The Synthesis Wizard

The death of the divine envoy not only deprived Spiderweb City of its final trump card but also utterly crushed the morale of the Dark Elf army.

One charge from the golems was all it took to throw the Dark Elf forces into disarray, and their collapse quickly devolved into a one-sided slaughter.

The battle was over.

The stunned Dark Elf Matriarchs hastily ordered a retreat, but under the relentless pursuit of the golem army and Runemark Knights, their withdrawal turned into a rout.

In the end, only a handful of battered survivors managed to escape back to Spiderweb City.

The losses Spiderweb City suffered were catastrophic.

---

The Fall of Spiderweb City

Without the Spider Queen's favor, Spiderweb City had lost its strategic value. Su Nan wasted no time and immediately gave the order to assault the city.

The golem army reached Spiderweb City the same day. Within an hour, they had breached the gates and stormed the city.

With this victory, Spiderweb City fell, and the last territory in the southeastern region came under the control of the Star Alliance.

For the first time, the southeastern underground world had a single, unified ruler.

---

Harvesting Divine Energy

Back in the Dragon Bone Tower's laboratory, Su Nan began extracting the divine energy from the Half-Spider Divine Follower's corpse.

As expected, the amount of divine energy was staggering—213 standard units, far exceeding that of any Spiderling Elf.

What surprised Su Nan, however, was that the divine energy carried not only the usual faith corruption but also a potent soul toxin.

This toxin would inflict a curse-like damage on a wizard's soul, causing irreversible harm that would take a long time to heal, even for those who managed to resist it.

"That cunning spider even prepared this trick," Su Nan muttered coldly.

It was clear that the Spider Queen had anticipated his strategy of harvesting divine energy and had laced it with a hidden trap, hoping to strike at him unnoticed.

Without the Synthesis Cube, he might not have even discovered this insidious scheme.

"As expected from a god known for her deceit, she even plans for revenge after failure."

Had it been another wizard, the Spider Queen's ploy might have succeeded. But against Su Nan, such tricks were futile.

As for her earlier veiled threats, Su Nan dismissed them with a sneer.

While the Spider Queen's influence had penetrated Starlight Continent, it was clear her power was heavily constrained by the continent's barriers. Without the Dark Elf faith or ritual offerings, her ability to extend her reach had grown even weaker.

And once the continent's planar barriers were fully restored and the wizards began returning en masse, the Spider Queen wouldn't dare to interfere again, let alone descend upon the continent directly.

Her threats were nothing more than the barking of a defeated dog.

---

A Satisfying Harvest

Within Spiderweb City, Su Nan found no significant relics from the Spider Queen. The only traces of divine power came from a few statues scattered throughout the city. He extracted all their divine energy and fed it into the Synthesis Cube for purification.

The cube not only removed the faith corruption but also eradicated the soul toxin.

Once the divine energy was purified, Su Nan immediately absorbed it. By the time he finished, his spiritual refinement had increased by an impressive 17.57%.

> [Gaseous State: 40.19%]

Su Nan exhaled in satisfaction as he glanced at the updated data.

This harvest had saved him decades of cultivation time.

Even without additional divine energy, at his current pace, it would only take about 200 years to break through to the Liquid State.

And divine energy wasn't his only means of accelerating cultivation.

---

The Black Forest Key

Su Nan hadn't forgotten the original purpose of the Spiderweb City campaign: to uncover clues about the Black Forest, one of the three legendary wizard inheritances.

The Philil Family, one of Spiderweb City's twelve ruling houses, was rumored to hold a lead.

He had instructed Xieman to interrogate the Philil Family immediately after the city fell.

Surprisingly, results came faster than expected.

The very next day, Xieman delivered the information Su Nan sought.

---

An Unexpected Confession

"Are you saying a Dark Elf volunteered the information?" Su Nan raised an eyebrow as he looked at Xieman in the study.

"Yes, Teacher," Xieman replied, his expression a mix of confusion and amusement.

"After capturing Spiderweb City, I detained all members of the Philil Family, including their Matriarch and combat leader. I handed them over to the Lion-headed Sphinx for interrogation.

"However, all the female Dark Elves refused to talk, likely due to their faith corruption. The males, though cooperative, knew nothing of value."

Dark Elves revered women, a tradition rooted in the Spider Queen's favor for female followers. The goddess often granted greater blessings to women, solidifying their dominance within Dark Elf society.

Thus, it was unsurprising that male Dark Elves had little access to sensitive information.

What was surprising was the one female Dark Elf who did speak up.

"What's her position in the Philil Family?" Su Nan asked.

"Her name is Tajana. She's a warrior within the family, but more importantly, she's the Matriarch's daughter."

Su Nan's expression turned slightly amused.

"A daughter betraying her mother? Hmm... not too surprising."

In the scheming Dark Elf society, it wasn't uncommon for daughters to overthrow their mothers and seize power. It was practically a cultural tradition.

