High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1301: Chapter 48: Lost and Found

”Sir, Professor Yao is also a Big Wizard, isn’t he? Why can’t I feel that ’grandeur’ about him?” Zheng Qing asked pensively.

”If the heads of the schools walked around the campus with their True Forms, I’m afraid the entirety of Buji Island would be crushed beneath them... You can’t sense their ’grandeur’ because real top-notch Big Wizards can perfectly control their True Forms and Dao charm, preventing it from afflicting others. What they reveal outwardly is naturally plain and simple; furthermore, if anyone’s state is unstable and they slightly lose control over their Dao charm, they opt to let their True Form enter the Secret Realm.”

”Secret Realm?”

”It’s a hidden mini-world. Normally, after a Big Wizard advances, the Alliance allocates to them a secretly located mini-world as a cave dwelling to harbor their True Form. Some conservative wizards prefer to hide their True Form in the Secret Realm, refining a few incarnations to interact with others outside... Black Wizards like to craft a ’Righteous Body,’ which is derived from these incarnations.”

Zheng Qing was familiar with the concept of the ’Righteous Body.’

During the last winter hunt, four wizards from the Dark Council had sent Righteous Bodies to intrude into the hunting area of the Absolution Hunting Team, creating a Sandbox Mini World. Thomas had mentioned then that a Righteous Body was merely a fake body crafted through magic, essentially a collection of Alchemy Materials and Magic Circuits.

Thinking of the winter hunt, Zheng Qing naturally recalled the enormous hand with six fingers and the Yellow Flowered Cat’s massive claws, solving many previously lingering doubts in his mind.

”The world is too dangerous; it’s truly better to be cautious,” the young student funded by public expense remarked admiringly.

He, too, wanted to reach that state one day, hiding his True Form in the Secret Realm, lying on a sofa while drinking cold cola, eating fried chicken, playing games, and remotely managing his avatars to scurry around and help him with his homework.

Just thinking about it felt delightful.

Moreover, after becoming a Big Wizard, the Alliance even covers the allocation of cave dwellings.

How deeply enviable!

However, the teacher had mentioned ’normally’ the Alliance would allocate mini-worlds; what if the circumstances were not normal, like with Sister Korma advancing to a Big Wizard through an unconventional path?

”Sir, does Sister Korma not have her own Secret Realm?” the warlock asked hastily.

”Student Korma’s situation is a bit delicate. On one hand, she didn’t break through to the Big Wizard realm through the usual path, so her foundation might be somewhat unstable. Also, the influence of Satoguya on her is hard to estimate... The Alliance wouldn’t hand over precious cultivation resources to her before completing safety assessments. On the other hand, Sister Korma has just been promoted and hasn’t yet truly stepped into the world of ’becoming big.’ She still has ample time to accumulate...”

”Sir, how do wizards become big?” Zheng Qing pursued relentlessly. These questions, relevant to his future path, might not be of immediate use, yet they did not hinder strategic planning from a broader perspective, allowing him to be well-prepared.

The teacher didn’t mind the young publicly funded student gaining more understanding about his own path. After all, he was bound by a forbidden spell, and no one could be certain how strongly the existing rules constrained him:

”Growing into a Big Wizard is a painstaking process... A newly advanced Big Wizard carries merely a hint of the concept of ’big.’ Then, the wizard can use this hint to continuously perfect their path, deepen their accumulation. The True Forms of many Big Wizards start from the heart, slowly coalescing and growing. Yet, there are some who choose an unusual path, starting the condensation of their True Form with an eye, the brain, or even a hand, a bone.”

”What about ancient wizards? Sir.” Zheng Qing thought since the teacher had already briefly introduced ’Big Wizards’ and ’Legendary Wizards,’ he might as well inquire about the curiosity in his heart: ”Is it only very old wizards who can become ancient wizards?”

”Taking words at face value is the easiest way to diverge from the right path in this world,” the teacher shook his head, speaking earnestly, ”At all times, regardless of your level, when you encounter unfamiliar concepts in unfamiliar fields, you must remain prudent... You absolutely can’t ’fill in the blanks’ with ’self-consistent’ yet ’reasonable’ explanations. That could lead you far astray on the wrong path.”

Zheng Qing bowed respectfully, accepting the lesson.

Only then did the teacher address his earlier question: ”Indeed, a tremendously old wizard can be termed an ’ancient wizard,’ but it isn’t only extremely aged wizards who can achieve the status of ’ancient wizard.’”

”’The way of the teacher, how could one know whether it originated before or after us? Therefore, there is no distinction of noble or lowly, senior or junior; where the Dao exists, there also exists the teacher.’”

”As long as one can explore the profound depths of ancient times, transcend the constraints of dimensions, and distill their own timeline, they qualify as a proper ’ancient wizard’... These concepts are still very distant for you; you don’t need to know more for now.”

Hearing the last sentence, Zheng Qing’s mouth, which had just opened, quietly closed again.

He originally wanted to ask more about the realm beyond the ”ancient wizards” that his teacher mentioned—but since the teacher did not want to elaborate, he naturally wouldn’t press on stubbornly.

”That’s enough for extracurricular knowledge,” the teacher placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, ”You should focus more attention on the previous formal lessons... rather than these trivial details.”

Zheng Qing quietly pouted his lips.

Perhaps to the professor, certain fundamental concepts and knowledge were more important.

But for Zheng Qing, the tidbits that the professor nonchalantly mentioned during the lessons were more appealing—just like when he was a child in math class, and the math teacher would occasionally talk about the ”Mathematics Prince Gauss” and his rapid summation story, which garnered far more interest than when discussing mathematical concepts.

As these thoughts floated through his mind, the teacher had already once again led the boy through the binds of time and space.

Another dizzying sensation overcame him.

When Zheng Qing came to his senses, he was seated back on the same red bench as before.

It was as if the two had never left the bench at all.

Underneath him were the same red mosaic tiles, and around them was the fluctuating white mist. The teacher was still by his side.

In Zheng Qing’s arms was the wooden box that the teacher had handed to him upon their arrival.

”Open the box,” the teacher instructed.

The young wizard complied obediently, opening the box to find two charm guns inside—a silver-white Colt Python and a matte-black Remington pump-action shotgun.

The boy raised his eyebrows in surprise.

”How come...” he began to ask why the two guns were in the teacher’s hands.

”I fixed them up for you,” the teacher explained nonchalantly, ”The school’s resources are limited, so I took the liberty of handling it all for you.”

”Can I use them freely now?” Zheng Qing immediately realized a crucial issue, ”Is it okay to use Blood Symbol Bullets as well?”

A strange smile appeared on the teacher’s face.

”As long as you have the ability,” he answered softly.

Zheng Qing sighed in disappointment.

Although he didn’t know what the teacher had done to his charm guns, it was clear the scenario he imagined, wielding charm guns and Blood Symbol Bullets in a great battle, wasn’t going to happen.

”Here’s a piece of advice...” the teacher looked down, gazing intently at the boy, ”Feel them thoroughly, familiarize yourself with every part of their makeup, familiarize yourself with their essence, familiarize yourself with their scent... Magic is a test of one’s imagination. If your imagination is powerful enough, creating a world out of nothing won’t be a difficult task.”

”... You already have the trigger, and I’ve given you the guns. Next time, when you’re ready, you’ll be able to pull the trigger and release your power.”