"Li Jia" sat back in his chair with a blank expression.
Perhaps because he had been exposed, Shu Ling completely gave up the idea of disguise, and was too lazy to expend strength to control his muscles. He sat there with only his eyes moving, looking like a puppet with the strings cut off. He thought for a while and raised his head. Like a poor speaker, he asked without any emotion: "Tell me first, how did you find out?"
Xiao Chen sat down and leaned back, crossing his legs. He leaned slightly to one side, his hands crossed on his legs, his fingertips gently tapping the seam of his pants, examining Shu Ling, "It's not important, you don't have a chance again, tell me about Li Jia's situation."
"Xiao Chen, I've read a lot of your memories." Shu Ling raised his head slightly and looked at him with squinted eyes. "Many people around you don't realize that you seem gentle and friendly, but in fact you are as stubborn as a rock."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Stubbornness leads to strength, but powerful magicians often lose themselves in the struggle to control things. After so many years, I am tired of being controlled." Shu Ling said, pulling open the collar of his clothes to reveal his heart. "If you insist, you can try with that sword."
Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes. He hated Li Jia's expression. This stiff and funny expression was something Li Jia had never had before. What a poor knockoff, he thought. He stood up and grasped the hilt of the Spark Sword.
The book spirit raised its head, looking as if ready to die.
"Hmph, let's try it." Xiao Chen drew out his sword, and his spiritual power flowed into the sword like seawater, causing it to emit a blazing white flame. This magical flame caused the temperature in the room to rise sharply, and at the same time, it completely ignited the tense atmosphere.
Shu Ling's face was indifferent, but a trace of panic flashed in his eyes. He didn't expect Xiao Chen to draw his sword as soon as he said so. This was not the routine of a magician, but the style of a berserker. Shu Ling leaned back instinctively, pressing the front legs of the chair slightly up.
Nina also covered her mouth in shock and screamed, "Sir, what are you doing?!"
Xiao Chen raised his sword high and chopped it down with all his might, but his target was not Li Jia, but the "Shadow Scroll of Consciousness" on the ground. A white streak flashed by, and the "Shadow Scroll of Consciousness" made a loud "clang" sound, and a burst of colorful light burst out. A corner of the book was neatly cut off, and the cut part was instantly burned to ashes, while the cut surface close to the sword was directly roasted black. After the flaming sword cut the "Shadow Scroll of Consciousness", half of the sword body directly chopped into the ground made of thick wooden boards, turning the surrounding floor directly into charcoal.
"Asshole! Are you crazy!" The moment the sword fell, the book spirit jumped up and rushed towards Xiao Chen, but because he was unable to control his body balance, he fell to the ground with his mouth full of mud. He didn't care about the blood flowing between his lips and teeth, and rolled and crawled towards the "Shadow Scroll of Consciousness". However, Xiao Chen kicked the "Shadow Scroll of Consciousness" under the bed like garbage.
The Book Spirit knelt on the ground, clenched his fists, looked at Xiao Chen with a ferocious face, and growled: "This is the holy book of the Dream Tower! How could you do this! It has been passed down for thousands of years and has never been damaged! You actually, actually used a sword to chop such a treasure! You barbarian, bastard, cursed idiot!"
Xiao Chen pulled out the sword from the ground, bringing out some fine black dust. He looked down at Shu Ling and said, "I like your expression better now. Let me ask you again, what is Li Jia's current situation?"
"You!" Shu Ling said hatefully, "You win."
Later, Xiao Chen called Shi Hao and Ye Zi in, while Roger and the others continued to guard the door. Ye Zi and Shi Hao stood on either side of the book spirit, ready to deal with any unusual movements.
"Two souls are trapped in one body, sinking in the ocean of subconsciousness. The channel connecting the two bodies has been closed. I don't know their current situation." Shu Ling is now much more honest, and there is fatigue in his voice.
"Then how did you initially judge Li Jia's success rate in treating Serinda? How sure are you about the real situation?" Xiao Chen asked.
"No one can be sure about magic." Shu Ling avoided Xiao Chen's gaze and said with his head down, "However, based on my judgment, with Li Jia's ability, the possibility of saving Serinda..."
He paused and glanced at the Sea of Consciousness Shadow Scroll on Xiao Chen's lap. "It shouldn't be more than 10%."
"Damn it!" Xiao Chen raised his fist and punched "Li Jia" in the face. Xiao Chen was very strong and "Li Jia" staggered and fell off the chair. Half of his face immediately swelled up, and a cut was made at the corner of his mouth, with blood flowing down.
"Senior! You, you! This body belongs to Li Jia." Ye Zi said in surprise.
