1642 An Ancient Warship! Ancient Runes! (2) “Is that why the Stellar Academies wanted to capture the Great Lightning Monster? Was it for research?” Wang Teng asked. It was a sudden thought that popped up in his mind. “Looks like you’ve connected the dots.” Sikong the Second nodded. “We want to find something in the creature’s bloodline.” “Find something?” Wang Teng was surprised. He asked, “What do you want to find?” “Certain things that are recorded in its bloodline. You’ll learn of this in the future,” the elder replied. “I see.” The hero understood this as a closing statement, so he dropped the matter for the moment. He asked a few more questions about the Seventh Stellar Academy. The instructor offered clarification in a patient manner. After chatting for a while, the young earl was finally led to a room to get some rest. Sikong The Second said, “We will arrive at the academy in approximately five days. You can walk around and explore the warship if you’re curious.” He turned to leave after relaying the message. Round Ball urged, “Wang Teng, don’t cultivate for now. Let’s have a look around first; it’s a rare opportunity to see an ancient clan’s warship.” “All right, let’s do that.” Wang Teng shook his head and said, “Why are you so curious about a Paleo Clan warship?” “This is an artifact of an ancient clan; it contains the wisdom of their civilization. Of course I’d be curious,” replied Round Ball. “It’s hard to tell much from the exterior.” The hero wandered aimlessly along the corridor while conversing with the little fellow. “Unless we get one of these in the future.” “It wouldn’t be easy.” Round Ball was pessimistic. “These warships are only found in ruins, and the ruins themselves aren’t easy to find. Moreover, even if we manage to locate any, there’s no guarantee that we’ll find large objects like warships.” “Who knows?” Wang Teng was just throwing out ideas. He noticed that the ship’s interior was completely done in a contemporary style; he could hardly sense any ancient decor. “Looks like they’ve done some redesign,” the hero lamented. “It’s normal. You can’t expect people to appreciate ancient clan aesthetics,” Round Ball said. “It’s a pity we can’t see the ancient designs.” “Go deeper. We might find sections with the original design.” Wang Teng nodded and complied. They had just passed through a living and leisure area, with nothing of particular interest. He scanned the area using his Real Eye and found something interesting. There was a slightly dim corridor with a touch of antiquity! A thought crossed the hero’s mind, and he took a step forward. He felt a chill sweep over his body all of a sudden. He noticed a staircase leading downwards appear before him after taking a few steps. “We can go further down?” Round Ball was stunned. “Let’s go and take a look,” said the little one. Wang Teng proceeded down the stairs; each step reverberated in the vast, empty space. “I hope we don’t find any strange things like ancient ghosts down there,” Round Ball said. “Why is an intelligent lifeform like you afraid of that?” The hero felt at a loss. “I’m not afraid. I’m just worried you’d be afraid,” the other replied nervously, feeling guilty. “Thank you. No need to worry about me; I’ll beat those ghosts if I have to,” Wang Teng said angrily. He reached the bottom of the staircase while they spoke. He looked around and noticed something, then quickly walked towards a metallic wall. “This is…” The little helper was amazed. There were ancient rune engravings on the wall. It was the first time seeing the like for our hero; he found them profoundly intricate and complex. Just a few glances and he already felt dizzy and overwhelmed. His expression changed somewhat, then he quickly shook his head and looked away, feeling astonished. “Wang Teng, this seems to be the ship’s core,” Round Ball said. “The core should be behind this wall. Look, there’s a door right there.” Wang Teng pointed at a corner. “You’re right!” The little one nodded in deep thought. “These must be Paleo Clan runes.” The hero tried once more to check the engraved wall. “These ancient runes are mysterious.” The little helper was dumbstruck. It quickly looked away, only daring to analyze the cyphers a short while. Wang Teng frowned and looked around, noticing that only that particular wall had those runic adornments, which emanated a sense of ancient wisdom and times of yore. That section had been left untouched, keeping its original look. Suddenly, his gaze turned sharp. —An attribute bubble seeped out of the carved wall. This place can drop attribute bubbles! Wang Teng was shocked. He swiftly collected them with spiritual power. Ancient Runes*10 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦 … In Wang Teng’s mind—intricate runes were manifested, shimmering with a golden hue, as if sketched with spiritual power. However, they quickly dissipated, transforming into a profound realization that merged into his memory. He closed his eyes to receive the associated enlightenment. He opened his eyes a moment later. There seemed to be fleeting glimpses of golden symbols within his pupils, flashing by and disappearing in an instant. So these are the ancient runes! Wang Teng had a deeper understanding of their nature. He had barely received ten points of the attribute, but that was enough to turn the switch on inside him. This enabled him with the capability of understanding the symbols, unlike before when he was completely ignorant on the subject. Now, he no longer felt as dizzy when looking at the wall full of runes. Furthermore, there were even two specific runes he could now comprehend and glean their meaning. He was a rune master to begin with, making his rune discernment superior to that of the normal person. Now, adding some ancient knowledge, his perception grew even deeper. “Wang Teng, why are you daydreaming?” Round Ball’s voice pulled him back into reality. The former shook his head and replied, “Nothing. I’m just wondering if these ancient runes are connected to the runes we have in modern times.” He didn’t reveal the fact that he acquired the related attribute. It was hard to explain such things. “It’s possible,” Round Ball mused, “I’ve heard that modern runes evolved from the ancient ones. They are in fact a simplified version.” “A simplified version?!” Wang Teng frowned. He was stunned. “But these are just rumors. There’s no definitive information available.” The small helper shook its head. Seemingly done with exploring it said, “We probably can’t access the core area. Let’s go.” “What’s the rush? Let me take a closer look.” Wang Teng paused and continued to gaze at the stone wall. He wanted to see if more attribute bubbles would pop up. “Why do you want to look when you don’t understand them?” Round Ball was puzzled by the hero’s decision. “What if I suddenly understand something?” The hero flashed a meaningful smile. “If you can do that… I’ll bark like a dog,” said the little one, reinforced with an eye roll. “You were the one who said it.” Wang Teng smiled, thinking that the latter had dug its own grave. “Yes, I said it,” Round Ball said confidently. “I’ve recorded everything you said. Wait and see.” Wang Teng laughed. He swept his spiritual power and collected another attribute bubble. Ancient Runes*5 … A gleam of excitement flickered in his eyes. The hypothesis was proven: the wall was capable of producing attribute bubbles. It was a special wall! A wall capable of dropping attribute bubbles! This was extraordinary. Wang Teng became extremely curious about what was on the other side of the wall. However, no matter how much he tried with his Real Eye, he couldn’t see what was beyond it. He could raise the level of his analyzing skill, but that would undoubtedly exhaust a lot of his Blank Attributes. He didn’t feel it was worth it. He stood in front of the wall for the following half hour and collected more bubbles. In the end he managed to accumulate sixty-five points for the Ancient Runes’ stat. His grasp of the old symbols was greatly increased.