As Xia De's words fell, not only Miss Teresa, but also the six maidens and Miss Violet, were startled.
The Witch Emperor suddenly reached out her hand to cover Xia De's mouth, then looked nervously at the tower, and only after confirming that no other abnormal situations had occurred, did she lower her voice and scold:
"Xia De, you can't say such things carelessly.
Even if you don't believe in this great one, you must revere the gods."
Because gods truly exist in this world, and there are genuinely meaningful miracles, people in this world are born with an innate and heartfelt reverence for gods, rather than being tricked into it by charlatans over many years.
Xia De also knew that such words could not be spoken casually, but he believed his worries were by no means unreasonable:
"Still, bring this sword."
He still did not put down the weapon:
"We still don't know what the third trial will be like.
I think the god residing in the tower probably won't mind me bringing this."
Miss Violet frowned beautifully as she looked at Xia De:
"Sir, you must promise me that you will never use this weapon, no matter what."
"What do you think I would do?"
Xia De knew she had misunderstood; this lady probably thought he was a madman:
"Let Miss Teresa hold it."
He handed the sword to Cerces's Ten-Tier Witch, who looked somewhat uneasily at the Witch Emperor, and only after seeing her nod did she grip the sword tightly and say very nervously:
"Mr. Hamilton, unless absolutely necessary, I will not give this sword back to you."
It seemed she also misunderstood Xia De's intention.
In any case, there wasn't much time left, and Xia De also had no time to explain the reason for his sudden outburst just now.
He made a gesture to invite them forward, then pushed open the obsidian tower's door.
The six maidens in black and white maid dresses instinctively dodged towards the edge of the safe zone, Miss Teresa took deep breaths to adjust her mood nervously, and only Miss Violet's expression remained normal.
She watched as the gentle breeze blowing from inside the tower left the first mark on Xia De's cheek.
She watched as the cracks, like the embers of golden flames, spread continuously over his entire body as Xia De entered the tower, until golden light traces, like sparks, scattered with the sway of his clothes.
"It's such a pity he can't stay."
Miss Violet threw her hat to a maid, then pushed Miss Teresa, who was clearly still somewhat afraid, to follow:
"After all, he is not a man of this time.
How far into the future does he come from?"
With the experience of the previous two times, Xia De still walked at the very front this time, Miss Teresa, carrying the Night Watchman, was almost pressing against Xia De's back, and Miss Violet walked at the very end.
The first floor of the tower was a calm lake surface shrouded in mist.
The clear lake surface, illuminated by an unknown light source, was as flat as a mirror, but this made it difficult to imagine whether there was a bottomless abyss beneath their feet.
To get from the first floor to the second, one had to pass through invisible stairs that only appeared when touched.
Fortunately, the positions of these stairs did not change, and relying on excellent memory, going upstairs this time was much faster than the last.
The second floor of the tower was a landscape of half riverbank and half stream.
Last time, after Xia De threw three papers into the water, the god directly 'ascended' from the lake.
This time, upon reaching the second floor, the stream flowed gently, and the pebbles on the lakeside riverbank were even exactly the same as last time, but there were no stairs leading to the next floor here.
"Do we still need to find a way to go upstairs ourselves?"
Miss Violet asked cautiously.
Miss Teresa's face was a little pale, but this time the god was on a higher floor, so she didn't need extra support at the moment.
"Last time we threw something into the stream and the god appeared; do we need to do the same this time?"
Xia De guessed, and as he spoke, he rummaged through the toys in his pocket.
This time, he had prepared many books before setting off, and finally pulled out a copy of 'The Art of Mathematics', an introductory mathematics textbook from the sixth epoch's Steam Age.
He squatted by the stream and carefully placed the book in the flowing water.
The cold, clear stream water soaked his fingers, but the thick, lead-type printed mathematics textbook did not sink into the water.
Xia De stood up and quickly retreated, watching with the two ladies as the book floated into the distance of the stream.
Although the second floor of the tower was much larger than it appeared from the outside, it still had its limits.
As the book floated to the end of the stream, slight ripples appeared on the surface of the clear stream.
A slender stream of water swallowed the book, and then the water, as if connected by a paintbrush, floated upwards from the stream, precisely outlining a staircase of water in the air, extending to a place high above that could not be seen:
"As expected."
Xia De breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that gods and angels related to the Ancient God Secret Keeper seemed to like such fairy tale-like plots.
Time was running out, and he was about to lead the way onto the stream to explore, but a hand from behind rested on his shoulder.
