The Heaven-Cursed Costs Life, But I Have Infinite Life-Chapter 40: Mysterious Power, Quinn’s Manuscript
Boom!
The earth trembled violently as a terrifying force swept through the area. The Hell’s Gate was instantly crushed and completely sealed shut.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the figure turned and flew away.
"W-wait!" Allen shouted, rushing to chase after him.
For some reason, this man gave him a strange sense of familiarity, as if they were bound by blood.
"Allen!" Lilia cried out in worry, but she was too late to stop him.
"I’m going too," Lucas said, feeling uneasy. He hurried after Allen as well.
Allen chased the figure to the city gates, but the silhouette had already vanished deep into the dense forest, leaving not a single trace.
"Who... who are you?" he shouted up into the sky.
Silence answered him. There was no reply, as if the person had never existed at all.
Allen felt a wave of disappointment. He was just about to turn away when a voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "Apocalypse Academy."
Only those four simple words.
But Allen’s heart pounded wildly, and his blood seemed to boil.
He dropped to his knees, staring at the direction where the figure had disappeared, his voice trembling. "Is... is that you?"
He knew this voice too well. Since he could remember, a voice had been guiding him to cultivate the Art of Immortality.
And that voice had once claimed to be his father.
For a long while, there was no response this time either. It seemed the person had truly left.
"Allen."
Just then, Lucas arrived. Seeing Allen on his knees with tear-streaked cheeks and a disturbed demeanor, Lucas couldn’t help but ask with concern, "Are you okay?"
Allen snapped out of his trance, shook his head, wiped away his tears, and stood up. He kept staring at the dense forest where the figure had vanished.
"Do you know that person from just now?" Lucas asked, puzzled.
"No," Allen shook his head again. His mind was a total mess, though.
He was absolutely certain he hadn’t misheard that voice. It was the same one who taught him the Art of Immortality and called himself his father.
But that person was a demons expert, and specifically a Demon King.
If his father was from the demons, did that mean Allen had demons blood in his veins?
Allen found it hard to accept this. It felt exactly like when Lilia first learned she was a vampire.
And what about the Apocalypse Academy? What secrets did it hide there?
Lucas had wanted him to enter the Apocalypse Academy. Now, the mysterious figure had also whispered those four words—[Apocalypse Academy]—directly into his mind.
Just what made the Apocalypse Academy so special?
"Allen, let’s go back," Lucas said, seeing him fall silent and deciding not to push further.
"My Lord," Allen asked, looking up. "Why are you so determined to have Lilia and me join the Apocalypse Academy?"
Lucas looked confused. He didn’t understand why Allen was asking this suddenly. "It’s so we can better protect your and Lilia’s safety," he explained.
"Is that all?" Allen wasn’t convinced. That might be one reason, but surely not the only one.
Seeing Allen’s persistence, Lucas hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "There are secrets about your past there."
Knowing Allen would keep pushing, he added quickly, "What exactly they are, you’ll have to find out yourself. Come on, there are many matters in the city that need our attention."
After saying this, Lucas ignored Allen and turned to walk back toward the city.
"Secrets about my past in the Apocalypse Academy?" Allen muttered to himself. He glanced once more at the direction where the mysterious man had disappeared, then hurried to catch up with Lucas.
"Lord City Lord," he asked curiously, "was that mysterious man really a Demon King of the demons?"
"It’s definitely him," Lucas replied, pausing for a moment. "The aura he carries is unmistakably that of a Demon King. However, it’s also possible he is a human who cultivated a demons Cultivation Method, just like Kyle."
"Can humans cultivate a demons Cultivation Method?" Allen asked, curious.
From what he knew, the demons’ cultivation techniques were completely different from those of humans and other races. Attempting to cultivate them without the right foundation would cause one to explode and die instantly.
Lucas nodded. "Yes, but the conditions are very strict. I recall there is a demons Cultivation Method that requires you to transform your entire bloodline into demons blood before you can start."
"Is that even possible?" Allen thought again of the mysterious man. Regardless of whether he was truly a demons, he wasn’t a bad person. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stepped in to save Blackspire.
...
The city was in ruins. Everywhere there were signs of battle: piles of bodies, rivers of blood, and total devastation.
If the Hell’s Gate hadn’t been destroyed, Blackspire would surely have been wiped out by the demons.
Allen watched the people cleaning up the battlefield, feeling heavy in his heart.
Humans were simply too weak compared to these powerful races.
Especially the demons. Even the weakest demonic soldier to land on human soil had brought catastrophe to the city.
After this incident, the Academy competition could obviously no longer continue.
Lucas returned to the square. The students and teachers of Quinn Academy, the Church of Light, and the remaining members of the Kyle family had all been taken into custody.
"Lord," a guard said respectfully, handing over a grimoire he had taken from Kyle. "Kyle is dead. This was found on his body. The priest managed to escape the city, but we are still hunting him. Everyone else is here."
Lucas nodded. "Make sure you find the priest. We cannot let him survive."
"Yes," the guard replied respectfully and backed away.
