A Priest casting spells required one critical prerequisite: possessing a Wizard Embryo Fragment.
Li Ban had previously understood Wizard Embryo Fragments as a form of energy, a planet, or even a personal pocket dimension.
But Priest Zhu Yao told him, "A Wizard Embryo Fragment is the key to prying open the rules of reality."
She poured herself a cup of water. Instead of drinking it, she turned the cup upside down right in front of him.
The water did not spill; it remained perfectly still inside the overturned cup.
"Heavy objects fall toward the center of the earth. But they don't have to. Or they can fall in a different way."
Suddenly, the water dropped from the cup, only to hover in midair as a perfectly round sphere.
Zhu Yao then placed the cup upright beneath it. The water sphere dropped, landing as heavily as a lump of mud without a single drop splashing out.
Only after demonstrating the power of the wizard embryo did Zhu Yao begin explaining how to cast spells.
There were no incantations to memorize, no formations, and no talisman papers.
All Li Ban needed to master was controlling his Wizard Embryo Fragment to influence reality.
Because it achieved the result in a single step, that step was exceptionally complex.
Although Zhu Yao had said she would teach him two spells, she was actually just passing on the methods and principles for casting them.
"Shrinking Ground to an Inch" was a spatial spell, allowing the caster to instantly relocate anywhere within their line of sight, or to an unseen location as long as they clearly knew its position.
Unleashing this spell required seventeen steps of mental control.
The "Terror Spell" was a form of mental suppression, demanding twenty-one steps of mental control.
Through Zhu Yao's explanation, Li Ban learned that when he and Cat Girl had been immobilized by the black-robed priest, it was because the man had cast the Terror Spell.
Moreover, spells differed from element abilities; they carried a higher order of suppression.
Unless one possessed a Fine-grade element or higher, the resulting ability could not compare to the effects of a spell.
However, the one advantage element abilities held over spells was that they did not require complex mental changes to cast.
But elements—if they could not be fused with oneself, they were ultimately external objects.
Li Ban listened in a daze. He tried following Zhu Yao's method, feeling his Wizard Embryo Fragment spinning rapidly, but his mind simply could not execute the steps with the required stability.
Usually, by the second or third step, his consciousness would lose its sharp focus and scatter.
As a result, nothing happened.
Zhu Yao watched from the side. Her face was expressionless, but a hint of amusement seemed to show in her eyes.
Li Ban noticed this, sensing that her true nature might not be quite so aloof. For some reason, she was intentionally suppressing it.
"The entire preparation phase for a spell happens within the mind, and human consciousness is naturally divergent, influenced by countless factors," Zhu Yao said. "So learning spells is a long process. There's no need to rush. Since we'll be traveling together until we reach Capital City, you can practice with me the whole time."
After he practiced for a short while, someone arrived to deliver a report to Zhu Yao, so she said, "Li Ban, you head back first.
"Even after becoming a Priest, you cannot neglect your element cultivation. The number of elements we can fuse with is limited. Whenever you integrate an element in the future, try to choose ones that are Fine-grade or above. If you truly can't find any, you can reach out to me or Priest Qian Que for help."
Li Ban thanked her once more.
"Once you advance to become a Divine Offspring Priest, all nine elements will prove their worth," Priest Zhu Yao reminded him.
This time, Li Ban nodded a bit slowly.
So... even among Priests, no one could fuse with multiple elements?
It seemed the golden finger he had gained from crossing over was quite formidable after all.
When Li Ban stepped out of Priest Zhu Yao's carriage, the soldiers and officials waiting outside were completely dumbfounded.
Especially Li Yuan, who was sitting in the carriage just ahead, staring intently through his rear window to gauge Priest Yao's reactions.
Instead, he saw someone who absolutely should not have been there.
A lowly prison guard, a discarded bronze-tier assassin—Li Ban!
Why was he stepping out of Priest Yao's carriage?
And when had he even gone inside?
Most importantly, what had he been doing in there?
Zhu Yao was a Priest; Li Yuan wasn't stupid enough to assume anything illicit between Li Ban and her. But he simply couldn't fathom why two people with such a heaven-and-earth gap in identity, ability, and status would be spending time together.
Amid the silence, Zhu Yao ducked her head and emerged from the carriage as well, standing on the broad platform at the front.
"This is Priest Li Ban. You only need to know this, do not spread it."
A ring of muffled gasps rippled around the carriage, spreading outward like a stone dropped into a deep lake, before quickly settling back into restrained silence.
Only Li Yuan in the carriage ahead had also clearly heard Priest Yao's words.
He lost control for a split second, and a layer of frost rapidly coated the inside of the carriage.
Even the two palace maids serving beside him were frozen, completely powerless to resist.
At that moment, Priest Yao, standing on the front platform of the carriage behind them, suddenly lifted her gaze and threw a glance toward Li Yuan's direction.
Li Yuan hastily retracted the out-of-control chill.
The carriage interior thawed, the frost turning into beads of water.
However, the two maids collapsed to the floor. Though their lives were not in danger, a severe illness was inevitable.
Although Li Yuan was being escorted to Capital City, Priest Yao had neither put him in shackles nor restricted him from using his abilities.
It could be said she had absolute confidence in controlling Li Yuan.
But this also secretly worked to Li Yuan's advantage.
He turned around. "Someone, drag them out."
