Chapter 1074: Secret of the magus order
Translator: Legge
The servant’s words unlocked the last of Ren Xiaosu’s doubts like a key.
So it turned out the stone in Melgor’s possession was the critical component to becoming a sorcerer.
With that stone, one would be qualified to become a sorcerer. Without it, you could study sorcery forever and still never become a true magus.
However, it so happened that Ren Xiaosu really did have such a stone.
He looked at Li Chengguo and asked, “What’s that stone called?”
“It seems that you really don’t know anything about the Kingdom of Sorcerers.” Li Chengguo shook his head. “It has the same name as the magus order. It’s called the Eye of True Sight. All the stones possessed by the magi are called Eyes of True Sight.”
The Eye of True Sight’s name implied a sorcerer could use it to seek the truth of the world and see powers normal people couldn’t.
The Eye of True Sight could be considered an open secret in the magus world. Perhaps normal people did not know about them, but most people who understood even a little about the magi were aware of its existence.
“Where did these stones come from?” Ren Xiaosu wondered.
“Actually, it wouldn’t matter even if we told you this.” Li Chengguo said, “The Eye of True Sight is basically controlled by the magus order. They control the mines where the stones are found, and normal people aren’t allowed to trespa.s.s into them.”
“So, whether one can become a sorcerer or not, that’s all decided by the magus order?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“Yes.” Li Chengguo felt that since it was not a secret, he could just share this information with Ren Xiaosu.
Besides, it was just as Ren Xiaosu had said. Seeing that the young man from the Central Plains was bound to become the sorcerer’s steward, the two servants had better quickly accept their fates.
Of course, there was nothing they could do even if they did not accept their fate. They really couldn’t win against this guy!
Seeing how it was child’s play for the young man could beat them up even though he was shackled, they believed he would utterly thrash them once he was freed from the restraints.
Liu Ting, sporting a black eye, said, “But there’s also exceptions.”
Ren Xiaosu asked, “What exceptions?”
“Like I said just now, the Eye of True Sight is found in the mines. But over time, there will always be rocks that fall into the river and get washed downstream.” Liu Ting said, “So some lucky people who pick them up can also get inducted into the magus order. However, even though the magus order also acknowledges the status of such sorcerers and confers them a fiefdom where they’re allowed to build a Sorcerer’s Tower to collect taxation, the organization doesn’t actually like them.”
Ren Xiaosu wondered why this sounded so similar to a type of jade stone found in the Northwest. There were even some collectors who particularly liked such jade found in the river. The ones dug out from the mines were called mountain material, while those found in the river were called seed material.
Under normal circ.u.mstances, the ones found in the river were much more expensive than those mined from the mountains.
However, it was a different situation in the nation of sorcerers. Those who gained the t.i.tle of sorcerer through means not controlled by the magus order were seen as b.u.ms of society. Although they were formally part of the organization, they were ostracized and kept out of the inner circle.
“The magus order is a very small circle.” Li Chengguo said, “They insist they’re G.o.ds sent from Heaven, and the Eye of True Sight is usually pa.s.sed down through the family line, from father to son, then son to grandson. These are the people that control the entire Kingdom of Sorcerers. Those who became sorcerers through finding the Eye of True Sight are known as the Children of Heaven. That name was probably given to explain how they came to gain the power of the magi by saying the G.o.ds bestowed it upon them. However, the status of the Children of Heaven is much lower than that of most sorcerers. Furthermore, their Eye of True Sight cannot be pa.s.sed on to their descendants after death. It has to be turned back in to the magus order.”
“Oh.” Ren Xiaosu nodded. “In other words, those who are Children of Heaven can only bask in their glory for one generation. And after their deaths, that status is taken away.”
“That’s right.” Li Chengguo nodded. “Furthermore, in most circ.u.mstances, the Children of Heaven will be the ones performing the organization’s dirty work. The good thing is that the magus order will still provide them with some training so they can live up to their status as sorcerer and not disgrace the order.”
Children of Heaven. This term might make them sound extremely powerful, but if the sorcerers of the magus order referred to themselves as G.o.ds, wouldn’t that make those sorcerers their children? It sounded more like they were being taken advantage of!
It was no wonder Melgor was so weak. Although the magus order still provided him with serious training so he would not embarra.s.s them, the exclusive spells remained a secret that could only be pa.s.sed down through the heirs.
Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and suddenly asked, “Is that why Melgor was ostracized? Did he find his Eye of True Sight in the river?”
Li Chengguo and Liu Ting looked at each other. “Well, I guess there’s no harm in telling you that. The people in his fief already know about this anyway. Yes, you’re right, he’s a Child of Heaven.”
“No wonder he was sent to such a G.o.dforsaken place.” Ren Xiaosu muttered, “So that’s why he looks so depressed every day.”
“Please don’t think of it that way.” Li Chengguo said, “Even though he’s a Child of Heaven, he still holds a very high status in the Kingdom of Sorcerers. Whoever disrespects him is pitting himself against the entire magus order. Even if he’s low-ranking, that’s only within their organization. However, he did not find his Eye of True Sight…”
Upon saying that, Liu Ting tugged at Li Chengguo’s arm and signaled him to stop talking.
Ren Xiaosu chuckled and said, “Oh, there’s more to it, huh? Look, do you two want to tell me now, or should I beat it out of you instead?”
Li Chengguo and Liu Ting, the two servants of Sorcerer Melgor, felt aggrieved for quite a while. Then Li Chengguo finally said, “Lord Melgor’s Eye of True Sight was purchased. However, not just anyone can buy one. It depends on luck.”
Ren Xiaosu thought about it again. “Since he is a Child of Heaven, why do you two still follow him? Why not follow a more powerful sorcerer?”
“We’d like to as well, but they have to accept us first.” Li Chengguo said bitterly, “The magi are all high and mighty G.o.ds, and we common folk can only interact with the Children of Heaven. Our family spent a lot of money in order to let us study under him.”
“Study?” Ren Xiaosu asked, “But you two don’t have the Eye of True Sight, so why’re you learning sorcery from him?”
“We might find an Eye of True Sight someday?” Liu Ting said.
Ren Xiaosu smiled. He knew that things were not that simple. The two sheep had to still be hiding something from him. However, there was no hurry. They still had a long way to go, so he could take it slowly with them.
Wasn’t their pleasant exchange tonight a good start?
“One last question.” Ren Xiaosu chuckled and asked, “Melgor asked me if I’ve come across a black Eye of True Sight in the Central Plains. What’s with that? Is it any different from the one he has?”
“The black Eye of True Sight?” Li Chengguo said, “That sorta thing is usually only heard of in legends. Some people say there’s no more than three black Eye of True Sight in the entire magus order. Meanwhile, the white one Lord Melgor possesses is the lowest grade.”
Uncovering the mystery of the formation of Hetian jade seed material |