Luke’s gaze sharpened.
The thin old man in front of him looked unremarkable at first glance, but in reality, Uncle was the direct successor of a powerful Good Chi wizard in this world and possessed extensive magical knowledge.
Learning through Uncle was the fastest way for Luke to obtain the power of Good Chi.
But the moment Luke exposed his hidden identity, Uncle’s expression changed dramatically.
He abruptly stood up and pointed toward the door.
“Jackie, see the guest out. Uncle isn’t making this deal.”
“Uh…”
Jackie didn’t quite understand why Uncle had reacted so strongly, but he still stood up and spoke seriously.
“Mr. Luke, please understand. We can’t provide what you’re asking for.”
Even after being rejected, Luke remained perfectly calm.
He patiently finished his entire cup of tea before saying,
“Then I’ll add something else to the deal. Do you know that the Black Hand is collecting the Talismans in order to revive a great demon?”
The three members of the family were stunned.
“A demon? You mean the kind with red eyes and huge claws?” Jade asked.
Luke smiled meaningfully.
“A lot of demons fit that description. If you don’t know the demon’s name, it’ll probably be difficult for you to figure out which one is secretly ordering the Black Hand around.”
Jackie frowned.
“Then you know that demon’s name?”
Luke only smiled and looked toward Uncle.
The price he wanted in exchange for that information was obvious.
Uncle frowned deeply and seemed to weigh the matter in his mind.
After a long silence, he asked,
“Can you tell Uncle why you want to learn magic?”
Uncle knew very well that the magical knowledge he possessed was capable of causing enormous destruction in this world.
Even he restrained his own use of magic and normally lived as nothing more than an ordinary antique collector.
He would never casually hand his magical inheritance over to an outsider.
But Luke had mentioned the true name of the great demon behind the Black Hand, and the matter also involved the mysterious and powerful Talismans.
Uncle could tell that this was extremely important information.
Seeing how much they cared about the demon’s true name, Luke showed an expression that said everything was going as expected.
He answered Uncle’s question.
“This world isn’t safe. Too much Black Chi is hidden in places no one knows about, waiting for an opportunity to move. Any of it could threaten my life at any moment.”
“I want to learn magic simply so I can protect myself, especially now that I’ve already chosen to give up competing for the Twelve Talismans.”
Luke’s tone was sincere.
He truly wasn’t lying.
Of course, he didn’t tell them that the reason he needed that protection was because he intended to actively provoke a demon.
Sometimes, leaving out part of the truth could be misleading enough on its own.
Uncle narrowed his eyes but couldn’t detect any sign that Luke was lying.
After thinking for a long time, he took an ancient book from the shelf.
“A few small spells to protect you from evil. They’ll only work when evil is actually harming you.”
Uncle placed the ancient book in front of Luke.
Magic in this world came with certain restrictions.
First and foremost, it required the support of either Good Chi or Black Chi.
Even natural-born demons would become extremely weak, or even fall into prolonged slumber, if they lost the support of Black Chi.
The same principle applied to Good Chi wizards.
The stronger the demons became, the more Good Chi the rules of the world would grant to those opposing them.
The spellbook Uncle produced contained only protective Good Chi magic.
It required the caster to stand on the side of Good Chi and contained no spells capable of harming others.
But that was already enough to satisfy Luke.
“Thank you, Uncle. This is exactly what I wanted.”
He reached out to take the spellbook.
Uncle, however, kept hold of one corner.
“Tell Uncle the demon’s name first.”
Luke immediately gave him the information.
“It’s Shendu, the Demon Sorcerer of Fire. He was sealed first by the Eight Immortals and later by Lo Pei, who separated his power into the Twelve Talismans and scattered them around the world. Shendu was once a demon king who ruled Asia.”
“He tempted the Black Hand with the Golden Rooster treasure and hired them to collect all twelve Talismans so he could revive.”
Hearing such important information about the demon, Uncle was visibly distracted for a moment.
Luke immediately took advantage of it and pulled the spellbook into his arms.
Without hesitation, he began flipping through it.
Fortunately, the book was written in ancient Chinese characters.
With a little time, Luke could understand its contents.
Only then did Uncle recover.
Goosebumps rose across his body, and his voice became noticeably tense.
“Aiya! That’s a great demon. Jackie, Uncle needs to do research tonight. Hurry and prepare some hot tea for Uncle.”
Jackie still didn’t quite understand.
“Uncle, is this demon he mentioned really that terrifying?”
Unlike the nervous adults, Jade looked excited.
“So that means we’re going to fight a demon next? I’ve never seen a real demon before. What does this Shendu look like? I mean, besides red eyes and sharp claws. What else does he have?” This story is hosted at novelping . com.
Seeing the group becoming restless, Luke smiled faintly.
“Since you have things to deal with, I won’t disturb you any longer. Good luck.”
He stood up and gathered his belongings, preparing to leave.
At that moment, Uncle’s hand shot out with remarkable speed and pressed down on the million-dollar check Luke had placed on the table.
“This is part of the deal too. Uncle’s spellbook is also an antique.”
The two stared at each other.
Luke couldn’t help laughing.
He didn’t particularly care about the money, so he took only the spellbook and left Uncle’s Antique Shop.
The next day, he boarded a flight to Japan.
On the plane, Luke read through the spellbook Uncle had given him and reached a conclusion.
“To cast magic, you need the corresponding materials and sufficiently powerful chi, whether it’s Good Chi or Black Chi.”
“For an ordinary practitioner to become a qualified wizard, it would take at least ten years of training… unless they receive the support of the world’s rules.”
Luke quietly closed the book.
If he relied on conventional training, there was no telling how long it would take him to build up enough magical power.
So he chose to exploit the world’s mechanics instead.
After landing at Tokyo Airport, Luke took a train to the first stop on his trip, Matsue.
He went directly to a local automotive workshop with a long history.
Using the stealth skills shared by the Hyuga Luke, he successfully stole an ancestral deck of Hanafuda cards from the workshop.
These cards were an important tool for locating Oni Masks and countering their power.
With the deck in his possession, at this point in time, no one except Luke knew how to accurately locate the masks or what formula was needed to remove them properly.
Following the cards’ reaction to the masks, Luke arrived at a hotel for the second stop of his trip.
A wall inside was covered with various masks.
Luke selected a blue-purple Oni Mask with two horns.
It belonged to General Razo of the Shadowkhan.
The sleeping demonic soul sealed within the mask commanded the Razor Shadowkhan.
That army possessed considerable combat strength.
Even a single Razor Shadowkhan could give Jackie a difficult fight.
Luke was satisfied with the mask’s capabilities.
While he was examining it, a young hotel employee came over and warned him,
“Sir, these are collectibles. They aren’t for sale.”
Luke immediately stuffed a roll of three hundred thousand yen into her arms.
“Thanks. Keep the change.”
With that, he shoved the mask into his backpack and walked away with it.