangements: "Annie, you are a very important force. You can prepare more for the ritual of the Judgment Fire."

"Great! Please make good use of me!"

"That's a terrible thing to say."

Chapter 356 Gathering in Mistmoon City

There are still 27 hours until this grand academic salon.

With a smile playing on his lips, Santis adjusted his monocle and walked straight into the Montreal family's manor.

Behind him was a tattooed monk wearing a maroon robe. From the Eastern totems symbolizing earth, fire, water, and wind on his body, it could be seen that this monk not only possessed a powerful physique but also likely mastered the four elements.

Unlike the two invited prophets of the Palace of Wisdom, Santis was simply wandering around the Montreal house as an intruder.

His confidence in trespassing into the Fontainebleau district's mansion stemmed from the presence of the "monk" Sazdive beside him.

The servants and butler of the Montreal family, who walked by, completely ignored the two men under the subtle psychological suggestion of Sazdive.

With the aid of several rituals by Sazdive, such as "concealing one's aura," "psychological suggestion," and "natural disguise," not only the extraordinary individuals of the Montreal family...

Even the most elite alchemists and silver knights in the Fontaine Palace district could hardly detect the two entering and leaving this luxurious manor.

Santis was deep in thought with a faint smile on his face the whole way.

He ventured deep into Mistmoon City with two main objectives: one was to cooperate with Sazdilweh and Rexar to use a potion to guide the false god "Bloodthorn" to the surface.

This is the main purpose for which the Hand of Transformation sent him.

But he himself had an even more important task: to reclaim his Protostar Antimony.

This was quite difficult for him, because Sazdive would certainly not help him in this matter, and he himself was seriously injured.

Fortunately, although Sazdewey was unwilling to directly help him retrieve the Prototype Antimony, the monk was willing to share some esoteric knowledge from an Eastern tradition with him.

—The preparation method of the Philosopher's Stone.

It is not a preparation plan based on star antimony, gold, and sacred wood, but a dark art that is based directly on flesh and blood, yet is completely different from spiritual alchemy, treating flesh and blood as "materials".

Of course, whether it's sorcery or not is not the key point; Santis himself scoffs at such things.

He even collaborates with cult members!

If he can successfully refine the Philosopher's Stone and then obtain the Supreme Star Antimony, not only will he be able to recover to Sequence Four, but he will also have no problem advancing to Sequence Three.

Regardless of the path taken, advancement to Sequence Three, also known as the ascension to Sainthood, requires three great accomplishments:

"The perfect prototype", "the origin of knowledge", "a grand miracle".

The Philosopher's Stone brought the soul and body to a perfect state, eliminating any flaws that humans could not comprehend, thus achieving the first "perfect prototype".

By relying on esoteric texts, or by summarizing the profound meanings of esoteric texts purely through human wisdom, one can reach the pinnacle of contemporary esoteric fields, thus completing the "origin of knowledge."

Finally, one must leave a lasting legacy in history. Whether one establishes a state, becomes a great artist, a great inventor, or simply relies on obscurity, as long as one's name is recorded in history, one has accomplished a "grand miracle."

These three great tasks are like a stable triangle, none of which can be missing.

The philosopher's stone fulfills the first requirement.

The second item, "the origin of knowledge," is still quite lacking for Santis. Although his treatise, "On the Work of Antimony and Saturn," has almost reached the limit of contemporary antimony alchemy, it is still far behind that of the previous chairman, "Ulrich," and the chairman before that, "Bishop."

This paper lacks substance; there's nothing that can be done. Either he continues to refine and polish it for a few more years, or he finds a secret manual.

This was one of the reasons he ventured deep into the Sanctuary's "ghost ship."

As for the third "grand miracle"—for some exceptionally gifted individuals, they accomplish a "grand miracle" while completing the "origin of knowledge."

However, not everyone possesses such innate talent, capable of accessing divine knowledge through human wisdom and creating work powerful enough to shake history. Therefore, they attempt to forcibly leave their mark on history using methods, whether good or bad.

For example, creating a super plague that kills everyone.

Santis's visit to the Iris Flower Garden is one aspect of the miracle he is trying to create.

"This is probably my last chance."