Turning his head, Miss Violet's dark golden eyes were looking at him:
"There's no time for idle talk next, so I want to ask you now: after this trial ends, you won't be coming back, will you?"
Miss Teresa, wearing glasses, opened her mouth, but said nothing.
Xia De nodded:
"Yes, Miss Violet, Miss Teresa, it's a pleasure to have met you."
"Although I guessed this would happen, it's really disappointing.
Since I ascended to Thirteen-Tier, it's the first time I've seen a cherished treasure slip from my grasp."
The Witch Emperor said with considerable regret, then unceremoniously reached out and touched Xia De's face, and only after Xia De tried to dodge sideways but failed, did she move her hand away:
"If I had time, I'd really like to taste you.
This isn't just because you're a man a witch can touch; I'm also interested in your soul and body.
You have this honor."
Her pretty eyes looked at Xia De.
Xia De didn't know what to say.
The Witch Emperors' characters were indeed as he had expected.
Miss Teresa, blushing, tugged at Miss Violet's sleeve, but the latter didn't care:
"Schultz, Schultz, you should speak out about what you want, especially a Thirteenth-Order Witch like me; there's no need to hide your thoughts, that would only make me look ridiculous."
She was still educating her distant niece, and it seemed their relationship was usually quite good:
"His time is limited; after accompanying us to see the god this time, he probably won't have time to return outside the tower to chat.
Schultz, do you have anything to say?
You can consider this a farewell."
The Witch with glasses looked hesitantly at Xia De, her face slightly flushed:
"Thank you for your help.
I hope you never forget us."
Miss Violet smiled and shook her head:
"Let's go, Xia De, face the final trial.
Although this will be a permanent farewell, I will remember you."
She didn't seem to be joking, and when speaking of parting, there was no regret on her face, only melancholy:
"Yes, I will definitely remember you."
Both high-tier Witches also had the ability to walk on water.
Led by Xia De, the three of them crossed the stream and walked up the stairs made of water.
After quickly walking up 23 steps, the clouds covering the sky suddenly dispersed, revealing the door at the end of the stream staircase.
"Finally..."
It was a water curtain door, very similar to the door Xia De saw when he last visited the Lake Goddess with Professor Drake.
However, this time, the silken water curtain could be drawn aside with a hand.
And upon reaching the third floor, the tower's third floor was not an unimaginably magical environment.
Behind the door was calm lake water, and in the center of the lake was a Lake Heart Island the size of Xia De's bedroom.
The sky was covered in gray mist, making the distance between sky and water seem particularly close.
The natural light source was still dim, not like daytime nor like the transition between day and night, but rather like the usual hazy weather light in Tobesk City.
It was low and gloomy, making one's mood unconsciously heavy.
"Another Lake Heart Island?"
Gods, angels, and relics related to the Secret Keeper all liked the scene of a Lake Heart Island.
And the familiar scene once again made Xia De consider the possibility of the third trial being "defeat me."
The Lake Heart Island was very small, and the area of this gloomy lake was not large either.
The Lake Heart Island was not far from the water curtain door, and because the Island was very small, Xia De could see its full extent at a glance.
The Island was not barren; lush green grass covered the ground, and in the center of the Island stood a small wooden cabin.
On the side of the cabin, a chicken coop and vegetable garden were enclosed by a fence, and behind the cabin was a towering tree of an indiscernible species, its canopy covering more than half of the Island.
Considering the small area of the Island, the footprint of the wooden cabin itself was only the size of Xia De's cloakroom, probably similar to a temporary cabin for a forest ranger or hunter in the forest.
Xia De walked at the front, with Miss Violet supporting Miss Teresa behind him.
As the three of them landed on the Island from the direction facing the wooden cabin's door, the wooden door, which looked like Mia could charge through, was pushed open, and the god, radiating a soft light, walked out from within.
The manifested form of the god was still that golden-haired, black-eyed lady.
She wore an unadorned scholar's robe and a pointed hat.
Only her glasses looked somewhat special; the left lens was in the shape of a pentagram, and the right lens was an equilateral triangle.
In this gloomy and oppressive environment, the soft light emanating from the god was very relaxing for the mind, at least Xia De thought so.
But the god's appearance meant that her very presence began to spontaneously affect the environment.
Miss Teresa, behind them, had by this point put all her weight on Miss Violet.
The Thirteen-Tier Great Witch was also uncomfortable, but she could barely hold on.
She just felt that her distant niece was so troublesome, young girls were always immature.
