Chapter 476: The Mad Grand Arcane Master

Zuo Meng felt unexpected delight at this free opportunity. With time to spare and no cost involved, finding the target would be pure profit.

He handed Aks’s details to Owl Jones.

“Arcane Master Aks from twelve centuries ago?”

Owl Jones blinked. He’d assumed Zuo Meng sought living relatives, not ancient history. Though Arcane Masters lived long, they weren’t immortal. Those pushing boundaries faced daily dangers—countless Grand Arcane Masters had vanished mysteriously during experiments.

The oldest known Arcane Master in Floating City was Elder Odolan of the academic institutions, aged over thirteen hundred years. Rumors claimed he’d once captured a star, cementing his status as the city’s strongest. Speaker Baigu, first council leader, was another ancient figure slightly younger than Odolan.

“You’re certain he’s alive?”

Jones sounded doubtful. Few Arcane Masters survived past a millennium, especially after the Catastrophe a thousand years ago. This disaster fractured Floating City’s Arcane knowledge—texts from Grand Arcane Masters grew scarce. In the pre-Catastrophe Arcane Explosion Era, elders like Odolan and Baigu might’ve struggled to control the city.

The old researchers were terrifying madmen who ignored institutions. Their disappearance allowed Floating City’s current stability. Yet curiosity lingered—secret groups still sought truths from that era. Odolan and Baigu never spoke of it, treating the subject as taboo.

“Should be.”

Zuo Meng trusted the system wouldn’t assign an impossible death loop task targeting a dead man.

“I’ll try.”

Jones flew to a branch, eyes glowing with inherited Arcane runes. His lineage’s power connected all Floating City owls, sharing information—the Owl Clan’s traditional trade.

The glow faded moments later.

“Shockingly, he exists… and lives.” Jones muttered. A twelve-century-old Arcane Master should’ve been famous, yet Aks remained obscure.

“Found him?”

Zuo Meng stared. His complicated search ended through an owl acquaintance.

“Found him, yet not.” Jones fluttered down grimly. A casual query to his unpaid client yielded unexpected results—a clan owl neighbored Aks.

“Explain.”

“He’s insane.”

Grand Arcane Master Aks—a title requiring immense knowledge and power. Each Grand Arcane Master was a living library, their achievements beyond ordinary people’s reach.

Jones recounted: Before the Catastrophe, Aks visited multiple worlds, including the sword-swinging empire below Floating City. While groundlings brawled, Arcane Masters explored stars. Genetically modified, they’d evolved beyond being the same species.

Zuo Meng’s current body, Aige, likely met Aks then. Earning Aks’s rare friendship, Aige received a protective magic circle upon death. Aks later returned, gathered forbidden knowledge from other worlds, and survived the Catastrophe alongside Odolan and Baigu.

Seven centuries later, Aks returned from an expedition raving about the world’s falseness. Initially, his status drew attention—but he offered no proofs. Academic falsehoods disgusted Arcane culture. When Baigu and Odolan declared him mad, the scandal died.

Aks got dumped in an asylum. Centuries passed, Floating City transformed, and history forgot him.

Jones located him by sheer luck—a clan owl roosted in the asylum’s clock tower where Aks dwelled.