Kacilius spotted Karl and Di Wei sitting in the pavilion from a distance.
He had only been passing by. When he noticed the two figures inside, he gave them a casual glance—yet by chance, he caught sight of Di Yan's smile.
It was pure and beautiful, filled with a longing for happiness. The beauty of it was breathtaking, a kind of beauty that seemed to come from the soul itself. The moment he saw that smile, Kacilius felt as though his own soul had been elevated.
That smile loosened the obsession he had carried for his late wife and son. Since their deaths, he had hardly smiled at all. But upon seeing that smile, he found himself smiling sincerely from the heart.
So there are still such beautiful smiles in this world. I wish this moment could last forever.
That was the thought buried deep in Kacilius's heart. The smile made him realize that the world held not only suffering, but also beauty. With that realization—and a faint smile of his own—he turned and left, unwilling to disturb the two of them.
…
"I need to figure out what these words mean first. Once I understand them, I'll teach you."
With that, Karl took out his phone and searched for information about Sanskrit. Thanks to his intelligence, it didn't take long before he had grasped the basics and could recognize the characters.
Having opened her heart, Di Wu seemed much happier. She lay across the stone table, watching Karl, her large eyes glistening with tears.
Truthfully, Di Wan's temperament was remarkably changeable. Her clear eyes were rare in this world. With her figure and delicate features, she should have been dazzlingly seductive—yet she also carried an air of innocence, a queenly elegance mixed with girlish sweetness.
All these contradictory traits gathered in one person should have made her overwhelmingly striking. Yet at first glance, you would simply think she was beautiful—not breathtaking. But if you watched her for more than two minutes, you would find yourself deeply drawn in. After that, no matter how stunning another woman might be, you would feel indifferent.
Bored, Di Wan climbed up from the table and slipped into Karl's arms, sitting on his lap.
Karl was momentarily stunned. Usually, she only lay in his arms when sleeping. Still, he was used to holding people in his embrace. He wrapped one arm around her to make her more comfortable while continuing to look up Sanskrit on his phone with the other.
Time passed quickly. Di Wan's personality gradually recovered. Sitting in Karl's arms, she played with his hand out of boredom, looking like a little girl.
"All right, I'll explain it to you. You'll learn quickly—don't be afraid."
"Oh!"
She took the book Karl placed before her, opened to the first page, and looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to translate.
Karl understood her expression immediately. He taught her word by word, making sure she memorized each meaning.
After all, Di Wu was only an ordinary person. She couldn't memorize everything perfectly like Karl; sometimes she could only grasp the general meaning of a sentence. But Karl never grew impatient. He patiently explained again and again, sometimes even rephrasing things in simpler ways to help her understand.
And so, for three months, Karl and Di Wan sat together in that pavilion every day. The people of Kamar-Taj gradually came to know the inseparable pair. Di Wan slowly began interacting with them, no longer as resistant as before.
Yet no matter how much she communicated with the people of Kamar-Taj, Di Wu still did not dare let anyone come within two meters of her. If someone approached, she would show fear and even hide in Karl's arms, unwilling to look at the outside world.
Studying word by word, she memorized most of the Sanskrit within three months. Only a few unfamiliar terms that hadn't appeared in the books remained unknown to her. Now she could read all four books on her own.
Today, those four books were to be returned to Gu Yi. She had already understood their contents; rereading them would serve little purpose.
"I thought it would take you half a year to understand them."
In the hall, Gu Yi smiled as he accepted the four books. Even he seemed a little surprised.
"The most important thing is that Karl understands Sanskrit, so he's been teaching me," Di Wu replied.
Gu Yi looked at Karl with mild surprise. "I see." Then he turned back to Di Wu with a smile. "Since you understand, wait here. I'll find you a few books about spells and their basic applications."
With that, he left the hall. Karl and Di Wu sat down to wait.
The hall was empty today. The quiet space actually made Di Wan feel more at ease.
"I never imagined I'd become a mage," she sighed after sitting for a long while. Three months ago, she would never have dreamed of such a thing.
Karl smiled. "Perhaps you'll become a very powerful mage."
It was his intuition. He sensed that Gu Yi valued Di Wu greatly, though he deliberately did not show it. The importance did not come from ill intent, but from a sense of inheritance.
"It's just that all these mages are close-combat experts. They don't look like mages at all. And I've never learned martial arts."
They sat on the tatami. Di Wu leaned against Karl, gazing at the ceiling, seemingly intrigued.
"Perhaps some spells are different from that…"
"That's right. Mages draw power from the multiverse through incantations, like writing code to construct programs in reality—"
Before Karl could finish, Gu Yi had already returned, carrying three books of varying sizes.
"Our combat style has been passed down for a long time. We use magic to create shields and sharp weapons. But that is not absolute. Preparation time is longer, and every second in battle is crucial. The fusion of magic and combat philosophy makes us more formidable."
He handed the books to Di Wu.
"I selected these especially for you, so you can better understand the origin and structure of spells."
After flipping through a few pages, Di Wu realized the vocabulary was far more complex, with many sentences difficult to comprehend.
"Once you understand these three books, I will teach you how to use spells. After that, you may go to the library yourself. There are many books on various spells that will help you."
Gu Yi was growing fonder of the girl before him. Unfortunately, she was not suited for his own position. The Sorcerer Supreme did not require a purely innocent soul, but one capable of embracing all kinds of magic—unbound by rigid rules and not consumed by greed.
Di Wan was indeed well-suited to becoming a mage. But a pure soul could not contain everything. For certain powers unfit for humanity, she would neither be able to communicate with them nor accept them.
"Ancient One, can you tell me why you're helping me?"
Di Wan clearly sensed that Gu Yi was gentler than ever before. She could not understand it.
Gu Yi looked at her with a mild smile but said nothing. Instead, he stepped forward. The space before him rippled like an irregular mirror. He turned and gestured for the two of them to follow.
As Gu Yi stepped through and vanished, they followed.
Passing through the distorted wall of space felt like walking through a mirror. On the other side, they were still within the dojo—but the outside scenery had been folded and layered beyond the irregular spatial boundary.
When Gu Yi saw them enter, he raised his hand. The surroundings shifted like a kaleidoscope, constantly rotating and transforming—from the size of the dojo to a boundless void.
"The white magic of the Vishanti governs space, time, and matter. What you see now is the application of space and matter."
As his voice fell, the scenery shifted again. A platform rose beneath their feet in the vast emptiness. The endless white vanished, replaced by a full view of Kathmandu below. They stood on the platform, overlooking the entire city.
"To wield time requires the Eye of Agamotto. But after perfectly mastering time, one can transcend the need for it."
With another wave of his hand, the scene shifted once more. They returned to the previous dojo.
"It is easy to learn the white magic of the Vishanti, but difficult to master. Even I can only create mirror dimensions. Matter can only be controlled within those mirror dimensions, and time requires the Eye of Agamotto."
He looked solemnly at Di Wu.
"But you are different. Your affinity with the white magic of the Vishanti is unprecedentedly high. That is why I have chosen you as its inheritor."
The mirror space vanished, and everything returned to normal.
Di Wan had just been immersed in the madness of bending space and manipulating matter. The sudden change back left her even more stunned.
Even Karl found it astonishing. If he had wanted to, he could likely have destroyed that space directly—but it was undeniably powerful.
This time, however, Di Wan was not overly sensitive or afraid. Instead, she felt something wondrous. She was far less resistant toward Gu Yi now. Deep in her subconscious, she knew he would not harm her.
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