The Primordial Witches, as legends have it, were the strongest lifeform born from chaos, who controlled the rules which governed the world.
Silver who controlled frost; Walpurgis who presided over the night; Life who ruled fire; and Fraxinus who controlled trees.
With that being said, it was common knowledge that the four Primordial Witches controlled more than just the existence of these specific things. If that were so, the term 'Primordial' wouldn't be all that fitting.
Generations of scholars had come up with a standardized explanation after thousands of years studying these legends.
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The Primordial Witches, as legends have it, were the strongest lifeform born from chaos, who controlled the rules which governed the world.
Silver who controlled frost; Walpurgis who presided over the night; Life who ruled fire; and Fraxinus who controlled trees.
With that being said, it was common knowledge that the four Primordial Witches controlled more than just the existence of these specific things. If that were so, the term 'Primordial' wouldn't be all that fitting.
Generations of scholars had come up with a standardized explanation after thousands of years studying these legends.
Frost represents four seasons; time.
Night represents the sky; the heavens.
Flame represents destruction and rebirth; destiny.
Trees represent paths and connections; space.
Only put in this way could the four Primordial Witches be said to control everything in this world.
Were there an entrance examination for transcendent beings, this would be an obligatory question of general knowledge and a giveaway question at that.
All knowledge regarding the Primordial Witches that Ji Zhixiu had ran through her mind as she stared at that unextraordinary stone tablet.
After the darkness of the dream realm engulfed Azir, the Primordial Witches were incapable of putting up a resistance however mighty they were.
All they could do was construct the Wall of Fog to prevent the incursion of the dream realm from continuing. Even then, they had to remain in slumber within the dream realm and disappeared without a trace.
Ji Zhixiu knew of some of the old family clans that still remained true to their covenants.
For instance, the great elven sage who had once saved Ji Zhixiu and visited the bookstore on her recommendation was from the Iris Clan, who were devout followers of Silver.
And the Sandra Clan, a family of arcanum medicine experts who had recently met with a mishap, were followers of Walpurgis.
These two Primordial Witches were the most well-known, having made the most covenants with various clans and leaving behind even more anointed. However, the former only accepted species with long lifespans, while the latter's anointed were mostly mortals.
In comparison, the two remaining witches were much more mysterious.
According to the legends, Fraxinus was the main creator of the high Wall of Fog.
Though the truth was now blurred, the interior of the high walls of gray fog was essentially a series of gargantuan tree trunks and branches according to the last person who entered the Wall of Fog.
Thus, there was also another legend that claimed that instead of being in slumber within the dream realm, Fraxinus had morphed into the Wall of Fog itself.
Those believers of the Church of Pestilence could therefore be considered followers of Fraxinus.
However, the Church of Pestilence long removed anything about the Witches from their faith and denied this ideology, throwing those who claimed otherwise into the high Wall of Fog.
As for Life, all that remained were mere phrases…
Ji Bonong picked up the fragment and narrated, "It was said that Lady Life once erected countless 'Bonfire Tablets' at the fringes of the darkness that was already infected by the dream realm for those warriors fighting to the end. Those stone tablets were bonfires, lighting up the land within the darkness, temporarily exiling dream beasts, and allowing those warriors a moment to catch their breaths.
"Yet the bonfires eventually extinguished, and those stone tablets collapsed shortly after due to the immense might of the dream realm, turning into a pile of useless stone pieces.
"Just like this one," said Ji Bonong as he raised the fragment up.
After carefully scrutinizing the fragment, Ji Zhixiu asked, "So this fragment is capable of resisting dream beasts?"
"I don't know."
Ji Bonong gave a crisp perfunctory answer.
He shook his head, then continued, "There are some conjectures, all from former Rolle Resource Development heads with regards to the runes on this fragment that were studied in secret… I heard about it from my predecessor, but I doubt they dared outright test their hypothesis on it.
"But if it really is the case, then this Mr. Lin would surely be greatly fascinated."
As he placed the fragmented piece into his daughter's hands, Ji Bonong sighed. "I will claim to be ill tomorrow and make a trip to the bookstore together with you to fight for the distribution rights of the bookstore books. Hopefully, everything will be smooth sailing."
"Yes." Ji Zhixiu nodded.
——
Andrew's mind was still thinking about the deal he had struck with Hood as he stood in front of the bookstore.
The Wisdom-Seekers would soon become his newly formed team, and in return, he would use his reputation to vouch for them and gradually develop a cadre by selecting promising members from within.
With the same goal, aligned ideology, and working toward the right direction, both Hood and Andrew were complementary to each other and both sides hit it off well.
The most resilient and united faction within the Truth Union was thus covertly formed in the office where Jerome had met his end.
They had decided on a rough plan on the spot, and a sweeping net was about to be cast over the entire Truth Union.
The first step was to follow the trail, leveraging on the fact that Jerome's death hadn't yet been publicized, to eradicate the remaining moles.
Second, that would be to rapidly expand the Wisdom-Seekers, turning it into the greatest faction within the Truth Union in the shortest time possible and then controlling the entire organization.
And the final objective was to either elect Andrew as the Chairman of the Truth Union or turn Maria into the figurehead of the Wisdom-Seekers.
Having already experienced the difficulty in climbing to such a high status within the Truth Union, Andrew naturally knew that this was no easy feat. But since it's the will of Mr. Lin, he would have to do it to the best of his abilities.
Hood, on the other hand, was well aware of his position. Knowing that he wasn't of leadership material, he had no intentions of vying with Andrew over the position of Chairman and was content with being an assistant.
Andrew felt that this former young brat before him had undergone a complete transformation.
This must all be attributed to Mr. Lin's efforts.
Hood was a rebellious dandy once upon a time, relying entirely on Maria's influence to rise up in the Truth-seekers and have a bunch of followers willing to do his bidding.
Only Mr. Lin could make him turn over a new leaf and be born anew, as if completely transforming into a different person, from foolish to wise, humble, and powerful.
Mr. Lin's wisdom is able to cleanse the dirt within our souls, purifying it with virtue.
Hood renaming the Truth-seekers to Wisdom-Seekers couldn't have been any more appropriate!
Andrew reaffirmed the awe and passion deep within him as the white halo in his eyes seemed to solidify. Through the windows, he could faintly make out row after row of books and his grip on the philosopher's stone in his hand tightened.
Although the harsh winds of the winter were approaching and the chilling air smelled of frost, Andrew's heart beat with a blazing passion.
There is absolutely no need for the existence of the Truth Union if we are unable to spread this wisdom to every corner of Azir!
Andrew embraced the thought as he stepped into the bookstore and placed the philosopher's stone on the counter.
Then, he exclaimed, "Mission accomplished. I've brought Jerome over."