Sorcerer’s Handbook

“It really only took 10 minutes…”

On the third level of Nabistin, in the Purple Beaver Parking Lot, a hovercar descended from the blue Azure Lane. Without any guidance, the hovercar’s autonomous driving system parked directly in a spot.

Nona opened the Gospel Book to check her trail. The map clearly showed that just 10 minutes ago, she was at the Senhaeser Building in Vamora. Yet now, she was in Nabistin, the blessed land of the Omniscient Weaver, situated in the Imperial Capital of the Gospel Kingdom!

To think, Nabistin is at the core of the Gospel while Vamora is on its southwestern edge; the distance between them exceeds 1200 kilometers!

“This speed surpasses any high-speed train and is nearly comparable to a tenfold supersonic aircraft. But we were just in Salome’s ten-string sports car. The material cannot match that of an alchemical aircraft, and we didn’t have any supersonic protective measures. The entire process was smooth driving,” Nona said, biting her nail. “Unless space gates become fully widespread, no other transportation method can compete with this ‘Azure Lane’!”

“No wonder they sent us the invitation only today.” Qenna tapped her fingers lightly on the steering wheel and smiled, “Turns out they wanted us to personally experience the future’s focal point.”

Typically, when a normal kingdom wants to test new technology, systems, or policies, they designate a pilot area to see the results. If successful, they implement it nationwide. However, the Gospel Kingdom is quite different in this regard—every reform starts in the Imperial Capital, Nabistin. Even if other cities come up with high-tech inventions, Nabistin is the first to have them widely applied.

It’s not that Nabistin suppresses other cities to steal technology but rather its efficiency is too high—while other cities are still investigating and planning, Nabistin has already started production. It’s like when you were in school, and before you even received the homework, the class representative next door had already finished it.

Moreover, it has been proven that any technology used in Nabistin is undoubtedly good, and Nabistin always provides a perfect example for the whole nation. Over time, all other cities became too lazy to do their own work and just copied Nabistin’s answers.

The city on the second level functions in the same way, and now this Azure Lane does as well.

Today is June 18th, three days after the ninth Weave ranking list was released. Qenna and Nona were discussing when the next Gospel Ranking would be published when an invitation from Nabistin appeared in their Gospel Book, instructing them to depart by 6:30 PM and arrive in Nabistin by 7:00 PM via the Azure Lane.

Although they had heard of Nabistin’s Court Banquet, they had never attended it. Fifty years ago, the guest was the last generation’s Six Heraldry patriarch. It was hard to believe that such an invitation could come so late in the afternoon, demanding guests to travel over a thousand kilometers to the Imperial Capital within 30 minutes, as if they were merely going to a neighbor’s house for dinner.

Now, they indeed felt as if they were visiting a neighbor.

Qenna opened her Gospel Book to check information about the Azure Lane and found that it required no points, as if someone had already waived the fee for them.

The technology behind the Azure Lane is a deep application of the Spatial Sect, which Nona almost couldn’t understand. Even Sanctuary sorcerer Qenna could barely comprehend it.

To put it simply, imagine space as a fluffy sponge, with all objects moving through the sponge’s gaps. Now, imagine making a dent in the sponge. As objects slide down the dent due to gravity, their speed increases. This is the principle behind the Azure Lane.

Currently, the entire spatial sponge of the Gospel Kingdom has been distorted, making Nabistin the “bottom of the dent” in the sponge, and all Azure Lanes are the “walls of the dent.” When Qenna and others travel on the Azure Lane toward Nabistin, they are like grains of sand sliding down the wall of the dent. Not only are they “approaching” Nabistin, but Nabistin is also “pulling” them in.

In the absence of a space gate, this is undoubtedly the most cost-effective mode of transportation. Stable and connected space gates require a Sanctuary sorcerer from the Spatial Sect to spend a year crafting, followed by regular maintenance to prevent spatial turbulence, making them an extremely delicate facility.

However, the Azure Lane is much simpler. It only requires creating a dent in space. Although such spatial dents need Sanctuary-level maintenance, a single spatial dent can extend into a dozen Azure Lanes. This makes it slightly less costly than space gates but with a reach multiple times greater.

The Yisuo Royal Family’s intent is clear: just as the policy for the past 50 years focused on constructing cities on the second level to enhance capacity, the plan for the next 50 years is to build a transportation network of Azure Lanes, reducing the travel time between any two cities to within 30 minutes.

Unlike other policies, this one is likely a strict directive from the Yisuo Royal Family with no room for negotiation.

The Yisuo Royal Family rarely enforces policies rigidly. Instead, they usually grant cities the freedom to implement policies that suit their needs. For instance, Vamora did not enforce the “Comprehensive Smart Home Adoption,” and many services there are still performed manually, including the presence of maids.

In fact, all of Vamora remains a “city of the old era,” characterized by low efficiency, high manual labor, and minimal automation compared to other Second-tier Cities. The city maintains this “feudal” setup because its revenue solely depends on Beauty Houttuynia, making the gross domestic product of its citizens somewhat irrelevant. Therefore, there is no need to increase individual productivity.

On the contrary, improving productivity would mean that other people would become unemployed. Even though Vamora can easily support the unemployed, the Six Heraldry Family cannot tolerate having any family member not working or producing, simply enjoying services without providing value. Even engaging in low-value labor is better than none.

However, this reflects a defect of the Six Heraldry Family-they are unwilling to abandon any clan member. In Mephila, those who society discards due to technological advancements, the “unemployed,” are subconsciously driven to accept extremely dangerous work, such as participating in human experiments. The mentality is that even “a piece of waste paper can be squeezed for some value.”

