Sunan had personally crafted more than ten thousand puppets, and he was intimately familiar with the unique life aura that distinguished them from living beings.
The moment the creature appeared, he recognized the distinct aura of a puppet.
"A shape-shifting puppet? That's quite rare."
Sunan's eyes flickered with curiosity.
As he observed the squid-like puppet, it suddenly moved, raising a barbed tentacle high before it struck toward him, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.
Sunan stood still, calmly watching the tentacle approach.
However, as it came within five meters of him, the tentacle slowed as if moving through invisible molasses, inching forward until it halted half a meter from him.
Closer inspection revealed the tentacle trembling slightly, as if under an invisible weight.
"Impressive attack power, comparable to a third-circle spell."
Sunan raised an eyebrow, making a casual remark.
Shh, shh!
More whistling noises erupted as the squid puppet launched a full assault, dozens of tentacles whipping toward Sunan like a storm.
Yet the same scene repeated.
Once within five meters, the tentacles visibly slowed, freezing as they neared Sunan, unable to harm him.
Dozens of tentacles surrounded Sunan but couldn't touch a hair on his head.
"Meow, Sunan is amazing!" Amy exclaimed excitedly, gazing at Sunan with admiration.
Sunan chuckled, patting the little fellow's head, his eyes never leaving the squid puppet.
This puppet undoubtedly possessed the power of a formal wizard. It was likely the final defense of Falling Star City and wouldn't be easily defeated.
As if to confirm his thoughts, the tentacles suddenly glowed with various magical lights—lightning and flames danced on the tentacles, ice and acid sprayed forth, and the barbs glowed a ghostly blue!
In an instant, the tentacles were imbued with magical effects!
Shh, shh, shh!
The tentacles attacked again, their power surging so much that even the [Forbidden Zone] protective field struggled, its energy depleting rapidly.
"This puppet is far stronger than a secret puppet."
Sunan marveled.
Before reaching the first-level liquefaction, dealing with this squid puppet would have required significant effort.
While these thoughts flashed through his mind, Sunan began his counterattack. Raising his hand, his fingers clenched tightly, and a deep, dark glow burst forth, quickly forming an intensely black spear.
The next moment, he flung the spear, which shot toward the squid puppet like a black streak.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
The squid puppet's body flashed with multicolored magical lights, layering itself with dozens of protective spells, forming a seemingly impenetrable armor.
Yet these protections melted away like wax before a flame upon contact with the black streak.
The black streak pierced through the defenses, entering the squid puppet, then erupted explosively!
Crackling!
Countless black electric sparks burst from the puppet, turning it into a dazzling thunderball, illuminating the dim hall as if it were daylight!
It took a while for the lightning to dissipate.
The squid puppet lay on the ground, its tentacles limp, clearly incapacitated.
Its occasional twitches indicated the puppet wasn't completely destroyed.
"Quite resilient."
Sunan praised.
After reaching first-level liquefaction, his mental strength had surged, allowing him to enhance [Black Lightning], increasing its power by at least fifty to sixty percent.
Even the secret puppet girl couldn't withstand a direct hit from [Black Lightning].
The squid puppet had taken a direct hit and was only severely injured, not destroyed—its 'constitution' was indeed formidable.
Sunan hesitated, deciding to keep the squid puppet for research. Perhaps it could inspire stronger puppet designs.
He released two secret puppet girls to guard the squid puppet, then proceeded deeper into the hall.
This was the tower's top level, the core of Falling Star City.
With such a powerful puppet guarding it, the items on the two stone pillars were likely of great value.
Reaching the pillars, Sunan encountered no further obstacles.
As he suspected, the squid puppet was indeed Falling Star City's final defense.
The halo around the pillars was a protective array, which Sunan easily dispelled, revealing the items atop the pillars.
A book and a crystal-clear orb.
The book was two to three times the size of a regular book, with a pale green cover that shimmered with a cold metallic sheen, adorned with a white jade gardenia—exquisitely crafted.
Sunan sensed the dense energy particles within the book, indicating it was a magical item.
The orb, about the size of a fist, glowed brilliantly, its interior dotted with countless star-like points, reminiscent of a starry sky.
Upon closer inspection, the points were actually tiny enchanted runes.
To Sunan's surprise, he sensed the orb's energy flowing in a way he couldn't comprehend, seemingly connecting to the entire tower.
A realization dawned on him.
This orb might be the power source for the tower, or even all of Falling Star City!
Though intrigued by the orb, Sunan was more eager to see the book's contents.
With this in mind, he reached for the book, but a low sigh suddenly sounded in his ear.
The voice came from the book.
"The book is talking!" Amy jumped in surprise.
Whoosh!
The book opened abruptly, one page releasing countless rays of light, intertwining to form a somewhat translucent figure beside the pillar.
It was a woman appearing in her twenties, clad in a gray wizard's robe, with a cascade of silver hair and violet eyes twinkling like stars. Her slender, tall figure exuded a cold grace.
Her lips were thin, chin slightly pointed, and her long, upturned eyes gave her striking features a sharp, cool demeanor.
"Nice to meet you, master of the Star Alliance."
