Chapter 2700: Chapter 2701: Mutual Trust and Balance

"I am Noah."

The Black Earl merely wrote this short sentence.

The True Words Tome reflected it accurately, without any disturbance, indicating that these words were not false.

In fact, the Black Earl had previously claimed to be from Noah, so writing it again might seem like a trivial loophole, but it’s not.

This sentence holds great significance in the heart of the Wise Sovereign.

Descendants of Noah is a general term. Anyone bearing the Noah surname can be called a descendant of Noah.

Whereas "I am Noah," this is no longer a general term but a specific designation, specifically referring to the Black Earl alone, who can currently represent the entire Noah clan.

Just this sentence alone, in the eyes of the Wise Sovereign, greatly narrows down the true identity of the Black Earl.

Only the core Five-Star Elders of the Noah clan and the current head of the Noah clan could represent "Noah" personally.

The Black Earl may appear to have just one nose, but his true identity has begun to clear the fog and become gradually clearer. As for which one he exactly is, it no longer matters to the Wise Sovereign, as long as he can represent Noah. This would certainly bring about interesting changes to what happens next.

It’s not that no Noah descendants have sought the legacy before, but those descendants couldn’t even endure the last stretch, let alone meet the Goddess.

But now someone who represents Noah has come, which makes things interesting.

Can the Goddess still maintain her lofty pride in front of him?

While the Wise Sovereign anticipated the imagined scenarios, matters must be looked at from both sides. The Black Earl admitting he can represent Noah may bring earth-shattering changes to the legacy, but it may also deliver a devastating blow to Naraku City, which is already in a tough situation.

Even though Naraku City still has some slumbering ancients, facing the new rising star of the Wizards’ Realm, especially one with such vast connections, even if they manage to deal with this hard bone, Naraku City would face an even graver crisis.

At this thought, the Wise Sovereign began to feel a bit of a headache.

If it were just an ordinary Noah descendant, with Angel as a variable, he might help to probe the Goddess’s secret. But now with the true Noah joining, the variables become larger and harder to control.

After the Black Earl put down his pen, the Wise Sovereign did not write for a long time. Angel and the Black Earl were not in a hurry; they could tell that the Wise Sovereign was contemplating. However, Dox, sitting beside them, impatiently said, "Include me, maybe I can give excellent advice."

The Wise Sovereign remained in deep thought, so Dox decided to simply send a burst of energy directly into the True Words Tome.

The Wise Sovereign sensed it but did not stop him, perhaps also wanting to see what truth Dox could bring. Angel and the Black Earl did not stop him either; the Black Earl couldn’t be bothered, while Angel thought it might be good to have Dox joining in to stir things up.

Even though the True Words Tome has no set rules at present, its gambling attribute still exists, unless you never write on it again, making it impossible for others to judge whether your words are true or false. But if the Wise Sovereign writes on it and they choose to avoid it, it’s not good, and the Wise Sovereign might even notice something amiss.

Therefore, in Angel’s view, having Dox join the True Words Tome as a disruptive element can significantly reduce the gambling attribute.

Even if the Wise Sovereign wants to use it for gambling to devise countermeasures, he might be led astray by Dox.

After Dox’s energy was absorbed into the True Words Tome, the pages began to emit a faint blood light, finally coalescing into a large, horned silhouette standing with a sword beneath the daunting maw of a Sandworm.

One has to admit, this emerging light and shadow is the most impressive sight of all.

Dox had horns and a giant stature because his bloodline was activated.

Even Angel had to admit that battles with activated bloodlines often yielded numerous classic scenes. Back then, the Magic Painter Wizard Feng, his depicted battle scenes also primarily featured bloodline battles. Even the most classic, most popular book cover of the Frostmoon Alliance, "Plane Conquest Record," with its cover illustration "Apocalypse Catastrophe," prominently featured blood-activated wizards facing the descending Demon God.

Activating one’s bloodline doesn’t necessarily mean you belong to the bloodline faction, but the bloodline faction can definitely activate their bloodline.