Two guards hurriedly came in. Their expressions shifted when they saw the maids on the floor, but they did not dare say a word.
Even if Li Yuan had fallen from power, he was still the Grand Prince, not someone they could afford to offend.
"Your Highness, this subordinate will call others to serve you."
"Mm." Li Yuan nodded very impatiently.
The two guards both went out, not daring to stay alone in the carriage with the unhappy Li Yuan, afraid they would be the next ones frozen unconscious.
Before the new maids arrived, Li Yuan gained a brief window of solitude.
He hurriedly dipped a finger into the water droplets on the table and carefully, rapidly traced characters into his palm.
[Someone beside Du An has become a White Robe.]
The water stains quickly flowed down along the lines of his palm.
But halfway down, these water droplets eerily flowed backward, forming three new words.
The handwriting was aggressive, arrogant, and untamed.
[No time, get lost.]
Li Yuan shuddered. He hurriedly wiped his hand, pretending he had just angrily spilled the water to vent his frustration.
Li Ban returned to his own carriage.
Because Deng Jun was driving their carriage at the rear of the Grand Prince's convoy, they did not know what had just happened up front.
They only knew that upon Li Ban's return, the convoy ahead had parted into two rows, yielding a wide, open path.
"Keep up with them," Li Ban instructed Deng Jun after getting on the carriage. "We're heading the exact same way, so Priest Yao is taking us along."
"Priest—" Deng Jun was somewhat bewildered. He had not heard this term, but judging by the reactions of the Grand Prince's soldiers and her elusive abilities, he could tell she was some kind of high and mighty existence.
So high that a 2nd Tier spirit practitioner like him had never even heard of it.
Deng Jun wanted to ask, but remembering that Priest Yao and Li Ban had avoided speaking in front of them, he understood there were some things he simply was not qualified to know yet.
He stole another glance at Shi Ming.
The latter's face also showed surprise, but it was nothing more than pure surprise.
No lingering fear, no apprehension, no disappointment, and no secret delight—
Deng Jun secretly gritted his teeth, suppressing any unusual shifts in his expression.
If he was destined to be unable to keep pace with Li Ban, he absolutely could not let go of Shi Ming.
Regardless, the chance to alter his life and change his fate was likely right in front of him.
Once Li Ban boarded, Shi Ming followed him into the carriage, his demeanor completely unchanged.
Though Deng Jun wanted to listen, he still had to drive the carriage and could only stay outside.
When the people ahead saw that Deng Jun had not moved, someone finally trotted over with a look of respect and dread.
He bowed at the waist and said, "My Lord, please drive your carriage to the rear of Priest Yao's carriage."
Deng Jun straightened his back and nodded solemnly. "I understand."
After saying that, he flicked the reins, urging the large brown horse that looked entirely ordinary among the convoy forward.
In the Grand Prince's convoy, their carriage and horse were ordinary to the extreme.
It was like a wild cat mixed into a pack of fierce tigers.
Yet the wild cat held its head high, and the fierce tigers lowered theirs to make way.
In that moment, the seemingly ordinary wild cat gained an aura of profound mystery, making it feel all the more imposing.
The people inside the carriage, however, did not feel as deeply about this as the people outside.
It was likely because Li Ban's attitude had not changed at all after leaving and returning.
"—I can now be considered a member of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda's faction. Though I still have to wait for Priest Yao to conduct my robe-granting ceremony. I originally wanted to join the Unreturning Place's Myriad Ancient Pagoda anyway, so this counts as entering the organization ahead of schedule," Li Ban explained to Cat Girl.
Shi Ming listened beside them in utter confusion, only able to widen his eyes and struggle to understand.
"We basically won't need to worry about safety for the rest of the journey. We'll follow Priest Yao all the way to Capital City. Once I officially join them in Capital City, we will set off for the Unreturning Place."
Li Ban revealed a relaxed smile. "In the Grand Prince's convoy, we don't need to worry about other enemies from Assassin Hall. Priest Yao has also contacted other Priests to hunt down that black-robed man, so we temporarily don't need to worry about him reappearing."
When the black-robed man had resisted Li Ban's Mental Piercing attack, a crescent moon had appeared on his forehead.
After hearing Li Ban's description, Zhu Yao also agreed that the opponent should be a Dark Moon Priest.
Although the man was of the same tier as Zhu Yao, the Wizard World was the home turf of the White Robes, so she was not afraid of confronting a Black Robe.
She was even looking forward to him throwing himself into the net.
Upon hearing this, for some unknown reason, Cat Girl's furry ears drooped listlessly.
She had helped Li Ban multiple times simply because she saw his possible connection to the Great Wizard. She had hoped that when he advanced further, he could pull her along.
Wasn't there a proverb: when one achieves the Dao, even their cats and dogs ascend to heaven?
But after actually hearing that Li Ban had become a formal Priest and gained her protection, she suddenly felt empty inside.
"That's wonderful." Cat Girl smiled and clapped her hands. "Since we're traveling with Priest Yao, we don't need to worry about other dangers. It's the perfect chance to ask Priest Yao to check if that black-robed man left any hidden dangers in you last time."
Li Ban was just about to say he had already asked Priest Yao to check and there were no problems, when he heard Cat Girl speak again.
"Since that's the case, I can leave with peace of mind."
.