Chapter 40: Chapter 27: Holy Sanctuary Level 3

Quill’s response was swift.

Only a day had passed since Sean announced in the group chat that he would be attending the book signing on time, but Old Segal City’s police force had already undergone a massive redeployment. Many idle officers from various districts were transferred to the city center where the signing was to be held, leaving only a skeleton crew behind at their posts.

Furthermore, major hotels had also tightened their security. Just last night, police had conducted surprise room inspections, arresting dozens of call girls who lacked the proper professional licenses. They were all now being held at the station, waiting to be sent in batches to Elderidge Cathedral for "reformation."

Motels weren’t spared either.

After receiving the young woman’s reminder, Sean returned to reality. He had just walked to the window and pulled back the curtains when he saw a police car drive up and park downstairs. Two officers got out and entered the motel.

A moment later, they came back out, got in their car, and drove away. ’Are they here to check guest registrations?’

Sean didn’t think it was a big deal.

That was the good thing about motels. Under normal circumstances, guests staying there wouldn’t be sold out. Sometimes, the motel would even help guests hide from inspections. Otherwise, if they were caught breaking the rules, they’d be punished too—a fine for minor offenses, or closure for serious ones. And if they crossed some ruthless characters, they’d face retaliation after they got out of prison. So, in a way, the small motels and their guests were in the same boat.

The young woman at the front desk thought Sean didn’t understand. After the police left, she came up to knock on his door, looking to take credit. She folded her arms, twisted her slim waist to lean against the doorframe, and said quite reasonably, "Look here, handsome. You just checked in yesterday, and today the police are already here to ’check the water meter.’ Isn’t that a little too coincidental? You also said you didn’t have your ID. Let me think... You couldn’t have committed a crime and are hiding here because it’s inconvenient to show your face, could you?"

"Tsk, I never would’ve guessed. You look so clean-cut, yet you’re a fugitive. Was the phrase ’a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ coined just for you?"

"But that’s okay. I like the ’wolf in sheep’s clothing’ type. It’d be even better if you were a little rougher. It’s all about the contrast."

Seeing Sean remain silent, she thought she had guessed correctly and said smugly, "So, handsome, I helped you out this time. How are you going to repay me?"

Sean thought for a moment and asked, "Have you eaten?"

"Are you asking me out to dinner?" The girl blinked. "Nope."

Sean: "Then how about a knuckle sandwich?"

The girl: "?"

"You’re so rude!"

"Didn’t you say you liked contrasts?" Sean said.

The girl shot back, "Then fork me!"

Sean was baffled. ’People make requests like this?’ he thought.

Then, under the girl’s incredulous gaze, he forked her out of the room.

His ears were finally blessed with silence.

Sean sat down on the bed, planning to rest for a bit.

When he first heard that deep Meditation in the Void Technique Space was highly draining, he had been skeptical. But after trying it once himself, Sean was a believer. It really was draining. He was a little tired.

The main reason was that he hadn’t expected to find another "main heroine card" in the pages of his life besides the Saintess, Olivia. And what’s more, Elvire was apparently his sister-in-law...

’They don’t even look alike, do they?’

’And their ages don’t match up.’

Sean couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he thought. Since he couldn’t make sense of it, he decided to just let it go. ’I’ll just wait for the next related dream.’

When the night grew quiet and his body had mostly recovered, Sean entered the Void Technique Space once again.

’What? Elvire told him not to enter for a few days?’

Sorry, but he’d never been one to follow orders.

The more someone told him not to do something, the more he wanted to do it.

Besides, what kind of brother-in-law listens to his sister-in-law?

It should be the other way around. If the sister-in-law behaves, she even gets a reward. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Elvire didn’t know that he and Kate had already met and become good brothers who shared the same faith and admired each other. With this Light Attendant secretly protecting him, he was perfectly safe. The only reason he logged off in front of Elvire was because he genuinely needed to rest, and he just went along with it to put on a show. Because what he needed to do next had to be done in secret.

