Sorcerer’s Handbook

Sanctuary.

The pinnacle of genius, the zenith of the mundane, the ideal of countless sorcerers. No matter the kingdom, becoming a Sanctuary Sorcerer places one in the most successful stratum.

Interestingly, according to the Sword Princess, One-Winged Sorcerers are mostly production sorcerers, Two-Winged Sorcerers are predominantly battle sorcerers, and Sanctuary Sorcerers revert to being primarily production sorcerers. This doesn’t mean that Sanctuary Sorcerers abandon combat, but rather that they shift their research focus to production, no longer as dedicated to combat as before.

There are three reasons for this. The main reason, of course, is the high efficiency of Sanctuary Sorcerers in production; spatial artifacts can only be produced by them and are typically consumables with limited durability, making every Sanctuary Sorcerer a continual gold mine. In the Stars Kingdom, Sanctuary Sorcerers are also required to pay a ‘spatial tax,’ producing a set amount of spatial artifacts each year as tax payments.

Secondly, producing spatial artifacts significantly aids in researching the Spatial Sect, offering an above-average and efficient method of cultivation compared to other practices.

The final reason is that Sanctuary Sorcerers themselves are acutely aware that to achieve quantitative and qualitative breakthroughs in combat, the best approach is not through combat research, but rather…

Mastering space.

Clang!

A glint of cold light arrived first, followed by the spear that came crashing down!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

In an instant, Ashe parried five strikes, and despite stacking ‘Heart Sword,’ ‘Earth Sword,’ ‘Sword Mark,’ and other spirits chaotically onto his sword blade, his Honey Sword was still dented in several places. The violent impact even caused the Crow’s Non-Aerial Motorcycle to swerve!

Now in a state of high-speed movement, most of Ashe’s miracles were difficult to deploy, leaving only “Rage Sword” and “Love Sword,” which could either burst instantaneously or provide sustained enhancement. However, being unable to use miracles did not mean his spirits were useless; driven by Prismatic spellforce, the spirits could at least strengthen his weapon to the point where it could sever Sanctuary miracles!

The Crow’s Non-Aerial Motorcycle carved several heart-stopping donut Trajectories on the rain-soaked ground, with Ashe never once hitting the brakes, continuing at top speed, cutting a crimson line through the night. The spear-wielding Sanctuary from behind was quickly advancing, matching the motorcycle’s speed thanks to his Movement Miracle and Path of the Chosen.

Suddenly, Ashe summoned a Substitute, and both wielded their long swords. As dozens of bullet sounds pierced through the Rain Curtain, their swords deflected an equal number of bullets.

If the spear-wielding Sanctuary reached Ashe using the Spatial Sect to charge up to him, then the Gunmanship Sanctuary simply delivered bullets right next to Ashe-normally, no one could predict where the bullets would appear. Sometimes, even if the Gunmanship Sanctuary aimed at your face, the bullet might pierce the back of your neck. Unless a sorcerer deployed their Sanctuary or expended Gospel points to pray for comprehensive protection, it was impossible to block the Gunmanship Sanctuary’s shots.

But now there was an exception.

At this moment, a Fist-Claw Sanctuary stopped the chase and punched towards Ashe’s back, causing the space they struck to collapse inch by inch, racing towards Ashe like a toppling row of dominoes!

Suddenly, Ashe slashed backward with a sword.

With a spatial aspect inherent in the ‘Sword Mark’ spirit, when activated by Prismatic spellforce, it barely added a touch of spatial enhancement to the Honey Sword, allowing it to cut anything not protected by a Sanctuary and enabling Ashe to slash and affect space.

However, this spatial enhancement was minimal. In the face of genuine spatial chaos, it would be smoothed out in an instant. But against the spatial chaos punch from the Fist-Claw Sanctuary, Ashe’s single slash not only stopped the collapsing space but nonchalantly neutralized the Sanctuary Sorcerer’s lethal strike.

To his right, thirteen shots.

To his left, Water Spell Detonation.

From behind, sniper fire.

In front, a spear.

Facing the bombarding onslaught from the Sanctuary Sorcerers, Ashe astonishingly managed to maintain his speed while perfectly deflecting and countering all these attacks! Apart from a few grazes, he was virtually unscathed!

Even the Sanctuary Sorcerers couldn’t help but be a little surprised. For them, it was as if they were watching an elementary school student solve advanced calculus problems using basic arithmetic-Sanctuary attacks that should be unstoppable could only be defended against with another Sanctuary, and yet, Ashe hadn’t even deployed his Sanctuary. How was he defending himself?

Ashe indeed couldn’t defend against them.

But Ashpel could.

Now, Ashpel had taken over half of his soul. Even without actively channeling it, Ashe could still share some of Ashpel’s powers-in Ashpel’s perception, everything in this world was transparent, including the past, present, and future.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It was a marvelous feeling: the intangible fate now unfolded before him like a scroll filled with questions. Ashe merely answered all the questions, thus neutralizing the wild assault of more than twenty Sanctuary Sorcerers.