Moreover, as the Matriarch's daughter, Tajana likely had access to information about the Black Forest.

What intrigued Su Nan was why Tajana seemed immune to the Spider Queen's faith corruption, unlike the other female Dark Elves.

"Bring her here," Su Nan instructed.

---

The Black Key

After Xieman left, Su Nan turned his attention to the jet-black branch on his desk.

The branch, about ten centimeters long and as thick as a finger, had a gnarled surface resembling bark. Fine, rune-like patterns were etched across it, hinting at its nature as a magical artifact.

In fact, this branch was a key to the Black Forest.

The Synthesis Cube had already revealed its details to Su Nan, but it didn't provide a specific method of use. Su Nan would need to study it further to determine how to locate the Black Forest.

The thought of uncovering the second wizard inheritance filled him with excitement.

---

A Potential Apprentice

Before long, Xieman returned, escorting a young Dark Elf woman into the study.

Tajana had a slender, elegant figure and strikingly beautiful features, typical of her race. Her ebony-black skin might not align with human aesthetic standards, but to some, it added an exotic allure.

While Su Nan studied Tajana, she also stole glances at him, her body tense with apprehension.

Standing before the leader of the Star Alliance—a wizard powerful enough to kill a divine envoy—triggered an instinctive reaction of fear and awe.

Noticing her unease, Su Nan cast a quick hypnosis spell, leaving Tajana's eyes blank and unfocused.

With his current level of spiritual power, no one below the rank of Legendary Knight could resist.

Stepping forward, Su Nan placed his hand on Tajana's head, conducting a mental probe.

Moments later, he withdrew, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Tajana's immunity to faith corruption stemmed from her exceptionally high spiritual power, far surpassing that of her peers.

The Spider Queen's corruption relied on broad-spectrum influence, which could be resisted or even negated by individuals with sufficient spiritual strength. Tajana happened to be one of those rare exceptions.

"A Dark Elf with this level of spiritual power… she's a natural fit to become a wizard," Su Nan mused.

As Tajana began to regain her senses, Su Nan's voice broke the silence.

"Why did you volunteer the information?"

Tajana hesitated before gritting her teeth and replying, "Everyone else has gone mad, controlled by the Spider Queen. She killed my best friend… I refused to let her have her way. If she wanted the Black Key hidden, I decided to reveal it."

Xieman raised an eyebrow, surprised by the genuine hatred in her tone.

Su Nan remained calm. "That's because of faith corruption," he explained, before letting Xieman elaborate.

Upon hearing the truth about divine corruption, Tajana's shock and fury grew.

"Wizard, is there any way to save my people?" she asked after a pause, her voice tinged with hope.

Su Nan shook his head. "Faith corruption can be reversed, but the cost is far too high. I won't expend such resources for your kin."

Tajana lowered her head in sorrow.

"What will you do with us?" she asked quietly.

"For your sake, I'll spare your people," Su Nan replied. "As long as they work obediently in the mines, I won't execute them."

Both Tajana and Xieman were taken aback by this answer.

Xieman had expected his teacher to purge the female Dark Elves entirely,

Xieman was stunned.

"Is Teacher serious?" he thought.

But after a moment of reflection, he realized that no historical records ever explicitly stated that Dark Elves couldn't become wizards. It was just that he had never encountered a wizard apprentice from a non-human race, leading him to assume wizardry was exclusive to humans.

---

A Rare Opportunity

Tajana was equally shocked, but once the realization sank in, she felt a surge of excitement.

The sheer power of wizards had been demonstrated firsthand by the man before her.

Even the Spider Queen's divine envoy had been no match for him.

If she could obtain even a fraction—no, even one-third—of his strength, it would be enough to dominate the underground world.

Tajana was no fool. She knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Without hesitation, she agreed.

"I accept," she said resolutely.

---

A New Apprentice

Su Nan nodded in satisfaction.

"From today onward, you are an official apprentice of Starlight Academy. Work hard. If you have questions, you may seek me out at the academy when I return."

"Yes, thank you, Master Wizard," Tajana replied, struggling to contain her joy.

Xieman couldn't help but glance at her with envy.

He had never seen a student receive this level of attention from their teacher.

---

Broader Implications

After Xieman escorted Tajana out, Su Nan leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful.

Wizardry was not inherently exclusive to humans. Other races had produced wizards in the past, though their numbers were vanishingly small.

Most of these non-human wizards came from humanoid species with physical and mental traits similar to humans.

This was largely because existing wizardry knowledge was developed with human physiology and psychology as its foundation. For other species, learning and practicing these methods often resulted in inefficiency and incompatibility.

Yet here was a Dark Elf with exceptional aptitude for wizardry—a rarity.

This presented

an excellent opportunity for experimentation.

"Let's see," Su Nan mused, "what differences arise between humanoid and human wizards in their paths of study and practice."

His lips curved into a faint smile as the possibilities unfolded in his mind.

--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there 

patreon.com/LegendaryTL

Thanks!