"But now it's the Shuling who's in pain."
Xiao Chen carried Shu Ling back to the chair, and Shu Ling collapsed in the chair like a ball of mud. He had never felt real pain before, and when Xiao Chen suddenly hit him in the face, it hurt so much that tears came out of his eyes. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, then covered his face with his hands, looked at Xiao Chen fearfully, and trembled as he wanted to say something, but in the end, he saw Xiao Chen's eyes and wisely shut his mouth.
"Listen carefully!" Xiao Chen stretched out a finger and pointed at the book spirit's nose. "I know that when you were a spirit, you were not afraid of pain or injury, but unfortunately you are now a 'human'. As a sensitive and fragile human being, there are many pains waiting for you to endure."
"I'll cooperate! Stop hitting me!" Shu Ling said aggrievedly.
Xiao Chen clenched his fists, his knuckles crackling, and said, "Okay. Now, I want you to use every method you can think of to reopen the channel so that I can connect to their spiritual world. Don't play any tricks. Otherwise, both of your bodies will disappear."
"I have one last condition!" The book spirit said hurriedly, fearing that Xiao Chen would do something else. "When I finish this, you have to find me a magician's body. I never want to go back to the book again. This is a win-win situation! Without me, the Sea of Consciousness Scroll is a completely useless book, but as long as I hold it, it will have the same power as before. Think about it, this is a book that laid the foundation for the Dream Tower. Letting me control this holy book alive will be much more useful to you than if I die."
"Do what you should do first." Xiao Chen glared at him.
The book spirit held the "Shadow of the Sea of Consciousness" in one hand, kneeling beside Serinda, and used the other hand to draw a line in the air above Serinda's forehead. A complex magic circle gradually took shape in the air. The magic circle shone with a faint rainbow light, and the characters that looked like seal script were connected by lines and flashed continuously.
"We didn't know you were carrying such a valuable treasure. I'm glad that no one knew about this. Otherwise, if someone robbed us, we would have a lot of fun." Shi Hao said, "Why didn't you leave it at school?"
"The school wants me to get used to the "Shadow Scroll of the Sea of Consciousness" so that I can preside over the concentration ceremony when I return. Besides, this book is a treasure, but it is also a temptation and danger." Xiao Chen shook his head, and the other two immediately understood the terrible consequences.
"Fortunately, if something like a book spirit takes over someone's body in school, no one would probably find out." Ye Zi said.
At this time, Shu Ling had already finished drawing the formation. He turned to Xiao Chen and said, "It's going well. Now I will start to inject power. From now on, it's up to you."
"I have completed what I promised you, and you should also remember to fulfill your promise."
"I can only promise to give you a temporary body. You either accept it or have nothing." Xiao Chen walked to the window and pointed to the gatehouse at the entrance of the Earl's Castle. "Your temporary body is there."
As if in response to his words, a few dogs barked from the gatehouse.
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Serinda supported Li Jia and let him lean against the wall. Li Jia tilted his head and fell asleep as if he was too tired. There was no sound.
Serinda looked around the chaotic castle and felt powerless. Li Jia became a more powerful wizard by opening a book, but she almost lost her life.
"Li Jia, Li Jia, do you know this kind of pain? If you knew, would you forgive me? Or... have you already forgiven me?" She looked at the unconscious Li Jia and said softly: "Even if I fell into the abyss, I didn't plan to ask anyone for help. I didn't even expect you to appear here. But you still came. Why are you so... stupid, so stupid that it makes me uncomfortable?"
She gently stroked Li Jia's face with the back of her hand. It felt unreal, like she was touching a statue. She couldn't feel his warmth, nor could she convey her tenderness, which made her hate this place even more.
"Now that I'm awake, we will definitely get out," she whispered in his ear.
However, at this time, Li Jia underwent a strange change. Colorful dots began to float on his body. The dots looked only the size of sesame seeds, like bubbles in water, slowly floating upwards, as if Li Jia's body was dissolving.
Serinda grabbed one of Li Jia's hands and found that as the light spots dissipated, Li Jia's fingers were turning translucent.
"This is... This is the same symptom I had before, he is disappearing! His consciousness is starting to fade!" Serinda muttered to herself.
"Li Jia! Wake up!" But no matter how Serinda pushed him or called him, Li Jia remained unresponsive, just like before.
Just now he used his spiritual power to fill my body, and now, this is all I can do. Serinda carefully recalled the feeling when Li Jia repaired his body, leaned over and threw herself on Li Jia, pushing the power in her body in the opposite direction. However, unlike the situation just now, Serinda's own body overlapped with Li Jia's, and strangely, they turned into a ball of light together.