How Could I Possibly Revere Myself?

The twilight sun spilled slowly across the sky, weaving with the drifting clouds into a silk tapestry with empty spaces. Li Yue gazed into the distance at the clusters of buildings in the Royal Court amidst the dusk. The intricate architecture cast shadows like spiderwebs across the landscape. This was the City Within a City of Limbo, the very core of the Royal Court.

Li Yue didn’t know much about the architectural style here. To her, it looked like a fusion of ancient castles, villas, and cathedrals—complex yet interconnected. The messenger leading them mentioned that the interior contained nearly ten thousand rooms. Li Yue found it baffling. She didn't like having servants around; she had been perfectly content with the house she rented back in Yakutsk, which had already felt unnecessarily large.

Snakes preferred narrow spaces. It seemed such environments provided them with a sense of security.

“Why is the Autumn Hunt being held at the Royal Court’s traveling palace?” Clo asked in a low voice. She adjusted her sitting position to ease the throbbing pain in her lower abdomen. She cleared her throat, feeling a lingering sensation of a foreign object in her windpipe—a lingering aftereffect of last night.

“Generally speaking, after receiving an invitation, we arrange our itinerary at the outskirts of the traveling palace before proceeding to the actual hunt’s palace, or rather, the ancient castle,” Helen said softly. She glanced out the window. Other ornate carriages had already appeared in their field of vision, seemingly heading toward the same destination. In the far distance, knights clad in black armor were inspecting the passing carriages.

“Normally, magic users must surrender their staves and grimoires here, and provide a ‘blood sample.’” Helen coughed lightly and looked at Li Yue. Understanding the hint, Li Yue produced the invitation letter.

Black sealing wax secured the invitation, though there was a noticeable crack in it. Had the wax not still been firmly attached when Li Yue first opened it, she might have suspected someone had peeked at it before her.

Perhaps there had been an issue during the manufacturing process. However, for an invitation of this caliber, such a mistake—or rather, a flaw—seemed like something that should have been avoided...

Li Yue didn't dwell on it. When she wrote to Clo, she used the instant transmission through their rings. Sealing wax was optional for her. She was rather lazy and usually just used a single sheet of paper. Clo, on the other hand, cared quite a bit about the sense of ritual. Among the letters she had saved, there were many different styles of wax patterns, though Li Yue didn't know what they signified.

Perhaps they were related to Clo’s mood? Li Yue didn't quite understand.

“My illusion magic will probably fail here. There are layers upon layers of magic-weakening formations. I’m afraid we’ll encounter quite a few Great Mages soon,” Li Yue sighed softly. Her hair instantly turned snow-white. She glanced at the soldiers performing the routine inspection outside, and the man was so startled by her gaze that he nearly fell to his knees.

Fortunately, they had deposited Clo’s Five Staves ring in the family’s storage bank long ago; otherwise, the personnel here might have noticed something. As for the rest, Clo simply handed over the staff she had used before ascending to the Calamity rank, while Li Yue presented Death and Rebirth.

Li Yue’s staff—or rather, that longsword-like staff—was actually the blood crystal currently residing near her heart. If she were to pull it out now, she would essentially be starting a dungeon raid on the Royal Court. She would have to fight a double-digit number of Calamity-class enemies all at once, bolstered by a multitude of formations. Li Yue wasn't entirely confident she could win that.

Li Yue handed over the invitation and presented their family crest—a wooden badge engraved with the image of a raven clutching a severed finger bone. Li Yue remembered the family name was Raven's Beak Covenant. These naming conventions with dark undertones were very much in the Royal Court style. Li Yue wondered if the survival of these things was related to her, or rather, to the early actions of the Divine Lord.

But none of that was very important.

“Providing blood samples... how unusual. In other regions, I’ve only seen them require mana traces,” Clo said softly, pricking her finger with a needle and letting a drop of blood fall.

“Magic can be faked. By contrast, blood is much harder to forge,” Li Yue said slowly. She picked up a table knife. “Your blood contains your mana. Even if you provide someone else's, as long as it has existed within your body, it will be stained with your mana signature.”

“Unless you don't use mana to move the blood around at will to achieve a forged effect.” Li Yue smiled slightly, and the knife in her hand moved toward her wrist. “But in this world... that is impossible.”

Clo suddenly grabbed her wrist and blinked at her. Li Yue noticed the shocked looks of the people around them and suddenly realized something. She playfully stuck out her tongue, moved the knife higher, and sliced her thumb instead. Deep, dark red blood dripped down. This extreme crimson made one instinctively feel the solemnity of life and the weight of death.

“Sorry... habit. It makes casting more efficient this way.” Li Yue secretly flickered her snake tongue.

The group slowly stepped out of the carriage. A servant led them into the traveling palace. Here, their identities would be verified again, though this was of little use against Li Yue. She was the creator of Royal Court magic; the spells used here to target blood magic were essentially branches derived from her own magic.

“Humans of this era are obsessed with exploring the treasures left behind by the gods, yet they forget that creativity itself is fate's greatest gift,” Li Yue remarked casually. She effortlessly modified the mana fluctuations in Clo’s blood, making it resemble that of an ordinary Great Mage.

Perhaps Li Yue simply liked this aspect of humanity, which was why she had never killed Reinhardt, in the past or the present.

“Does the royal family... also have people departing from here?” A man with a goatee raised an eyebrow. He looked at Li Yue, his tone relatively friendly.

“Did I learn all that etiquette for nothing?” Li Yue’s mouth twitched. She glanced at him but didn't respond. The group waited in silence as the blood on the altar slowly approached the divine statue. Li Yue looked up at the towering statue of herself, momentarily unsure how to express a look of reverence.

However, seeing that Clo was keeping a straight face, she decided to maintain an expressionless look as well. If she were to complain now, would Clo get annoyed? Had she been a bit too rough last night?

The Raven's Beak Covenant crest was personally returned to Li Yue’s hand by a servant. The mana fluctuations in the blood showed that she was identical to the previous head of the family. In other words, they belonged to the same magic branch, and their bloodlines were extremely close.

“My hair turned white because of an illness, not because I was born this way,” Li Yue explained casually. Out of politeness, she still performed a curtsy for the goatee-wearing man. She hid the crest in her sleeve. As for this family’s illusion magic, she didn't know a single bit of it.

This blood sacrifice magic... is indeed a tributary of my magic branch. However... it’s too crude. It should belong to a lineage of royal magic.

These families... they must have their own unique magics. Did they learn them as extensions, or did they create them themselves at the start of their founding?

Interesting.