The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing

The vast stellar light cascaded down, enveloping everything in a faint starlight glow. The battlefield once strewn with corpses had been swept spotless by the starry sky.

An Su thought to himself.

What exactly is this old guardian emitting?

You still have to grind it out from birth!

At his current level, just glancing at it made it impossible for him to copy this demigod-level magic.

"If you copy this magic of mine and succeed, I'll teach you magic," Discover more stories at empire

Merlin's reasoning for this was simple,, one was because he found it rather interesting, and the second was the thought of sending An Su away sooner.

It's not that I won't teach you, but that you lack the perceptiveness.

Most saints, faced with such a situation, would wisely know their limits and retreat, not wasting anyone's time.

This tactic of Merlin's worked every time. All the saints who came to learn, upon witnessing this sacred demigod magic, promptly left, including that genius Holy Maiden.

Unexpectedly, the young man before him said, "Let me try."

"...Do you really want to try?"

Merlin's eyes flashed with intense Holy Light as An Su once again surprised him, "Are you serious?"

"I've come all this way."

An Su believed in a principle, since he'd come, he would always try.

Moreover, it's free.

"This is the entire Magic Circuit of the 'Judgment of Light.'"

The Holy Light Map appeared in Merlin's hands.

At first glance, An Su saw three major routes forming the structure of this magic, like bronze tree trunks, with each branch giving rise to nearly a thousand magic sub-branches

They combined perfectly and intricately, forming the entirety of the magic, each sub-branch made of even smaller Magic Circuits, continuously subdividing and extending, seemingly endless.

Each Magic Circuit carried a mysterious beauty, captivating the mind, stirring the soul, as if to immerse one in an ocean of vast stellar information.

Just by looking at it like this, An Su felt a brain-splitting pain.

This was sacred-level magic.

But what surprised An Su even more was that Merlin presented the sacred-level magic circuit so openly before him.

The unique circuits of sacred-level magic were incredibly precious.

They were typically concealed with great care.

Unable to contain his curiosity, An Su voiced his question, while Merlin replied nonchalantly,

"If it can be learned by others, then it's just that—not precious. If it's not precious, then there's no need for me to keep it. Besides, isn't it good if someone else can learn it?"

"I'll just create new ones that others can't learn,"

Merlin spoke evenly as if discussing a trivial matter, "So, having seen this, do you still have the courage to learn?"

"We have a deal,"

An Su shifted his gaze back to the map of the sacred magic, feeling a sting in his consciousness, as if his soul was being torn apart by the immersion in the sea of information. Merely a few seconds of observation made him feel dizzy and disoriented.

An Su looked away, gasping for air, sweat streaming down his cheeks.

Learning this thing could cost half a life, even if it doesn't kill you.

"Let me take a few more looks," said An Su.

What's gotten into him?

Merlin was surprised at An Su's audacity. The boy dared to look again.

Shouldn't he be leaving dejectedly, allowing me to clock out satisfied?

An Su cast his eyes once more on the Magic Circuit, this time managing to observe it for an extended period.

It was just as expected.

He had undergone countless life trials and possessed a spiritual fortitude far surpassing that of his peers.

Merlin suddenly realized something bad, surely he couldn't end up unable to finish for the day?

"Aren't you afraid of dying?" Merlin asked, "If the soul perishes, even a body's revival can't bring it back to life."

"If I die here, wouldn't you have to pay compensation?"

An Su lifted his head and said earnestly,

"According to 'Nether Peacekeeping Law' Chapter 3, Section 1, and 'Labor Law Case' Section 3, if an employee dies at the workplace, then the person in charge of the place and the district security are liable for full compensation."

"Besides, I am still a minor."

I'm the one on duty at the Gates of Heaven, not district security!

But from a certain point of view, is it somehow like that?

The God of Order would probably acknowledge it too.

Merlin felt he was about to be outmaneuvered by this youngster. This was Astro-World, after all—the eyes of the gods from above were all focusing here. He truly couldn't let An Su's soul die in Heaven.

He had said those words just to scare An Su off.

This guy obviously saw through that.

Now it was up to him to keep An Su alive, which was why this guy could be so brazen.

Merlin squinted his eyes slightly; he wanted to get off work...

Why did this youngster have to be so stubborn?

All he wanted was to find an excuse to send the person away, and it was the first time he had encountered someone as stubborn as An Su.

What was this youngster after?

He knew full well it was impossible to succeed.

An Su fixed his gaze on the Holy Light Map, the complex and vast information threatening to rip his soul apart.

Every time he tried to make out the configurations of the circuits, his brain would emit excruciating pain—a protective mechanism of the human body, which prevented his soul from getting lost in that sea of information.

He had failed dozens of times but could never grasp the configurations of the circuits.

If not for Merlin's protection, An Su would have been gravely injured by now.

Merlin brought over a small stool and sat beside him with a face full of despair, staring at this accursed youngster who seemed to bring pestilence with him.

This guy was what? A top-tier masochist,

Torturing both himself and others.

It was Merlin's first time encountering such a type of fresh soul. If he didn't get off work soon, it would be time to start working again!

So be it.

This youngster probably wouldn't last much longer.

The pain in the soul was no less than actual death.

A few more deaths, and he would naturally lose patience and choose to give up—that's what Merlin thought.

This time, An Su stared at the Magic Circuit for a full minute before finally moving his gaze away in pain.

Deep within his consciousness, he didn't know how many times he had died already.

But it didn't matter; it wasn't real death, after all.

To An Su, dying and coming back to life, living and dying again, it was all like a game, and he was best at playing games.

In games, you die countless times, and each death brings some harvest.

All magic shortcuts were discovered slowly through an eternal cycle of repetitive death.

An Su realized that it was impossible to see clearly the upper three thousand magic branches with his current rank; he couldn't replicate the "Judgment of Light" either.

If that was the case, then just copy one magic branch, just one three-thousandth of a Holy Light spell.

Copy it, and make it his own.

As dusk fell once again, twilight and starlight took their turns,

In Merlin's weary gaze, a new day had arrived.

It was time for him to work again!

He wanted a vacation!