I, the leader of the esoteric sect, am doing great things in the infinite world!

Substituting for others is also a way to increase knowledge; if you're unhappy about it, don't do it.

305 Summoning the Strange Gods to Drive Away the Forbidden Treasure

After enjoying a sumptuous dinner at the villa, Li Lin drifted off to sleep.

He felt as if he had forgotten something, but then again, if these things could be forgotten, it meant they weren't important in themselves.

How could I possibly forget something so important?

Li Lin has always been assertive and confident in his arguments on this matter.

The next morning, after Lester made breakfast for Li Lin, he quietly left with his books and went straight to the University of Algiers, intending to cover Li Lin's classes.

“Substituting for someone else is also a way of acquiring knowledge, and the thirst for knowledge is the first hurdle. If you don’t absorb enough knowledge, how can you enter the secrets of the world?” Li Lin’s words still echoed in his ears, and Lester felt that they made some sense, but the intention to shirk responsibility was self-evident.

But if Li Lin can really take Lester into the hidden world behind the world as he described, then this price is negligible.

The University of Algiers, founded in 1879 and rebuilt in 1909, is a national higher education institution that embodies the "Algerianization" of education. As a public educational and cultural institution, it enjoys financial independence and is directly under the State Council. Administratively, it comprises a Rector's Council, 14 faculties, a language intensive training center, a university library, a faculty specializing in arts and teacher training, and a finance department.

Compared to the University of Rostock, a renowned German university with a 500-year history, the University of Algiers' history is incomparable. This is due to the legacy of colonial history, which led to its later start and weaker faculty.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that Li Lin, using the pseudonym Said, was able to obtain a professorship only proves that the authorities and the university were blind.

When serving the previous Saids, Leicester had also visited the University of Algiers. He went to his classroom with ease, opened his book, sat behind the podium, and watched the students enter the classroom one after another.

Five minutes later, the clock tower at the University of Algiers began to chime, and Lester began to take attendance from the roll call.

"Abdullah Anzzi".

"Fesale".

“Farhad”.

"Humamu".

"Ha Temu".

Finally, Lester's gaze fell on the last name: "...Vanessa."

Vanessa, one of the three girls in the class with flowing red hair, raised her hand. Lester nodded, opened his textbook, and began reading aloud. Two hours later, the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class, and the students hurried to the cafeteria for lunch. Lester was stopped by Vanessa just as he stepped out the door.

“I’m just a substitute teacher.” Lester adjusted his glasses. “Is there a problem?”

Vanessa, with her gentle appearance and delicate features, shook her head and asked, "When will Professor Said be able to come to class?"

Lester thought to himself, "You've stumped me."

"I don't know either. Maybe in the next class, maybe tomorrow, or maybe he'll never come."

Vanessa's hope hadn't faded, and she pressed on relentlessly, "Then may I visit Professor Said's house?"

“It’s best not to.” Lester’s eyes swept warily across Vanessa’s face. “The professor doesn’t like being disturbed.”

After saying that, Lester turned and left, not even giving Vanessa a chance to stop him.

Therefore, he did not see the despair in Vanessa's eyes, like a long night without any light, and a walking corpse devoured by desire.

That's the look in the eyes of someone who has lost all hope.

......

"Didn't you say there were student activities?" Li Lin looked at Lester with a pained expression. "You, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, have also betrayed us?"

What is it called?

Lester remained silent with a straight face, replying curtly, "The afternoon's student activities are optional; the important thing is to get those nine fragments of the 'Book of the Sun' manuscript from the University of Algiers."

While reminding Li Lin of the mission objectives, he also mentioned Vanessa's desire to see him.

"It sounds like a honey trap, but if it's true..." Li Lin's expression turned serious, "Did she contact me because—"

"To plot against you?"

"...borrowing a seed." Li Lin's perspective was always so unique. "Is it possible that Governor Roland is infertile, so she came to me, the handsome, dashing, and intelligent man, in order to produce an heir?"

“…I’m pretty sure that’s not what she thinks.” Lester’s fingers were trembling as he struggled to suppress the urge to swear, and he gave his answer expressionlessly.

"So, do you still want to meet with her next time?"

"I see, of course I see," Li Lin replied casually, bouncing on the sofa like a trampoline. "Bring me a mirror."

Although he didn't know what Li Lin was going to do, Lester still moved a full-length mirror, as tall as a person, from the storage room and placed it in the living room.

Li Lin reached into a vase and pulled a rhododendron from the vase beside him, handing it to Lester: "Take the flower and stand in front of the mirror."

Realizing what Li Lin was about to do, Lester's eyes lit up, and he immediately took the lead and stood in front of the mirror, not daring to utter a sound.

Some residents of Mansu love orchids, while others prefer azaleas. At least one species that Li Lin can identify loves azaleas placed on polished bronzeware or in front of mirrors.

When the Key Hunter was in Vienna, he was commissioned to expel a mutant that had been staying in the waking world for a long time. As a transcendent being of the Awakening Realm, he quickly opened a side door and sent the mutant back to the woodland. But at that time, an even more terrifying mutant slipped through the door he had opened.

This mutant species is adept at killing, yet it is formless and intangible. It caused four people to die by having their throats slit, an incident that prompted the Vienna police to conduct a long-term surveillance and investigation of the Key Hunter.

That is why the Key Hunter described this alien species in detail in his notes, including its origin, abilities, methods of controlling and killing it, and even how to end the ritual midway.

