My inventory is full of monster materials.

Overjoyed to see his friend again, Dylan rushed forward and grabbed Mark's shoulder, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere among the crowd in the hall.

"Mark! I never expected to see you here!"

"I've shown your thesis to your advisor, and he values ​​it highly. He said he absolutely must meet you. Since you're here now, I'll take you to see him!"

With that, Dylan grabbed Mark's wrist and walked toward Professor Morris, completely ignoring Zeffer and the two law enforcement officers standing nearby.

Dylan excitedly introduced his friend to Morris.

"Mentor, this is Mark! He provided the cannibal corpse from before, and he also wrote the paper on that new type of neuro-hallucinogenic toxin."

Mark placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly, giving Morris a standard mage's salute.

"I've heard so much about you, Professor Morris."

Morris's gaze fell on the white-haired boy in front of him, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes, and he slowly nodded.

"Indeed, I have read your paper. It is logically sound and has novel arguments. It ranks among the top students I know."

"I was hoping to have a proper talk with you, but judging from your current situation, it seems like you've run into some trouble?"

Mark nodded slightly, his smile still gentle, and his tone very frank.

"We did encounter a small problem."

Mark then briefly described what had happened.

After hearing this, Morris's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He strode forward, snatched the agreement from Dalton's hand, and wore a look of disdain on his face.

"What can a mere 1-ring 'detection magic' detect?"

"As far as I know, there are at least ten ways to alter content on paper and perfectly evade this kind of low-level detection!"

Then, Morris, holding the agreement in his hand, swept his sharp gaze across the faces of the two law enforcement officers before finally settling on Zeffer.

"How about this, everyone come with me to the lab. I have a way to detect whether this agreement has been tampered with!"

The two law enforcement officers exchanged a glance, their faces showing hesitation.

In contrast, Zefer's face turned ashen instantly, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward, trying to change the subject again.

"Professor Morris, you misunderstand! The point here is not the agreement at all, but the issue of identity, identity—the issue."

"His mentor is an outsider monk who not only attracts our best local students but also tries to seize our association's resources!"

"joke!"

Morris flew into a rage, his hair and beard standing on end, and his voice echoed throughout the hall.

"I'm an outsider mage too! I've taken away your students as well, and I've also consumed the association's resources. According to you, shouldn't I get out of the association now?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent, and no one dared to breathe.

Professor Morris was a specially appointed expert whom the president of the association had recruited from the San Lorenzo Academy in the royal capital after much effort.

Without Maurice and his Lynx Academy, the number of papers published by the association each year would be reduced by at least half, and if that were the case, the Mage's Guild would be no different from the Adventurers' Guild.

Therefore, Morris's status within the association was almost equal to that of the association's president.

Knowing the implications, Zefer dared not be arrogant anymore and quickly lowered his head, hurriedly apologizing and explaining.

"Professor Morris, you misunderstand. I absolutely did not mean that."

Morris persisted, grabbing the agreement with both hands and tearing it apart with a "ripping" sound, while muttering curses under his breath.

"You spend all your time doing these useless and incompetent things! The association receives at least 20 badges every year, but you can't even gather 20 qualified apprentices for promotion."

"You have the nerve to accuse others of wasting resources? I think those resources are all going into your own pockets!"

With that, Morris slammed the shredded paper in his hand onto Zeffer's head, scattering the pieces all over the ground.

Zefer trembled, but dared not resist at all. He could only bury his head even lower, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Morris didn't bother to look at him again and turned to Dylan to give the order.

"Xiao Di, go to my office and get a holy emblem."

"Yes, Master!"

Dylan bowed respectfully and turned to run upstairs.

"etc."

Mark suddenly spoke up and called out to Dylan.

Morris paused for a moment, thinking Mark was just being polite, then waved his hand and softened his tone.

"It's just a holy emblem. Don't let such a trivial matter interfere with your important business."

"No, Professor."

Mark shook his head, a hint of certainty in his eyes.

"Even without the holy emblem, I can still get things done."

"Um?"

Morris was completely stunned, his eyes filled with confusion, unable to react for a moment—weren't they talking about advancing to a professional mage? Without using a holy emblem... could it be?!

Before Maurice could ask any further questions, Mark had already started walking, seemingly oblivious to everyone around him, through the crowd of onlookers, towards the golden stars hanging under the dome of the hall.

Mark knew perfectly well that Maurice was merely using his immense prestige to suppress the voices of those below him; the conflict remained unresolved.

Since the incident was sparked by the Holy Emblem, he should simply refuse it; that way, the others won't be able to make a fuss.

Of course, what truly gave Mark such confidence was the rapidly popping-up light screen in front of him.

[A revelation of "wisdom" has been detected. Accept/Disappear.]

[A revelation of "wisdom" has been detected. Accept/Disappear.]

[A revelation of "wisdom" has been detected. Accept/Disappear.]

...

Mark walked step by step to the bottom of the dome, slowly opened his arms and looked up at the golden star surrounded by countless starlight trails, chanting devoutly and firmly.

"The enlightener of wisdom,"

"The weaver of magic,"

"I beg for your gaze—"

The people in the hall looked on with puzzlement at Mark's strange behavior.

In the midst of all the commotion, how did they suddenly appear and start worshipping a magical projection?

This is an association, not a church. Have they been driven crazy?

However, when Mark uttered the last name.

"Iluvila!"

The moment the divine name descended, the golden stars abruptly stopped rotating.

The next second, countless starlight trails seemed to come alive, breaking free from the shackles of the stars and crashing down, sweeping towards Mark.

咻咻 咻 ~

Starlight trails, countless threads piercing through the body.

The golden stars fully unfolded, like a slowly blooming golden chrysanthemum, gradually enveloping and lifting Mark, eventually merging into his interior.

Mark was immersed in a golden ocean, his body pierced by countless golden rays, but he felt no pain. Instead, he felt nourished and warm.

At the same time, Mark's consciousness trembled slightly, as a faint call from the depths of his soul emanated from high above.

The next second, my consciousness was instantly elevated, and my vision became incredibly high.

Mark gazed at the horizon, where golden threads rose from the earth, converging overhead like rivers flowing into the sea.

Mark also controlled his consciousness to "turn over," and suddenly, he saw the huge network that covered the entire deep space world.

At the heart of the network, where the golden threads converge, lies a star surrounded and revolving with countless golden rays.

Mark felt a surge of curiosity, and the stars suddenly drew closer, like a mayfly seeing the blue sky.

Immediately afterwards, the star, like an onion, shed its outer layers of golden threads, revealing an enormous horizontal pupil within.

Azure eyes looked down at Mark's tiny consciousness, and from the depths of the pupils, countless runes and mysteries gushed forth like a spring.

A grand, ethereal voice, devoid of any emotion, resonated throughout Mark's entire consciousness.

"You've already rejected me, so why are you still contacting me?"