NOVPUBAiwass’s scream suddenly awoke Lily. Enjoy new adventures from freewebnovel
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw golden-red flames burning on Aiwass’s body.
She was startled and immediately wanted to get closer.
But rolling heat billowed from Aiwass’s body, setting alight all the paper letters in the room. The steaming heat was like a storm—just opening one’s eyes would make them feel the searing pain of their eyeballs burning.
Fortunately, in just an instant, Aiwass came to his senses.
Enduring the intense pain, he closed the book, and the flames on his body dissipated as if a lit alcohol lamp had been snuffed out.
In response, a golden glow, like the first light of dawn, immediately emanated from Aiwass’s body.
His burnt body healed rapidly at a visibly fast rate; the new skin appeared smoother, the regenerated eyeballs clearer and more luminous... even the burning hair extinguished its flames and grew back quickly, becoming longer and softer.
The only problem was his clothes had been burned clean away, and the originally date-red chair beneath him had been charred black.
The papers in the room were still ablaze—Lily, to prevent a fire from breaking out, immediately flicked her fingers, causing numerous grey threads to emerge from the void, shattering both the flames and the papers.
"—What happened?"
In less than ten seconds, Ligeia rushed in with a serious expression.
She looked at the completely naked Aiwass but didn’t show any shy reaction. Instead, like a doctor, she asked seriously and carefully, "Were you backlashed by the Codex Book?"
"... Possibly."
A look of alarm was still in Aiwass’s eyes, "This book is quite vicious. It’s the first time I’ve failed to read..."
The burning pain in his flesh still left him drenched in cold sweat.
Ligeia looked at Aiwass carefully but proposed a possibility, "Could it be that you actually didn’t fail?"
At her words, Aiwass paused slightly.
He suddenly remembered, Miss Maya indeed had said... this was her "favorite Codex Book."
The Codex Book’s legacy is a one-time event, and the power contained within also has a natural recovery "cooldown period." After the legacy has been accepted, it will temporarily become an ordinary book. Moreover, even if it becomes a Codex Book again, those who have already received the legacy once cannot receive it a second time; they can only treat it as a storybook.
... If that’s the case, could Maya’s favorite aspect be its story?
Unlikely.
The story recounted in this book is indeed quite interesting, but that’s about it. There is nothing particularly moving or astonishing twists. Maya didn’t have much time, so it didn’t make sense for her to frequently flip through it.
Unless what she wanted was the effect of "failing to read."
Miss Maya was at least at the third energy level, possibly even the fourth. If this book could only be read normally by those below the third level, then she would likely be unable to read it, just like him. Maybe even more violently so.
But...
Aiwass looked down at his own arms.
He clearly felt that the definition in his muscles had almost faded to nothing, yet his body had become even more powerful.
It was like a body accustomed to air-conditioned rooms, always harboring a chill within; but after a period of working out, it was filled with a kind of warmth—Aiwass’s body was initially warm, and now it had become warmer and even hotter.
The results of the exercise were contained, allowing Aiwass to have room to retrain—as if he had reached the level cap, broken through the level limit, and carried his attributes back to level one after rebirth.
Aiwass hadn’t exercised much in several months and felt his body was a bit stiff. Despite Isabel noting he still had some muscle, that was mainly due to the "Sacrifice of Flesh" optimizing and modifying his body post-advancement.
Before that, due to long periods of sitting in a wheelchair, Aiwass had developed a bit of a belly. Even though the "Sacrifice of Flesh" beautified his appearance and the strength of a third-level Transcendent had enhanced his body, Aiwass still found his desire to exercise had noticeably diminished.
But now it was different. He felt his body was full of explosive strength and even had the excitement to run.
Aiwass’s skin had also become whiter and more delicate, glowing as if lit from within; even his hair quality had noticeably improved.
It was as if the flames had burned away all the impurities and illnesses within him— 𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
It was like undergoing a powerful Illumination Art, dispelling all the pain in his body; it was also like experiencing a complete Rite of Fire Skill, restoring him to his prime. The only difference was that the Candle Master’s methods were very gentle, whereas the actions of the Dawn Celestial Marshal were so painful that Aiwass still felt a bit fearful, breaking into a cold sweat at the mere thought of it.
...But upon a bit of reflection, Bishop Mathers was already forty-six years old this year. Miss Maya’s age must not be small either.
Yet she appeared to be in her early twenties... Even though the Fire Rite Skill could also rejuvenate one’s mentality to a youthful state, the effect on her seemed extraordinarily good. Aiwass had originally thought this was because Maya mastered a very powerful and skilled Fire Rite Skill, or perhaps her Path’s characteristics were related to this.
However...
"...She wouldn’t be using the punishment for failing to learn this Codex Book as a beauty treatment, could she?"
Aiwass’s expression was subtle.
It wasn’t impossible...
Enduring the agony of feeling his skin, organs, and facial features scorched by the flames as a price—lasting perhaps a few seconds, to restore the vitality of someone in their forties or fifties to that of a teenager or someone in their early twenties, peaking their energy and vitality, and beautifying their entire body in detail.
For most women... no, for most people who are a bit older, this would likely be considered worth it.
He subconsciously looked towards Ligeia, "You... haven’t used this book before, have you?"
When Maya was looking for excuses earlier, she mentioned Meg. Both were teachers at the Royal Law University and had been here for many years. It was obvious they knew each other.
"I know of it, the ’Morning Crow Scripture,’ yes."
Ligeia didn’t even look—of course, her height prevented her from seeing it—and simply said, "But I can’t read it.
