This staff was made of an unknown material. It was grey-brown in colour and felt rough to the touch. It was about one metre long, and the top was diamond-shaped. The three amethysts were palm-sized. They gave off a beautiful bright light and sparkled as if they contained ripples of water. The three amethysts looked like three miniature lakes and were arranged in a triangular formation.
The Ancient script was as dense as a bunch of tadpoles in an ancient handwritten notebook. These two things were unexpectedly embedded in the tombstone! One could tell at a glance that they were very valuable. They might even be the relics of Ayermike Cotton himself.
Han Shuo held the two items in his hands, took a deep look at them, and then placed them into the space ring. He glanced around and saw the fragmented stones of the tombstone glittering in different colours. He couldn't help but be surprised and examined each one carefully.
"Hm, Scarletheart Iron and Whitelight Silver Ore. I hadn't thought that the tombstone was refined from these strange ores. No wonder I couldn't see through the material!" Han Shuo exclaimed quietly. He picked up some of the broken stones and identified them.
The surface of the tombstone had indeed been refined from several strange ores fused together. However, after the Demonslayer's Edge had shattered it, the inside revealed ores that hadn't completely melted, many of which were still raw ores. Looking at the staff and the notebook, it wasn't because the refiner of this tombstone lacked skill. They did it on purpose, because they were afraid that if they completely refined all the ores, they would ruin the items inside.
What happened in that forbidden land five hundred years ago? Why was Ayermike Cotton here? Why was his gravestone here? Han Shuo didn't know and didn't care. What he wanted to do was to collect anything of value before he left this area in peace.
After putting the staff and the ancient notebook into the space ring, Han Shuo did the same with the raw ores. He then walked over to the pit where the little skeleton and the earth elite zombie were, closed his eyes, and placed his hand on each of the bones containing the strange energy.
In the blink of an eye, about ten white jade-like bones were also pushed into the space ring by Han Shuo. Seeing their hard-earned bones taken away by him, the little skeleton and the Earth Elite Zombie weren't angry at all. In fact, they expressed joy, as if the more he took, the more honoured they became.
When he looked around the area, there were no more complete skeletons. In the pit, the little skeleton and the earth elite zombie were excitedly picking things up here and there. Like two little porters, they carried the bones under their arms, on their backs, and in their hands.
When these two fellows were almost completely hidden by the white bones, the little skeleton's purple sockets glowed brightly and it looked at Han Shuo to convey a message. Han Shuo began to recite a spell. The little skeleton, the Elite Earth Zombie, was sent back to the other dimension along with the bones that they had to make four trips back and forth to collect.
After the two guys left, Han Shuo stood in the sky and searched the whole area. Seeing that there were no more anomalies in this forbidden land, he had Gilbert transform and returned to the cemetery of death.
This time, man and dragon encountered no danger on their return journey. Han Shuo released three Yin Demons along the way, slowing Gilbert down. He carefully searched for materials to refine pills and weapons. It actually took them a total of ten days before they finally returned to the Cemetery of Death.
Han Shuo had managed to collect a good amount of refining materials in those ten days. Upon their return to the Cemetery of Death, the materials would be enough for Han Shuo to refine several things he wanted, as well as a cauldron full of Rebirth Pills.
Han Shuo had indeed reaped a lucrative harvest from this foray into the Dark Forest. Although there had been a few crises along the way, he had resolved them by relying on the virtue of his luck and wits. The feeling he got when he returned to the cemetery of death was quite good.
Once he had collected enough pill and weapon refining materials, Han Shuo carefully weighed his options. He decided to have a closed-door session at the cemetery of death, ready to refine a pill cauldron in addition to some little magical treasures before continuing to refine rebirth pills.
Determined, Han Shuo decided to research the refinement of pills and magical treasures. He stayed in the cemetery for three months.
When he emerged at the end of the three months, the cold winter had passed and all beings had awoken from their hibernation. It was a time when the spring flowers were in full bloom. At the Babylonian Academy of Magic and Strength, it was time for the students to take an exam to test their individual power.
In the largest testing ground of the Dark Major, the teachers and students of Necromancy were grouped together. They had to wait for the Dark Major students to finish before they could use the equipment in the test field for their tests.
