Chapter 16

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Grandpa Antlers, I believe that talent is very important in language learning. Since you have a lofty virtue worthy of respect, I believe you will not make the mistake of judging a book by its cover and miss the chance to solve the problem.”

Antlers Faner was surprised and asked, “You really do know Ancient Elvish? Where did you learn it?”

“Well…” Lin Suo couldn’t say he learned it by studying the regular Elven Language and suddenly becoming proficient in Ancient Elvish, right?

“It was taught to me by a Magi.”

“I see,” Antlers nodded, accepting this explanation. After all, Magi were known for their vast knowledge.

He was also an Elf Magi, but his aptitude was terrifyingly low. Even with the long lifespan of Elves, he had not broken through to become an official Magi. He had only relied on time to reach the peak apprentice level.

In fact, all longevity species had this problem. Even with exceptional aptitude, their cultivation of transcendent power was still very slow, unlike humans who could improve faster.

“You’re quite fluent. Since you have confidence and Valia introduced you, I’ll let you give it a try. If you succeed, I’ll handle the matter of the Meditation Technique for you.”

“Thank you, Grandpa Antlers.”

Antlers Faner glared, “Kid, call me Guild Master Antlers.”

Having failed in being shameless and trying to get closer to him, Lin Suo didn’t feel embarrassed at all. He simply changed the way he addressed the other party while he thought in disbelief, “To think he’s the branch’s guild master.”

It seemed that Valia’s identity couldn’t be underestimated. The Language of Nature family didn’t sound like an ordinary family either…

However, since the Elf hadn’t overreacted with his straightforwardness, it could only mean only two things. Either the translation work was essential to them so that they could tolerate his behavior, or they were genuinely kind and didn’t mind him being rude.

As he pondered, Lin Suo followed the two of them to a quiet room on the fifth floor.

“Rhein, wait a minute.”

With that, Antlers Faner went out again and returned with a tray holding a large, dark-colored book. Beside it were gloves, tweezers, magnifying glass, a notebook, and a pen, all ready and prepared.

“Be careful when you turn the pages.”

“I understand.”

Lin Suo put on the gloves and curiously studied the ancient book.

The cover was mostly decayed, making it impossible to see the name or pattern. The first page was also in shambles, with marks of fire and insect damage. Most of the words were separated, and the description in the middle was missing, requiring inference based on the context.

“This is the royal secret language?!” Lin Suo exclaimed in surprise.

The Ancient Elves were typically matrilineal and the royal family members were all women. Male royal family members did not have inheritance rights.

Currently, although the Elves had reformed, they had lost their once-powerful strength and knowledge inheritance.

The royal secret language was a code language designed by the Elf Queen herself. It was naturally encrypted. If one wanted to translate it, one had to find the direct descendant of the Queen. After so many years, the risk of the language being lost was extremely high.

Using the Queen’s secret language that was passed on from mouth to mouth was too easy to make the language lost.

Lin Suo had a cheat and could decipher it, but he couldn’t say it aloud!

The more he read, the more shocked he felt.

The contents at the start were just standard, the usual chronology of history.

But later on, it was all about pollution, corruption, the Mother Tree falling, monsters, disasters, and so on.

If the book hadn’t been severely damaged, the contents should’ve been decipherable combined with the context.

Lin Suo flipped another page, and his eyes lit up. It was a rare page that was complete.

Moreover, it recorded an elven spell.

Stage-one spell “plant control”. It recorded the spell model construction, magic ring condensation steps, auxiliary cultivation methods, effects, and all sorts of details. It was developed by the Wild Roar Family and had the potential to control nature.

This was a treasure.

Although Lin Suo wasn’t a Magi yet, it didn’t prevent him from memorizing it and copying it down when he got back. If he mastered it by devouring the book, wouldn’t that be great?

Just as he memorized it and wanted to continue reading, Antlers·Faner couldn’t hold himself back anymore. The latter snatched the secret classic away with his old hand and said in an unpleasant tone, “Boy, do you understand what’s written above?”

Lin Suo shrugged.

Even the orthodox Elves didn’t understand, so how could he?

But for the sake of the Meditation Technique without side effects, he still revealed some information.

After thinking for a moment, he said in a low voice, “If I’m not mistaken, this should be the legendary royal secret language of the Elves.”

“Secret language?”

Antlers and Valia looked at each other, their eyes blank, obviously not knowing what he was talking about.

Lin Suo sighed. He pointed to the symbol in the book cover’s lower right corner.

“The royal mark, you recognize it, right?”

The two nodded together.

“Look at the symbol in the middle. It’s about twenty degrees off from the normal royal mark. This represents an extinct Elven royal family.”

“Who?”

Lin Suo was speechless. Were they Elven, or was he Elven?

He could only remind them, “Pay attention to the color of the mark, and the curvature of the symbol’s end. What is it like?”

Valia murmured to herself, “A light-colored mark… The curvature… It’s like a… A moon! Are you saying it’s the Luna Royal Family?”

Lin Suo nodded in satisfaction.

“But… The Luna Royal Family was destroyed by the Magi 90,000 years ago. The Magi, who worship truth, do not allow the existence of Gods. Even the God of the Moon died at the hands of the Magi, let alone the Elven royal family who worshiped the God of the Moon…”

90,000 years?

Lin Suo was incredulous. This book had lasted for 90,000 years? That was ridiculous.

The Gods had been exterminated? Tch…

What?! The Gods had been exterminated?!

Although Lin Suo’s linguistic knowledge was much richer than most people, he was not well-versed in history. All he knew was that this symbol represented the Luna Royal Family.

He needed more time to study history.

No wonder there were no religions in this world. It turned out that the Gods had been annihilated. The Magi were mighty.

He was brainstorming, but in the outside world, only a few seconds had passed.

Taking a deep breath, Antlers asked tremblingly, “Young man, the Luna Royal Family was destroyed long ago. Do you understand the words in the book?”

Lin Suo shook his head decisively, “No.”

The Deerhorn’s face froze, and he questioned, “Didn’t you say that it’s the Luna Royal Family’s secret language? How can you not understand it?”

“Guild Master Antlers, if you return to your homeland and check the books, even you will recognize this symbol. As for the Elven royal family’s secret language, it’s passed down orally. Mistakes can occur even among those with the same surname, and the meaning can completely differ.”

“Let me calculate for you. Since the Luna Royal Family was destroyed 90,000 years ago, how many Elven royal families have there been? The Luna Clan, Eternal Forest Clan, Sunstrider Clan, Bloodthorn Clan, Windtalker Clan, Nightborne Clan…”

“Enough!” Antlers glared at Lin Suo, who had unknowingly stood by the window and was enjoying the cold breeze. He was furious.

Lin Suo smiled and was not afraid of causing trouble. With his language guru ability, the number of Elven royal secret languages he knew represented the number of Elven royal families there were.

“And now… the High Elf Clan! No one can understand the royal secret languages except for the direct descendants.”