"Reading this book requires a great depletion of life force. ’Illumination’ doesn’t replenish life force, only ’Rite of Fire’ does. And I have no adaptability to the Path of Devotion, I can’t understand a thing."
Indeed.
Despite the excitement in his body, Aiwass felt a significant depletion in his life force... much like the draining sensation when he was used as a sacrifice to summon a Shadow Demon. After being scorched by the Tri-pod Crow Mud Head Carriage, Aiwass had nearly half of his life force burned away by the Morning Crow Fire.
This level of life force depletion would require more than a week of recuperation even for a third-level Transcendent. Without proper rest, one could even exhibit clear symptoms of premature aging.
For those unable to use the Fire Rite Skill, this book represented a trade of life for a burst of health and vitality. But for the priests, the value of this book could be frighteningly high.
Aiwass guessed that Maya’s youthful appearance might even be maintained through this book.
It was incredibly precious—if he had saved her life, it would be one thing. But he had done nothing.
This made Aiwass somewhat reluctant to accept the book at once.
"Rest for a few days and then look at it again," Aiwass resolved, "If it’s still unreadable then, I’ll return the book to her."
"Do you want to learn Dawnfire?"
Ligeia raised an eyebrow, "Isn’t it a bit too late for that?"
"Do you know the Mystical Skills inside?"
Aiwass was surprised, "Has Miss Maya already learned it?"
"No," Ligeia answered, "She was too strong when she got the book. But her daughter—the girl named Vivian, she learned it."
"Vivian, huh..."
"Yes. The weaker one is, the easier it is to learn Dawnfire. To master it, one must endure the sensation of being burned by flames until the book is complete. That’s because Dawnfire conflicts with ’Illumination’ and ’Rite of Fire’ to some extent."
Ligeia consoled, "Between you and me, the ’Illumination’ and ’Rite of Fire’ that the Candle Master gave you are more useful.
"’Dawnfire’ is exactly that sensation you just experienced—drawing the flames of the Dawn Celestial Marshal to ignite oneself, allowing one’s life force to burn uncontrollably, unleashing unparalleled strength. Whether healing others, burning them, or purifying souls, it unleashes much more powerful strength... The only problem is, this kind of burning is unstoppable and irreversible.
"Once you set yourself on fire, it only takes a few seconds before the Morning Crow Fire burns you to the brink of death. After reaching the brink of death, you rapidly return to health at the state before ’Dawnfire’ was activated, but during this process, life force has been irreversibly expended. And the stronger and sturdier the body, the hotter and more toxic the flames become."
Aiwass pondered thoughtfully.
...So, in simple terms, it’s a burst state activated by continuously burning one’s blood, right? And after the burst, there’s only a moment of the most dangerous brink of death before quickly returning to health.
Actually, that could be quite useful.
He immediately thought of a way to employ this Mystical Skill—
"So if I can recover my life force quickly, making it regenerate faster than it burns, wouldn’t I be able to sustain the burning of Dawnfire indefinitely?"
Aiwass asked, "Wouldn’t that mean that I could possess the power of the Dawn Celestial Marshal?"
Ligeia’s expression turned peculiar in an instant.
She slapped Aiwass on the thigh with a crisp sound.
"No, child? Doesn’t that hurt? What dream are you having?"
"...Oh, indeed."
Aiwass came to his senses.
This burst ability indeed has a high cost-performance ratio and is even worth specially constructing a skill set around it. As long as there’s continuous rapid blood replenishment or periodic fast restoration of life force, this skill can serve as a core of the system.
But Aiwass was a bit afraid of pain.
The thing was excruciatingly painful; Aiwass’s mind went blank at that time, completely unable to maintain thought.
So, he had to find another way...
"What if I could gain a large amount of resistance against fire damage, would that weaken the impact of the flames?"
He proposed another possibility.
Ligeia considered for a moment: "This is possible. But it’s not very cost-effective—As far as I know, to effectively resist Dawnfire, you would need at least a golden-tier Path attribute. You’d be better off choosing one that suits you.
"Unless you can only choose this golden-tier Path, then you can reconsider reading this book. But don’t read it first and then look for the corresponding attribute—that’s not economical."
"Indeed..." Aiwass nodded in agreement.
As expected of an elder, so full of experience.
"Put on your clothes first, young master. It’s a bit cold."
Lily spoke, already bringing over the clothes she had found, planning to help Aiwass put them on—fortunately, they hadn’t been burned in the flames.
"It’s okay, I’m not cold..."
Aiwass said offhandedly, but still reached out to put on the clothes. After all, he felt somewhat embarrassed while looking at Ligeia, although Ligeia showed no reaction...
And just as he was getting dressed, the Flame Butterfly that had been quietly resting on his shoulder flew up.
When he saw it, Aiwass’s motion to put on his coat stopped abruptly.
He observed the fluttering Flame Butterfly, falling into contemplation.
...Right.
Phantom Demons have no nerves; they don’t feel pain.
The Flame Butterfly can be reborn. It can be summoned once a day, reborn once a day... unafraid of burning to death, or being killed while on the brink of death. It could even keep Dawnfire on and just go boom.
It would be a breakout blast upon emerging from its shell.
And being a fire attribute Phantom Demon, it might have high baseline resistance to fire...
The Flame Butterfly looked at Aiwass with confusion: ?
Aiwass quickly made up his mind, smiled at her with a gentle, harmless smile, and nodded.
"Do you like reading books?"
He asked quietly.
The Flame Butterfly fluttered with even more confusion: ??
Ligeia reacted immediately, asking with interest, "How did it respond?"
"She says she likes it."
Aiwass replied.
Flame Butterfly: ???
I didn’t, I didn’t say anything!