Li Lin lit the candles placed on either side of the mirror. The dim candlelight created ever-changing shapes on the mirror's surface. Lester looked at himself in the mirror, holding a bouquet of azaleas, and felt slightly nervous.

For some reason, or from some point in time, Lester suddenly noticed something strange about himself in the mirror—his face was paler and more expressionless, like another version of himself who had lost all emotion. At first, Lester and his reflection in the mirror moved in the same way, but as time went on, his reflection gradually slowed down, and their movements began to diverge.

The person in the mirror looked strange and odd, as if he were not human, but some kind of monster that resembled a human but was not quite human.

Lester wanted to shout for help, but he couldn't help but stand still, looking at himself in the mirror.

He realized it at some point.

That wasn't myself, but something much stranger hiding behind the mirror.

306. Founded by following the tenets of faith, Tantric Buddhism was established.

That certainly wouldn't be him.

In the Key Hunter's notebook, two types of aberrations are highlighted: one is the "Girl in the Mirror," which caused him great harm and nearly cost him his life, and the other is the "Traces," which almost landed him in jail and ultimately had to be dealt with by official forces.

Whether it's the girl in the mirror or the trace, they are actually closely related to mirrors. In the manuscript copied by the key hunter, there was a rather eerie record.

"The virgin/girl in the mirror prefers orchids, while [the person behind the mirror?] prefers azaleas. Neither of these flowers should be placed in front of polished bronze vessels after being cut."

The key hunter himself added that polished bronze artifacts could be replaced to some extent by mirrors large enough, or even by calm water surfaces.

—The beautiful youth Narcissus one day saw his own reflection in the water, but he did not know that it was himself. He fell in love with it and could not extricate himself. Finally, he went into the water to make love and drowned. After his death, he turned into a daffodil.

One theory suggests that what lured him was not his own reflection, but rather a monster called the Trace, which appeared in the waking world by chance under the influence of water and sunlight.

As early as thousands of years ago in ancient Babylon, people already knew that orchids and azaleas should not be placed in front of mirrors and bronze vessels. The ancient Greek esoteric religion, which worshipped Chronos, went even further, stating that if a person tends flowers in front of a mirror, the things tending the flowers will be seen in the mirror, and the colors will only exist in the shadows.

Lester felt as if his heart had been seized, as if something similar to him was mimicking his movements in the mirror. It could never keep up with Lester's actions, but this lag was gradually disappearing.

—It's catching up with me soon.

Lester thought to himself, a chill running down his spine.

So the secrets hidden behind the world are this terrifying? He instinctively wanted to drop the azalea in his hand and turn to run away, but a voice deep in his consciousness told him: if he really did that, his fate would not be much better than that of the soldiers who deserted on the battlefield.

Lester stared at himself in the mirror and continued to follow Li Lin's instructions, making slight movements in front of the mirror as if he were nothing, keeping the movement within a range that allowed the shadow to follow him but did not make it realize that Lester was trying to escape.

It's like herding livestock.

Finally, with Lester's deliberate indulgence, the trace once again overlapped with his figure.

In the instant they completely overlapped, Lester smelled a rich fragrance—the scent of azaleas—and the mirror seemed to become exceptionally bright.

There were no other abnormalities.

Just then, a footstep sounded in Lester's ear, and the bright mirror in front of him shattered with a crash. Azalea petals fell one by one, and he was horrified to find that he had smashed the mirror with his fist without even realizing it. He was holding a sharp lens in his hand, his palm cut from the force of the blow, and the sharp end of the lens was pointing directly at his eyeball.

With a strong poke, he will pierce his own eyeball with the lens.

A light veil fell from the sky, and the silver-white guardian spirit unleashed its power, enveloping Lester within it. Behind the mirror, Li Lin had unknowingly drawn the seven-sword entwined with a white snake.

He thrust the seven swords downwards with his backhand, but they did not sink into the ground; instead, they stood firmly in the void.

【Heartfelt Joy】

[A rare artifact with second-order casting characteristics.]

[Characteristic: Swift Joy. Accompanied by waving and stabbing, it can produce a drumbeat that excites living beings. The shape of pleasure varies in every age, but this corner forever spins like a whirlpool.]

This object was created through the joy in the heart of its creator; even in the silent snow, the heartbeat and drumbeat never cease. Listen closely, and see what turns in the woodland night.

[Characteristic: Heart Fasting. When it pierces, and continues to pierce, it will awaken a resonant power. Most swords in the world are for killing, but few are for saving.]

This object once existed in the world in the form of bones; it was quieter then than it is now, and it is greater now than it was then.

[Characteristic: Seven Branches. In the Abyss Palace, the great serpent Orobas broke off the last coral on its body to create an artifact that would forever protect its territory. When its sword tip plunges into water or mud, the skin of the awakened world will peel away like a barber's fingers.]

When the great serpent emerged from the darkness beneath the abyss, its body was enveloped in the radiant light of four-colored coral. Time has left countless scars on the world, and this wondrous object is one of those wounds, one that will never end.

[Characteristic: White Viper. Orobas's hiss has ceased, though its heartbeat once rivaled the thunder in the sky. But it still watches you, waiting for its chance to steal your passion.]

With each swing of this sword, your inner joy grows, while the snakes clinging to it feed on it.

[Description: A certain demon forged its form from even the silent things. Bones and metal are, in a sense, inseparable; kill something, and you obtain its seed.]

The instant the seven swords pierced the void, all the shards that fell to the ground began to reflect light. They trembled amidst thunderous tremors like heartbeats. The traces that the guardian had driven from Lester could only flee among the shards of the shards, but to no avail.