He was going to try to enter the upper floors of the Hall of Truth.

The first time one enters the Holy Sanctuary, they need to gain the recognition of a statue, which will then transport the Wizard inside. Subsequent entries aren’t so troublesome; one can just walk in through the main doors. Of course, if you wanted to show off in front of the other Wizards, you could enter via the statue like the first time. Sean didn’t want to attract attention, so he naturally chose the door.

And he even used the back door.

It was only upon entering this time that Sean truly saw the interior of the Holy Sanctuary.

It was a circular hall with a very vintage style. Oil paintings hung on the walls, alongside upside-down clocks and moving staircases. The dark, brownish wood tones gave it a medieval feel. But whether it was the staircases or the walls, their texture was still ethereal, which only enhanced the profound sense of history, of time flowing past.

There were quite a few Wizards on the first floor, but almost all of them were busy with their own tasks—meditating, reading books, or conversing in hushed tones. The atmosphere was intensely academic, like a study hall before a major exam. Very few people were walking around.

No one noticed Sean, and he was happy to be a ghost in the crowd. Head down, he floated silently to a corner like a specter and took the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor was different. The number of Wizards dropped drastically; not a single soul was in sight.

It wasn’t that it was truly empty, but that everyone was in the library or their dorms.

There were so few Wizards who could reach the second floor that there were more than enough empty spots in the library and dorms. They had no need to come out here to meditate or read. There were also many paths from the second to the third floor, accessible through buildings like the library that connected all the levels—provided one had earned the recognition of the second floor’s statue.

If not, you would see an ethereal door at the junction between the second and third floors. Every path had one, and no matter what tricks you tried, you wouldn’t be able to open it.

In Sean’s eyes, there was no door—or rather, there was, but it was open.

What blocked him wasn’t a door, but an indescribable spiritual pressure.

The moment he stepped onto the third floor, his body suddenly felt heavy, as if he were carrying a two-hundred-pound rich woman on his shoulders. The weight nearly buckled his knees, making every step a struggle. Beads of simulated sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.

"Am I just making things hard for myself?"

Sean grumbled.

Besides him, no other Wizard could reach the 3rd Floor of the Holy Hall. It was even quieter than the second floor, so he could speak his mind without worry. It was much more satisfying than just complaining in his head.

Sean had guessed that as the "Master," the Holy Sanctuary wouldn’t restrict his access, but he hadn’t expected this spiritual pressure.

Actually, thinking about it, it was understandable. After all, back when he built the Hall of Truth, he was a powerhouse above Tier Ten. This bit of spiritual pressure would have been practically nothing to him; it was more of a test for the Holy Sanctuary’s students.

Moreover, the pressure on the third floor wasn’t entirely a bad thing. Since this mechanism existed, it meant there must be knowledge here that could only be accessed with a corresponding level of Spiritual Strength. This was also the purpose of his "infiltration" of the Holy Sanctuary.

But he still wanted to complain.

’How did my past self not see this day coming?’

’What an idiot!’

When Sean got worked up, he’d even curse himself.

Muttering curses under his breath, he continued onward, still carrying that imaginary two-hundred-pound rich woman.

He finally shut his mouth when he passed a place that looked like a lecture hall and arrived at the third-floor library.

No more complaining.

Because he had truly found knowledge.

Knowledge is generally recorded in books, and books are generally stored in libraries. So, the first place Sean looked was the third floor of the library, a place no other Wizard had ever reached. And things were just as he had expected—

The third floor of the library had row after row of bookshelves stretching as far as the eye could see. On them were countless powerful Magic techniques and Alchemy Manuals left over from the Era of Polymath. It even included a small number of Truth Techniques whose effects he knew but whose principles he had never even dreamed of.

And that wasn’t all.

In a glass display case at the very center, a thick tome lay quietly on display.

On its ancient, wrinkled cover were written five words—

The Beginning of Forbidden Curse

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