In the Gospel’s evaluation system, the most crucial indicator distinguishing First-tier Cities from Second-tier Cities is the labor participation rate of residents. Higher labor participation correlates with enhanced citizen happiness, better public security, and higher educational levels.

Therefore, the Azure Lane caused quite a headache for Qenna. The establishment of Azure Lanes was bound to lead to drastic changes in production relationships, creating new jobs while rendering many others obsolete. Handling these changes is a challenge that every ruler must face. ℝÄ₦ꝋΒЕꞨ

The two got out of the car and walked to the entrance of the parking lot. There was a transparent glass panel beside them, which displayed their identity information in purple text as they passed by.

“Qenna Senhaeser, visit time: June 18th, 5:53 PM, permission granted.”

“Nona Senhaeser, visit time: June 18th, 5:53 PM, permission granted.”

At this moment, a staff member approached them and pointed to the ground. They looked down and found guidance texts formed by lasers on the ground: [<<< Restroom, Mink Street], [Royal Palace, Central Avenue ↑↑↑], and [Nabistin Spirit Museum, Platinum Avenue >>>].

The two had no interest in wandering around and proceeded towards the Royal Palace.

Nabistin had no car lanes at all. The walkways were paved entirely with silver-white tiles. As they kept walking in one direction, their speed naturally increased, and a golden [↑↑↑] guiding path appeared ahead of them. Sometimes, Qenna and Nona’s speed would abruptly slow down until someone crossing their path had passed, then they would resume their high-speed movement at 80 km/h, sometimes even reaching 120 km/h.

Other pedestrians experienced the same phenomenon. Although everyone was moving at high speeds, there were no collisions. Even if someone suddenly walked out from a nearby shop or paused on the street, everyone’s speed adjusted seamlessly, incorporating these “noises” into the “melody,” like a grand yet precise symphony.

This is a feature that Nabistin had fully equipped but other cities had yet to adopt: the Path of the Chosen. In simple terms, it accelerates pedestrian movement through ground mechanisms. Initially implemented in high-speed lanes, after refining the “individual path regulation mechanisms,” it was naturally applied to city streets.

Nabistin now embodies advanced simplicity-there are no forms of transportation within the city; everyone moves solely on foot, albeit at astonishing speeds.

Midway through their walk, Qenna suddenly stopped and turned into a cake shop. Nona, aware of Qenna’s fondness for cakes and recognizing this rare visit to Nabistin, quietly followed her inside.

The cake shop attendant respectfully said, “The recipes for all our cakes have been sent to your Gospel Book via email. Based on your preferences, we recommend the Number 13 Black Forest Lava Cake and Number 19…”

Nona reminded, “We’re attending the Court Banquet later; we can buy the cake afterward.”

“Do you really expect to get full at that banquet? Let’s have some cake now to fill up a bit.” Qenna cheerfully responded. Just as she pointed to the Number 13 cake, a server from the kitchen brought out the Black Forest Lava Cake she was eyeing.

“Alright, but be quick about it. We need to head over soon.”

“Here, open your mouth.”

“Ugh… I said I don’t want any.”

“Wow, this Lava Flow Core is so sweet. You should try it too.”

“Stop feeding me!”

Nona stuck out her little tongue to lick the cream off her lips. When she couldn’t reach it, she wiped it off with her finger and popped it into her mouth. Suddenly, she said, “The Weaving Festival ends tonight.”

“Yes,” Qenna nodded. “The end of the Weaving Festival marks the ascent of the new Empress. In no more than six hours, we will witness the next Saint who will rule for fifty years.”

“Annan must have failed, especially since even her ranking was nullified by ‘Ashe’,” Nona remarked. “According to the Pact you made with Annan, she has to return to Senhaeser after the Weaving Festival ends, right?”

“Yes,” Qenna replied, her lips curving around the spoon as she meticulously savored every bite of her cake. “By the time the sun rises tomorrow, Annan will become one of our clansmen. The Dolan Family’s legacy will change its surname to Senhaeser.”

“So, what do you really think?” Nona, uninterested in the Dolan Family, asked. “Annan will probably bring Ashe back.”

“Then Ashe will have to change his surname to Senhaeser too.”

“You know I’m not talking about that. I mean the special relationship between you and Ashe on the Future Ranking list.”

“You know that’s just the Gospel being weaved haphazardly.”

“Don’t you have any thoughts on it?”

“What thoughts?” Qenna chuckled, biting her spoon. “You need to be more specific; I can’t read your mind.”

“For example, when Annan marries Ashe, you might drag Ashe away and devour him first,” Nona said, expressionless.

“…Have you been reading some kind of book? Give me the name, and I’ll check it out.”

“Based on your answer, I might consider taking Annan and Ashe away,” Nona said seriously. “Unless you revoke my Family permission right now, I have the authority to do so. You said you wanted to bring her back to the Family, which is why I agreed to pretend to expose her Intelligence. But this time, I won’t help you if it means hurting her interests.”

Qenna took another bite of the Lava Cake, molten chocolate running along the corners of her mouth. With the spoon still in her mouth, she shrugged after a moment of silence. “Alright, alright, I’ll admit I am a bit interested in Ashe.”

“But this interest is much like seeing a cute little animal. Part of the reason is that he’s Annan’s pet. While making my daughter cry is certainly entertaining, I only meant to tease her a bit, not to snatch her toy.”

Nona breathed a sigh of relief. “So, you’re saying you don’t actually plan to go through with anything?”

“Huh?” Qenna was a bit taken aback. “Don’t you ever see a cute pet or a fun toy and want to borrow it for a few days?”

Nona’s face darkened. “How many days are you planning to ‘borrow’ him?”

“Until I get bored and give him back.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om