After the tragedy that had befallen her family, the little witch Lisa suddenly became much more reasonable. Although her nature was still unruly and stubborn, she was no longer so unreasonable that people hated her.
"Master Fanny, has Bryan really not returned to the Academy in the last six months?" Lisa looked at Fanny helplessly and asked in a sweet voice.
"Lisa, you have been asking this for two or three months now. He really hasn't come back!" Fanny replied with a sad face. She thought in her heart, "That damned wicked devil, Where has he been for the last six months? He hasn't come to see me for so long.
"He said he would return to the Empire shortly after leaving Valen City, but it's been so long and he still hasn't returned, can it be that something has happened to him?"
"Don't talk nonsense, how could anything happen to Bryan?"
Fanny was also worried that Bryan had disappeared for half a year. But she didn't dare to think bad thoughts. That was the way people were. One bad thought would be enough to derail their entire train of thought, and everything would go downhill from there. One thought could cause them to fall into inextricable sadness.
"Master Fanny, your students are ready to begin their exams." A dark major teacher shouted from an elevated platform.
"Let's go, let's watch a bit!" Necromancy Master Teacher Gene was as indulgent with Fanny as ever. He showed a gentle smile as he urged Fanny on.
Nodding politely, Fanny kept her distance from Gene and walked with him to the raised platform. The Dark Major students happened to be descending. Some of them had arrogant expressions on their faces and didn't leave immediately. Instead, they laughed and lowered their voices to mutter something.
The dark major students who had been humiliated by Han Shuo in the last competition had been the laughing stock for the longest time. The longer Han Shuo was gone, the more their embarrassing experience would be forgotten. However, their hatred for him could not be erased. From time to time, they would find opportunities to tease, bully and make fun of the necromancy students.
After Han Shuo left, the Necromancy Major returned to its previous state of decay. The exuberant heroic spirit lasted only a few days. The students kept talking about how good things had been when Han Shuo was around.
"It makes no difference whether the necromancy master takes the test or not! What can his students achieve?!" Phillide, the strongest student of the dark major, sneered at the approaching necromancy major students.
All the dark students standing nearby joined in, laughing loudly, each one louder than the one before, as if they feared the necromancy students wouldn't be able to hear.
"Phillide, don't use such a loud voice in the test field!" The Dean of the Dark Major, Archmage Deo, had a bland smile on his face as he gently rebuked the noise Phillide and the gang of brats had created. He didn't look the least bit serious.
Whether it was the necromancy majors or teachers like Fanny and Gene, everyone could see that Deo's smile held a trace of pleasure and indulgence. Han Shuo had trampled both the Light and Dark Majors in the last competition. As the leader of the Dark Major, Deo had lost a lot of face and naturally didn't have a bit of goodwill towards the Necromancy Major.
"I know, Dean!" Phillide chuckled sideways as he replied. He then sneered, Isn't it interesting to see the Necromancy Department taking the test?"
"True. We've got nothing to do anyway. Let's stay and watch!" All the students who'd been trampled by Han Shuo the last time agreed with Phillide, their faces filled with rapt interest. They looked at the first person to come up to take the test, Athena, as if they were watching clowns take the stage.
"I hear it's this stupid woman's fourth attempt at the test. If she still can't make it to novice, she might as well die. What an embarrassment!" Phillide smiled, sneering viciously.
"Phillide, and who the hell do you think you are?! If Bryan were here, he would definitely tear your mouth off!" Lisa couldn't hear these words and had to snap at Phillide.
"Huh! How dare that brat walk around so arrogantly! If I hadn't had a stomachache last time? Hehehe, now that my body has recovered, it's time to pay the debt, but he's been gone for half a year. Doesn't that explain everything?" In the last competition, Han Shuo had indeed taken Phillide's place. The former had done so with a bang, causing Phillide to lose all face. He'd even been scolded by Deo. Even now, he still felt indignant because he did not want to be the least bit inferior to others.
"Oh, so you're saying I'm hiding from you? Just you? Are you worthy?" Han Shuo's shadow appeared like a ghost. A blue magic robe adorned his tall body, a strange smile on his face. He walked cautiously into the test field and raised his voice as he said, "I have returned this time to graduate early. Today I will take my final test at the Babylonian Academy of Magic and Strength."