The gray-robed woman spoke slowly, her voice a cool, magnetic blend.
"You know me?" Sunan raised an eyebrow.
"I don't," the gray-robed woman smiled slightly, her cold features softened by a gentle smile, making her particularly captivating. "But I saw the fleet and the sirens outside. Only the master of the Star Alliance could command both."
Sunan reacted quickly, "You're the one who tricked the sirens, the 'Sea Goddess'?"
The woman's expression remained unchanged, "Tricked is too strong. The sirens collected Hearts of the Sea for me, and I taught them knowledge to strengthen their tribe. It was a fair trade, wasn't it? I used the title 'Sea Goddess' for communication convenience."
Sunan shrugged, "Why reveal yourself now? Seeking revenge?"
"You misunderstand," the woman shook her head. "I have no such intention, nor am I your match. As for the tentacle puppet..."
She glanced at the twitching squid puppet, "It's the Falling Star City's automatic defense, triggered by intruders. I can't control it."
Tentacle puppet?
Sunan recalled a creature resembling an octopus known as the golden tentacle.
No wonder the squid puppet looked familiar; it was modeled after the golden tentacle.
A renowned divine creature!
"I revealed myself because I had no choice."
The woman looked at the book on the pillar with a complex expression.
"I'm sure you've noticed my state. This book is my anchor; if it's destroyed, I'll vanish. At this point, hiding is pointless."
Sunan had indeed noticed; the woman was in a ghostly state.
Typically, ghosts couldn't exist long in the material world.
Unless they became wraiths, preying on humans to evolve into bound spirits capable of long-term existence.
Like the wraith Sunan encountered in the Kubero mansion.
But there were exceptions.
A rare few could merge their souls with an object upon death, becoming ghosts anchored to it, preserving their soul form.
Achieving this was no small feat.
It required immense soul energy, a suitable vessel, and a lot of luck.
All three were essential!
Missing any one would result in failure and soul annihilation.
The gray-robed woman before him was clearly one of the lucky ones.
Sunan was surprised by her openness.
But upon reflection, he realized that even if she hadn't confessed, he would have soon discovered it. Better to be honest upfront, leaving a good impression.
Sunan gestured, and the book floated from the pillar to his hand.
As her life-dependent anchor fell into another's hands, the woman instinctively tensed but quickly restrained herself, biting her lip.
Unperturbed, Sunan opened the book.
It was filled with dense spell models, one on each page, ranging from zero to third-circle spells—at least a hundred in total.
A grimoire!
Sunan immediately identified it.
Like a spell-storing staff, a grimoire contained spell models that could be activated to cast spells.
But unlike staffs, grimoires could hold many more spells.
However, most grimoires stored only twenty to thirty spells, primarily first and second-circle, unlike this one, which held over a hundred spells, including many third-circle spells.
While not on par with a wizard's tool, its power made it top-tier among low-level magical items.
Sunan closed the book, having found his answer.
"You used this grimoire to control storms and waves to aid the sirens against their enemies?"
"Yes."
With nothing left to hide, the woman admitted frankly.
"Before becoming like this, I was a wizard."
Sunan wasn't surprised, instead showing a knowing expression.
To merge one's soul with a grimoire and use it as a ghost was no ordinary feat.
Only a wizard could achieve such a level.
Wait!
A sudden realization struck Sunan, and he asked, "What's your name?"
"Lize Russell," the woman replied.
Just as I thought!
Sunan's eyes narrowed, taking a deep look at her.
"So you're the ancestor of the Russell family."
The Russell family were guardians of Falling Star City and had produced a wizard in their history. That a gray-robed woman appeared in Falling Star City and was a wizard in life couldn't be a coincidence.
His inquiry confirmed it.
"You know me?" Lize's violet eyes showed a hint of surprise.
"No, but your family mentioned you," Sunan said with a faint smile. "The Russell family is now part of the Star Alliance."
Lize paused, then nodded in understanding.
"Of course, you're a formal wizard. It's natural for the Russell family to join you."
"Honestly, I didn't expect a formal wizard to emerge on today's Starlight Continent."
Lize's gaze at Sunan was one of admiration and respect.
She had witnessed the era of elemental scarcity and knew how much talent and effort were needed to become a wizard in such conditions.
The man before her must have made immense sacrifices and endured great hardships to achieve his current success.
That's why she revealed herself upon discovering he was a wizard.
In today's Starlight Continent, only he might help her achieve her goal.
"I'm more curious about why you're in this state and what Falling Star City is about," Sunan said, steering the conversation.
Lize hesitated, then asked, "Do you know the origin of Falling Star City?"
"Left by wizards a thousand years ago?"
"Yes, but also no," Lize nodded, then shook her head. "Have you heard of the Starfall Society?"
"The Starfall Society? Isn't it extinct?" Sunan glanced at Lize. "You were a member."
Lize froze, genuinely shocked.
The Starfall Society was a wizard organization from a thousand years ago. Sunan shouldn't have known about it.
She had asked casually, prepared to explain, but Sunan already knew of the Starfall Society.
And he knew it was extinct!
Who was this man, really?
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