Angel sometimes fantasized about activating his bloodline, transforming into a muscle tank, where his tread wheels pass would become a bloodbath. But that’s only fantasy, as his bloodline is a Projected Bloodline, and it’s uncertain whether it qualifies as a "bloodline." After activation, aside from slight enlargement and a few green patterns, there are no other effects.

However, if Angel could choose again, he’d probably still opt for the Projected Bloodline.

The mere fact that the green patterns on his right hand can continuously and infinitely release the Nightmare Realm’s aura is enough for Angel to be reluctant to give it up.

It’s worth mentioning that people like Sanders and Sumishe need to use Mare Stone to release Nightmare Illusions. Mare Stone is notoriously expensive and rare, which has trained them to use regular illusion techniques unless absolutely necessary, avoiding using Nightmare Illusions or casually employing the Nightmare Realm.

But Angel doesn’t have such a limitation. Others have to "borrow" Nightmare Realm aura, while Angel can completely self-sustain, even raising a bunch of Nightmare Realm creatures like the worthless Teacup Band.

After Dox’s striking light and shadow gradually merged into the True Words Tome, he looked at Angel and the Black Earl: "I’m going to start writing now."

Angel and the Black Earl remained silent.

Seeing this, Dox immediately began to freely express himself, unlike the concise and pithy sentences of others, Dox started with a bang.

"I am a poor bar owner, my favorite drink is the mountain breeze after a storm; I drink till I’m full, my pockets full of rags, I thought this would get me through hard times, but alas, it all turned to smoke. However, I am closely related to Noah, and they will certainly not turn a blind eye, so let’s huddle for warmth."

The True Words Tome twisted for a while, seemingly judging its authenticity. After a long while, it finally presented this statement filled with resentment but also tinged with hope on the page.

Angel finished reading and remained silent.

The Black Earl turned his head away, pretending not to have seen it.

The Wise Sovereign, who was preparing to analyze the text, couldn’t help but feel wearied by such playful rhetoric.

Even though Dox’s writing seemed only to indicate a connection to "Noah" and not direct involvement, his words were so vague that one could say Dox was Noah.

The Wise Sovereign initially concluded that Dox had little to do with Noah, but the True Words Tome’s displayed words made him reconsider his logic.

This also fulfilled Angel’s intention; Dox’s involvement did indeed disrupt things.

The Wise Sovereign rubbed his aching temples and said, "Next, it’s my turn to write."

The Wise Sovereign seemed prepared; his writing speed was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, a line of text was recognized and displayed by the True Words Tome.

They thought the Wise Sovereign would reveal his purpose for coming this time or explain what constitutes necessary conditions and how bonus points could be awarded.

But the Wise Sovereign did not dwell on this; the True Words Tome displayed only one line:

"I mean you no harm, nor do I have murderous intent. The ones who will truly act against you are ’people’ in the legacy."

After reading the sentence, Angel and the Black Earl exchanged a glance, seemingly communicating through their eyes, but neither spoke.

The Wise Sovereign said, "I wrote down this sentence hoping that at the very least, you can trust me. Only with trust can there be a continuation."

Angel: "Even if you hadn’t said it, we could have guessed as much. Just this sentence alone is not enough to gain our trust."

The Wise Sovereign: "Then what do you think I should write to establish a foundation of mutual trust?"

This time, Angel didn’t speak; instead, the Black Earl spoke up: "We don’t need mutual trust; we just need to maintain balance."

The foundation of mutual trust first requires equality. But presently, they have no qualifications for equality; the Wise Sovereign’s strength is too overwhelming and can easily crush everyone present.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have left the others at the Earth Enclosure. It’s precisely because the disparity in power is too vast.

The Black Earl dared to step out of the Earth Enclosure because, if he were to die, his true body would immediately descend. As for Angel stepping out... even the Black Earl couldn’t quite understand it and could only speculate that he might have some way to protect himself.

"Balance, right?" The Wise Sovereign understood Saunders’ implication. After a brief silence, he added a sentence in the True Words Tome.

"If conflict arises, I will restrain all available means and bind myself for five seconds."