Of course, another critical reason was that the Sanctuary Sorcerers didn’t want to kill him. Their goal was to stop Ashe from advancing and to kill Lise, so their attacks were primarily aimed at Lise, the Crow’s Non-Aerial Motorcycle, and Ashe’s limbs.

One side had, quite literally, “divine assistance,” while the other was restrained and holding back. Given these circumstances, it wasn’t surprising that such a well-coordinated battle could unfold. Furthermore, Ashe felt that all his sect experience was rapidly improving through the fight, especially with the Spatial Sect, which was nearing the Sanctuary threshold!

Indeed, since Ashpel was Omniscient and Omnipotent, he naturally possessed omniscience of All Sects. Even if Ashpel leaked just a bit of his knowledge, for Ashe, it was like raining Experience Orbs!

In the past, Ashe would have been overjoyed by such a pleasant surprise, perhaps indulging in a few extra meals of Lala Fatty. In the Virtual Realm, he would have eagerly sought out the sword Princess to show off. But now, Ashe felt no waves in his heart, and he even found it a bit amusing.

The more he received from Ashpel, the more Ashpel got from him.

The more efficiently he could use Ashpel’s powers, the quicker Ashpel would replace his existence.

This fleeting vanity was not something anyone could truly desire.

However…

“We’re almost there.” Amidst the symphony of swords and Miracles, Ashe said cheerfully, “We’re about to escape Nabistin. Ahead lies the Azure Lane.”

“We’ll escape, then dodge and hide, running everywhere. From now on, you’ll have to pick up cardboard and sleep under bridges with me.”

“Okay.”

A pair of small hands clutched his waist tightly, like ten hooks, refusing to let go.

Ashe now seemed to know everything, yet he didn’t realize that the little girl clinging to him was deeply mired in guilt.

She was guilty that, despite accomplishing nothing, Ashe had muddled his way into becoming the First Gospel.

She was guilty that she needed Ashe to protect her, when it was he who needed the most protection now.

She was guilty that, until now, she remained a burden!

She, too, was a three wings Sorcerer and possessed Sanctuary-level combat strength!

But because the Trial of the Bronze Dragon wasn’t yet complete, she couldn’t return to her original form, and her spellforce in the real world was completely sealed off! Moreover, the Trial of the Bronze Dragon couldn’t be ended prematurely; it had to be completed, or it would continue endlessly until death!

How she longed to weather the storm alongside Ashe!

They were getting closer to the parking lot. The glowing Azure Lane pierced through the night sky, like rays of dawn.

But just before dawn, comes the darkest night.

A dozen Sanctuary Sorcerers blocked the only path forward, coldly awaiting the return of Ashpel to the palace.

“Lise’s” small hands trembled, “Careful!”

The night fell, and there was the mournful wail of small birds.

Ashe created a Substitute with his Honey Sword, holding twin blades that painted black marks of condensed space in mid-air. The Crow’s Non-Aerial Motorcycle roared as it charged into the enemy formation.

Then, like a furious beast, it roared louder and splattered its ink aggressively!

Sanctuaries might be impenetrable, but it didn’t mean they couldn’t be crashed through!

Aiming for the weakest point in the defense, Ashe broke through the iron wall of the Sanctuary Sorcerers!

At that moment, Ashe was pleasantly surprised to find that the noise in his head suddenly reduced significantly, and Ashpel’s encroachment swiftly withdrew-the deity couldn’t forcibly move into his well-decorated little mansion if the distance was great enough. If the gap between him and the deity grew to a certain extent, even if it couldn’t be completely avoided, it could at least buy more time!

That’s right, spirits have effective ranges, so why wouldn’t deities? Even if the range is very large, it ultimately has a limit!

Just moments ago, I was scared senseless by the deity, nearly resigned to my fate. Thanks to Lise convincing me to run, otherwise I would’ve really waited for death!

Ashe let out a long breath. Now, there was only one bridge remaining to the parking lot. He said, “Lise, we did it-“

A flash of cold light arrived first.

When the spear Sanctuary appeared above him, Ashe’s body reacted, but his mind hadn’t caught up-Why didn’t I sense his ambush?

Because I’ve lost Ashpel’s power.

Without the Omniscience and Omnipotence of Ashpel, he couldn’t fully defend against Sanctuary attacks.

Ahead, the thrust of the spear Sanctuary.

To the right, the spatial shock wave of the Fist-Claw Sanctuary.

To the left, the Water Spell Detonation.

The encirclement he previously could have easily broken through now felt like a cage closing in on Ashe. It was as if a weary beast had stepped into a trap, only to realize it could no longer escape as it did before.

Then,

Bang.

A perfectly timed sniper bullet skillfully avoided the need to capture a rare beast.

It only hit the weakest prey.

Ashe turned his head and saw Lise getting left behind.