Lucas glanced through the grimoire, then handed it to Allen. "Take a look and see if this is useful to you. If not, destroy it."
Allen took it curiously, and Lilia leaned in to get a closer look.
This grimoire had been found on Kyle. It contained a demons mental cultivation method and the formation array needed to open the Hell’s Gate.
"Demon Transformation Art?"
This was actually an Epic Grade Low Tier mental cultivation method!
Allen was excited, but his interest faded after just a quick glance. To cultivate the Demon Transformation Art, one had to abandon their own bloodline and transform it into demons blood.
His own bloodline was absolutely far stronger than a demons bloodline, so he couldn’t look down on this mental cultivation method.
As for the method to open the Hell’s Gate at the end, it was useless to him anyway.
After a moment of thought, Allen decided not to destroy it. He casually tucked it into his storage bracelet, just in case he needed it in the future.
Just then, several guards dragged Old Dean Flynn over.
"Flynn," Lucas asked coldly, "explain what was going on with the array in the square?"
The Academy competition was scheduled in the city square, where Flynn had handled all the preparations. Without his approval, no one could have set up an array there without being noticed.
Flynn looked haggard but still held onto a shred of hope. "City Lord, that bastard Kyle forced me! You have to believe me!"
"What about the Hell’s Gate in the Academy’s new realm? Was Kyle forcing you to do that too?" Lucas’s voice was icy, filled with killing intent.
"That incident... I knew nothing of it, my Lord! The Academy sanctuary has collapsed, and I stand at the very forefront of the crisis. Even if I possessed the guts of a madman, I would never dare such a thing." Flynn stammered frantically in his defense, his words carrying the desperate truth of innocence.
Lucas frowned, annoyed. "Hand over the Academy key, and I’ll let you keep your life."
"And my position as Dean?" Flynn looked at him, begging.
"Hmph. You should just be glad you’re alive. I’ll drop this matter, but from now on, you’re just a commoner," Lucas said coldly, his tone harsh.
Flynn staggered, nearly falling to the ground. His face twisted in despair, looking even older and more worn.
He knew Lucas was right. With something like this happening, if higher-ups investigated deeply, he would certainly die.
"T-thank you, City Lord," Flynn said, dazed. He handed the Academy key to Lucas.
The Academy key controlled all Academy resources: the realms, the treasure vaults, and even the cultivation ruins of Quinn.
Lucas watched Flynn’s retreating figure and spoke quietly, "Give him a quick end. Don’t leave any evidence behind."
"Yes," a shadow guard replied, silently following Flynn away.
Flynn had already betrayed them. Even if he truly regretted his actions, Lucas could not let him live. However, Flynn knew too many secrets, so he had to be dealt with quietly and secretly.
"Allen."
Lucas handed Allen the Academy key and said, "This key opens the Quinn’s Manuscript within the Academy. Go inside and meditate to gain insight. Whether you improve depends on your fate. When you come out, head straight to the Apocalypse Academy."
"Thank you, City Lord."
Allen’s eyes lit up as he took the key.
The insight into Quinn’s Manuscript was supposed to be the reward for the winner of this Academy competition. But with the demonic soldiers invading, the students from all Academies suffered heavy casualties, and the competition had to stop. The reward couldn’t be given out officially, so Lucas clearly wanted to help Allen personally.
"Dad, I want to go too!" Lilia hurriedly said. "Lord Quinn was the number one SSS-rank Class Awakened in the Academy history. His cultivation ruins must contain treasures."
"Lord Quinn was an archer who cultivated the wind element. It won’t help you, so stop making trouble," Lucas refused sternly.
Quinn was an SSS-rank Hurricane Archer. As an archer class who trained the wind element, it might have helped Allen.
But Lilia knew this was Allen’s big opportunity. She was unhappy but didn’t argue further.
Under the guidance of a teacher, Allen entered the deep part of the Academy and reached Quinn’s Manuscript. Holding the key, he stepped inside.
It was a sealed, vast, and empty space.
"Such dense wind energy!"
The moment Allen stepped in, his mental cultivation method began to rotate on its own, guided by the power of the wind.
Allen sat cross-legged, focused his mind, and carefully studied the wind energy.
Besides the wind, there was also an archer cultivation method here.
Allen was the Heaven-Cursed. He could cultivate any class, and the skills he learned would automatically upgrade into Forbidden Spells of the Heaven-Cursed.
Thinking about it, Allen decided not to study the archer cultivation method. He already had magic for ranged attacks, so improving his archer skills wouldn’t help much. Instead, enhancing his wind element was more important.
Whoosh...
A gentle breeze blew past.
Allen clearly felt the free-floating wind elements around him. They were like a moody woman: gentle and soft like spring rain when calm, but raging like stormy seas when angry. The change was unpredictable.
The Windwhisper Art sped up its rotation. Allen carefully studied the wind element, guiding it with his heart until he became skilled.
[Windwhisper Art has reached Rank 1, Level 2. Major Attributes +6, Mental Attribute +26, Wind Element Insight +1]
