Suddenly, my eyes widened. As I casually picked up the book, I glimpsed a string of words inside its pages. I hurriedly flipped through it, but all I saw was blank paper. I even wondered if I had been mistaken, or if the Wraithlord's psychic power was affecting me. But soon, the Wraithlord simply smiled and shook his head.
"I didn't do anything. If you truly believe, you'll definitely see the contents of the book. But if you keep doubting and refuse to believe, you'll never be able to see what's written in it."
I swallowed, unsure what to say. It seemed there was a turning point, yet deep down I couldn't fully believe that the Blank Desire Tome would reveal any content.
Afterwards, I returned to the room, trying to make myself believe there was truly something in the book. But forcing myself only made it more futile, and I knew this well. The Wraithlord left again.
Frustration welled up inside me as I kept flipping through the book in my room. The oppressive atmosphere was suffocating. Staring at a book of blank pages, I was supposed to believe there were words on it. No matter what, I couldn't accept this deep down, but I couldn't reject it either. The fourth time I looked, I did see black words appear—but I immediately began to doubt again.
Then, imitating the Wraithlord, I lay down on the bed and started reading. I gradually grew bored, so I placed the book on my chest and quietly pondered. Long ago, neither I, Zhang Qingyuan, nor the three Heavenly Soul guys had any intelligence.
Back then, John Chou brought over a pile of books and started teaching us the basics of reading. I remember it took a long time, and we memorized the pronunciations of each character. After that, we began to imitate John Chou and Mr. Brown when they spoke.
Yet even we didn't understand what we were saying. So John Chou came up with a method: he used real objects and their drawings, matching them with words, and explained them to us again and again.
Gradually, we learned some simple nouns and started to recognize the names of everyday things people used. But we still didn't quite understand their purpose.
After that, John Chou would often take us down the mountain to see how people actually used those things in daily life.
Step by step, from simple routines to complex tasks, our speech grew more fluent, and we gradually learned why people do what they do—why they eat, sleep, and work.
The process was agonizingly slow and drawn out, but eventually, we acquired what people call intelligence. At last, John Chou began to teach us how to think. He sent us down the mountain alone, told us to shadow someone for a while, and then explain what it truly means to be human.
That thought made me smile. Maybe this ordeal is even more excruciating and unbearable than the time John Chou taught us to think.
For a person to believe in something they've never seen, something their mind knows cannot exist, is almost impossible. Instinctively, the heart rejects it; the mind simply refuses to accept. Yet soon, I found myself smiling again.
This really is a hassle.
I held the book and kept reading, scrutinizing every page. Maybe there truly was nothing there, but the Human Soul of the Wraithlord had pored over it for tens of thousands of years, never tiring. I wanted to understand why—why this book could never be destroyed.
I squinted, flipping through page after page, again and again, just like the Wraithlord. But this time, something stirred inside me—I wanted to see whatever was hidden in the book. I wanted to know everything.
My feelings now were different from before. I kept reading quietly, turning each page slower and slower. Gradually, my mind began to blur. Before I knew it, I lost consciousness.
In a haze, I snapped awake and immediately searched my memory. It felt as if I'd just drifted off for a few hours, yet I had no sense of time passing. Startled, I began to communicate with the ghosts inside me.
But the ghosts said they didn't know either. Like me, their consciousness had vanished for hours. I'd never experienced anything like this before. Suddenly, my eyes widened in shock—two large characters appeared on the blue book cover.
The Wraithlord.
The characters were written in a bizarre, flamboyant style. I cried out in surprise and immediately scrambled out of bed.
There really are words—on this Blank Desire Tome.
Just as I was about to open the first page in astonishment, a powerful force pressed down on the book, making it impossible for me to turn the pages. Then I saw the two large characters “Wraithlord” on the cover begin to move, especially the “ghost” character, which slowly rose from the book and crawled out. I was stunned, watching as a giant “ghost” character appeared before me. I even wondered if I was dreaming, but soon I realized it was real.
This isn't a dream.
The “ghost” character kept changing, waves of chilling ghostly energy rushed toward me. Cracks appeared in the room, and with a swoosh, I was flung outside. Looking at the book, the “ghost” character was gone. I stared quietly at the water’s surface as blackness spread, thick ghostly energy began to fill the air.
Gradually, the whole lake froze over with ghostly energy, turning pure black and creaking. Beneath the black ice, the “ghost” character emerged, then began to shrink and transform into a small, snarling ghost with bark-like black skin and blood-red eyes. Its sharp red fangs protruded as it glared at me ferociously.
I stared at the book, thrilled—even if just a little. When I forced the book open, the previously blank pages were indeed covered with words. I smiled in delight. The evil ghost on the ice saw me and let out a deafening roar.
I raised a hand, and a streak of black lightning burst forth, instantly turning into End. As I grasped End, the evil ghost lunged at me, its shriveled hands with blue nails clawing toward me.
I blocked instinctively, and instantly felt as if I were sinking into a raging ocean, flying straight toward the mountainside. Just as I was about to crash into the cliff, the evil ghost accelerated and appeared before me.
Holding the book in one hand, I excitedly stuffed it into my chest. My sword, End, pointed at the evil ghost.
Don't get too cocky.
With a boom and a creak, the evil ghost tore apart my power of End with its hands, then clamped the End sword, its strength growing. But this little bit of power wasn't enough to make me afraid.
With a series of bangs, the evil ghost attacked me madly. I kept hacking at it again and again with the End sword. Facing such a vicious evil ghost, I chose to fight it head-on.
With a crackling boom, a streak of black lightning slashed across the evil ghost's shoulder, instantly turning its entire shoulder to mush.
With a rumble, the frozen Lake of Desire split in two. Under the power of End, the ghostly energy freezing the lake was destroyed, and the lake returned to its liquid state.
The evil ghost kept howling, its ghostly energy rapidly decreasing. I sensed something strange, quickly took out the Blank Desire Tome—the “ancestor” character had disappeared. Cracks appeared all over the evil ghost, glowing red.
Gradually, the evil ghost returned to its original form and grew taller. Its ghostly energy rose another level, now rivaling Mr. Brown’s. A chill ran down my spine as I looked at my cracked End sword. I sneered, raised a hand, and aimed at the evil ghost.
Domain... open...
With a hum, a ripple of black light spread out instantly. The evil ghost seemed stunned—I was already in front of it, my End sword passing through its body. In my hand, I held a heart: the evil ghost’s heart, which was also its ghost soul.
With a sizzle, under the power of black lightning, the evil ghost whimpered and turned to dust. I looked at the book—the two characters “Wraithlord” had returned to the cover. Now the book could be opened, but just as I was about to turn the page, a hand reached out and took it away.
Let me borrow it again.
I smiled and said, and the Wraithlord chuckled and shook his head.
That’s enough for now. Maybe in a few days. I’ve let you look at it for so long, and you haven’t even seen the first page.
I hurried to the Wraithlord, who had already put away the Blank Desire Tome.
If I’d looked at it as long as you have, I’d have finished it by now.
The Wraithlord said with a cold laugh.
Up to now, I’ve only read 78 pages. This book was written by someone called the Wraithlord—it’s very mysterious.
I nearly burst out laughing. It seemed the Wraithlord didn’t know he was the Wraithlord—his memory really hadn’t returned.
Every page records something different. To fully comprehend and understand it is no easy feat.
I nodded excitedly.
Then let’s study it together.
What’s the point of studying with someone who hasn’t even figured out the first page?
I said with delight.
I’ll catch up to you soon.