The balance the Black Earl mentioned is a dangerous balance or death balance.

This dangerous balance is clearly understood by the Wise Sovereign. If they clashed, the Wise Sovereign would have to bind himself for five seconds, providing them the time to escape.

Releasing the Plane Corridor, if quick, could be completed in two seconds; five seconds would be sufficient to open the Plane Corridor and leave.

This is the balance the Black Earl referred to.

Only when we have the premise of safe departure can we cooperate with you to a limited extent. Simply talking about mutual trust is purely idle talk.

Once the Wise Sovereign brought fantasy into reality, the others also breathed a sigh of relief. At least, they no longer worry about being ambushed by the Wise Sovereign when visiting the Hall of Wisdom later.

The Wise Sovereign looked again at the opposite... Angel.

"Now, shall we have a talk?"

Angel knew the Wise Sovereign would certainly look for him first, so he did not refuse and nodded: "Wise Sovereign, please speak."

"How did you find the Wood Spirit? And how did you get the Wood Spirit to leave with you?"

After a pause, the Wise Sovereign continued: "These two questions can be exchanged for me answering two of your questions. If you want me to write the answers in the True Words Tome, then I can only answer one question."

"This seems too calculated, too stingy," Dox murmured.

Although it seemed the Wise Sovereign didn’t require Angel to write his answers in the True Words Tome, the two questions Angel had to answer would be easy to judge for truth even without writing, as the internal logic is hard to disguise.

However, if Angel were to turn it around and ask, the Wise Sovereign could entirely lie twice.

If he didn’t lie, writing in the True Words Tome would only exchange for one question.

No matter how you think of it, it doesn’t seem quite fair.

This is Dox’s thought, but for Angel, the Wise Sovereign’s "exchange" is actually relatively fair because Dox overlooked one point: there’s more than just Angel as a participant in these two questions.

The Wood Spirit is still there. The Wood Spirit can speak, and the Wood Spirit is still the Wise Sovereign’s student. Even if frightened by the Wise Sovereign, coaxing a few words from the Wood Spirit, would it deliberately conceal it?

So for Angel, these two questions are acceptable.

"Sure. However, I don’t really have any questions to ask for the time being..."

Angel paused, his heart actually filled with questions, but if the Wise Sovereign needed them to do something in the remnant area, he would surely lay out the key points, so asking questions now would be a pure waste.

"Instead, as the Wise Sovereign previously mentioned, how about lending me the handbook to browse through?"

Questions are less important; knowledge and technology, if missed, would be a major loss. Moreover, the Wise Sovereign, being called a sage, surely has unique insights in his handbook, which Angel covets highly.

The Wise Sovereign had not mentioned the handbook earlier; Angel straightforwardly brought it up. This is not about being thick-skinned since the Wise Sovereign had said he was merely echoing the words of a sage.

The Wise Sovereign didn’t intentionally avoid it, but rather his handbook hadn’t been updated for years, and he had almost forgotten. It was just a casual mention that slipped his mind, but he hadn’t expected Angel to still remember it.

The Wise Sovereign nodded: "Alright."

Seeing the Wise Sovereign nod, Angel replied: "For the two questions the Wise Sovereign raised, I should originally answer ’How I found the Wood Spirit,’ but it’s better to answer the second question first because answering the second makes the first easier to explain."

The Wise Sovereign looked at Angel suspiciously. Angel intended to answer "why the Wood Spirit was willing to follow him" first?

Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse?

Shouldn’t you first find the Wood Spirit and then persuade it to follow?

Facing the Wise Sovereign’s confusion, Angel slowly lifted his cane and placed it on the table.

"Why don’t you speak? You’re definitely more credible than me." Angel patted the vine wrapped around the cane.

The vine entwined on the staff didn’t move, appearing as mere decoration.

"Stop playing dead, there are no outsiders here."

The Wood Spirit still made no response.

After a moment of silence, Angel unleashed a trump card: "... If you want to see him, just make a sound."

After a period of silence, a "creak" sound emerged from the vine.

The Wood Spirit did respond, but what on earth is a "creak"?!

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