Chapter 97: Legacy of a guardian
Later that night, after dinner, the house gradually fell silent. Lin Fang retired to his room, and the others did the same, heading off to sleep.
Once the door clicked shut and the lock turned, Lin Fang exhaled softly and sat at his desk. The room was dimly lit by the glow of his laptop. He pulled the USB from his pocket and inserted it carefully.
His fingers hovered briefly over the keyboard before typing in the password—Li Xue’s phone number. The screen flickered, and a video file appeared. Its length was barely a minute.
Lin Fang clicked play, eyes narrowing as the image sharpened. Li Chengfeng appeared on the screen, sitting in a dimly lit study. His expression was calm, a faint, knowing smile tugging at his lips instead of his typical drunken old man image.
"My disciple," Li Chengfeng began, his chuckle low and soft, almost teasing. "Even though I say that, I haven’t really taught you anything to consider you one. I only gave you presents and nothing else."
Lin Fang leaned in slightly, his attention locked on the screen.
"Nevertheless," Li Chengfeng continued, his tone shifting slightly, carrying weight and purpose, "I have plans for you. So... don’t worry. Since you managed to open this video, you must have already met Alpha. It actually kinda hated you a bit and questioned your morality. I heard you did something bad when you met it last time. I don’t know whether you accepted the guardian seal and became my successor or not, but if you didn’t, I recommend that you go back to Alpha and accept the responsibility, because unless you do that, I can’t pass my skills onto you. And when you accept the position of the guardian of Spirit Valley, go to Peking City and find the Zero Guild, there. Meet the guild manager there. His name is Zhang Chulan. Just show the guardian mark you received from Alpha, and he will give you the legacy I left for you. I’m sorry that I cannot do anything else for you."
Lin Fang sat back in his chair, the laptop’s glow reflecting in his eyes. His mind swirled with the weight of this new instruction. Zero Guild. Peking City. Legacy.
The video ended with the message that only had instructions and no personal message, and Lin Fang murmured to himself with a faint smile tugging at his lips. "I wonder what legacy he left for me..."
In response, Alpha replied in his mind, "Legacy is like passing his mana core and decades’ worth of techniques along with it, Lin Fang. You don’t have to learn. Just absorbing it will directly impart all the knowledge into your head."
"Wha..." As Lin Fang’s face froze in shock, Alpha further said, "It only means Li Chengfeng has already turned into a plainfolk, and that also shows how sincere he was when taking you as his disciple."
"I know..." Lin Fang gasped under his breath. He stayed for a moment, looking down, remembering how Li Chengfeng only gave him things, but he never did anything in return.
As he clenched his fists, feeling a bit guilty and wondering what he should do, Alpha’s voice once again rang in his head. "You might be getting free mana, but it is a risk for you if your reserves are too low."
"Eh? What kind of risk?"
"You carry many elements in your mana core. If you absorb someone’s mana core with too much of a difference in mana particles, the elements in his mana will dominate yours. There is a high risk that whatever skills and elements you acquired will be wiped off and replaced by his."
He carefully put the USB away and turned his attention to the system interface. Scrolling through the options, his fingers hovered over "Training Grounds." His voice was low and casual, but tinged with focus. "Fine, if I need mana, my focus will be gaining mana."
He clicked on the Silver Moon Snow Mountain habitat and entered the icy expanse without any hesitation.
*Ding!
[You entered Silver Moon Snow Mountain habitat]
[The habitat is cleared. Cooldown timer is off.]
Snow swirled lazily in the thin mountain air, and the frosty wind bit gently at his skin. As expected, since he had cleared this area long ago, no guardian beast appeared to greet him or any 60-minute timer.
A voice broke through his thoughts once again—Alpha, sounding unusually impressed.
"I have to admit... this system is quite remarkable," Alpha said. Its tone carried faint admiration. "I knew it was powerful, but I didn’t realize it contained entire dimensions within itself."
Lin Fang blinked, slightly surprised. "You can enter this world too?" he asked, curiosity lacing his tone. "I thought my monster companions could not enter."
Alpha responded with a chuckle. "It’s because the Codex system latched to your soul is too weak to control my actions. However, my spirit cannot leave your mindscape."
Lin Fang’s next question came, half in jest, half in genuine inquiry: "Then what about your abilities? Does your power work here as well?"
"Obviously," Alpha replied simply. Its voice carried a faint amusement. "As I have mentioned earlier, the system isn’t strong enough to suppress me or my will—unlike Nemesis, who was restrained by external forces. If you face any threats, you can use my power."
Lin Fang’s lips curved into a satisfied smile. "Good to know," he murmured, nodding slightly. There was a quiet confidence in his posture, a calm readiness that only came from experience and understanding.
He then roamed through the icy expanse with his boots crunching softly against the snow, before heading toward the mines hidden in the mountain’s side. The cave entrance loomed ahead, dim and narrow, a faint glimmer of mana veins visible along the walls as usual.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out his pickaxe, the familiar weight grounding him. Without hesitation, he swung at the embedded mana crystals, each strike echoing faintly through the cavern. Sparks of raw energy flickered with every hit as shards of bright, glowing mana rained onto the cave floor.