Chapter 268: Chapter 165: Bright Forbidden Technique·Celestial Punishment Purification (Part 2)

After giving Lu Cang a bit of a pep talk, Iz asked again, "These must be the Forbidden Techniques stored at the headquarters, right?"

"How on earth did you get them?"

Lu Cang thought for a moment and decided to be a little more forthright.

He said, "I’ve made some progress as a Decryption Scholar recently... I broke through the Restrictions there."

"Ooh~"

"Can you break through others?"

"Uh... I suppose so," Lu Cang replied, not wanting to sound too certain.

"I remember the Dark Forbidden Techniques in the Dark Church being quite interesting. It’s just a shame they sealed them away so well that I never had a chance to get my hands on them."

"Being hunted by the Dark Church would be a real hassle, too."

"They hunted me for a long time after I ’borrowed’ the original tome of cold back in the day."

’I actually *did* borrow it...’

’Iz, you just blatantly robbed them, didn’t you?’

"If you have a way to get your hands on the Dark Church’s secret tomes, I can offer some assistance."

"Of course, it’s best not to be too conspicuous. We should be sneaky and avoid getting caught. Otherwise, our situation could get a little... delicate."

’What kind of master encourages her apprentice to go steal from someone else’s restricted area?’

’And she even wants to be an accomplice?’

Lu Cang was finally starting to understand what Kumironi meant about Iz’s fanaticism for Magic.

If it meant learning interesting Magic, especially all sorts of unique Forbidden Techniques, Iz couldn’t care less about the consequences.

"Well... I’ll see what I can do. If I get a chance, I’ll look into it."

Lu Cang agreed vaguely.

’Better to focus on the Magic right in front of me for now.’

’As for the future... I’ll figure that out later.’

Still, the thought of having Izparut as an accomplice, working together from the inside and out, made Lu Cang feel much more confident.

Even if something went wrong, he had someone to back him up.

’As for whether it’s stealing or not... it’s just Mage business. What’s wrong with taking a little peek?’

’Even Izparut said so. What’s there to think about? I’ll just go along with it.’

’If I get caught, I’ll just say my master taught me to do it.’

The two of them shifted their focus from future prospects back to the practical matters at hand.

"This Light Magic is really something else..." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

「Forbidden Magic: Celestial Punishment Purification」

This was Lu Cang’s first time encountering... Forbidden Magic.

This Magic had no tier distinction; it could be learned at any Level.

However, its Effect and Power would vary depending on the tier at which it was cast.

「Summons a pillar of light from the sky that continuously burns and envelops a locked target. The pillar persists until the target dies or the spell is manually canceled.」

It had a strong suppressive effect against evil, Undead, and Dark Element beings.

And its range was massive.

Even when just learned at Tier Three, it had an effective radius of three hundred meters.

’A Forbidden Technique is a Forbidden Technique, after all. It’s so much more badass than regular Magic.’

"Oh, Iz, so there’s no problem with this Magic either?"

"Then I’ll get to studying."

...

’Having Iz here to appraise the Magic is really convenient.’

It saved him the tedious work of probing the book for any hidden forbidden knowledge.

In a single afternoon, Lu Cang learned more than ten Light Spells in one go. And these weren’t the inferior versions found outside.

Every single one was of the highest quality.

Unfortunately, some of the Light Spells required a higher Level than Lu Cang currently had, so he couldn’t learn them...

’Sigh, I really need to raise my Mage Level as soon as possible.’

He had already told Iz about his progress with his second Root Magic. Iz estimated that he should be able to grasp it sometime in February.

Lu Cang’s own estimate was about the same, but if he found more inspiration, it might happen even sooner.

It was no use rushing it.

Fortunately, his other Professions were also leveling up during this time.

Although his Mage Level hadn’t increased, his overall strength was still growing continuously.

...

「December 10th.」

Instead of paying a visit to the Dark Church’s Forbidden Hall, Lu Cang set out with Iz and Kumironi for the original site of the Death Church’s headquarters.

Advancement was his top priority.

WHOOSH—

A howling gale whipped past them. Led by Iz, Lu Cang flew through the air as the scenery below blurred by.

’What a vast world.’

Soaring high in the sky, Lu Cang couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder.

The Ruelun Continent alone was far larger than the entire surface area of his previous life’s Earth.

And beyond the Ruelun Continent were five other continents of comparable size.

And the Secret Sea...

’Then again, Earth was just a tiny, insignificant planet in the cosmos that humanity couldn’t escape.’

’If this world didn’t have a so-called outer space and everywhere could be freely explored...’

’Then perhaps the entire universe would be the more appropriate comparison.’

WHOOSH—

Lu Cang had no idea just how fast Iz was going. All he could do was look toward the farthest point on the horizon and watch the continuous mountain ranges rush toward him.

’Was this the speed Iz used to chase Meiser for three days?’

’Just how far did they run?’

SWISH!

Suddenly, both Iz and Kumironi came to a halt.

They went from extreme speed to a dead stop in a single instant.

"What’s wrong?" Lu Cang asked.

Iz gazed in a certain direction.

Lu Cang followed her gaze and saw a dense, dark mass of Demons surging in the distance, surrounding a small town nestled at the foot of a mountain.

Iz spoke up. "Looks like we’ll have to take a little detour."

Lu Cang nodded. "Okay."

SWOOSH!

The three of them took off again at extreme speed!

In less than half a minute, they approached the small town at the foot of the mountain, which had been on the edge of their vision just moments before.

THUD—

Iz’s feet touched the ground.

Kumironi, however, landed inside the town and raised a hand, sending a jade-green light soaring into the sky!

It then condensed into an emerald raincloud!

Life Rain began to fall. Everyone touched by the raindrops found their injuries healing at a rapid pace.

"That’s quite a number..."

Lu Cang observed the density of the demon horde. "It’s a Tier Five Demon tide."