Chapter 420: The Fastest Way to Advance to Solar

"Can't I become a Divine Offspring Priest?"

That wasn't what Shaman Ming had said before.

Shaman Ming explained to Li Ban, "Before, you were just an ordinary Priest. Naturally, walking the path of a Divine Offspring would make it more likely for you to become a Great Wizard. But now, the other Great Wizards won't agree with what you're trying to do."

"Why?" Looking at the vast world before him, Li Ban couldn't understand it at all. "The Wizard World is constantly restarting. Even if it doesn't affect the Great Wizards, is that a good thing?"

After a moment, Shaman Ming finally answered. "Because the restarts aren't just the work of an inner demon. They are a desperate act of self-preservation.

"If the restarts stop, the Ultimate Shaman Lord will inevitably meet his end. And if that Wizard Lord perishes, the Wizard World will naturally cease to exist."

Only after Li Ban had become a Dark Moon Priest did Shaman Ming reveal more of the truth to him.

Li Ban was genuinely bewildered by this contradictory situation.

"If that's the case, why do you want to stop the restarts? Aren't you afraid the Wizard World will be destroyed?"

"I didn't understand at first either," Shaman Ming said. "It wasn't until I was imprisoned by him and made contact with the Director that I gradually guessed his situation."

"Some external factor must have influenced him internally, spawning an inner demon. An inner demon cannot be defeated by an outsider. Even if you completely fuse with Xiao Suo's Witch Embryo Shards, you'll only kill Xiao Suo—you won't solve his inner demon problem."

"He constantly restarts the world because he hopes this method will eradicate the inner demon at its root. It also slows down the inner demon's corruption. But if he cannot stop the restarts at the exact moment he exterminates the inner demon, the Wizard Lord will still end in destruction."

Li Ban shook his head in disagreement. "But he's restarted it so many times and still hasn't rooted out the inner demon. Instead, in the name of protection, he has harmed countless people across these worlds."

"Protection?" Shaman Ming sneered. "Li Ban, if you could split heaven and earth with a single thought, would you care about the lives you created?"

"If I reached that realm, maybe I really wouldn't," Li Ban admitted. "But I haven't. My concern is still the people of the Wizard World."

"Exactly. That's why, more often than not, only ordinary people can save the world. Because they are saving themselves. The other Great Wizards refuse to stop the restarts. First, because stopping them doesn't solve the crisis. They would rather use the time the Ultimate Shaman Lord is buying to strengthen themselves, preparing to face whatever external cause spawned his inner demon in the first place."

Put this way, many things suddenly made sense to Li Ban.

Those Great Wizards sat high above the masses. Naturally, they didn't believe ordinary people could save the world.

If Shaman Ming hadn't been imprisoned and sealed away, he likely would have shared their mindset.

The Great Wizards wanted to save themselves, so they focused entirely on their cultivation. Unless a crisis threatened the Wizard World itself, they never showed their faces.

The operation of the Wizard World was left entirely to the Priests.

In their eyes, people of a certain class handled matters of that class.

"Shaman Ming, do you think the three great Wizard Lords and the other Great Wizards can save the Wizard World?"

"No," Shaman Ming said firmly.

"Why?"

In terms of strength, the three great Wizard Lords were arguably the three strongest figures below the Ultimate Shaman Lord, weren't they?

"Because none of them are a match for him. They want to stall for time to grow stronger, but I don't think any of them can surpass the Ultimate Shaman Lord at the final hour."

"But the Director believes I have a chance." Li Ban wasn't arrogant enough to think his strength could quickly catch up to the three great Wizard Lords, let alone the Ultimate Shaman Lord.

And he had less than twenty years left.

How was he supposed to accomplish in twenty years what the other Great Wizards hadn't managed in centuries?

Unless—he used another method.

"Shaman Ming, how long do you think it will take me to advance to the 8th Tier?"

"At least ten years."

"Ten years means there's still enough time, but I don't think it's good enough. Becoming a Great Wizard is only the first step. I need to leave more time for the future. Is there any other way to speed this up?"

This time, Shaman Ming really did come up with a method for him.

"If it's you, I actually do have a way."

He explained the details to Li Ban.

"The starlight you possess is your greatest asset. Moreover, when you were fusing with Xiao Suo's Witch Embryo Shards, you withstood the trials of the heart multiple times. Because of this, I believe you can directly fuse with a minor world to obtain a complete wizard embryo."

Li Ban hadn't expected such a blunt, brutal approach. "Directly fusing with a world to get a wizard embryo? Isn't that something only a Great Wizard can do?"

However, he quickly figured it out.

To achieve something even the Great Wizards couldn't do, didn't he first have to accomplish what only Great Wizards were capable of?

"To improve your chances of success and reduce the risk of being discovered early, I suggest you find a minor world that is on the verge of destruction but hasn't begun collapsing yet. This is the hard part. Without a detailed understanding, it's extremely difficult to grasp the true condition of a minor world."

Li Ban wasn't troubled by this.

"I know a place."

Li Ban glanced at the dragon egg beside him.

"Once Xiu Ye hatches, I'll head there."

Shaman Ming's figure gradually faded away. "I wish you success."

Li Ban put away the Self-Seeking Mirror. Right now, his idea of parasitizing a minor world was only a vague concept.

He still needed to carefully plan out the operational details.

He couldn't afford to be discovered prematurely. Those Wizard Lords wouldn't necessarily be happy to see him put an end to the restarts using other methods.

Three months later, a cracking sound finally echoed through the cave.

Unlike a bird's egg hatching, the cracking of the dragon egg carried the faint rumble of thunder.

Li Ban could feel what little spiritual rhinoceros remained in this minor world rushing rapidly into the cave.

To help Xiu Ye hatch, Li Ban even took out several Spiritual Rhinoceros Fruits and tossed them directly next to the dragon egg, increasing the density of the spiritual rhinoceros in the air for her.

But after waiting for three full days and nights, Xiu Ye still hadn't completely broken out of her shell.

Furthermore, the movements inside the egg were growing weaker.

She had run out of strength.

Li Ban finally walked deeper into the cave. Looking at the dragon egg, which bore several cracks but remained whole, he raised his hand and injected a sliver of starlight into it.

Under the glow of starlight, all living things flourish.

The exhausted Xiu Ye suddenly surged with renewed strength.

Her head and limbs pushed forcefully, finally bursting the dragon egg wide open.

"Squeak." Without even opening her eyes, she parted her jaws and let out a feeble cry.

"Huh?" Li Ban had never imagined that Xiu Ye would make such a sound after her rebirth.

He stepped forward and picked up the hatchling, which was barely the size of two palms, watching as Xiu Ye nuzzled and squirmed against him.

"Xiu Ye?"

"Squeak."

Something seemed to have gone slightly wrong.

Li Ban raised his hand, brought two fingers together, and tapped them against Xiu Ye's body.

He used the Divine Control Needle Technique to examine her physical condition, then used the Telepathy Technique to check her soul.

Very quickly, he understood what had happened.

Xiu Ye's soul was too weak, and she had sealed her consciousness within the dragon egg to recuperate for a long time. Upon birth, the hatchling's body couldn't handle the weight of her soul, leaving her with no choice but to seal herself away.

That was why she had ended up in this current state, completely oblivious to everything.

"It's fine. Once she grows up, her sealed soul will gradually unlock."

Li Ban simply placed Xiu Ye into his Cubic Space.

Inside was the Star River and abundant spiritual rhinoceros—the absolute best environment for nurturing her.